ALFONSO

I hate this kind of feeling--this feeling of anxiety that eats you alive each passing second while you are confined inside the car and your mind keeps on playing the worst case possible.

"Stop fidgeting, will you?" Dante who was sanguinely sitting next to me at the back of the car chided me softly. "This is one of the reasons I don't want you to tag along. The last thing I wanted was to babysit you while rescuing Claudia. Another ass that might need saving."

I threw a dirty look in his direction. "I will not be a hindrance in this rescue mission I assure you. I can't believe you're so laid back with this whole thing."

He crossed his leg over the other a complete picture of confidence. "Let's just say that this is a normal occurrence in our lives as a member of a mafia. And uneasiness has no room in our lives since you cannot perform your task well if you're nervous."

"Have you killed people in the past?" I suddenly asked. I didn't know what madness had possessed me to ask such a question of him.

He cocked a brow at me, giving me an amused look. "Why do you want to know?"

I shrugged indifferently. "I am just curious, that's all. You don't have to answer if you're uncomfortable with my tactless question."

"Yes, I have." He responded without a hint of emotion in his voice. There was a cold look on his face that was far from the laid-back expression he usually wore. Sometimes the mask he constantly wore slipped away and revealed the real Dante Marchesi.

"Do you regret this kind of work?" I inquired trying to ease off my mind on my fear for Claudia's safety. I need to distract myself.

"It's part of my job as my father's son to continue our family business." He answered gravely, once again I couldn't decipher what he was thinking at the moment. "I need to eliminate our enemies and that involves killing people."

"Did you sometimes wish that you were born into a different family?" I started looking at him curiously. "Because I feel that way sometimes."

His mouth twitched with a knowing smile. "Poor little rich boy, are you?"

I scowled at him darkly. I didn't know why I was having this conversation with him when we were about to rescue the woman we both love. "Are you mocking me?"

"Yes, I am."

"You're awfully honest, do you know that?"

"I know."

Silence filled the car when Marchesi was informed by his men that they already knew Claudia's location. They held her captive in the suburban part of the town just outside Rome. My anxiety intensified but I didn't show it to this mafia boss sitting beside me. If I didn't know how to pray in the past I was surely pleading to God right now for Claudia's safety.

"Don't worry, she'll be fine," Dante stated beside me in a monotone manner. "It's me that they after and not her. Unfortunately, she got caught in this mess because of her association with me."

"I should have hit you in the face to get even for the trouble you have caused to the woman I love," I told him threateningly. "But since you're helping me in rescuing her maybe I will postpone my plan later once Claudia is finally safe."

He laughed amusingly in my direction making me wince mentally. He didn't take me seriously about my threat which I find annoying. "Yeah. Sure whatever."

My adrenaline pumped up when we finally arrived at our destination. I was aware of how my heartbeat was so wildly in my chest I could feel that I was in some sort of movie shooting and we were about to rescue the female lead but too bad this was very much in real life. There was a high possibility that I might die today.

"No matter what happened never let off your gun if you want to go out alive in this house. This gun will be your only partner in this rescue mission."

I took several measured breaths, trying to calm my nerves as I tightened the hold of the gun in my hand. "All right, I got this."

Dante gave us a briefing inside the car on how to execute this mission without casualties in our team. I could feel that I was part of their organization and we were about to do something illegal that I might find ourselves thrown in jail after this. "Ready?"

I only managed to nod in his direction. Dante's mouth curved with a knowing smile while he probably read my agitation. I didn't have the chance to react when he suddenly got out of the car and gave a surprise attack on the guards outside the mansion. He didn't hesitate to fire shots at the enemy's side I couldn't help but hide in the nearest car that was parked on the driveway. I shook my head in disbelief who would have thought that this man was so a reckless bastard? He was firing shots like he couldn't care less if he died on the spot but maybe he was confident his men would cover his sides.

"Orsini, are you still alive?" Marchesi shouted from somewhere.

I rolled my eyes at his sarcasm and I had to peek from the car which I used as cover to see that mafia boss. I found him standing in the doorway of the mansion with a pool of blood on his feet with dead bodies around.

Oh Lord, this is straight from horror movies.

He raised a brow in my direction when he saw me peeking slightly. "Are you coming or what? Or do you want to wait for the reinforcements here? "

I looked to my sides making sure that it was safe to cross the distance between us. Still high on my guard I made my way to the doorway and this mafia didn't waste his time kicking the door answer were greeted by startled men who started shooting us. Complete mayhem.

I was forced to pull the trigger of my gun and start firing shots when I was in grave danger because of this man. We covered each other's backs while taking down our enemies.

"Why so many of them?" I protested under my breath when I had to reload my gun with shaky hands.

Marchesi chuckled while kept on shooting the incoming men from the second floor. "Tired already?"

I groaned and continued to save our asses from these men who were about to kill us. "For your information, this is not an everyday occurrence in my life. I am just an average guy who used to drink with my friends on weekends."

"Boring," he commented with laughter in his voice. "Then, let's better end this." He pulled another handgun inside his coat jacket and started to shoot with both hands.

A filthy curse escaped my mouth when these bastards coming from the second floor didn't diminish instead it felt like they multiplied. When will this end? I lost how many times I took down men.

Dante jabbed my ribs with his elbow. "On the count of three, we run towards the staircase and find Claudia. I have an idea that she's inside of the rooms on the second floor. We're about to run out of ammunition if we stay here."

I nodded as I prepared to sprint on the staircase. "One."

"Two..." He said, eyeing me and then the flight of steps nearby as if calculating the distance from where we'd been standing.

