Mason
Nico comes to a skidding stop out the front of the asylum. Gravel is sent flying in different directions as a dust cloud wafts upwards from the ground and he’s already opening the door and running out before the car has stopped. Luciano and I are two steps behind him. I stumble on my hands on exit and I’m kicking myself right back to my feet to keep up. Matteo had send us a link to Ariana’s GPS tracker so we follow that on our phones through the building to where she roughly might be. We move quickly but still with our guns raised and checking every corner, clearing every room as we go futher into the building. We try to first floor, waving through different corridors of old musty wallpaper and concrete floors. Surprisingly we don’t see anyone, not a single fucking soul as we sweep our way through. The only sounds coming from a stampede of feet from our men behind us.
“Which way?!” Nico yells out in frustration before heading off in a random direction as the GPS isn’t helping us in here. I stop in my tracks, letting them get a distance in front of me as I take in my surroundings. Trying to really get a feel for my surroundings, I drown out the footsteps and listen hard, nothing…What can I smell? I think…over the stale air and dust I can smell a hint of blood and gunpowder, just a hint. I decide to take a different direction. I follow my nose, letting it guide me towards that distinct smell as it gets stronger and I find myself at a door that reads “Staff Only“. With no one else inside, I push the door open slowly with my gun raised and ready. Inside the stench hits me full force as I find myself in an industrial kitchen. I round a few benches, and a body catches my eye. It lays in a pool of blood, most of it coming from a wicked vertical cut through his neck and jaw. The brutality of it is my girls calling card. Isla was here. There’s a set of double doors behind the body and as I approach to make my way through, I can hear voices.
“Now now, Pedro, surely you don’t want to die today.” Isla’s beautiful voice fills my ears.
“I’ll blow this whole fucking place to the ground. You, me, your fucking mother! You want that? Drop the fucking gun or we all die!” Pedro yells back.
I step over the body to peak through the gap between the two doors and I can just see Pedro on his knees and Isla standing in front of him. We were told there was bombs, so I’m guessing the phone in his hand has something to do with that. I grab a skillet quietly from the wall beside me and I push the doors ever so slowly and quietly. I don’t want to kill him, not yet anyway. Nope, this fucker has some dues to pay with a few people. It wouldn’t be fair to just shoot him and be done with it. Isla doesn’t look at me, doesn’t so much as move her eyes or twitch, but she can see me. I smile wide as I stalk up behind Pedro with the skillet over my shoulder like a baseball bat and WHACK, Pedro falls sideways to the floor
out cold.
“Baby!” Isla yells excitedly, jumping into my arms as I drop the pan to catch her. “Oh I missed you!”
“I missed you too, love. Fuck I missed you.” I kiss her hard and passionately. Just as I’m pulling back for air with Isla still wrapped around my waist the two doors to the room swing open, hitting the walls behind them as Nico and Luciano come storming in with guns raised. Isla gasps and wiggles out of my arms to get to her feet and runs to Nico who’s lowering his weapon looking stunned, confused, disappointed and thankful all at once.
“Nico!” She jumps into his arms and kisses him all over his face. “Look! I caught him!” She points to Pedro’s unconscious body.
“WE caught him.” Ariana says as she casually walks over to Luciano to give him a quick kiss.
“You did so good, Princess.” Nico praises her as he pushes his face into her neck to breathe her in. “I was so fucking scared, Isla. I’m so sorry I failed you. I’m so sorry you had to go through this and your Mom too.”
“Mom had fun!” Ariana happily points out.
“Your family has a weird idea of fun. I hear Nico mumble into her neck still and I laugh. They are a bunch of bat shit crazy bastards, aren’t they? The best sort of family.
Turning my attention back to Pedro, I make quick work of patting him down. I pass his phone to Matteo when he arrives who makes quick work of disarming the bombs. Apparently, this app he was using is childs play and there was actually just a big red button that said “disarm“. Luca and Tony are the next to get here.
“Ah, fucking hell. Really? You couldn’t even leave one guy alive for me to play hero?” Luca pouts at Ariana and I have to laugh because I think every male in this room is feeling the same way, well…except for me. I know the girls probably would have found a way to get Pedro down safely themselves but I’m feeling pretty cocky about my skillet move. It would have been a really cool move in a movie or something. I’m sure all the girls would swoon over the guy saving the girl like that. None the less, I’m proud to have been useful in someway to my girl. My girl who is now safe, finally fucking safe, and who will be coming home with us tonight and every night for the rest of forever.
