[1] A War of Blood and Hearts | ✔️

CHAPTER THIRTY

ALONSO

TheItalian mafia boss stays frozen in his spot as Darya continues to scream herhusband's name. He notices that everyone else is taken aback by Nicholas'action. Alonso is not surprised that his friend shot the Russian mafia eventhough they are way outnumbered.
"Darya,do not worry. I am fine, he only shot my leg." Alonso sees the adoration inIvan's eyes as he tries to smile for the sake of his pregnant wife. Even thoughThe Italian mafia boss loathes Ivan, he cannot stop himself from imaginingCrystal looking at him the same way Darya looks at her spouse. He wants tomarry her, he wants to live his life with her, and he definitely wants to havechildren with her. Sadly, there is a possibility that his dream might not cometrue because the time of his claim has come to pass, and since his andCrystal's situation has never happened before in any mafia's history, he doesnot know what the future holds.
Alonsowants to order Alberto to let the Russian woman go, but he refrains from doingso simply because it would be too risky.
"Areyou okay?" Brent attempts to walk towards Ivan but Ignazio pushes him to thefloor and holds him in place in an iron grip. Brent struggles for a few secondsbut when he meets his little brother's eyes he stays still. Alonso does notknow what Brent sees in Ignazio's eyes, but whatever it is; it scares theAmerican mafia boss.
"Youson of a bitch." Dante gets off the floor and runs towards Nicholas. Alonsoprepares to defend his friend but, Crystal reacts faster than him. She shootsthe older man in between his eyes killing him instantly. The Italian mafia bossdoes not even know how she has the gun, or from who she stole it from, he haslost count of how many times the guns have gotten passed between the people inthe room.
Asthe room once again becomes quiet, Alonso watches the protective look in Crystal'seyes; she just shot the man who raised her in order to protect her olderbrother. The Italian man turns his attention to Nicholas to find him givingCrystal an unreadable look; it is like he cannot believe that his sister justkilled someone for him.
Alonsohisses when Angelica starts screaming in his ears. She does not call out forher husband, nor does she cry over his death. In fact, the way Alonso sees it,it seems like Angelica is not even affected by the loss of the man who she hasbeen married to for over twenty five years. He notices that she stares atsomething ahead of her as she tries to escape his hold, or perhaps hide behindhim. When he turns to the direction the older woman looks at, he sees Crystalpointing the gun at Angelica.
"Crystal,what are you doing?" Milo asks his daughter worriedly. However, she does notanswer as she looks Angelica dead in the eye before she pulls the trigger. Hence,Angelica becomes limp in Alonso's arms. He lets her go and she falls to theground next to her husband.
"Youkilled them." Ivan gives her a terrified look; clearly he had underestimatedher, and now he regrets it. Especially since his wife and unborn child are inthe room. However, both Ivan and Brent look at each other and smirk when thesound of cars parking out of the house fills the air.
"Wehave to go, now!" Lorenzo screams when he moves to the window by his desk andlooks beyond it.
Ignazioknocks Brent out and Alberto breaks on of Darya's arms while the others handletheir enemies' men. Once they are the only ones standing, Milo holds hisunconscious son in his arms before the group runs through the house's corridorsin order to flee from the house before the people who came in the cars comeinside the building.
Oncethey reach to the garage, they split into four cars. Milo and Freya take Zairein a car claiming that they have to depart from the others to get theunconscious guy the medical attention he needs.
Hisparents take a car, with Lorenzo being in the driver's seat. Nicholas, Lucas,Alberto, and Mila take a car. Since Nicholas' hand is injured, probably broken,Lucas is the one who drives.
Asfor Alonso, he takes the last car with Crystal, Ignazio and Leora. The Italianmafia boss wants to drive, but he has already made the injury in his leg worseby standing on it and running. Thus, he gives up and allows Ignazio to sit inthe driver's seat. Even though it is not the time, Leora clings to his bestfriend in the passenger's seat as he furiously drives away from the cars thatfollow them.
