Chapter 118

Luca’s POV

We were all in position, and ready to infiltrate 8949 Roser avenue. Mara stood behind me with her weapon drawn. She awaited my go ahead, along with the rest of the men. I silently signaled forward with my hand. We crept towards the building like creatures of the night. The energy that bounced off of us was unstoppable. I entered my designated door as the others did the same.

Marabella stood close to me as we swept around the corner. Our main goal here was stealth. That’s why we are all equipped with silencers. That made for easy work of dropping bodies with little to no sound. We looked closely at each face before exterminating their existence. I kept a close eye on Mara as I also listened for updates through our earpieces.

Franky’s mansion was massive. The winds and turns throughout this place were out of this world. If we hadn’t studied a blueprint of this place, we would definitely get lost in it. Marabella and I cleared the south wing with five other soldatos. I sent Sergio to the west wing with a group, Rex to the north wing with a group, and Cal to the east wing with a group.

We understood silence was our biggest surprise, so any communications through our comms had to be kept to a bare minimum. Franky’s men were either sleeping, eating, showering, or tending to their wounds from earlier. This made our task much easier to execute. Mara didn’t seem to bat an eye as she killed any men we came across. “East wing is clear”, Cal’s voice rang through the comms.

“Copy”, I muttered, as Mara and I approached grande oak doors. They seemed to be that of a master bedroom door. I placed my finger to my lips in a shh manor. Mara nodded as I grabbed the door handle and opened the door slowly. There he laid, on the bed, asleep with a pretty severe chest wound.

I quickly approached the bed and removed the gun from the bedside table before searching the bed for any other weapons. Marlan woke up in a panic and tried to swing on me. I back-handed him, flattening him back out onto the bed. “Hello, Marlan Snipes, it looks like you and I have some things to discuss”, I smirked.

The terror that reflected back at me, made my insides churn with excitement. His eyes slowly swept the room, landing on Marabella. He tried to set up, but was rudely stopped by me. “You”, he hissed at her. “Careful now, you need that tongue of yours to tell me what I want to know”, I growled.

“Fuck you. I won’t tell you anything”, he snapped at me. “Yeah, yeah, that’s what they all say”, I shrugged. I hit him with the butt of my gun. Pistol whipping him across the temple and knocking him out cold. “We have Snipes”, I announced through the comms. “Fantastic brother, we just cleared the west wing”, Sergio answered. “North wing is clear as well”, Rex said. “Perfect. Now come help me get this bastard”, I said, jumping off the comms.

Marabella stood at the foot of the bed, staring at Marlan with a blank expression. “Are you alright, love?”, I asked, approaching her. She took a deep breath and nodded her head. “Yes. I am just ready to get some answers. I am so sick of all of this running around, back and forth for answers”, she sighed, her voice raising slightly. “And, honestly, for what? A little bit of closer?”, she bit out, throwing her hands up in the air.

“Mara”, I whispered, holding my hands out towards her in a calming manner. “It’s okay, principessa. Deep breaths for me, alright? We can discuss this in the car”, I uttered, trying to keep a level voice so that I didn’t sound condescending or worse, like I didn’t care that she was on the verge of a mental breakdown as we spoke. I pulled Mara into my chest and held her.

She was reluctant at first before melting into me. I could hear her take deep breaths with her face mashed against me. “I love the way you smell”, she murmured. I grinned, knowing damn well how much she enjoyed my smell. She slowly calmed herself down in my arms, just in time for the footsteps of our fellow men to sound off, letting us know they were coming down the hall towards us.

Sergio was first to walk into the room. His face was stricken with panic, before he saw that we were uninjured. You could literally see the relief sag in his shoulders as he blew out a sigh. “Any injuries?”, I asked. “No, everyone on our end is accounted for and unscathed”, Sergio answered. I nodded, as I turned and faced the bed where Marlan Snipes still laid unconscious.

“Let’s get this piece of shit out of here”, I commanded. “Yes boss”, Rex and Cal answered, as they moved forward towards him. “Are you going to take Mara back to the villa?”, Sergio asked. “No, we are all headed back to the compound”, I told him, looking over at my beautiful wife.

You could tell she was getting ready to get defensive before I spoke for her. She relaxed dramatically, and even grinned at me. I understood what this meant to her. I could not stand in her way of getting the answers to the questions that are haunting her right now.

Rex and Cal carried Marlan out of the room. Mara, Sergio and I followed behind them. I know that it is a huge relief to Mara that we have got this far. Her father’s men have all been taken care of, and now we have the man we believe is responsible for the lies told to her father. It’s a large relief for me, but for a different reason. My family is now officially safe from Franky and his henchmen.

I opened the car door for Mara and held my hand out for her to take, to get in the passenger seat. She sat silently on the seat as I buckled her in, and closed the door for her. I sat in the driver’s seat, and turned towards her. Now that we are alone, she can tell me what is on her mind.

“Piccola”, I uttered, touching her chin, turning her head to face me. Her eyes were wide as she stared at me. She looked completely different from the woman who was just in that building killing men. “Tell me what is bothering you”, I said softly. “Can you start driving first? I don’t want to be here any longer”, she shuttered, looking out the window at the massive mansion.

I put the car in drive and pulled away. I gave her a few moments after we left the driveway before I glanced over at her. “Speak up”, I nudged her. “I thought that I would feel better once his men were dealt with. Once, we captured and secured Marlan, but I didn’t. Instead, I feel more anxious. I feel like I am on a wild goose chase and I won’t get the information that I really want from him”, she confessed.

“I’ll get whatever information you want out of him, baby girl”, I said, looking at her with furrowed eyebrows. “That’s not what I mean”, she whispered. “Then elaborate for me, please”, I urged, trying to understand where her mind is. “I mean, what if his answer doesn’t feel good enough for me? Like, it doesn’t provide the closure in which I seek?”, she explained, looking at me with her lost doe eyes.

Now I understand. “Marabella, my precious, I will help you find the closure that you seek. No matter what it takes, or how long, you will get it. That I promise you”, I vowed, lacing my fingers with hers and bringing the back of her hand to my lips to place a gentle kiss on her skin. “I know you will”, she whispered, squeezing my hand.

“Besides, you are worrying too much, my love. We will get answers from him. They may not be ones we want to hear. But they will be the answers we need”, I told her in assurance. She nodded, “I love you”, she said, looking over at me. “I love you, principessa”, I grinned, catching her eyes.