REYNA

Saint barged into my room and grabbed ahold of my arm.

"We got to go, now!" he exclaimed frantically. My violin fell to the floor as he dragged me out of my room. I turned to see if there was any damage to the one thing I knew could give me wings and fly the hell away from the hell that was life.

I didn't get much time to inspect it before Saint pulled me around the corner and down the hallway until we were out the door. The night sky was brighter than normal. Stars freckled the sky, and like a thief that took credit, the moon shined the sun's light. There was no crickets and no sounds other than our feet crunching the grass beneath us. It was as close to silent as night had ever been.

We continued to Saint's car, and the sight of it only succeeded in bringing memories of just a few hours ago that I wanted to forget.

He opened the passenger door for me so I could get in before walking around to driver's side. It didn't take long for us to pull off down the road. Saint was especially wasting no time. He was doubling over the speed limit, probably reaching new speeds that the roads have ever witnessed.

With each passing second, I could hear the acceleration of the car growing.

I turned to look at Saint, noticing the furrow of his brow and the vein popping out of his neck as he gripped the sterring wheel so hard that his knuckles were white.

"What is happening?" I asked.

It was as if he only just remembered I was in the vehicle with him. He loosened his grip on the wheel and slowed down just a little, but not enough for the speed limit.

"Put on your seatbelt, Angel," he said.

I reached over and pulled the seatbelt down so I could buckle it in. He let out a satisfied sigh at the sound of the click of the buckle.

Instead of answering my question, he turned on the radio. Italian music shot out of the speakers before he went to lower the volume. On the big touchscreen of his car, I could read that the name of the song was Vivo Per Lei by Andrea Bocelli.

I didn't know much Italian, but what I could grasp was the soulful sound of the song and the way it tugged at my numbed heart. A tear wanted to fall from my eye.

"It says..." Saint began. "I live for her since I first met her. I don't remember how, but she entered my soul and she stayed there. I live for her because she makes my heart vibrate strongly. I live for her and it's not a burden... She often knows how to be sweet and sensual sometimes it hits you in the head but it's a punch that doesn't hurt. I live for her," he translated.

It made me think of my mother, and with that thought, a tear had actually fallen from my eye. I glanced over at Saint to see he was already looking at me. His eyes were glossed over as if he was lost in thought. The song kept playing, and he just kept staring.

Suddenly, he cleared his thoughts and turned back to the road with a clenched jaw.

"Fuck," he muttered before turning off the radio.

I turned away from him to look out the window. Letting all the time fly by like the car speeding through the wind.

Not too soon after, we finally got to our destination. I only just noticed it was a huge building and the words 'Northwest Chicago Hospital' grasped my attention.

Saint drove to the front of the building before stopping the car. He pulled out his phone, sent a quick text, and he turned to me.

"I have to go handle something back at Viktor's place and that brothel. Go in there and find Adriano, okay?" Saint asked me. His brows were raised as he looked me in the eye.

"W-What are you doing?" I questioned.

"Reyna..." he began.

"I—"

I couldn't formulate the words I wanted to say. He continued to look at me, patiently waiting for me to continue.

"I don't want to lose anyone else," I whispered. "I just... you're all I really have left."

His shoulders fell at my confession. I let him unbuckle my seatbelt and wrap his arms around me where he pulled me into his chest and kissed the top of my forehead.

"Don't worry... nothing will happen to me for as long as I think about how badly I need to have your legs wrapped around me again someday," he joked.

It was almost enough to make me crack a smile. If it wasn't for the weight pulling not only my heart but the corners of my lips down, he probably would've succeeded.

"Go. I'll be back to come to get you in the morning. I don't really like hospitals, so I'll be out here when you're ready," he said. I pulled away from him and opened the door just before stepping out.

"If you need me, just know I'm tracking you... I've been tracking you," I told him just before closing the door. I didn't give him a chance to say anything as I headed into the hospital.

It smelled strongly of cleanliness, and mops that needed to be washed. The lights were this bright white that could most resemble someone would use for a spotlight. Everything from the tile to walls were white. There was a large waiting room with almost no one in there except for a sleeping older man in the corner and another older man in a wheelchair right beside him, watching whatever was on the television.

The receptionist was smiling at me. I ignored the big stand of gloves and hand sanitizer for people who came in ill, and instead, I walked over to her.

Her brown hair was in a tight low bun and her big hazel eyes gleamed at me. "Hello, how can I help you?"

"Hi! I'm looking for—"

"Reyna!" Adriano called. I looked over at the source of his voice to see him standing by the patient entry doors. At the sight of him the receptionist smiled even brighter.

