Her Mafia Brothers

Jack

Author's Note: Here's a really short update for you all because I felt really guilty leaving you all with the cliffhanger :)  I'm crazy busy with life and a tight deadline for my book with my publisher so I don't know when the next update will be but I'll try not to leave you all waiting for too long!

I gasped in horror and felt myself falling backwards in shock. Alex caught me. He set me back on my feet, his hands on my shoulders both comforting me and holding me steady.

"No! My Jacky!" I whispered, covering my mouth with my hands so I didn't scream.

"It's okay he's not dead," Alex said quietly, directly into my ear.

He must have glared at Damon or something, or maybe Damon figured out by himself that I was on the verge of hysterics, and Logan was close to tears, because he quickly reassured us both.

"He'll be okay," Damon said. "Jack's tough. He's in critical condition and he's about to undergo emergency surgery now. Anna is with him. I've sent some of my men there to protect him and Anna. But he's going to be fine."

A strange look that I didn't understand passed across Damon's face just as my knees buckled and I exhaled with relief. Alex caught me again before I hit the floor and held me close against his body, letting me lean on him.

"Jack was shot by a rival Mafia," Damon explained. "It means war, and it means you and Logan will be confined to the house until it's sorted out. You're both potentially in danger - our enemies will hurt you to get to me - and most of my men are needed to fight this war. There will be enough security here at the house to keep you safe, but you won't be able to leave. Not for any reason. You'll do school online. You can go outside, but you can't leave here. Do you understand?"

Logan nodded like this wasn't a big deal. I wondered if he'd done this before. But I freaked out completely.

I started yelling and screaming, completely panicked. I was terrified. All I knew was Jack had been shot, my other brothers were heading off into danger and could be next, and Logan and I weren't safe either. I didn't understand what or why, but I knew this was bad.

"Carrie!" Damon's voice was sharp. "Carrie! I don't have time for your dramatics now, pull yourself together. Deep breaths."

I was too upset to be bothered by my oldest brother's harsh words. Instead, I focused on Alex. He had turned me around to face him and was guiding me to breathe deeply, slowly, helping me to calm myself down.

"It's going to be okay Carrie. I promise," he whispered to me, soothing me. "You're okay."

"Alex and I are leaving immediately," Damon said. "Nick can do most of what he needs to do from here, in the left wing, so he'll be here for now. Rocco will mostly be here, too. He's in charge, okay? I need you both to listen to him, because he knows how to keep you safe. He will protect you both."

I expected Logan to mumble something about not needing to be protected, but he never did. Maybe he was just as frightened as I was, but hiding it better.

"Anna will let us know when Jack's out of surgery and how he is," Damon continued. "Carrie, Alex is going to give you back your phone. It seems a bit much to keep it under these circumstances. But you need to behave, okay? Both of you do. We'll keep in touch as much as we can, but mostly it will be a waiting game for you. Stay here. I need to know you're both safe or I can't do what I need to do."

Logan nodded soberly. But I didn't. I clung to Alex, tears of distress streaming down my face.

"I don't want you to go!" I cried.

Damon wrapped his arms around me and lifted me up, pressing my face into his shoulder, kissing my temple.

"I know, sweet girl. We don't want to go either, but we must."

He put me back down but kept holding onto me, his lips on my head like he was breathing in the scent of me so he wouldn't forget me. He opened his arm to Logan and he joined our hug. He didn't seem embarrassed about it, either, which I thought was both sweet and worrying.

Just seconds later his phone started ringing in his pocket and he hurriedly left the room.

Alex hugged us both, kissed my cheek, reassured me, said that Rocco and Nick would be in shortly. Then he, too, was gone.