TheItalian mafia boss loves his sister dearly. However, at times, like this one,he wishes she would grow up and realize that she should be over throwingherself on a man who clearly does not want her. He would have held a grudge onhis friend if he did not make his intentions towards his sister clear from thevery beginning. He cannot blame Ignazio for his sister's inability to take ahint. In fact, he feels glad that he decided to not get involved between them.
Alonsosits next to Crystal in the back seat, and even though he hates to admit it,the pain in his leg starts to become a little intolerable.
"Areyou okay?" Crystal looks him over until her eyes land on his leg.
"Youare bleeding." Her hand softly touches the wound. Despite the pain, he smiles. Heleans in to kiss her forehead when a gunshot breaks the glass behind them. As aresult, Crystal turns to Ignazio.
"Guns?"She yells.
"Checkunder your seat." Alonso answers for his friend since Ignazio is busy with thecars chasing them. Crystal reaches her hands under the seat and pulls them outwith two guns in her hands with the Italian mafia boss copying her actions. Eachof them go to a window and pull it down. She gives him a nod before she leansoutside the car and starts shooting at their foe.
Alonsotakes a look at both Lucas and his father who drive as fast as Ignazio beforehe too starts shooting. A few seconds later, their enemy starts to shoot backat them.
Afew minutes pass as they drive through the hallway. Alberto and Nicholas helpAlonso and Crystal by shooting at the enemy.
"Fuck!"Crystal screams when she runs out of bullets, but he does not risk looking herway because that could lead to one of them getting killed. Thus, he remainsfocused on shooting his bullets. The Italian mafia boss chuckles loudly whenAlberto manages to shoot one the cars' tires causing it to collide with one ofthe trees that are on the street's side. His expression turns dim, however,when he sees the woman he loves pull a bazooka from under Leora's seat.
"Doyou even know how to use that?" He asks her worriedly. She only gives him asmirk before she aims the weapon at the closest car and shoots. Within asecond, the car bursts into flames Thus, some of the cars are forced to stop sothey do not get burned as well. He cannot help but smile at the pride he feelsat her perfect aim.
"Wecannot keep this cat and mouse thing for long." Lorenzo screams from his car.All the three cars drive side by side. The car Alonso is in is in the middle, toits left is his parents' car and to its right are Nicholas and the others.
"Whatdo you suggest we do?" Lucas screams as he moves the vehicle. He drives alittle to the right to prevent a bullet from penetrating one of the back tires.
"Iam going to lead, and I want you to follow me; I know a secret passage thatwill lead us deep in the woods." Lorenzo instructs as he presses his foot onthe gas. Within a few minutes they drive between trees on a thin road.
Suddenly,Lorenzo stops his car causing the other two vehicles to do the same. Both heand his wife get out of the car and gesture for them to copy their actions.Alonso grunts at the thought of walking, but there is nothing he can do. Luckily,Crystal helps him get out of the car and his father helps him walk through thewoods.
Theystart to run as fast as they can through the tangled trees when bullet shotsecho through the air. As they run, they try to not trip over any rocks on theuneven ground. Alonso grunts every time his foot collides with the ground; itsends jolts of pain throughout his entire body. And even though no one commentson it, he knows he is slowing them down. After all, his leg is badly injured asthey run for their lives in the middle of the forest.
Despiteeverything, Alonso's thoughts shift to Zaire and Milo. He barely knows them,but they are Crystal's family. Therefore, they are his family, and he hopesZaire will make it so he gets to know them properly.
TheItalian mafia boss is pulled back to reality, when he hears Crystal yelping. Heturns his attention to her to see her falling. Before she reaches the floor,Lucas catches her. He sees the both of them talking to Ignazio and Leora asthey push themselves to run faster.
