- 8 9 -

- R O M A N - A N G E L O -

- A - F E W - H O U R S - A G O -

"I'm going to my office to take care of some last minute details." I told the Elias brothers who nodded absent minded as they strapped themselves with weapons.

I shared a knowing look with Gabriel and Enzo before going upstairs into my office.

We were at the safehouse in Milan, taking care of some small details when I closed the door behind me, rushing to call the one person I could trust for help.

"Roman, my son, I heard about everything." I heard Alvaro's voice and rubbed my temple, looking out the window and taking a deep breath.

"I need your help." I said and without missing a beat, he answered.

"Anything for you, tell me what you need." He said and that's how I spent the next half an hour explaining everything to him, getting more men and weapons as backup because I already had a lot but he insisted on giving me more.

We discussed our plan and what we were to do and how we were going to go about everything.

I knew for a fact that although the plan the Russians and I had made was good, it was not the best.

"He's a smart man, he might catch on." Alvaro said and I huffed a breath.

"Which is why you make the call now." He urged and I hummed.

"I will. Thank you for your help." I said, meaning every word and knew he was smiling.

"Don't mention it, son. Here, your mother wants to talk to you." He said and handed over the phone to my mother.

"Roman? What happened my darling, is everything okay? Is Heather alight?" Her concern made me choke up and I took a shuddery breath in.

"I'm okay, mamma. And we're going to save Heather. I'll get her back, and I'll end all of this, I promise you." I said with conviction when she sniffled.

"The poor girl has already been through so much. Save her Roman, and never let her go. And stay safe, please." She pleaded.

"Don't worry mamma, Ferruccio won't be alive for much longer. That is my promise to you." I said in a low voice and said goodbye to her just as Anton entered the office, looking worried.

"Everything done?" He asked and I looked at him for a few moments before nodding when the door opened again and Enzo looked at us.

"It's time." He said and we both gave each other a knowing look before heading out, getting into our cars and heading for the horrid place I used to once call home.

- P R E S E N T - T I M E -

"Stay with me, angel, don't leave me, please." I begged and begged her all the way to the hospital.

Anton carried her in and laid her on a stretcher when the doctors and nurses rushed towards us when they saw me, wheeling towards the operating room immediately.

"Mr. Angelo, you can't go inside." A doctor stepped in font of me, paling when he saw my deadly expression.

"What do you mean I can't go in there? My girl is inside!" I shouted and he flinched, backing away from me.

"Roman." Anton pulled me back by my arm before I could shoot the doctor right there.

"Sit the fuck down." He snapped at me and I swore loudly as pain shot through my leg and Gabriel instantly came towards me, helping me lean on him.

"Cazzo, you're loosing a lot of blood, you need to get this operated." He said and I grunted.

"I'm fine." I snapped and Anton glared at me.

"You better get that fixed because you have a lot of explaining to do, not just to us, but Heather as well." He bit out.

"I swear to god if you die, I'll personally drag you back from hell so you explain how you fucked with all of us." He glared at me.

I clenched my jaw as Enzo called for a doctor and they led me to another room where I was operated and bandaged.

When I went out, everyone who was injured was now bandaged and I looked at the hallway where Alex was coming in straight towards me, punching me in the face as soon as he reached, making me stumble back from the force.

I didn't fight back, knowing I deserved it as Ivan and Zephyr held Alex back who swore at me loudly and Zavid, the father, just sat with his head in his hands.

I slumped on a seat, looking down at my bloodied clothes, none of the blood which was mine, but my angel's.

"Now, what the fuck happened back there?" Mikhail questioned me and I was about to speak when someone else cut me off.

"It was our plan." Alvaro headed towards us and I briefly caught sight of my mother who came running towards me and hugged me tightly, followed by my sister.

I hugged them both back, wincing slightly as my mother pulled away and cupped my face, my eyes glistening and I couldn't hold it in anymore as a lone tear slid down my face.