"Three!" We both said in unison and dashed on the stairs knocking the men who were blocking our way and pushing them down to the staircase. It was an ungentlemanly gesture but who cares right now I don't play by the rules but with the mind of a mafia-like this man with me.

We randomly opened doors hoping to see Claudia but it was only futile. Every room was empty no signs of the woman I love. Where is she? Perhaps Dante's men got it wrong and Claudia was not in this house. I was about to lose hope but then we turned the corner and saw the door at the far end of the hallway with guards outside the door.

"That must be where they've been hiding Claudia," Marchesi remarked, preparing his pistol to shoot the men outside the door.

"Wait," I stopped him before he could fire at them. "We can't make noise. They might harm Claudia inside if they realize that we're about to rescue her."

He eyed me indecorously, raising an eyebrow. "What do you suggest we should do? Talk to them? What a brilliant idea."

I rolled my eyes at his unwanted sarcasm. I was half tempted to strangle his neck with my bare hand but I held myself in check. "I suggest that we should surprise them with a sudden attack and knock their consciousness. Less noise, don't you think?"

"What a pussy." I thought that he was going to reject my suggestion but I was wrong. He nodded in their direction. "I will distract them and then you will hit them with your gun as hard as you can. It would be preferable if you crack their skull open."

I couldn't help but wince at his harsh suggestion. "I don't know if you're serious or what. But I will just assume that you are jesting."

"I am not." He replied in a monotone. He instructed me to hide in the corner as he made his way to the guarded door. "Buon giornio, gentlemen."

The guys were about to draw their firearms on their sides and before I even made a single step in a swift movement Dante knocked them down using the back of his revolver. He even kicked them making sure that they were unconscious.

"Is that necessary?" I asked sardonically, looking at the immobile body lying on his feet. "And what happened to our plan? You abruptly change it last minute."

"You were too slow they already put a hole in my body before you even decided to show up," Marchesi commented nonchalantly. "What I am supposed to do since I have no plans of dying in this awful house? Dio, whoever designs this house needs to get a hang. What a tactless design."

"Stop being an ass, will you? The sooner we rescue Claudia the faster we can get away from this place. We've already wasted enough time arguing while killing men at the same time."

"Now you are demanding." He observed with a disappointed sigh. "Do you have any idea what no one can order me around? It was common knowledge that I am one of the most feared men in Sicily."

"Is that so?" I replied, feigning a look of interest.

Marchesi shook his head in resignation. "Let's finish this so we can all go home." His eyes gleamed with mischief. "What do you say we catch them off guard? On the count of three, we take this door down. One...Two...Three!"

We kicked the door as hard as we could and once it burst open I was half-expecting Claudia in a dire situation and I was fully prepared to run havoc inside this room so imagine my stunned reaction when I saw her playing cards with her captors.

"Oh, hi boys." She greeted us warmly as if she was expecting us all along, cards were still in her hands.

I have to scrape my jaw on the floor because of this unexpected scene. I threw a glance in Dante's direction and his reaction mirrored mine.

"Are you all right, mio amore?" I managed to ask. I still couldn't believe that after all the trouble we faced just to save her as soon as possible it never occurred to me that she was enjoying her time-she was probably enjoying herself while playing cards with her kidnappers.

She glanced briefly in my direction before focusing again on the cards in her hands. "I'm fine. These guys were complete gentlemen and they assure me that we will not harm me and they were only after Dante." She smiled at Dante with false enthusiasm. "You forgot to mention to me that you're heir to an underground organization that explains your frequent unexplained trips abroad."

The man beside me visibly winced at the accusing tone in Claudia's voice. "I'm truly sorry for lying to you. I didn't mean to, believe me."

"I know," Claudia answered briefly.

"Are you going to play with them all day or we're going home?" I queried. I couldn't help but raise my voice slightly due to all the frustration I had felt since learning that some men had taken her into their apartment.

She smiled apologetically in the direction of the men who were playing cards with her. "Sorry, boys, but my chauffeur is a little bit impatient. Maybe we can play next time."

We were about to walk out of the room when one of the guys spoke behind us. "Who says you can also leave, Marchesi?"

I glanced worriedly in his direction but it seemed he was unbothered by the unmistakable threat in the man's voice. "Who are you to keep me here with your filthy company?"

"I'm warning you," he said, pulling out his gun in his back. "Take another step and you will drop on the floor cold and lifeless."

"You think you can stop me with that baseless threat?" Marchesi provoked him. I didn't understand why he seemed to pick up a fight with them.

Everything went into a blur. I just blinked my eyes and Dante fired his revolver and the man did the same. "Son of a bitch!" He hissed holding his shoulder blade.

Claudia and I rushed to him as blood started to soak his suit. "Are you alright?" Claudia asked worriedly.

He smiled at my girlfriend flirtatiously. "I'm fine. It's just a graze. He's a bad marksman."

"Stop jesting, will you!" Claudia spat at him furiously. "We need to stop the bleeding. Blood is gushing down on your shoulder like a river!"

Thankfully, his men finally arrived and made a standoff with the men inside the room. For the love of God, they decided to call it a truce since both of their bosses were severely bleeding. We rushed Dante outside the house by the time we placed him in the car he was already slightly delirious.

"Hey, don't you dare die on us!" I kept on talking to him making sure that he would not lose consciousness. "You told me that you have no plans on dying in that hideous house."

He laughed but it was clear that he was in a state of pain. He was turning white as we traveled. "This will not kill me. I plan to steal Claudia from you after this."

"Bastard," I muttered while there was a reluctant smile slipping on my face. On second thought, maybe his dying wasn't a bad idea.