Page 71 of Little Rabbit

“Alright then, lead us back through the crazy maze, Fearless Leader,” Rori quips. “Because I didn’t think to Hansel and Gretel this shit, and I’m not about to get myself any more lost than I already am.”

See? Glad to know I’m not the only one who’s thought of this.

Sofia snorts. “Alright, let’s go.”

We head back the way we came, and this time, I’m a bit more relaxed knowing I’m well prepared to fight. This is one of those times that I’m so fucking grateful to my mother for insisting that I take all those lessons growing up. Especially those involving weapons.

As we go, Rori looks back at Gia and asks, “So, how does it feel to find out that you have a long-lost sister? I mean, I know she’s great, but I also know how much of a pain in the ass a sister can be.” She winks at me and I roll my eyes at her, though I can’t stop from smiling.

Gia smiles but then it fades. “Honestly, I was so shocked when I found out I had a sister that Nico had to talk me down from losing my mind. I was freaking out and demanding to know where she was. He told me Alessio went to get her. Honestly, growing up, I had moments I wished for a sister to spend time with, but then I would think about all the stuff that happened to me, and I was glad I didn’t have to watch them go through the pain and misery I did.”

Rori glances at me in confusion and disbelief. “I don’t know what all that means, but how about if we run into any of them, we let Hades chew on them for a bit?” she suggests.

Gia gives a soft chuckle. “I think that sounds like a good idea,” she agrees, giving Hades a quick pat on the head.

Rori gives me a pointed look, letting me know that she expects me to fill her in, and I give a subtle nod. I don’t really know exactly what she’s been through, but she’s shared enough for me to know she suffered years of abuse because she is a girl. It’s unfathomable to me that someone could do that to their own daughter, or sister.

Something that I will never be able to understand, even if I have to be surrounded by it for the rest of my life.

We keep walking until we reach the part of the passages that splits off in different directions. “Which way?” Rori asks.

“To the?—”

“You’re not going anywhere,” a deep voice interrupts, making us freeze. Hades begins to snarl as we watch three men step in front of us. Gia gasps, and I realize that one of the men is her guard, Tommaso. The menacing look on his face, and the gun he has pointed at us mean he’s not here to save the day. I don’t recognize the other two men, though one of them certainly looks familiar. “Hello, again, Gia,” the man says, looking straight at her as I shove her behind me and glare at him. His gaze holds mine for a brief second before his lips twist into a gleeful smile. “Ah, Ms. Harris. I heard that you were much like your sister, but the stories have not done you justice. You are far more beautiful. It will be fun to break you.”

My blood runs cold at his words, but I don’t reply, instead keeping my gun up and pointed right back at him. How the hell did they get in here?

The man is about five-eleven, with black hair and a hard face. His eyes are a cold dark brown, and he’s wearing all dark clothes. He’s not a typically handsome man, and has a few different scars on his face and tattoos on his arms and hands. Speaking of hands, nearly all of his fingers on both hands are adorned by gaudy gold and silver rings. His thick Italian accent tells me that this must be Rafaele Parisi.

Fuck.

My gaze moves quickly to the third man, and the furious glare he levels Gia with tells me that she knows him. Is this Marco? Or another one of the brothers? When his gaze moves to me, I hold his stare. His eyes flash angrily, but he gives me a cool smile and remarks, “You look like your whore of a mother, dear cousin. Though it’s interesting to see a De Luca woman with a backbone. Don’t worry, you won’t have it for long. You’ll cower like the rest of them.”

“And which cousin would you be?” I ask icily.

“I see Gia hasn’t bothered to educate you on your family,” he replies unhappily. “Though what can I expect from a useless whore like her? I’m Lorenzo, Giovanni’s eldest son. Gia can explain why you don’t want to cross me.”

I don’t even look back at Gia. Instead, I reply, “I’m starting to realize it was a damn good thing I was adopted, because it sounds really fucked up. Now, how about you tell us what the hell you’re doing in here?”

Lorenzo’s face flashes with fury, and Rafaele gives a laugh that sends chills down my spine. It’s the laugh of someone plotting something dark and sinister, and anticipating it with a kind of sick malice that you know is going to be the end of you if they succeed. “Such fire,” he remarks. “I can’t wait to put it out. As for what we’re doing here, that should be obvious. I’ve come to claim what belongs to me, namely?—”

The echo of the shot Sofia fires at Tommaso reverberates through the passageways, so loud that Gia screams, ducking. Hades launches himself at Lorenzo with a sharp command from Rori.

Chaos ensues, and I grab Gia’s hand as we run back the way we came. I remember there was another turn off somewhere, and we need to get to it quickly. “Go, go, go!” I order Gia, who is running as fast as she can.

“Fuck!” I hear a man shout, followed by a canine snarl and then a man screaming. Sounds like Hades got a hold of one of them, and I internally cheer, even as I hear footsteps pursuing us. I glance behind me and feel a flare of panic when I realize that Rafaele has gotten away from Sofia and Rori and is rushing toward us.

“Gia, faster,” I bark at her. Gia glances behind her, and I see her fear instantly when she realizes just who is following us. “Find an exit. Hurry.”

Before long, we’re into a deeper part of the passages, and it splits off in two different directions. I reach out and grip Gia’s arm and pull her to the right, remembering that to the left was the armoury. The last thing I want is to be trapped in that room, even if we do have access to weapons. We need to find another way out of here, and hope that we’re not running into the middle of people firing bullets at each other. But speaking of that…

I twist myself and see that Rafaele has gained on us, and I lift my gun and fire at him, hoping to slow him down. His face twists with pain and fury as he stops and staggers back when I manage to hit him in the shoulder. “I’m going to enjoy killing you, you fucking bitch,” he roars, clutching at his shoulder.

I don’t answer, just push Gia to run faster. When we reach another fork of passageways, I pull Gia to the left. There’s a bend not too far down, and I hope it will get us out of sight before Rafaele gets to the fork, and he figures we’ve instinctually gone right.

The tunnel slopes down, and then I realize there’s a door at the bottom and it doesn’t go anywhere else. “We need to be careful,” I gasp to Gia as we reach it. “Keep down, and don’t make too much noise.” Gia just nods, her eyes wide with terror, and her chest heaving as she tries to catch her breath.

I see the peephole above, but I don’t have time to look out as I hear movement in the tunnels above. Shit, Rafaele must have hit the fork, which means we don’t have much time. I unbolt the door, silently sending up a prayer of thanks Nico has them so well maintained it doesn’t make even a hint of sound. Pushing it open, and I’m instantly hit by the scent of fresh air and flowers. I peer out, and despite the sounds of shouting and gunfire, it’s in the distance, which means whatever battle is going on is not out here.

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