"Oh my, Roman." She whispered.

I couldn't stop it anymore, the emotion suffocating me as the possibility of losing my one true love drifted every now and then in my mind, chilling me to bone and making my blood freeze.

"She's going to be alright." She rubbed my back, telling me t was going to be just fine.

I tried to take in deep breaths silently into her shoulder and everyone quieted down, Alvaro squeezing my shoulder while my mother held me to her.

I couldn't hold back anymore as my hands clutched onto her with a tight grip as if I was afraid of letting go.

"I hurt her." I whispered when she shook her head, pulling away to wipe my tears away, tears I couldn't even stop.

"You saved her, baby, you saved her, and she's going to be alright, I know it." She said, her own tears falling as she comforted me and my sister sat beside me and leaned her head on my shoulder.

"It's going to be alright, Roman, Heather is a strong girl, she's going to make it." My sister tried to comfort me as much as she could.

The Elias brothers looked away and I saw Alex pinching his eyes shut and shaking his head, running a hand over his face and I knew he was crying.

Anton sat next to his father quietly brooding while the father wiped at his face with a napkin and the other men all stood with their heads bowed down solemnly.

A few hours later, a doctor came out and all of us stood up instantly while my eyes briefly glanced over at the blood on his uniform and swallowed thickly.

"Heather Elias?" He asked and Anton moved forward.

"Yes." He cleared his throat when the doctor sighed.

"We are done operating and have successfully removed the bullet from her. There were many other bruises on her body which we have treated and bandaged. As of now, we have injected her with a medicine that will let her heal and rest." He said.

"So she's alright?" Alex moved forward.

"For now, yes. But the medicine we injected her with has not yet taken effect. Let's pray that it does, otherwise the wounds on her could prove to be fatal if the medicine attacks her body instead." He said and my heart dropped.

"What is the meaning of this?" I stood up abruptly, ignoring Gabriel's help as I stumbled over to the doctor, staring him down.

"You will do everything in your power to save her, even if you have to kill someone for it. I want my girl alive and healthy, is that understood?" I snarled at him and he nodded furiously.

"Y-Yes, Mr. Angelo." He stuttered, moving back into the opeaton unit as I looked at Enzo.

"Check if this hospital falls under the places I own. If it doesn't, buy it. Contact the board and tell them I want my girl safe and sound or ther families can be ready to receive their heads." I threatened lowly and Enzo nodded, immediately getting to work with Gabriel.

My sister, Lily, walked over to me, running her gaze warily over the Elias family who watched my family curiously before she looked at me and helped me sit down.

"Who's this?" Ivan questioned, gesturing towards my sister and on instinct, I moved in front of her a bit.

"My sister." I bit out and he nodded with narrowed eyes, glancing at Lily briefly before looking at me, and then Alvaro and my mother.

"Zavid?" My mother now noticed the man who looked up, his eyes widening as he stood up to greet her.

"Lilac." He spoke in surprise when my mother hugged him and he hugged her back.

"I'm so sorry about what happened to Bella." She sad softly as they pulled away and talked in hushed tones.

"Is that you mother?" Anton gestured to his father and my mother when I hummed.

"It is." I said and he nodded, thinking about something before looking at me and Alvaro accusingly.

"Care to explain what the fuck happened back there?" He asked with a raised brow when Alvaro stepped forward as my mother and Zavid returned to hear the explanation.

Alvaro explained everything perfectly clearly for me because I wasn't in the right mind to do it, and he knew that. I saw the men's expressions change as they looked at each other warily.

"Where is.... Where is he now?" My mother asked and we all knew who she was talking about.

"I had him taken back home." Alex stepped forward and she nodded, looking at Anton and Alex before smiling warmly, she cupped Anton's cheek.

"Your mother loved you so much, she couldn't stop talking about you." She held her hand towards Alex who took it after much thought as she pulled him towards them.

