Chapter 44: CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

I poke my head out the door and check if the coast is clear. I step out once I see nobody around. I stay close to the wall as I walk down the hallway. I can hear gunshots from upstairs. I pray Thomas is safe and nothing happens to him. I open every room door I come across in the basement and whisper-shout my sister's name. I am hoping she is here.

Having no luck finding her down here, I walk towards the stairs that lead up. I arrive upstairs and find the place in a mess. I am not surprised since I heard a lot of commotion while I was down. Doing my best not to be seen, I carefully walk towards the staircase ]that leads to where I am hoping the bedrooms are. I am about to walk up the stairs when two people come rolling down the stairs. I quickly move out of the way and stand by the side. I immediately recognize them from their tattoos. Thomas and Rafael are the ones who rolled down the stairs fighting. Thomas throws a huge punch at Rafael's face, and he acts like he was hit by a pillow. Rafael retaliates fast and head-butts Thomas hard. They continue to fight this way, with none of them getting the upper hand against the other.

My heart clenches in my chest every time I watch Thomas get punched and hear his bone crack. I decide to help Thomas get the upper hand and begin to look for something that can help. I see a gun on the floor a few feet away from me. I don't like guns, but if it will save Thomas from getting killed by Rafael, I will gladly use them. I quickly pick up the gun and point it at the back of Rafael's head.

'Move away from him" I try to hold the gun firm in my hand, but it's hard as they won't stop trembling. I fear the gun will fall from my hand at any second.

Rafael heeds my warning and gets off Thomas. The second Rafael is off him, Thomas gets up from the ground and quickly collects the gun from me. I feel relieved once the weapon is taken out of my hand. Thomas grabs my hand and pulls me behind him. He unlocks the safety of the gun, and as he is pointing it toward Rafael to shoot, someone's scream halts him from pulling the trigger.

'Please don't kill him" Franky runs and shields Rafael with her body. I look at her wide-eyed and confused. Why the hell did she just do that? Does she know who Rafael is? What am I saying? James probably introduced her to him as he did to me, but why would she run in front of a gun for him? Doesn't she know he is Thomas's enemy and the mastermind of our kidnappings? Something is wrong.

'Are you fucking mad? Why the hell did you just do that? He could have fucking shot you" Rafael panics and pulls Franky behind him.

'He won't shoot me; I am Melina's sister," Franky replies calmly to Rafael, who, from what I can see, is anything but calm right now. He looks more worried that Franky ran in front of the gun than the fact that Thomas is pointing a gun at him. What the hell is happening?

'But you are mine now, so don't fucking ever do that again."

'I am sorry, I won't."

'Good" Rafael moves to kiss her forehead, but I shout Franky's name out of shock at what he is about to do.

'Franky," she moves away from Rafael at the mention of her name and walks towards me. I am so happy to see her alive and healthy. She even looks like she added a few pounds these past few weeks.

'Hello, sis," she smiles softly at me.

'How are you doing? I hope you didn't suffer a lot these past few weeks. I am so sorry we didn't find you sooner" I move out from behind Thomas and walk towards her. I pull her arms and spread them wide to check her body for injuries. I spin her around and get a good look at her. I check every inch of her body, and to my surprise, she doesn't have a single scratch on her skin.

'I am good, it's fine. I totally understand" she has a glow to her that I haven't seen before. She looks well and happy. I wonder how she doesn't look like she was kidnapped. I am glad she looks well. I feel a weight has been lifted off my shoulders as I stare at her. I am so glad she didn't suffer these past few months.

'Why are you crying?" Franky wipes a teardrop that escaped my eyes. I didn't know I was crying.

'Because you look so great, and that means you didn't suffer. These are tears of joy. I am so happy you weren't tortured" I pull her into a hug.

'Me too," she hugs me back.

'Melina, why the fuck did your sister stop me from shooting this bastard," Thomas says, causing us to break from our embrace.

'I don't know" I look at Franky to explain.

'Why is none of your fucking business?" Rafael says, pulling Franky behind him. I also realize he has a gun in his own hand now. Where did he get it from?

Thomas sees it and quickly pulls me behind him. Both men glare at one another as they point the gun at each other. My brows draw together as I see the same fear I have for Thomas's life in Franky's eyes. Could Franky and Rafael be a thing? He almost kissed her forehead a minute ago. Franky also ran in front of a gun for him. That must mean he means a lot to her. I wonder how much he does for her to do that. She must mean a lot to him because the way he was angry that she ran in front of the gun for him and the way he is forcing her to stay behind away from Thomas's gun says so. Realization hits me for what will happen if Thomas manages to pull the trigger before Rafael. I decide to tell Thomas not to kill him, but someone beats me to speak in the room.

'Shoot the fucking bastard Rafael," James says, a few feet away from us. His shirt is covered in blood from the stab wound I gave him.

'Shut your fucking mouth" Both Rafael and Thomas growl at James. I think they both know that if one of them dies, it will hurt Franky and me. My sister will be heartbroken if Thomas kills Rafael, which will also make me sad. Vice versa, and I think both men realized that.

'If you can't fucking do it, I will do it for you" James moves his hand behind his pants to grab something. Without thinking, I grab the gun from Thomas's hand and pull the trigger. My body freezes as the loud gunshot causes blood to rush to my ear. Tears fill my eyes as I watch blood ooze out from a spot on James's chest and spread all over. My breath gets caught in my throat as I watch him fall to the ground face forward. The gun slips from my hand as the tears in my eyes begin to flow down my face.

'You did it, Mi amore; I am fucking proud of you" Thomas kisses my forehead and wraps his arms around me.

I bury my face into his chest as loud wails rip out of me. I search my heart for any regret for what I just did, but I find none. I hold tight to Thomas's shirt as I cry my eyes balls out. I cry out all the frustration, pain, and suffering James has caused me over the years. I cry that it is finally over. Thomas doesn't complain as I soak his shirt with my tears.

'Let's go home, Mi amore," Thomas whispers into my hair. I pull away from his chest and throw my head back as I take a deep breath.

'Let's go" I turn my head towards the side, expecting to see Franky, but she is nowhere to be seen. I look at Thomas for an explanation.

'They left" I look at him, surprised he let Rafael go, but I shouldn't. He hesitated to shoot before, so he must have guessed the same thing I did.

'He promised he won't hurt her" Without even saying it, Thomas knows that's my most significant worry for Franky. She has been through a lot and doesn't need any more suffering in her life.

'I pray he doesn't" I wrap my arms around him. I saw the way Rafael looked at Franky and protected her a few minutes ago. I don't know what happened these past few weeks, but I know he won't hurt her. The look he had for her in his eyes was not as strong as the one Thomas has for me, but I believe he will in time.