When I walk into the Casa di Mafia, it's already midnight. Jay walks with me.

He jabs away at his phone.

'Antonio's party is tomorrow. Are we still moving with the plan?'

I massage my forehead. 'I want to think about it.'

In fact, I don't want to think about it. Thinking about Antonio's party tomorrow means thinking about Arrigo Beneventi, which means thinking about Daniele.

And I don't want to think about Daniele.

'Where's Blade?' I ask, mostly to get rid of images of Daniele from my mind.

'He's gone to supervise the shipment that comes in today.'

'Which one?' I demand.

'The armaments, of course,' Sean says, walking in from nowhere.

'Before you inquire about Zach, let me say that I have no idea. He must be drinking his ass off in some cheap dung heap.'

Jason, Sean, Zach, Blade and I have been together in this for like forever. We were practically related, but the blood bond we share is much stronger. We grew up in the mafia. Those four were the only ones I trust with my life, even though the main base in the Mafia was loyalty. They were like the four underbosses. And I, their queen.

Sean cocks his head to the side.

'You got the rat?'

I crick my neck in response.

'Oh, whatever. Got any exercise? Or "stretch of the limbs" as you artfully put it?'

He knows, they know. They are the only ones who can get away with talking to me like that. But it doesn't mean I have to like it. Especially not now, not when I have the adrenaline and the anger still fresh in my bloodstream.

I glare at him. 'If you don't keep that pretty mouth of yours shut, Sean baby, you'll find yourself with a bullet in you.' I touch the middle of my brows.

Sean throws me a bored look. 'I am pissing myself right now.'

I grab him by the front of his shirt, pulling him to me.

'Challenge. Now.'

He smiles cockily. 'I have learnt a few new moves, Alex.'

'Try me.' I release him, and cross my hands.

Jay thrusts his hand through his hair.

I look at him pointedly.

'Don't tell me I have to set up the fight too. Again.'

I roll my eyes.

I don't bother changing from the body suit as I make my way to the basement. Sean and Jay follows.

'I am not scraping you off the floor after this,' I hear Jay tell Sean.

'Bro, I meant it when I said I learnt new moves.'

'You say that every single time.'

'So?'

'You lose every single time.'

'Not this time, man. This time, Alex is going down.'

'Good luck with that, amico,' I call over my shoulder.

The basement of the Casa is huge. It is our storehouse of weapons, our base.

The basement is where we fight, hold prisoners and train. This is where grudges are fought off, oaths are made. Punching bags and weights are scattered all around. I move towards the fridge.

Sean unbuttons his shirt and throws it off to the side, flexing his tattooed biceps. Jay settles himself down onto a seat. I pull out a bottle of water from the fridge and uncap it.

Sean wraps bandages around his knuckles, as I chug down the water. I remove the guns from their holsters, and unstrap the knife from my thigh, throwing it to the targets without looking. It hits the center.

'Showoff,' Sean mutters.

'I just wish you'd be able to talk after this, Sean, amico.'

Sean snorts. 'To hell with your pep talks. Just come at me already, Alex.'

I throw the bottle at Jay, who catches it, and begins drinking.

I smirk casually, and I throw the obvious punch, which Sean blocks easily. He grabs my right hand, and pulls me forward, and I use the force to hoist myself up, swinging my legs around his neck, and throwing my weight to the ground. I bring him down easily, and I swing myself off him.

'That's the new move you been talking about?'

Sean rises to his feet and lunges at me. I block his lightning fast punches directed at my face, and aim a clean shot to his abs. He grunts.

I shake the pain off my knuckles. No matter how much I ridicule him, that guy's got abs of rock.

His next punches are brisk, and I return one to his jaw. His head snaps to the side, and he grunts again. I kick, grab him in an uppercut, throw punches left and right.

He is getting worked up, and he scowls. Unluckily for him, I am getting wound up too.

Too late, I spot his low punch coming down next to my face and at the last second I twist and turn. He grabs my hair, the force yanking it free from the bun atop my head.

I turn and push his hand off my hair. I punch him on the nose, hard. When he's out dizzy, I fall to the floor, and stick my leg out, swiping a low arc, sweeping him off his feet.

I crick my neck again and blow the hair off my face.

'Dick move,' I say.

I move back to the fridge and grab an ice pack. I walk back to Sean and stretch out my hand. He groans from the floor, before accepting my hand, and hoists himself from the ground. I hand him the ice pack, and he immediately places it on his bruising jaw.

'That's the seventh time you've broken my nose,' Sean wipes the blood off his nose on the back of the bandages. 'One more time and I'll need surgery to fix it.'

'You need surgery to fix everything on your body,' Jay jumps off the seat.

'I thought you were sleeping,' I said to Jay.

