Ch.12

Carmine

I watched as bullets flew past me and towards her. Panic filled my mind and adrenaline my body.

What the fuck is she doing here? Why is she doing this?

I snapped out of it and rushed into action. I could see my men all around me, taking and giving wounds.

The mafia families were quick to scatter away from the grenade Olive was holding. When we started firing, I was sure she would have let go and we'd all be sharing an afterlife with the devil.

I made my way through the war zone and to Olive who was now behind a cement barrier staring at her hands.

"Olive," I said softly and gently laid my gun on the cold ground. She looked like she was in shock. She had an idle look and mouth opened and closed several times.

"Olive," I said again and cuffed my hands over hers. I squeezed tight to make sure the grenade stayed intact.

I felt her move and met her eyes. Tears were beginning to form.

"Carmine," Olive whispered and looked back down," I couldn't do it." Her voice broke at the end.

Fuck. She was about to kill 50 people and I feel bad for her. What kind of psychotic thinking is this?

"I didn't want to hurt you." She said softly and I nodded. What do I say in this situation?

As a cop, I should be giving her the Miranda rights. But as someone who has spent everyday with her the last month, I just wanted to hug her and tell her it'd be okay.

I wouldn't let a single bad thing happen to her or my squad.

"What do we do?" She asked, determination dripping from her voice.

"I'm not sure, Olive. We didn't come prepared to deal with a fucking grenade." I couldn't help the anger in my voice. I was beyond pissed.

"I'm sorry." She broke eye contact and looked at the green object that would determine the rest of our lives.

"You were supposed to be at home. Fucking resting." I tightened my grip around her hands. I couldn't risk it being set off.

"You weren't supposed to be here. I was going to handle this." The same anger began to radiate off of her.

"Handle this?" I scoffed. "You were going to kill yourself. Did you even think?"

"All I do is think," Olive's hands turned white as she tightened her grip. Through my rage I noticed her once beautifully tan skin was now pale.

Grabbing my gun, I pushed myself to my feet and made my way along the perimeter's to one of my men. Fucking coward was hiding. Everyone else was risking their lives to shut this shit down and he was a god damn pussy.

"Richmond," I crouched down, keeping my gun between both hands. I could feel my heart racing behind my ribs. The adrenaline would fade but not anytime soon.

"Vasquez," He kept his head lowered.

"I didn't train you to be a coward. Get your ass up." I snapped and he looked up finally.

"I can't do this job sir. The stakeouts and DV calls were different." Richmond's voice was shaky. I didn't blame him for being scared. We were all scared at one point.

"You can and you will. I need your help."

***

Olive

My father wasted years raising a failure. I would never fill his shoes. I'd never become what he wanted me to. I didn't want to.

I could pretend all I wanted. I could pretend I was some killer. Some badass. Some leader. But the truth is, I'm not.

If I was, I would let go. I'd let the grenade go off like I planned. Like I had meant to. I'd have followed through. I'm a fucking coward. A failure. A disgrace.

"Take this from her, and walk to the precinct. The bomb squad is waiting for you and this." I could hear Carmine. His voice was becoming a sound I would welcome any day.

I felt a warm hand on my cheek and turned to see Carmine watching me with worried eyes. Why was he worried? I wouldn't let go.

"Richmond is going to take this from you. Slowly and safely." He spoke steadily and I nodded. My heart began racing. I was terrified.

"Don't let me die," I whispered. "Never. You're not allowed to." Carmine responded quick and confidently. I wasn't allowed to die, huh?

The process of moving the grenade was fast and thankfully nobody was exploded. Richmond left almost instantly and the shooting had stopped. I felt my energy leaving and everything went black.