Masked

Masked
POV: Elena
I feel my body fly from the explosion and hit the ground hard as I fall.

Everything goes dark for a few seconds, my head aches, and a ringing fills my ears.
It takes me a few seconds to regain my clarity; everything around me is blurry with dust, and I can barely see myself.

"Anabela," I call out in the chaos.
I hear people screaming and running nearby. I hear my name being called, but my head is too confused to respond.

I blindly back away from the explosion, but I'm forced to drop to the ground when I hear the sound of gunshots.
I end up cutting my arms on the glass scattered across the floor as I crawl away from the gunfire. I hide behind a table I find and lie there trembling with fear.

I pray the others are okay, that no one gets hurt.
The gunfire stops after what feels like hours. I wait a few more minutes of silence to make sure I don't hear anything else before leaving.

The dust has already cleared, which is good for me so I can find a way out, bad because I'm an easy target.
I look around the room and see some men in tactical gear lying on the floor.

I lean against the walls to steady myself and feel a little blood trickling from a cut on my temple.
I walk slowly toward the room's exit. I'm almost to the door when I feel a gun pressed against the back of my neck.

Shit, shit, shit.
"You're coming with me, Valentini," a man says behind me.

He pulls my arm and turns me to face him. I see his blue eyes leering at me.
"The princess of the Italian Mafia will make a great trophy," the man says, pulling me with him to where the wall has collapsed.

I stumble a few times as he pulls me along, my high heels making it difficult to keep up.
When I stumble for the fourth time, he throws me to the ground and points the gun at my head.

"Take off your fucking heels!" he yells angrily, and I try to unbutton my sandals.
My hands tremble, making the task difficult, and I realize the man is losing his patience.

I hear him cock the gun, which only increases my fear.
The sound of a gunshot makes me scream, and I look at the ground beside me, where there is now a bullet hole.

"If you don't move soon, the next shot will be in your head," he threatens, and my vision blurs.
I can't have a panic attack right now.

I try to take a deep breath and quickly remove my sandal.
The man cocks the gun again and points it at my head. He starts a five-second countdown, and I assume that will be the end of me.

As he reaches the last second, I hear a voice finishing the countdown.
"One," a boy's deep voice reaches us, followed by the sound of a gun firing.

I scream in fright, and then the man who was threatening me falls dead in front of me.
The boy who shot the man walks toward me, and I back away from him, terrified.

He's wearing a black tuxedo and a bow tie, and behind the mask, I see his brown eyes assessing me.
I see him raise his hands, signaling he doesn't want to hurt me, and he smiles softly to calm me.

"Shall we get out of here and take you to your brothers?" he asks me calmly, and I nod.
The boy patiently bends down and carefully removes my heels, then picks me up, and my head feels light. I manage a single step before my legs give out.

"I got you, little one," he says, wrapping his arms around me like a bride.
"Thank you," I say before passing out.


I open my eyes with an unbearable headache.

I'm lying in bed with a blanket over my aching body.
I look around and see my older brothers sitting in my room. Lorenzo is with Matteo, Dante, and Nicco, checking out some daddies at my desk.

The twins Giorgio and Giovanni are with Sandro, Luca, and Bruno, talking about something I can't hear.
I also see Leonardo, Vicente, Vitorio, and the twins Antoni and Angelo playing on the phone.

I sit up in bed and groan in pain from the effort.
It feels like I've been beaten.

Everyone looks at me at once. I see relief in their eyes.
"I need a glass of water," I whisper, feeling my throat dry.

Luca runs over and pours me a glass of water from a bottle next to my bed.
"You scared us," Luca says, coming over to hand me the glass.

I settle into bed, my head still spinning from the exertion, and feel a hand supporting my back.
I sip the water slowly as everyone watches me.

"How are you feeling, Sorella?" Matteo asks from behind me.
"In pain, everything hurts and my head feels like it's going to explode," I say, touching the side that hurts the most.

I groan in pain as I touch a bandage on my temple.
"Is everyone okay?" I ask, and I see all the boys' eyes darken.

"Everyone's okay, no one was seriously hurt," Lorenzo says coldly.
"That's good," I say, relieved. "I was stunned by the explosion, and then the shooting started."

"We know, little one," Grandpa says, stopping by the door. "It's good to see you awake. We were all worried when we found you unconscious in the grass."
"In the grass?" I ask, confused. "But a boy stopped me from being killed inside the ballroom."

Everyone looks at me with a raised eyebrow, questioning.
"After the shooting stopped, I was leaving the ballroom, and then one of the men who were attacking the guests found me and was going to take me with him, but a boy with a strange accent saved me, and then I passed out."

I tell them briefly, skipping a detail that Vicente quickly catches.
"You said he stopped you from being killed, not taken," he says, and I glare at him.

"The man who wanted to take me was angry with my reaction and threatened to kill me," I say calmly. "He pointed the gun at my head and started a countdown, and when the countdown ended, the boy shot him."
I don't need to look up to know everyone is shaking with rage.

"Call Alan, I want him to find out who saved her," Dante growls at one of the boys.
Luca grabs the phone and leaves the room.

"They shouldn't have touched our sorella," Lorenzo says angrily, and leaves the room followed by Giorgio, Giovanni, Antoni, and Leonardo.
The others slowly leave after making sure I'm okay.

Matteo is the only one left.
"Matteo, my head hurts," I complain, and he quickly hands me a pill.

"If you feel sick or faint, find one of us," Matteo says, looking tired. "I'd rather not take you to the hospital, but please, Elena, don't push yourself so hard. You hit your head really hard and you're lucky nothing serious happened."
I smile and pull him down to lie down with me.

"Thank you for taking care of me, brother. Now rest," I say, resting my head on his chest.