" Rick we're under attack. Call for the backup. " I whispered into the phone.

" Shit, " Rick cursed on the other end. All of a sudden an eery silence fell over the whole house. Not a gunshot sounded, not a muscle moved. This was a sign... They were coming in for the kill.

" Rick, what the fuck happened to that Walter. Wasn't he supposed to be standing guard outside the house? " Rick let out a worried breath, " He should have been. " My eyes widened and I yelled in a whisper, " You mean to say he fucking played us? " I could almost hear him gulp nervously, " Okay, Eve. Calm down. I'll get you out of this. I promise. "

I almost groaned, " Rick it's dead silent, man. You know what that means. Their coming inside. What the fuck do I do? "  " Okay listen to me very carefully. She is nastier now, Evelyn. It's bound to get bloody. God forbid if you end up shooting someone in the head, it'll be hard to clean that up. "

I sighed, " What do I do then? " " Call up 911. " I huffed, " I can't wait for the cops, Rick. She's closing in on us. " " No, just keep them on the phone and if push comes to shove, just inform them that you're about to shoot down the intruder. That way it will be easier to prove that it was self defence even though you had a gun on you. Meanwhile, I'm coming in with the backup, don't worry! "

I whimpered slightly, " Just come fast, Rick. I don't care about my life but I can't risk the other three on the line. " He ensured me that backup was on the way and proceeded to end the call. I let out a shaky breath.

Turning my attention to Stella I whispered, " Aunt Stella, I need you to quietly go up the steps and take cover in the closet or something. " I shook my head at her when she attempted to protest, " No! You need to go, now! We all can't hide here. " She looked at me with tears in her eyes but nodded hesitantly and stood up in a half crouched position. " Evan, go with her. Here take this, " I whispered throwing a 12-inch knife, that I had hidden under my jeans, at him. He looked at it unsurely but grabbed it anyway.

Just as I saw Stella and Evan round the corner to the room upstairs, I held onto Ryan's hand and looked at him. For the first time I didn't see reassurance in his ocean depths. The only emotion swimming in them right now was fear. A loud thud pierced through my ears and I shifted closer to his side as I heard them trying to break the front door down.

With shaking hands I dialled up the emergency number. After two rings the diall tone came through the speaker, " 911, what's your emergency? " I gulped hard and gripped onto Ryan's arm as I heard the banging noises grow more rapid. I whispered into the phone, " 13045, Lakewood Drive, Brooklyn. There are intruders trying to break into the house after opening fire at us from the front yard."

I gasped as I heard a very loud thud telling me that the door had fallen apart and now the only thing between those killers and us was this dainty old kitchen island. " Alright ma'am, I need you to calm down. I have your address and the help is on the way. Now please tell me, do they have any weapons on them? " My breathing escalated as I heard them move around in the living room trying to look for us. " Yes, I just told you they opened fire from the front yard. " " Alright ma'am, are you home alone right now? " " No, Four of my family members are here too. Two are upstairs hiding in the bedroom and the other two of us are hiding under the kitchen counter. " I whispered slowly. " Okay Ma'am, do you have any weapon on you? "

Clutching onto Ryan's hand tighter as I heard footsteps coming in our direction, I whispered as slowly as I could, " Yes. " The dispatcher on the other end then told me to stay silent and keep my weapon close to me in defence. " Am I allowed to shoot? " I asked slowly. The lady told me that if need be then I could use my weapon, but only to defend myself. That was all the permission I needed.

Just as a man whose face was covered in a mask peeked under the kitchen island, I took my gun and rammed the butt end into his head. The sudden impact knocked him out.

Two pairs of pacing footsteps screeched to a halt and turned at the sound of thud this man's body had made. Cursing under my breath, I quickly passed the phone over to Ryan and pulled out a silencer from my pocket. Attaching it to the gun, I turned and peeked out of the kitchen counter.

Just as the two men were pulling up their guns in my direction, I acted on instinct and shot at them twice, putting a bullet through both their thighs. They groaned in pain and doubled over. Ryan cursed from behind me at their loud painful noises. They were gonna alert the others.

I quickly ducked back under the counter just as two more men entered the kitchen at hearing their companions' distress calls. I looked into Ryan's panicked eyes as he quietly relayed the information of us shooting down two men to the dispatcher. All of a sudden his eyes widened at something behind me but before I could even react, he pulled me towards him and his fist flied out. I let out a small shriek as I heard his fist collide with whoever's face it was and a bone cracked at the impact.

" Duck, " he half yelled and I quickly complied. He pulled the other man towards him from his collar and delivered an upper cut right to his nose. Ryan then grabbed the gun lying near my feet and rammed it in the intruders' heads, effectively knocking them over. With wide-open eyes, I stared at the love of my life who had just knocked two men out cold. He turned to me all worried, " Are you okay, love? " I frowned in surprise and took his hand in mine, examining his busted knuckles, " Yeah, I'm fine. " I shook my head in amusement as he sighed in relief.