"Both of you. All three of you were the light of her eyes, and she was so proud of you both boys." She kissed their cheeks softly and I saw Anton's hand forming fists and Alex looking away after swallowing thickly.

"She always talked about your antics, and when she was about to have you—" She looked at Anton and smiled warmly.

"She was over the moon. Her happiness radiated from her and affected us all. And I know for sure that she's still very proud of you boys. All of you." She looked at Zavid as well now who nodded solemnly.

Alex took a shaky breath as she hugged both Anton and him, both of them closing their eyes and letting her hold them. She was about to walk away from them when Alex reached for her.

"Could you... Can you tell me more about her?" His eyes were pleading when she smiled and nodded, both of them walking away slowly and talking in a quiet tone.

I leaned back in my seat, watching all the people here and the security guards when Alvaro patted my shoulder.

"Go home and take a shower, get changed, you have blood all over you." He said in a low tone when I frowned.

"It's not mine. It's hers." I swallowed thickly hen he sighed and Lily squeezed my arm.

"He's right, Roman. Go home and rest, change your clothes and come back with a fresh mind." She said but I shook my head.

"Go home, son. They're right." Zavid finally spoke to me, his eyes red as he walked over to me when I stood up and wrapped his arms arms around me.

"She's going to make it, I know it." He whispered when I took a deep breath in and nodded.

"She will. I'll make sure of it." I said with conviction when he smiled faintly and patted my shoulder before walking away.

"Lily will take you home." Alvaro said and Lily nodded, Enzo following us wordlessly as we got in the car.

"Where are we going?" I asked her when she smiled at me briefly.

"Papa's house here." She said and I nodded as Enzo put my bag in the car as bid his goodbye to us as we left.

We reached the large house within twenty minutes and got out, the men straightening up when they saw me.

"Mr. Angelo, it's such an honour to have you here." A man with greying hair walked out and I looked at Lily who smiled at the man and even hugged him.

"Roman, this is Stefano. He's the head of the household everywhere we go." She said proudly and I shook the man's hand firmly and we were led inside.

"Everything has been prepared for you in the guest room, this way." I was led to my room where my bag was placed and the door was closed behind me.

I took out clean and fresh clothes from the bag and went straight into the bathroom, taking care of my bandages as I stepped under the shower after taking off my bloody clothes.

The water flowed down, washing away the blood stuck to my body, red water pooling near my feet and I forced my gaze away from it, looking at the wall in front of me instead as I struggled to stand straight, closing my eyes.

"What is wrong with you?"

"This was all a game.... You don't love me."

"Don't fucking call me that."

"I always desired the things that would destroy me in the end. You were right about him, Ant. You were always right."

"Somethings just aren't meant to be."

"All the men I've ever loved turned out to be traitors. All men are assholes. At least you both were right about one thing— no one deserves me."

"Like father, like son."

"Kill me."

"Kill me, go on. It's what you've always wanted."

"End me, please, I beg you. I can't do this anymore."

"It's okay, you never loved me anyway. Don't save me, I don't want to suffer anymore. I can't—"

"It hurts so much."

"I love you."

"I don't deserve you." I whispered, my eyes burning once again as I shook my head, trying to rid myself of her crying face, her hurt expressions.

I didn't mean it, it was all an act to save you, I love you.

It was all an act.

I love you.

I love you.

I love you, more than anyone else, more than myself.

I punched the wall, busting my knuckles and touched my forehead to the cold wall, trying to take in deep breaths.

She's going to be okay, she's gong to survive this, we're going to get through it together.

I still have to marry her, tell her I love her, have a family with her, live the rest of my life with her.

Cleaning myself up as I tried my best to shake away all the thoughts, I used the first aid kit under the sink to fix my bandages and put on my maroon button down and brown slacks, rolling my sleeves up to the elbows and stepped out when there was a knock on my door.

