Page 45 of Scar

“First, we need to make sure Don Marone is on board. He still has influence, and his blessing will solidify our position.”

My brothers nod in agreement.

“Then we need to move him into a safe house. As soon as he’s well enough to move, I’ll fly him out somewhere I know he’ll be protected until the war is over.”

As if on cue, the door opens, and Don Marone, frail but dignified, enters the room in a wheelchair, pushed along by Donna Marone. She leaves him with a small tap on his shoulder and closes the door behind her.

“You said you have a plan, Scar,” Don Marone said, his voice weak but steady. “Tell me…and don’t even think about sending me away like you did my daughter.”

Don Marone refuses to go into a safe house, even knowing that at any moment, our enemies could storm our forts and bring our houses crumbling down. Instead, he returns home with his wife, but he does accept my offer of security, and I’ve ensured that my father in law’s home is locked down like Fort Knox.

He gives me his blessing and some stern words of advice, namely, not to make a widow of his daughter. After everything we’ve been through, we’ve come to an understanding. One where Don Marone, once my father’s best friend, realized that the union between his daughter and I has morphed from one of convenience and vengeance to one where we belong in each other’s world. I think he understood, even before I did, that Allegra and I were destined to be together as man and wife in every sense of the word. Even when he fell to his knees when he walked her down his driveway and put her hand in mine, he already knew. By his own admission, he and my father had discussed the union as recently as two years ago. Both, one-time best friends who had a falling out, laughed and reminisced and agreed that Allegra and I would make a good couple. They knew what I could never know, even after a lifetime of learning. They saw the union as more than just something that had to happen. They saw it as something that could guide us both; it would tame Allegra’s wild spirit whilst also giving me something to live for. Something to hold on to until my dying breath.

He gives me a weak smile before he turns and wheels himself out of the house. “It’s time to make our enemies tremble.”

His words echo in the hallway as his convoy drives away and I move away from the door, lost in my own thoughts. I’m not delusional enough to think that the solemn silence of the house could become permanent. Allegra filled the house with life and laughter and her spritely goodness. I feel her absence in the deepest recesses of my heart and soul, missing her in a way that stabs at me painfully. She filled the house as completely as my brothers did when they lived here before they all moved out to pave their own ways. They’re all back now, they’ve all moved back in while we put our operation in place, but the awkward silence stretches through the house like a gaping abyss. I’malone, even if the house is full; Allegra is the glue that bound us together, and now that she’s gone, each one of us has scurried to his own corner of the house to wallow pathetically in his own misery.

CHAPTER 39 – SCAR

The night is pitch black, save for the flicker of distant city lights that fail to penetrate the deep woods surrounding the narrow road. Our convoy, comprising three black SUVs, moves silently through the darkness, their engines purring like predatory animals. I sit in the lead vehicle with Brando, my eyes scanning the road ahead, unease gnawing at me. Lucky and Rafi occupy the other vehicles as we drive through the quiet of the night.

I’ve had my doubts about this meeting. Tonight, we’re supposed to be meeting with a potential ally in neutral territory to secure support and strengthen our position against the rival families. It should be a routine meeting, but I can’t shake the feeling that something is off. My instincts have kept us alive in the violent world we’ve been born into, and tonight those same instincts are screaming at me.

The first hint of trouble appears as we round a bend in the road. A flicker of movement in the trees catches my eye. But before I can even open my mouth to scream or react, a deafening explosion rips through the night. My instincts tingle, and that emotion named fear slithers down my back like a sharp rod of fire. My SUV is thrown into the air, spinning wildly before crashing down on its side. My head slams against the window, and a spray of gunfire infiltrates the night, before everything goes black with a dim thud.

When I come to, the smell of gasoline and burning rubber assaults my nostrils. My vision is blurry, and my ears ring with the aftermath of the explosion. I struggle to unbuckle my seatbelt, my fingers fumbling as I try to make sense of the chaos around me.

“Scar! Get out, now!” Brando’s voice cuts through the haze, urgent and commanding.

I manage to free himself and crawl out of the wreckage, my body aching with every movement. I see Brando as he crawls out of the SUV behind me, but there’s no sign of Lucky and Rafi anywhere. I turn toward the other vehicles just as another explosion rocks the night. Horror constricts my chest as the other two cars explode in a ball of fire and I realize they were the cars carrying my brothers. I open my mouth, but my voice gets stuck as I watch on in horror, helpless to do anything but get lost in my grief.

Gunfire erupts from the trees, bullets pinging off the metal of my SUV. My movements are sluggish and I’m slow to duck behind the metal contraption. Nothing matters anymore. Nothing matters. Two of my brothers are gone and we’re surrounded, the ambush meticulously planned to catch them in a deadly crossfire.

My heart clenches at the loss of my youngest brothers, even as the gunfire intensifies. I fumble for my gun as I look around for Brando. He’s slumped out in the open on his stomach, a sitting target for the gunfire. Brandishing my gun, I rise and move away from the safety of the SUV. I lift my weary arm and aim towards the trees, shooting off a round. We’re so fucked.

Gunfire smoke billows, obscuring my vision, and I tighten the grip on my gun as I step forward, into the messy fray. Bullets whiz past me and I feel a sharp pain in my side. I push on, my heart sinking at the sight of Brando’s bullet riddled body. Hehadn’t just collapsed to the ground after the explosion; he’s been shot.

“Brando…”

My voice is a hoarse rasp against the bullets that continue to fly through the air. My heart pounds with a mix of fear and anger, and I push on, shuffling toward the tree line, intent on taking out as many men as I possibly can before I fall.

The first bullet strikes me in the chest. I scream with rage, but before I can react, another shot hits me, and I stagger not far from Brando, feeling the life seep out of me.

“No!” My roar of anguish is drowned out by gunfire. We never stood a chance; we were outnumbered, outgunned, and my brothers were dead. The realization hits me like a physical blow, putting the final nail in my coffin.

The final bullet finds its mark, and I feel a searing pain in my chest. I stagger, my vision dimming as I fall to my knees. The world seems to slow, the sounds of the battle fading into a dull roar. I look up at the stars, their cold light offering no comfort.

As my vision darkens, my last thoughts are of Allegra, safe and far away. I had failed my brothers, but at least I had bought her enough time to escape the hell we had been trapped in. I had taken the necessary steps, if something like this happened, that she would have all the resources she needed to start a new life under a new identity, far from the horrors of our world. She deserved at least that.

With a final, shuddering breath, my head falls to the ground, my life extinguished in the cold, unforgiving night.

CHAPTER 40 – ALLEGRA

The sky is a menacing shade of grey as my car winds its way up the long drive to the Gatti estate. The once-grand mansion now stands like a tomb, a reminder of all that we lost. As I approach, my heart clenches with each mile, weighted down by the immense grief that surrounds me. I’d been sent away to safety at Scar's insistence, only now returning, resentment thick in my heart.

I’m back to bury the dead.

When I left this house, it was filled with laughter and love; now, it is a somber memorial to a family that is no more. If this had happened just two months ago, perhaps I would have been relieved to be freed from the bonds of my forced marriage. But time has passed, and the man who took me against my will is now my husband.

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