"Oh, you're with him! You can head in." The receptionist smiled. I followed him as we walked through the hospital. There were a lot of nurses walking by us and a lot of families gathered by patient doors. Sometimes, I would occasionally peak in at an open door just to see a someone fast asleep.

After what felt like a long walk, we were in front of a door. For some reason, my heartbeat quickened as Adriano opened the door. The first thing I saw was Alessandro who was leaning over my mom.

"Mama!" I shouted running into the room. Her eyes opened as she looked at me. The smile that came across my face would never go away at the sight of her alive.

I went to hug her but Alessandro grabbed my arm to stop me. "She just had major surgery. The bullet punctured her rib, and they had to fix what they could. Just to keep her out of pain, they recommended no physical contact until she's healed."

"It's..." Mom's voice was weak. "It's okay."

"I'm so happy to see you," I said as my eyes began to blur with tears. Her lips were dry and pale in color but she did her best to smile.

Adriano had disappeared but suddenly opened the door to step into the room. "The police want to talk to you, Maria. Anytime there's an injury involving a gun, it's protocol for the police to get involved. Saint has already told me exactly what you need to say..."

"Okay," she said.

"Soon, Saint will be getting one of the girls at Viktor's brothel to call the police. She will tell the police that one of the girls—you—have escaped and can not be found. When you escaped, you left the door open and she was able to get out, find a phone, and call for help. Your job is to say that you escaped and Viktor shot you, but you still managed to get out of the house before you later passed out on the road. Alessandro and I, who happened to be driving by, saw you and got you into our vehicle, and drove you here to the hospital. Reyna is here because she's your daughter," Adriano explained. She nodded her head with each sentence.

"What about Viktor? What about all the dead bodies back at the brothel?" I asked.

"Alessandro and Saint's men have already taken care of that. As far as the police know, Viktor worked alone and he is on their most wanted list," Adriano stated.

I nodded my head understandably. Just as I did, the door opened and two policemen stepped into the room. One was taller and had a lot more muscle than the short chubby man.

"Good evening. We need to talk to Miss Maria Fields alone please," the policemen told us. We all nodded our heads and cleared the room, leaving our mother alone with the two policemen.

Adriano had a phone call so he quickly answered it and walked down the hall to speak more privately.

"So, my little sister is Red, huh?" Alessandro asked. I looked over at him. He looked worn out, his hair was a mess but still suited him. He ditched the suit and tie and replaced it with a white v-neck and sweats. I was sure not many people had ever seen him so casual before.

"My big brother is a Don, huh?" I mocked him.

He chuckled. "I was talking to—well—our mother. She was telling me about my father and even yours..."

My brows came together. Mom didn't ever talk about my father. So, I never bothered to bring it up. The one time I dared ask her about him, she looked as though she wanted to cry.

"We share the same father, Reyna. What she didn't tell you was that he went to see her one night just to tell her goodbye. They shared a moment and ended the night together and few weeks later, she found out she was pregnant. Only this time, she didn't try to tell him or anyone else out of fear that she would never see you again. So, she said she was pregnant by someone else, someone she has no memory of because it was a drunken night. In reality, it was Francesco Rubino, our father," he explained.

A gasp climbed out of my throat as I stared at him.

"So, I had a father?" I asked.

"You did. He was a great man. I will be more than happy to tell you more about him as long as you promise to do the same for our mother," he said.

I nodded with a smile. "Of course."

There was a long awkward silence after that. Both of us just looked everywhere but at each other.

After a few very long seconds, I cleared my throat. "I heard you were married."

"Oh, yes. Natalia," he said. "You will meet her soon."

Again, there was silence. I began to bite the inside of my lip as I turned to face the white wall.

"And you're with Saint?" he asked.

I could feel all the blood rushing to my cheeks. "Well, I, um, well, I don't know. I, um, wouldn't say we're together, but um..."

He chuckled.

"I've always admired you, you know? When I heard about what you did, and my second in command was all panicking because he thought we were gonna get arrested, I sat back in my chair, and I thought... 'man, that person there is a genius.' You got balls, kid. I don't know you know well, but you've certainly made me proud and I'm sure our father would say the same," Alessandro said.

I opened my mouth to speak but nothing would come out. All I could do was watch as he buried his hands into his pocket and walk away.

—

I don't know about y'all but I loved this chapter. I especially loved Alessandro's character so much. Anyways, sorry for the long break. It is the end of the school year and I had (still do) many exams, finals, ceremonies, etc.

I hope you all enjoyed reading. I appreciate all the love and messages. You are all the sweetest!