ALANA

63

ARES

"Mattia." I sneer. "Didn't I tell you what would happen if I saw you near my wife again? And you dared to do this?" I shout. He cowers a little before standing up straight again.

"My dear friend Castello needed my help. We are both in need of some financial assistance, if you will." he smirks. "And I cherish any chance to give my little delore a good scare." he flinches at Alana making her jump up and scream.

Fuck.

Without thinking for even a second, I grab my gun out of my belt and shoot Castello while he's distracted.

His dead body falls to the ground with a terrified scream following.

"Oh my god." Alana kicks her legs trying to get away from the blood seeping onto the carpet. Her father unties her hands pulling her infront of him, using her small body as a shield.

"Let me leave here. Let me leave Moretti or I will slice her right here!" he screams in his terrified state, pressing a knife to her neck. I feel my heart lurch and I take a step forward to save her somehow.

"Stop let me leave!" he shouts. I see Alana close her eyes as if giving into her father. "That's right delore, you help daddy with your eternal habit of scaring easy." he smirks. I see her body tremble with a sob.

"Do it." She whispers. My eyes snap to hers. "Do it Father, take my life." she says. Mattia looks at her in disbelief, like me. But she signals something making me look up at the window.

A sniper. One of mine. I look back at my wife and nod.

"Mattia you broke the Omerta." I say, in the most bone chilling voice I can muster. "You took an oath to never betray the throne and you did and even if you do leave I will find you." he's sweating now. "I will find you from the ends of the earth I will find you and make you pay." I seethe. And I mean every word.

"Well then I might aswell take something of yours," he raises the knife, aiming it at Alana's neck.

"NO!" I scream, running towards them. Chaos instills, the sound of glass shattering and falling the floor echoes as I snatch Alana from the waist into my body, shielding her from the glass.

Once the ruckus stops. I feel her push me off of her, both of us now sitting on the ground. Her innocent, sad eyes find her father laying limp on the floor, her shoulders slumping.

"Capo! Are you okay?!" I hear someone ask but all I can do is look at my wifes wide eyes that drip tears. She inhales deeply, looking around the room, her eyes lost and scared. I want to hold her, feel her in my arms, feel that she is alive and breathing.

She stands up on shaky legs, I do the same. Alana looks back down at her fathers body, her eyes staring into his lifeless ones. She staggers, as if she will fall right back down.

I walk closer to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders to steady her but she pushes me away with one hand.

"You didn't have to save me." she mumbles.

"What? Why the fuck would you say that?" I ask, angry that she would even say this.

"I told you I wouldn't concern you with my existence anymore, I intend on keeping my word." she says in a shaky voice. My heart clenches in my chest.

"Alana stop-"

"I am sorry about this, it was after all my fault." she says, taking in a deep breath. "I promise I won't bother you anymore. I shouldn't have called you. I was just caught up in the moment and I was hiding in the closet and I didn't know who was here so I called but I shouldn't have, and I know that's why you didn't answer and Im sorry-"

"Alana please just stop." I groan at the stinging feeling spiking in my chest. I try to pull her towards me but she steps away again.

"Please don't touch me." she whispers.

My whole body feels like I was hit by bricks. I feel my resolve shatter at 4 simple words. Everything I have ever done to appear composed shatters as my hands fall to my sides.

Please don't touch me.

Four simple words that unbeknownst to me held the power of making me despise myself, coming from her. The one woman I have ever looked at the way I look at her. The only woman I have felt for what I feel for her.

Please don't touch me, hearing this from the only person on this earth who I want to hold and feel the presence of.

"Donna, please come with me, your wounds are bleeding." A woman says to her, leading her away from me. Exactly where she wants to be.

Away from me.

~

Soon after her wounds were dressed, Alana had disappeared up the stairs.

She had not so much as looked in my direction.

I had checked my phone to see atleast 10 calls from her and a text reading,

please come home.

Her words and actions left me aching in my chest. But they are nothing compared to what I have done to her.

Her lack of reaction to everything that happened, including watching her own father die concerns me.

The guilt of not checking my phone, of not coming sooner is eating at me as I finalize arrangements for us to go home.

I walk up the stairs, seeing people packing up both mine and Alana's belongings. My eyes search for her and I find her sitting in the sofa chair, staring off into space.

My instinct screams for me to hold her and comfort her but I can't.

Please don't touch me.

Come to think, she hasn't let me touch her since we spoke this afternoon.

She is probably disgusted in the man who took her virginity and declared he would never give her anything back. She deserves so much more than me.

I keep looking at her, and when one of my men comes in to announce that we are to leave, she stands, the same numb expression on her face as she walks right passed me, as if she didn't even see me.

We sit in the car silently, her face still void of emotion but her hands are tightly bunching up her dress. Her breathing is rapid and uneven.

As we stop on the tarmac, she is first to get out and walk towards the plane, as she nears the stairs, her knees buckle and she falls but is caught by Alessandro who is standing there.

I walk forward to quickly take his hands off her but she almost presses herself against him more as if to get away from me. My fists clench as I take a step away. Letting her walk up the steps.

"It will be okay brother she is just in a state of shock." Alessandro pats my back. But he doesn't know that I had broken her way before they ever came to terrorize her. That I am the real reason she is in this state.

I nod, walking on board to see that she has chosen to sit in the seat that is single. No doubt so she doesn't have be close to me. My heart again makes that now familiar sting as I sit in a seat that is two ahead of hers, but still faces her.

As the pilot announces take off, I watch her shake and tremble with the nerves of the plane moving. But she still doesn't look at me, not even a glance.