- 8 4 -

"Medicine time, come on." Roman tapped my forehead and I groaned as he handed me some pills and a glass of water.

I swallowed it quickly, downing the whole glass of water in one go and letting him wipe away the few drops on my chin with a napkin.

"Do you want to rest now?" He asked but I shook my head.

"I want to see my brothers." I said and he immediately scrunched his face in annoyance, making me laugh at his expression.

"I don't like them. And vice versa." He grumbled and I patted his arm but ended up feeling him up instead and pulled away quickly in embarrassment before he noticed.

"For good reason. You're sleeping with their baby sister." I said with a serious face and he glared daggers at me, making me raise my hands in mock surrender.

"Joking, I'm joking, jeez. I'm not wrong though." I mumbled the last part under my breath with a roll of my eyes as he reached for the door and gave me an unimpressed look.

"I heard that." He said before pulling the door open and throwing me a serious look while I smiled innocently.

"What? They're facts." I shrugged and he rolled his eyes, looking out before his face hardened.

"She's calling for you, stronzos."(Assholes) He said and I frowned at the foreign language.

What'd he say?

"I can speak Italian, sukin syn."(Son of a bitch) Anton said as he came in with a glare pointed towards Roman's way and I gasped at what he called my man.

"Anton!" I said and he looked at me, his posture relaxing and his face softening.

"What? He called me an asshole too, darling." He said as he walked towards me, engulfing me in a hug that suffocated me.

I patted his arm to let him know I couldn't breathe and he pulled back with a sheepish smile, Alex taking his place and knocking the air out of me as he crushed the literal soul out of me.

"Fucking easy." Roman pulled Alex back by his collar and Alex glared at him, shrugging his hand off with a sneer.

"Watch your mouth, Angelo. This is because of you." Alex said and fixed his collar and blazer, Roman's face morphing into one of anger and remorse both.

"Okay, okay, go easy on each other or I'm kicking everyone out." I warned and Ana glared at all the men in warning as well.

Roman stalked towards me and pecked my temple, sitting next to me on the bed and pulling my body into him.

"Mi dispiace, angel." (I'm sorry) He whispered in my ear and I smiled faintly, nodding once because I knew what he said this time. He was apologizing.

"Did you really call him an asshole, though?" I looked at him expectantly and saw his pursed lips, confirming my answer.

"To be fair—" He started but I held my hand up and rubbed my temple with the other with an exasperated sigh.

"I get it, just... Move on. My god, these men are more immature than Anya. And she's five." I shook my head with a sigh and felt his body relax too while the other men looked away in shame.

"So fucking whipped." Anton smirked and Alex snorted while I ignored them and Roman only glared daggers at the wall, fisting his hands in fury.

I bet he wants to punch them. I would too, so I don't blame him.

"Hey fellas." Enzo walked in the room with a big fat grin while only grew in size once he saw me.

"Oh, you're up!" He said in excitement and reached out to hug me but Roman pushed him away before he could even touch me and Anton grabbed his collar, pulling him back while Alex glared at the poor guy.

"Don't touch her." Both Roman and Anton spoke at the same time and froze, looking at each other warily while Ana and I smiled mischievously.

"Aw, look at you two getting along." Ana said and Anton scoffed, pulling her into his side with a roll of his eyes.

"Getting along my ass." He said and I bit back a smile, looking up at Roman with a grin who deadpanned.

"Don't give me that look." He gestured to my face and I pouted.

"What look?" I said in a sing song voice and heard him groan as he buried his face in my hair, taking a long, exasperated breath.

I laughed with Ana while the men brooded like always and Enzo sat silently in a corner, texting someone with the utmost attention and Alex played a silly game on his phone.

"When can I leave?" I asked and everyone looked at me, and then at Ana who sat up straight.

"In a few hours. They just have to monitor your vitals for a bit more time. But you're free to go after that." She said and I smiled, looking at Anton, then back at her.

"You deserve so much better, why are you dragging this deadbeat with you?" I asked Ana in all honesty with a serious face and she snorted while Alex smirked. Anton glared though.

"I honestly don't know at this point. I mean, I'm only with him for his money." She said with a straight face and Anton gaped at her while I cackled.