"Areyou okay, sweetheart?" His mother runs beside him; she seems genuinely worriedfor him. Like every mother, wheneverher son gets hurt, she becomes extremely worried about his well being. For someodd reason, he likes that even as a grown man, his mother still worries abouthim as if he is still her little boy.
"Iam fine madre." He mumbles with a smile. They continue running until eventually thefiring sound becomes distant, and they are no longer being pursued. Once theyare certain that no one is following them, they decide that they need to take ashort break in an underground cave.
Alonsosits away from everyone else; he needs to rest his leg and to enjoy some quiet.It is the first time he gets to be peacefully alone since he got kidnapped twomonths ago.
Ashe sits there, he allows himself to forget about the throbbing in his leg andthe people who are with him in the cave as he thinks about smaller things;simpler things. He does not know what their next move is, or how they are goingto get out of these woods alive. Regardless, he chooses to neglect thesethoughts just for a few moments. He finds himself thinking about his lifebefore all of this started, before he even knew that Crystal existed.
Eventhough meeting her started everything bad that has happened in the last sixmonths, he cannot lie to himself and say that he wishes he did not meet her. Hedoes not regret picking up the phone when Nichols called and he does not regretagreeing to help him protect his sister. Still, he finds himself wonderingwhether he would have given the same answer if he knew back then what he knowsnow.
Onething he is certain of is his love for Crystal. It does not matter if she doesnot love him back, it does not matter if she has more sealed secrets, and itdoes not matter if the woman who threw her coffee at him and reminded him ofhow he wants to live his life has changed a little. No one remains the sameperson throughout their lives. People change, people adapt, people evolve, andthat is okay because while change is part of life, one's essence never alters.
"Thatmust hurt like a total bitch." Crystal's voice cuts his thoughts short. TheItalian man looks up at her to see her face covered with sweat and dirt. Henotices how she makes sure to keep a good two feet between them. He perceiveshow she does not look like a person who just murdered two members of her family.Although to be fair, Dante and Angelica were only her family by blood andnothing more.
Hewants to ask her how she feels about the events that took place about two hoursago. However, he does not want to pressure her, and he does not want her topush away from him more than she already did. Hence, he keeps his words tohimself.
"Indeed,it does, and that coming from a mafia leader, well... that says something." Hetries to give her his best smile.
"Ican help you clean and cover that up. That is of course if you ask nicely." Sheavoids looking at his tattooed body. The Italian man is about to say somethingwhen his mother approaches them and holds his leg to examine it. Crystal turnsand starts to walk away. Thus, Alonso starts talking without thinking about hiswords.
"Mother,you are tired. Let Crystal help me with the wound." That causes the woman he loves to turn aroundand face the mob family –or part of it- with red cheeks. He tries to hold inhis chuckle at her adorable rosy cheeks. If he was sure that she would not flipon him for it, he would have teased her about it.
"Oh, it is alright darling. We donot want to trouble the young lady. Furthermore, if I do not endure tirednessand pain for you then for whom would I do it?"
"No, Alonso is right, you look really tired. I will attend to him. Yougo and rest Camilla." He cannot detect anything from her words or actions. Forall he knows, he wants to help him just to be polite. Camilla gives Crystal an awkwardsmile before going to sit by his father.
"Everything in the E.R. box hasbeen used. You will not achieve anything in making my mother and sister worryabout me. My wound has not and will not be purged for a few hours. That isalright though, I am okay." He assures her while grabbing her arm when he seesher try to leave to get him some medical supplies.
"Areyou crazy? This cut is big and deep. It can get infected. Besides, you do notknow how long we will be stuck here." Crystal hisses at him. She pulls her handaway from his and makes her way to Alberto. He cannot repress the smile thatappears on his face because despite of what he was told and what he has seen,this is the same Crystal he knows and loves. He watches with amusement theexchange that happens between her and his best friend.
"Youlook pale. Is Alonso alright?" Alberto greets her with a concerned expression.
