ROSE’s POV
MOMENTS BEFORE THE GUNSHOT
I am trapped, Jonas’ men have found me.
Fearfully, my feet move backwards and my fingers grip at the hem of my baby blue skirt. The men, three of them sneer as they slowly advance towards me. One is short and round while the other is tall and slim. And the third one…the third has a face only a mother could love but he is clearly their leader. He smiles at me when he sees me trying to get away from them.
Raising a finger to his lips, he tells me,” Shhh, you wouldn’t want to wake up the whole neighbourhood now would you?”
They inch closer, surrounding me in a semicircle and exchange smirks. The sight of them leering sends goosebumps crawling up my skin and I suck in a deep breath. My heartbeat roars in my ears and I shake my head.
“Please don’t.”
My voice comes out in quivers. I can only imagine how they must feel right now; like lions cornering their prey. Th
LILY’s POV I am holding onto one of the most important persons in my life right now. My sister, my Rose is here. It feels so surreal, so much so I feel like pinching myself just to make sure that this is not merely a beautiful dream. I pull back to take a good look at her, my fingers caressing every inch of her face, taking in the structure of her cheekbones, the bridge of her nose, the fullness of her lips….and I let out a pent up exhalation. She is slightly thinner than the last time I saw her but otherwise, she appears to be fine. With a quivering hand, I brush back the strands of her golden blonde hair and smile through my tears. This is real, this is not a dream so it’s okay to cry. I can cry happy tears, tears of joy are allowed. Then my gaze trails down to her bloodied dress and a frown immediately skirts across my face. Is she hurt? Reading my thoughts, she points to the fallen man behind us. A dead man lays on his side with hi
LILY’s POV “What’s done is done.” - Hilliard MacBeth I never thought I would see mother again. But here she is standing right in front of me in her little shack. Water drips through the cracks of the corrugated roof and sunlight streams in from the termite infested planked walls, shedding some light into the otherwise darkened place. Gingerly cupping my face, mother caresses my face. “Lily, you’re back,” she says in a quivering voice. I nod, taking take her hands in mine and squeezing them gently in a reassuring way noting how much older she looks since the last time I saw her. Gazing at mother, I am met with lines that etch deep into her forehead and dull, sunken eyes from endless days of grief and worry. Her shoulders are hunched and she looks so frail with skin practically clinging to her bones. When did mother become so old? I place a kiss on her forehead. “Yes, mother. I am back. No on
LILY’s POV The ride back from the edge of town is a stilted one. At Kane’s orders, Tore remained behind to oversee the turf and Big Bob is staying with him to help out. Ian’s plea to stay back with his mother however was flat out rejected. “This isn’t a country club where you can choose to come and go,” Kane had told Ian. “Once you join the Mafia, you can only leave when I say yes.” He softened somewhat at the end and he ruffled Ian’s mop of hair. “You’ll get to visit your loved ones on your off days.” Perhaps it is better this way. In Maria’s mind, Ian is no longer her son but some boy who could perhaps give her money if she lets him touch her and have 'fun' with her body. In a way, it is better for her to be in the comforting presence of my mother for the time being. “How about we grab dinner before heading back?” Ruso breaks the silence from the driver’s seat. We left a car back at the town for Tore, so Russo and Ian are riding back with u
LILY’s POVI am brought into a dressing room, no….the term ‘dressing room’ does not do justice to this enormous chamber. A hall chock full of floor to ceiling wardrobes can be seen, filled with rows upon rows of dresses and suits. You name it, they’ve got it.I inhale deeply and take a step forward, feeling the silken fabric of one of the dresses in my hand. A hiss escapes my lips, I have never felt anything as luxurious as this before. Rose would love this. This place is a girl’s dream come true!“Come, my dear,” Elena calls out. She is already many steps ahead of me and stops in the middle of the room where a velvet semi-circle plush sofa lays. Letting go of the silken fabric, I move towards her ever cautiously. She smiles warmly at me and places a hand on my shoulder when I finally reach her and spins me around.A little chuckle escapes her soft moist lips. “I can see why he is so fond of
KANE’s POVI stare at my plate, I should be hungry but I am not. My mind keeps going back to what Jonas said; that Sergio took to the hills.There are hundreds if not thousands of hills around. Finding Sergio on my own would be like finding a needle in a haystack. I’ll need to form allies with mafia leaders from across the borders to prevent Sergio from defecting to their lands and earn himself immunity from my manhunt.My brows furrow together and my fingers curl around the wine glass so tight the knuckles turn white. Damn that snake, I should have shot him in the abandoned building when I had the chance.But then again, if I had chosen to chase after Sergio then I would never have been able to save Lily. Do I regret sacrificing that one chance of getting the son of a bitch? I suck in a deep breath and slowly exhale, my eyes closing.The funny thing is, I do not. I do not regret entering that last roo
LILY’s POV I open my eyes to the sound of birds chirping outside the window and my lips curl up into a smile. I stretch my arms as far out as my muscles and bones allow me only to wince slightly at the pain from the wound. Oops. I must remember not to overexert myself until the wound is completely healed. Pain aside, the smile remains plastered on my face. Kane came to me….I cannot believe it. I cup my cheeks, feeling my skin heat up from a mixture of both embarrassment and excitement. We had stayed in each other’s arms throughout the night, him just stroking my hair while I held his hand and told him about my childhood. I wish he had told me more about his though, he rarely spoke but then again, Kane is not a man of many words and I respect him for that. And the fact that he stayed with me to quell my fears already speaks volumes. I swing my feet to the wooden floorboards and walk towards the window, pushing it wide op
ROSE’s POV This car, this luxurious car comes to a halt and I find myself peering out the window, my opens and closes as my gaze falls on the mansion in front of me. No, not a mansion. A mansion would be too ill-fitting of a description. This place is a palace, a castle, a fortress made for a king! I know for a fact that the mafia are rich but this is ridiculous! Still....I like it. I draw in a breath and a tiny smile finds its way to my lips. So this is where Kane Ibraco lives. I look up at the countless windows that reflect the evening sun and admire the beauty of this great architecture. No wonder Lily did not stay back with us, if I were her, I’d run back to this palace too. Tore kills the engine and turns to look at me. “It’s beautiful…” I tell him honestly. He chuckles. “Yes, so are you.” I blink, his compliment catching me by surprise and I turn to face him too. For a moment, neither
KANE’s POV I do not like what I see. “Take it off. The dress does not belong to you,” I tell Lily’s sister. The blonde temptress looks up at me with her big blue eyes and she blinks in surprise. Sister or not, I do not like people who take possession of what clearly does not belong to them. “I…I was only trying it on..” she stammers, trying to explain. Her head drops and she fidgets at her feet. “Do not make me repeat myself.” Her breath hitches and she bites her lips. “Yes,” her reply comes out in barely a whisper. “Tell Lily to meet me at the lobby when she is ready.” I walk away without waiting for her to reply. She has spoilt my mood, the girl is lucky I did not ask her to strip off the dress there and then. My feet take me back down to the lobby where Tore and Russo are gathered. Russo looks up as I reach the landing and he frowns. “Are you sure you’re bringing Lily? She’s still gree