"Thank you very much. Now I know your value in my life." Anton scoffed and she teased him for being so touchy and they made up within seconds because my brother was so utterly swept up in her he couldn't possibly stay mad at her for more than a minute.

What grabbed my attention though was when he protectively wrapped his arm around her stomach, my eyes narrowing at them until it hit me.

All the times he'd stopped her from drinking wine or telling her to be careful or just being extra Anton. And that was saying something.

"You're pregnant." I said suddenly and silence fell around us as the couple stared at me, the blood draining from Anton's face while Alex and Enzo gaped at them.

Ana chewed on her lip nervously, looking at Roman and then Enzo warily before smiling at me a bit.

"I am. Three months in now." She rubbed her belly affectionately and my eyes widened, Anton and my eyes locking.

"Why didn't you tell me, you idiot?" I threw a pillow at him but he caught it effortlessly and rolled his eyes.

"Our child, also the future heir of the Elias empire and the bratva. Do you think that's something I would want to disclose in front of the Italians, Heather? We kept your identity hidden for a reason, remember?" He raised a brow at me and I felt my blood run cold as Roman's arm tightened around me.

"I remember." I said in an uneven voice and looked at Roman who was glaring daggers at the ground, his jaw clenched.

"Roman would never hurt a child. Let alone an unborn one." I defended him and his eyes snapped up to my face in shock while Anton leaned back in his seat and Alex stood in front of the couple protectively.

"What happens when he or she is all grown up and mature though?" Anton bit back, throwing Roman a dirty look.

"You know what happened to you, Heather. Or have you forgotten?" He said distastefully and Ana took hold of his hand, shaking her head at him when I closed my eyes for a brief moment and took a shaky breath in.

"What happened to me was not Roman's fault."

"You're right, it was his father's. Like father, like son." Alex said and something inside Roman snapped at that moment when he pulled out his gun, pointing it at my younger brother's head, but he wasn't an idiot and had his own gun pointed at Roman.

Enzo stood up and pulled out his own while Anton kept a hand in front of Ana to shield her, his other hand where he had placed his gun in his belt, ready to use at any moment.

"I am not my father." Roman bit out furiously and I gulped, grabbing his free hand, knowing this was a sensitive topic for him.

"Alex, put the gun down. Roman, you too. Please." I pleaded and Alex looked at me briefly before fixing Roman with a look.

"He's not like him, you both know that." I said in a furious tone.

"Let it go, please." I whispered.

"I wouldn't raise my hand on a child. Any child. Especially one who hasn't even come into the world yet. I may be heartless, but I'm not cruel." Roman bit out, anger emanating from his being. He looked every bit of the Italian mafia don right now.

"I love Heather, and I would do anything, and I mean anything for this girl. Even if she's from the family who hates me. The family we've been enemies with for generations. I'm willing to end it all for her, and her only." He said and I squeezed his hand, hoping he'd put his gun down, but he didn't.

"I'm marrying this beautiful girl, and no one will stop me." He said in a final and firm tone, as if he was leaving no room for argument before lowering his gun while my family gaped at me and I stared shocked at Roman.

"Heather, what the fuck?" Anton stood up and took a step towards me but Roman shielded me with his body, facing Anton head on.

They were both so tall and surprisingly the same height, glaring daggers at each other.

"You stay the fuck away from her." Anton warned in a low tone.

"I'm marrying her, like it or not. She'll become my wife, and my queen." Roman said with a smug smirk and I bit my lip nervously, locking eyes with Ana who was shocked as hell before looking back at Roman and Anton.

"She won't marry an Italian." Alex said, putting his gun down when Gabriel's voice came from behind them.

"And why the fuck not? We want her with us in our family, she wants to be with us, then who are you bastards to stop us?" He walked with Maria in tow, holding her hand.

I saw Ivan was right behind them at the door, looking at us with wide eyes.

"Heather Solonik Elias, explain the fuck now." Anton threw me a sharp look.

I swallowed thickly, looking at Roman whose jaw was clenched tightly and he looked at me with utter determination on his face.

