A Love Reunion

**Althaia**

I felt my heart stop beating.

I couldn’t believe it.

I was afraid to even close my eyes to blink in case this was some kind of an illusion.

Did I die and we got reunited?

With my shaky hand, I reached out and touched his face. He leaned into my touch, a sob escaped my lips, and tears welled in my eyes.

"Damiano…” I sobbed in a whisper.

“I’m right here, baby.” He kissed the palm of my hand and pulled me into him. I couldn’t hold it in anymore and cried into his chest, wrapping my arms tightly around him. It was real. He was right here in front of me, holding me tightly in his strong arms, and buried his face into my neck.

*My husband was alive.*

He wiped my tears away when I had calmed down, placing his hands on my cheeks, and leaning down until he captured my lips. The moment our lips touched washed away all the stress and anxiety and gave me a sense of relief. Out of all the kisses we had shared, this was the sweetest kiss. I couldn’t breathe. Only because it was the purest joy and love I had ever felt. We kissed like we were each other’s lifelines, and my heart was racing with overwhelming feelings.

Damiano pulled slightly back to let me catch my breath and rested his head against mine. It was probably not the right place and time to be taking a moment of just being in each other’s arms, but I couldn’t care less about it as I clung to him in desperation.

“I told you, I will always find you, my love.” He whispered.

“I know.” I croaked out with a smile. One thing about him was he always kept his word. No matter what.

“I really thought you had left me.” I sniffed as I looked at him with a fresh wave of tears.

“Never. Not even death can do us part.” He wiped my tears away with his thumb as he caressed my cheek.

“How bad is it?” I asked and looked down to where he got shot. I even lifted his shirt to see but he was wearing a bulletproof vest underneath.

“It will take more than a bullet to bring your man down.” He smiled softly.

“Are you okay? Does it hurt anywhere?” Damiano started to feel me around to find any injuries.

“I don’t think so. I can’t really feel anything.”

“It’s the adrenaline.” His brows pinched together when he looked around my face. It was probably bruised after being elbowed in the face.

“Are you bleeding anywhere?” His eyes were filled with concern for me and I shook my head.

“No, I’m not.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m okay.” I cupped his face and I could feel his entire body relax.

“But I’m worried about you.” When I really took a look at him I could see he was looking pale and had small beads of sweat on his forehead.

“Don’t be. It’s nothing I can’t handle.” He assured me and went to grab the vest for me. Damiano strapped the bulletproof vest and made sure it was tight and in place. I looked over at Cara, seeing her wrapped in Lorenzo’s arms while he talked to her quietly to calm her down.

She didn’t deserve to go through all of this. Especially on a day that was supposed to be her happiest day. I felt like I had failed her for a second time. It wasn’t fair for her. It wasn’t fair to any of them.

Damiano stopped in his tracks when I sniffed and saw my teary eyes.

“Where does it hurt?” He immediately went to unstrap the vest but I shook my head before he could.

“Tell me what’s wrong.” He cupped my face.

“I’m sorry.” He looked at me confused, not understanding why I was apologizing.

“For everything. For causing you so much trouble and pain.” To see him get so badly hurt because of me. It was something I could never forgive myself for. Damiano smiled and looked at me amused. Now, it was my turn to look at him confused.

“You silly woman.” I almost pouted as he wiped away my tears once again.

“You have done nothing wrong at all. Stop blaming yourself and feeling guilty for something that is out of your control. And did we not say for better and for worse?” He reminded me.

“We did.”

“Good. If I didn’t mean it I wouldn’t be here. And I would have let your ass get shot.” My eyes widened when he slapped my ass and gave it a good squeeze.

“You’re too much…” I mumbled and he gave a cheeky wink.

“Sorry to interrupt you all, but we have to go.” Michael called out. I was grateful he had his back turned to us during all this time. I still felt weird around him after his confession but for now, I could shove those feelings away and just focus on getting out of here.

After Damiano made sure I was okay and everything was in place, he picked up the knife I had dropped.

“Whose blood?” He looked at the knife with a slight frown.

“Maso’s. And some other guy I don’t know.”

“You took down Maso?” Michael looked at us in shock and I nodded.