Suddenly we heard a loud blood-curdling scream and both of us froze in our spots. Our eyes widened as the voice registered in our minds. Aunt Stella. I quickly scrambled to my feet but Ryan pulled me back into him. " Ryan, we need to help her! " I whispered urgently. He shook his head and placed a hand over my mouth. " Shh, we need to stay hidden for now. Trust me. " Tears pricked my eyes as I looked over towards the stairs in fear.

After a few minutes, a screaming and struggling Stella was hauled into the living room by one of Katherine's men. My blood boiled at the sight and I held onto Ryan's hand to hold back from pouncing at them right there. My eyes felt like they were on fire as I watched them push Stella's weak body to the floor. Her painful whimpers were piercing through my soul and I screamed helplessly on the inside.

But that was nothing compared to the sight that followed. My entire body froze and my heart stopped beating as I saw another man shove a bloodied Evan to one corner of the room. Ryan's hand clamped over my mouth just as a strangled scream left my lips. A muffled cry resonated in my chest as my world cramped down on me once again. Tears pooled up and flowed down my face as I heard the painful groans of my brother. My heart cried out in pain as I could do nothing but sit there watching him bleed out. Ryan buried his face in my neck and tried to calm me down but all I could feel was my brother's pain in that moment. " Ryan, please!" I whimpered but he shook his head with a sullen look on his face.

I snapped my attention back in front of me as I heard the clicking of heels on the floor. My eyes widened as the evil red headed monster came into the view. I trashed against Ryan's hold as venom flooded my system and my blood seared at the sight of that cheap lying bitch.

My eyes burned into her as I saw her walk towards Stella. She leaned down close to my Aunt. I clenched my fists as she grasped Stella's hair in her dirty hands and yanked on them hard. " If it isn't my dearest daughter. Look at what you got yourself into, Princess. You could have been on the winning team, my team, but you chose wrong. Now, suffer. " Her ear piercing laugh cackled through the room and I grounded my teeth in pure unadulterated hate.

Stella groaned in pain, " I'm never gonna be on your fucking team, Mother. And you're never gonna win, ever. " She managed through her gritted teeth. Katherine clicked her tongue in a chastising way, " Oh come on, Stella. You're my daughter, you're better than this. Still counting on that cheap whore oops I mean your niece? She's nothing in front of me. " I was minutes away from clawing this woman's face out. " You raised her, Katherine. She's definitely better than you, isn't she? " Stella smirked as Katherine narrowed her eyes at her. A sickening feeling rose in my chest at Stella's words.

Katherine's eyes then shifted to Evan and I gulped in fear, " Oh what a sight. You brought that traitor Irena's bastard child here too. Just great. Now he's gonna die too. " Oh no, she didn't just say that.

I growled lowly, my insides on fire by now. I wanted this woman dead. I turned to fix my eyes on Ryan and he saw the determination in my eyes and quickly shook his head. " No Eve. Wait for your moment. This isn't it. She's alert right now, it'll be a lost battle. " I sighed. Why was he always right?

" Oh Evie. Where are you, little monster? Are you gonna keep hiding today as well, like you did that day. That day when I killed your parents. Oh how satisfying was that day when I put a bullet through your bitch of mother's head. I loved seeing the blood gush out of her body as she laid there not talking for once in her life. Killing your Dad hurt a little, I'm not going to lie. But it didn't stop the satisfaction I had after it. He was such a pain in my ass, just like his father. But you know what Evelyn, I knew you were there hiding in the closet just like I know you're under that counter right now. "

My breath hitched and complete terror engulfed me. A rough hand enclosed around my arm and I instantly tried to pull free. A loud scream left my body when I turned around just to see another man ram a glass bottle in Ryan's head. My soul shattered into a million little peices on seeing the pain etched on his face as he tried to be strong and still fight back.

My blood curdling screams echoed through the room as the three men pulled me away from the one man I couldn't afford to lose at any cost. My heart cried out in agony at the sight of the blood running down the side of his head. He was weak, too weak to fight back the men who pulled him away from me.

" Ryan! " I shouted to gain his attention. He tried to look at me, but his eyes were clenched in pain. I couldn't see anything past my own tears. I was trashing against the hold of these sick bastards but their grips were too tight. " No! " I screamed as Katherine walked over to where Ryan was now.

" Katherine, I'm warning you. Stay the fuck away from him or I swear to God, you wouldn't recognise your face in the mirror by the time I'll be finished with you," I yelled. She turned to look at me and smirked. " You're in no position to threaten me, you little shit. So shut that trap of yours and let me introduce myself to your dearest boyfriend, okay? Be a good girl, Evie. "

Ryan whimpered in pain as she dug her nails in his arm. I turned my head away in anguish and my eyes landed on the phone lying so far away from me on the ground but still hidden from clear view, which was a good thing. My eyes watered in slight hope when I saw that the 911 call was still connected.

Please God, help me save my loved ones!

*********

• Author's note •

Oof! That was sad and intense and ugh! This needs to end, don't you think so? Anyways, I hope you liked this chapter and if you did please drop a vote and a comment, it would make my day :) Hope you have a wonderful day ahead!

Much love

M :)