"We're engaged." I said and heard the first gunshot that rattled all of us, Roman stepping in front of me instinctively as all the men pulled out their guns.

Screams echoed in the halls outside as more gunshots were heard and when I looked around, none of the people in the room had fired.

I looked towards the door, my heart dropping to my stomach.

"He's here." Those two words from my brother's mouth, my eyes connecting with Roman's in pure and absolute fear as he cupped my face.

"Nothing's happening to you, I swear on my life." He said firmly and I nodded, grabbing his hand tightly.

"Fuck, I really, really fucking hate you, Malev, but get my girl out of here safe and sound." Roman said in a hurry as he handed me over to Ivan, my eyes widening as I put my shoes on quickly.

"What? No! Roman, I want to stay with you." I said and he grabbed my face, kissing me for a brief moment before pulling away and looking intensely into my eyes.

"I love you, very much, get somewhere safe and we'll start the life we planned as soon as we can, hm?" He said, holding me by my shoulders.

I hated the way I was shaking in fear as Anton pushed Ana towards us and Roman took something out of his belt, handing me a smaller gun.

"Use it, keep yourself safe for me. I love you." He kissed my forehead while I stood there stunned.

"Get them all to the safehouse, now!" Anton shouted, and Gabriel and Ivan grabbed us and led us out, my hand slipping out from Roman's hold as I realized I never said it back to him.

"I love you, Roman." I whispered under my breath as Ivan took my hand and squeezed it once, all of us running down the halls and out of the hospital using the stairs, making me feel dizzy since I wasn't fully recovered yet.

Gabriel shot at a man who pointed his gun at Ana and Ivan shot two more who were running towards us and shouting in... Italian?

"Are those Italians?" Gabriel asked in confusion.

"And Russians." Ivan narrowed his eyes at someone before shooting another man down.

"What the fuck? Are they working together?" Gabriel spoke my thoughts out loud and Ivan and I shared a tense look.

I think they are.

"To your left!" Gabriel shouted and I was quick to make use of the gun Roman gave me, turning left quickly and shooting the man down swiftly.

"Here, take this." Ivan pushed a cold metal in my hand and I recognised my dagger immediately, spinning the weapon between my fingers as Gabriel pushed his wife and Ana into his car.

"Heather, inside, now!" Ivan shouted but I ignored him, moving towards two men who pulled their own guns.

I was quick to run over to them, punching one man in the jaw and grabbing the neck of the other I swung myself on to him so I was on his back and stabbed him in the heart from behind.

I twisted the knife and pulled it out of him just as he fell to the ground and I tossed the knife into the other man's stomach, kicking him so he fell down as blood pooled out of his body.

I pulled the dagger out, finishing him of with a bullet and then shooting another man behind Ivan.

"Gabe, look behind you!" I shouted, hauling the dagger into another man's shoulder just as Gabriel turned out and twisted the man shoulder and pushed him to the ground, pressing on his wound with his foot.

He took out the knife, throwing it towards me and I caught it effortlessly, cleaning it off from a random guy's shirt as he lay dead on the ground.

"Disgusting." I looked at my bloody hands but refrained from wiping at my face because I knew some blood had splattered on my face as well.

"Heather!" I heard Roman shout and I smiled in relief, looking up but then frowned when I saw his face.

I could never forget the expression on his face at that moment— the fear, it was all over him.

And not just him, on my brothers too as Ivan fell to the ground followed by Gabriel and someone grabbed me by the neck, pulling me back into them.

"Lovely to see my future daughter in law again." I heard the raspy voice, laced with a thick Italian accent just as Roman pointed his gun at the man behind me and shot once but missed because he was trying not to hit me.

But before he could try again, someone shot his shoulder and the gun fell out of his hands and my blood ran cold as I stood there utterly stunned and shocked.

"No!" I shouted as my brothers aimed at us, but they couldn't shoot, or they'd kill me instead.

I struggled in the strong hold, my nightmares coming back to life and tears streaming down my face as I was dragged back.

It all happened in slow motion, Roman running towards me, my brother's aiming to get a good shot and trying very hard to not hit me, then everything going dark as something pricked the skin of my neck.

Why does it always have to be me?