Saints and Rominas

Saints and Rominas
Angelo

The sting in my arm is distracting as Dice and I walk back through the tunnel that leads to the main house. I don’t think it did permanent damage. However, I can’t move my left arm too much without feeling like I’m about to vomit or pass out.

Our boots echo in this enclosed space, and my breathing is coming out in sharp exhales as I struggle to keep my shoulder from swinging.

“All good there, man?” Dice asks over his shoulder, a few feet ahead of me, leading the way back to chaos.

“Yeah,” I grunt in response.

My right arm is stretched in front of me, the gun firmly in my hand. My injured arm is glued to my torso, bloodied knife still in hand. Just in case. 

We reach the main house again and carefully step inside the room, studying our surroundings to guarantee no one is lurking around, waiting for us.

The place seems empty, so Dice and I head to the hallway.

I’m desperate to get to the other wing of the mansion. Whether Tatiana went there by herself or was taken—which I doubt—I’m positive that’s where she is.

The house is surprisingly quieter this time, and my insides churn when I imagine what could’ve happened downstairs while we were away.

“How the fuck do we know what’s going on now?” I grumble. Just then, three figures appear in the foyer downstairs. Sal, Kian, and Max look up at us, weapons at the ready, their faces and vests splattered with blood.

“You guys good?” I ask, my eyes darting from left to right instinctively. 

“Max, can you get some backup? I think Oleg has Tatiana,” I add. He halts halfway up the stairs, and with a quick nod, pivots and heads back the way he came. 

Kian and Sal join Dice and me, and we finally head toward Oleg’s office. Dread courses through me as I approach the end of the hallway, fear threatening to paralyze my every limb.

What if Tatiana is already dead? What if I’m too late?

Shaking my head and pushing the thoughts aside, I lead the way. When we get to the door and I hear her voice, I don’t even hesitate before kicking it open. It takes me only a split second to see Oleg holding his knife against her throat, and rage blinds me. 

I pull the trigger before I even realize it. But with Oleg so close to Tatiana and the risk of hitting her too, at the last second, I aim for his feet. The shot buys her a moment, just long enough for Tatiana to scramble away.  

But then, before any of us can make another move, the sound of footsteps fills the hallway. We’re surrounded by Oleg’s men forcing their way inside the room. Oleg manages to hide somewhere, and I can’t see Tatiana anymore, but I have other things to worry about now. The fact she is still alive is enough for me to focus on disarming the motherfuckers coming at me.

Dice and Kian are engaged in a fight, but I can’t see Sal. 

A bullet swooshes close to my ear and I squat down, dodging the shots aimed at me. I kick the hand of one of the Rominas, and his pistol flies across the room, landing close to the big desk.

I shoot his leg and repeat my movements with the other two who have me surrounded. But the last one slaps my good arm, sending my gun to the other side of the room. Adrenaline pumps through my veins and, for a moment, I forget about the hole in my shoulder. 

No matter how much faith I have in myself and my men, we went into the enemy’s den unsure of what we would encounter and there is nothing more dangerous than enemy territory. 

And this doesn’t seem to have an end in sight.

Dice grunts beside me when he is kicked in the face, and the noise of a bone cracking tells me his nose is broken. Kian jumps in, grabbing the guy who hurt Dice and putting him in a sleeper hold.

Just when I think we have everything handled and all of them knocked out, five more burst into the room, giving us no room to catch a break. The Saints put the Rominas down in record time.

My eyes scan the room, looking for my gun and two people I can’t see anywhere.

“Oleg and Tatiana are gone,” I say, still out of breath. My heart is pounding against my chest so hard that it hurts, but the dread that’s settled deep inside me, begins to rise again, preventing me from thinking straight.

I managed to find her only to lose her again.

“Fuck,” I hiss, already heading for the door. 

“Angelo,” Dice calls. When I turn, he tosses my gun. I grab it midair and nod sharply in appreciation, darting down the hallway.

Fear paralyzes me, and I hesitate. There’s no sign of Tatiana anywhere. Now, I only have my instincts left to guide me and my past has proven that can be a risky move. But I can’t accept a different outcome other than finding Tatiana and bringing her home with me tonight, so I hold onto it with all my might and dart down the stairs, diverting from the bodies spread on the floor.

From the window to my left, I see movement in the garden and my heart jumps to my throat when I spot Tatiana and Oleg engaged in a struggle.  

She plunges a knife into his side. He shoves her backward, removing the weapon.   

Time seems to slow down as I watch him grab his gun and aim for her head while muttering something to her.

I force my legs to move forward, but no matter how fast I run, it doesn’t seem to be fast enough.

He is going to shoot her.

And I’m about to watch her die in front of my eyes, just like what happened to my little brother years ago.

I can’t let that happen, but I’m not fast enough.

I cross the doorway, my boots crushing the grass beneath them. The night air is cool against my skin as I speed up. 

If I get close enough, maybe I can try to stop him.

“Any last words, sweetie, before I send you to meet your parents?” he is saying to her, his eyes filled with fury and pure evilness.

This motherfucker…

“Yeah. Burn in hell,” Tatiana replies. Her voice is firm, but I can tell she’s frightened, her fists clenched at her side and her jaw tense as she stares at the man who ruined both our lives.

She is right about that. Oleg is going to burn in hell because that’s where I’m sending him tonight.

He cocks his gun, and the sound has my knees trembling beneath me. But I don’t stop until I have a clear line of sight for him.

I come to a stop, aiming my gun at him. I curse under my breath when I notice my hands are shaking slightly, but this is my only chance to save Tatiana.

With one sharp inhale, I aim for his heart and shoot.

The loud bang echoes throughout the entire property, and for a second, it’s the only sound I hear until the ringing in my ears dissipates.

Oleg stumbles backward, his eyes moving from Tatiana to his blood stained chest. 

I give myself a split second to smile before I continue in their direction, more than ready to end this. But Tatiana is faster, squatting to grab her folding blade from her boot and sinking it into Oleg’s heart, inches above my shot.

He gasps, dropping his gun to the ground.

“This is for my family,” Tatiana says, twisting the knife inside him. “And this is for Angelo’s brother,” she adds, pushing him backward against the car, deepening the blade into his body.

The horrified look in Oleg’s eyes as he stares back at her is enough to fill my heart with pride.

This is over.

Justice, at last.