'I thought you were dead,' Sean says humorlessly.

Jay shrugs, trapping Sean in a side hug. 'Man, no hard feelings. I meant it when I said it that I won't scrape you off the ground. What was the new move you said you learnt?'

Sean grits his teeth.

'Oh I get it,' says Jay. 'Dick move.'

Sean rolls his eyes. So do I. Men.

'You happy, Jay?' I ask.

'Very,' Jay smirks, clapping Sean on the back.

'Good. You have to scrub my shoes clean now.'

The smirk drops from his face and appears on Sean's who glances at my blood covered boots.

'I take it that must be all that's left of Shane.'

The slight playfulness that might've entered my behavior leaves me. Shane had been a trusted man. It's funny what greed could do.

I hate disloyalty more than I hate anything else. Disloyalty is something I punish myself. I don't run around for other petty cases. Killing a rat is simple, he rattled out the Mafia, and omertà isn't something you break without paying the price for it. I kill every single traitor by my own hands, mostly for my own satisfaction and to teach the others and important lesson : be loyal and you get to live.

'I want the building down by tomorrow,' I tell Sean, my voice grave. 'And send Ricardo whatever's left of Shane in a body bag.'

Sean nods, his expression serious. No one gets away with disloyalty. No one breaks the code.

Ricardo's still at large. We need to find him, before he manages to turn more of my men against me.

'I need to catch some z's.' I say, slowly walking away.

'Alex. Madre wants to see you.' Jay picks Sean's shirt from the floor.

I close my eyes. 'When?'

'Now,' he replies, tossing it to Sean.

I sigh, and instead of moving to my room, I walk towards my mother's.

My mother and I were not close, not even remotely. She's just a person to me, someone who created me, someone who holds the title of being my mother. She ignores me too, we don't go out of our ways to prove our love to each other.

But I knew why my mother summoned me. She was going to tell me a story, and tuck me to sleep, like she did every month.

The same story. All the time. The story of a family broken down. The story of a ruined childhood. The story of blood, death and vengeance.

Even before I opened the door I could hear her voice in my head.

'Vivere per Vendetta.'

Live for revenge.

////

I wait until my mother is asleep.

Her voice rings in my ear.

Vivere per vendetta. Vivere per Vendetta. Vendetta. Vendetta.

Vendetta.

I turn over and grab my phone from the nightstand.

I see Daniele's face before my eyes, I hear him chuckle, I feel him holding me close, I hear my mother.

I look at her sleeping form next to me.

My mother, Camilla Elizabeth Fiorentino. A Fiorentino by choice, not by birth. The woman who gave up everything – a happy life, safety, comfort – for true love. And what she gets in return? Endless, endless pain and suffering.

Frown lines mar her beautiful features and I know at once that she is having a nightmare. In the morning, she is brave, she is the la Madre of them all, the one who had been the queen of the Boss, once.

But at night, she gives up, letting her inner demons gain control of her broken self, gain control of her broken heart, and she lets herself go.

I dial. Jay picks up on the third ring.

His voice is gruff. 'What is it, Boss?'

He is pissed off that I ruined his beauty sleep.

'Were you sleeping?'

'No, was doing a headstand. It's freaking three in the morning. What do you expect, Alex?'

I could practically hear him dragging his hand down his face.

'What is it?'

He sounds awake now. I hear the sheets rustle in the background.

'Remember when you asked me about Antonio and his stupid party?'

He is silent.

I think about Daniele. I try not to, but I do. Mom's nighttime story adds to the fire that burns in my heart. I think of Beneventi, and the rage gets uncontrollable, that I see red.

'Alex?' Jay's voice serves as punctuation to the blood pounding in my ears.

I see the blood, I see twisted bones.

'We leave at eight.'

//////

Alex is one badass chick.

I just happened to log onto Wattpad, and jeez. Vendetta's on #20 in Action.

OMG. CUE THE BREATHLESS HYPERVENTILATION. I'M CLIMBING UP THE WALLS LIKE FREAKING SPIDERMAN, AND I AM PANTING LIKE A DOG ON RED BULL.

But I wasn't bitten by a radioactive spider, though I'd love to be, and I don't have a dog.

I knew I had to do something for you guys, so here we are. Chapter Two, where Sean gets a broken nose. It's not the last time, I assure you.

 Thank you. 

Do vote if you like this chapter. It means a lot for a newbie like me.

This chapter is dedicated to JessGirl93. I've just finished reading TBBG and TBBH, and I am ever so glad I stumbled upon her story. And it's published! Wow. 

I am officially in the  #Colessa fandom, now. 

Adios, amigos. Going to fantasize about my very own Cole Stone and moan about my pathetically non existent love life.