"Roman? Can I come inside?" I heard Lily and let her come in.

"Come on, let's go down." She grabbed my arm, leading me to the dining room where food was placed.

"I'm not hungry." I said but she glared at me, looking like the spitting image of mamma when she was angry as a smirk decorated my face, making her smile.

"Come on big guy, I don't think a six foot something man can go hungry for that long." She made me sit on one of the seats and piled lots of food in a plate and pushed it towards me.

"We still need you to stay handsome or Heather might leave you because you'd be so skinny and ugly. Gotta keep up the good work, you know?" She patted my bicep and I raised a brow at her in question when she smiled innocently at me.

"Sit with me." I told her and she smiled happily and sat down, taking her own plate and eating as well.

When we were done, I went upstairs to get my phone so I could call and ask Enzo how everything was at he hospital.

Going downstairs as I disconnected the call and tucked my gun into the holster when I heard a muffled scream.

Frowning, I made my way towards the sound quickly, looking around the house.

"Lily?" I called out and moved towards the dining room when the sound of breaking glass rang in my ears.

Stefano came rushing towards me but I told him to keep quiet as I took my gun out, taking the safety off as a few men backed me up. I threw the door open and saw my sister struggling with a guy.

The moment he saw me, he paled and my blood boiled when I saw her crying face, not thinking twice as I shot the fucker down.

I walked briskly over to her and she hugged me tightly, holding onto me as I glared daggers at the now bleeding man.

"Is there a basement here?" I asked and Stefano nodded, looking at man furiously as he tried to soothe Lily.

"Get him down there. My men will deal with him." I spoke in a firm tone and two men dragged him away while I turned to Lily.

Stefano took us to the living room and gave her water to drink, her hands shaking when I made her look at me and tell me everything.

Turns out the the fucker always made her extremely uncomfortable and tried to hit on her and ask her out multiple times but she refused and now today he tried forcing himself on her.

"Figlio di puttana. Lo ammazzo, cazzo." (Son of a bitch. I'll fucking kill him.) I grunted when two maids came towards us, one of them rushing towards Lily while the other gaped at me.

"Lily, are you alright?" The one who was crouching next to her asked and Lily nodded after taking a deep breath.

"Better now, thanks for asking." She said and looked at me and smiled reassuringly.

"This is my brother, Roman." She told the girl who nodded in respect as she bowed her head down before whispering to my sister.

"The Italian don?" She asked and my sister nodded once and the girl glanced at me warily.

Lily noticed the other maid looking at me with heart eyes and scowled, getting up from her place.

"Hey!" She went towards her and snapped her fingers in front of the other maid's face who scowled.

"He's engaged and set to be married to a very beautiful woman very, very soon, so kindly fuck off, he's off limits." She snapped at the maid who scowled but turned away nonetheless and both of them left us alone.

"You didn't have to do that." I said amused when she shrugged, plopping down next to me.

"Of course I did. I'm sure Heather would appreciate my efforts of keeping you in line." She smirked a me when I rolled my eyes.

"She doesn't need you to keep me in line." I muttered, watching her grin widen.

"You're right, you're so whipped you'd shoot yourself in the balls before doing something like that." She laughed and I picked up the cushion next to me, hitting her in the face with it with a smirk hen she squealed and jumped away from me.

"Anyhow, I'll be in my room if you need me." She said, turning on the television for me and leaving me alone as I watched the news and the all too familiar house burning down.

"—we're not sure how many more there were inside as the infamous Milan Estate burns to the ground. The fire department has been unable to put out the fire which has been raging since this morning and only seems to be growing—..."

I turned off the volume, watching the flame dance on the screen and around the place I once called my home.

The place where my mother was nearly killed, but her sister received the blow instead to save her. The place where women and children were abused and sold.

The place where my girl was held captive and tortured. The place where my girl was shot, the place where she fought for her life was now burning to the ground.

It's over, angel, it's over.