"Pleasetell me you have your precious flask. Or else your dear best friend is going tobe dead in a few hours. Then, we will have to carry a corpse with us. You donot want that, do you? Do you want to hold your best friend's corpse?"
Albertolooks at her as if she just confessed her love to him before he reaches intohis pocket and hands her the flask. She grabs the flask and hits the back ofAlberto's neck before she walks back to the Italian mafia boss. He regards howeveryone watches her; anticipating what she will do next; wanting to know onceand for all if she truly changed over the past few months.
Shesits on the soil in front of him, grabs his leg and places it on her lap, andpours the contents of the flask on the enormous cut. Alonso cries out in painas the alcohol makes its way to his open flesh. No one comes to Alonso's aidbecause her action confirms that she did not change at all. Therefore, shewould cut their heads off if they question or defy her actions.
"Didyou just shower my bloody leg with alcohol?" Alonso yells out of pain, but Crystalis unfazed by his tone.
"Ithink the words you are looking for are 'thank' and 'you'" She mutters as sheribs a huge part of her t-shirt off to cover his cut.
"Thatshould do it." She mutters in a low voice. The Brazilian woman stands to herfeet, takes a look around the cave, before she starts grabbing rocks off theground. A few minutes later, she walks out of the cave with the rocks still inher hands.
Sheheads towards a tree, empties the rocks next to where she stands while leavingone in her hand, and throws said rock with a deafening scream.
"Wegot attacked." She throws the second rock.
"Ijust experienced a car chase." The third.
"Nicholas'shand is broken." The fourth.
"Alonsohas an ugly wound on his leg." The fifth.
"Wehad crazy gunned men follow us." The sixth.
"Ialmost got shot!" The seventh.
"Weare stuck in a freaking forest." The eighth.
"Ineed to pee." The ninth.
"Itis about to get dark!" The tenth.
WatchingCrystal scream and throw rocks on the tree somehow makes the Italian mafia bossfeel alive. He has definitely missed her craziness and childlessness. Herbehavior is a breeze of fresh air. Despite her frustration, he feels happy,ecstatic even. When she is done, she holds what is left of the rocks and throwsthem at the tree all at once. Alonso hears Lucas chuckle but he does not gethis eyes off of Crystal.
"Why?What sins have I committed to deserve such a life? You always do this to me.You always make me experience things that I would never even wish upon CareyMitchell!"
"Whothe bloody hell is Carey Mitchell?" Ignazio whispers as all of them try tomaintain their laughter.
"Shewas her bully from high school. Well, bully-ish; Crystal always soughtrevenge." Lucas replies with a chuckle. Alonso tries to picture Crystal beingbullied, but he just cannot see it. Whenever he tries to imagine it, all hesees is Crystal cutting the girl open with her nails.
"Shehad a bully?!" Alonso asks with amusement.
"Youmade that bitch steal every single boyfriend I had in high school; you eventaunted me after I decided to give up on people, and now this! Seriously? Areyou trying to get me killed? Wait, no, I already know that you do. Sometimes Ifeel that you have a fucking vendetta against me!"
"Becareful sis, declaring war against God will not work out well." Nicholas smirksat her. A part of Alonso senses that the woman he loves just entered a newstage of irresponsibility and craziness.
"Hehas been trying to kill me ever since that day at kinder garden when Jim theDim practically cleaned a bathroom with my head! I could have died that dayfrom the defiled water entering my lungs."
"Seriously could you get any more..."Mila's annoying voice almost makes Alonso's ear bleed. Thankfully, they hear loudfootsteps getting closer to them. Everyone is paralyzed looking at Alonso andNicholas for guidance. After all, they are the mafia leaders.
"It could be our men." Leorasuggests, while Crystal does not find it in herself to even move her hand.
"No, our men are trained not to makea noise on the field. These are enemies. On my mark, everyone run withoutmaking a sound." Nicholas instructs.
"One"
"Two"
"Three"
"Run!"