“I stabbed him in the eye with a hairpin. He was about to shoot me if it wasn’t for Cara who saved me by stabbing him in the throat with the knife.” Damiano shared a look with Lorenzo before they both turned to look at Cara.

“Honestly, I was more scared of Damiano coming to haunt me if I let anything happen to you. Besides, I took an oath too, to protect my brothers and sisters.” She smiled warmly at me.

“Thank you, Cara. I owe you one.” Cara looked at Damiano in shock. It was not every day you would hear a Mafia Boss tell you they owed you a favor.

“Maybe you can fix us up with some therapy after this? I haven’t exactly killed anyone before.”

“I could use some of that.” I agreed.

“Whatever you both need. We’ll make it happen.” Damiano stilled as if he was listening to something.

“How close, Ava?” I was confused for a split second before realizing he had an earpiece in.

“More of those fuckers keep popping up.” Lorenzo sneered when we heard the faint voices coming closer.

“Here, take this.” I looked down and saw Damiano handing me a gun and tucked my knife into the front of my vest where I would be able to easily grab it if necessary.

“Your reflexes are good. Next time, swing the knife from below, it’s harder to block that way.” I gave a firm nod as he quickly explained while feeling my heart rate go up once again at the nearing voices. He even gave me an earpiece so I could hear Ava and Rafaelle. They had taken over the cameras in the whole building and were informing us how many men we would face.

“Althaia and Cara, stay close together and follow Michael’s lead. Lorenzo and I will take care of those bastards so you can slip through.”

“Will you be okay?” I asked worriedly.

“I’ll be fine, my love.” Damiano gave me a quick kiss. Even though he kept saying he was fine, I was still worried about him. He got shot and was standing on his own two feet in front of me! That wasn’t normal at all. But then again, he was far from being a normal man anyway.

We went out of their way and took cover away from the door where those men would be bursting through at any second. Damiano and Lorenzo got ready while I held Cara’s hand tightly in mine.

“They got this.” She reassured me and I took a deep breath to ease my nerves.

“Once we get the chance, we will have to go through that way. We should be able to find an exit from there.” Michael explained and loaded his gun. I racked the slide on mine to have it ready. I was willing to shoot whoever would stand in our way. They had taken so much from me and I was not going to give them the power to do it again.

The door burst open and the first two men came through. They barely stepped inside before Lorenzo, as the Tank Man he was, literally grabbed them by their necks, and smashed their heads together before tossing them to the side where Damiano finished them off with his gun.

“That’s my man.” Cara said completely mesmerized by the strength of Tank Man. I was too by the duo. It was incredible to watch them in action. They were only two, but highly skilled men, who were currently taking down man after man as if it was nothing. The way their bodies moved around each other and had each other’s back was something I hadn’t even seen in movies. They were truly like one mind in two bodies.

“Now’s our chance!” We hurriedly got up and ran down the hall where Damiano and Lorenzo were distracting the others and trying to barricade their way so we could get through.

“The exit to your right!” Lorenzo shouted to us and we ran as fast as we could to get there as more men kept appearing. We reached the exit door and I was almost out of breath when we got to the other side. The bulletproof vest was heavy on my body and I had to push myself harder as it slowed me down a little.

“Where to?” I asked as I tried to make out our surroundings. The hall was dark and we had to stay close to the wall to feel where we were going.

“Ava, any help?” Michael asked and I had completely forgotten she would be able to guide us.

“Sorry, guys. I can’t make out anything. The cameras are busted on that side.”

*Well, shit. That could not be good.*

“According to the map, there are two doors. Keep going to the very end and that exit should lead you to the conveyor room. From there, take the staircase all the way up and you will be able to get out.” I listened carefully to everything Ava said while I felt around the wall to get a sense of feeling where I was.

“Found it!” Cara yelled out and I followed her voice until I could feel her. The door was heavy and took some strength to push it open. I squinted my eyes at the bright light, blinking a few times to adjust.

“And where do you think you’re going?” My jaw clenched at the voice.

“Carlos.” I sneered.

“Going so soon, *sister*?” He laughed and pulled the trigger.

______

This is all I can manage for now as I got extremely sick overnight. I will take a few days to recover. Thank you <3