Page 49 of Like An Animal

I look up at the monitor as Isaac counts off, pointing the gun at Massimo’s back. Then, I get up and press in my date of birth into the key pad. The door slowly swings open, revealing me to them. Isaac slowly pulls off his mask before smirking.

“Hello, darling.”

My gaze drops to Massimo and I give him a bittersweet smile. “It’s okay, Max. Everything is going to be fine.”

His eyes narrow slightly, but I see the flash of disappointment. He’s not surprised though. He knew I would never put my life above his.

I move my gaze to Isaac before stepping out of the panic room. “You offered a deal, Father Isaac. I’m out so please, let him go.”

Isaac looks down at Massimo before he chuckles. “You see, we made a deal once before and you didn’t fulfill your end of the bargain. Consider this payback.”

He cocks the gun and I watch as Massimo squints his face, fully accepting his fate, but the word bellows from my mouth.

“Nooo!” I scream, but I’m too far away to stop it.

Isaac pulls the trigger and shoots Massimo in the back…

the bullet piercing straight through his heart.

It goes straight through and lodges in the wall as blood soaks his shirt.

I watch the life leave his face as he falls face down to the floor, his face smooshing against the carpet.

In the blink of an eye all of the memories, good and bad, that I have with Massimo Aronin flash through my mind.

Every hangout.

Every clink of our beer bottles.

Every idle chitchat.

Every joke.

Every hug.

Every goodbye that I wouldn’t realize until now was bittersweet.

Massimo was never just my friend. He was my family, my ride-or-die, my confidant, my home.

All three of them were and now only two remain breathing.

“What have you done! Are you insane?” Dimitri screams as I cry and run right to Massimo.

Dropping onto my ass, I flip him over onto his back and pull him into my arms. “No, no, no. Max, wake up!” I run my fingers over his face, but there’s no air coming out of his nose.

The oxygen around us becomes more dense.

He can’t be dead. He just can’t .

This is all a hallucination, right?

I did what Isaac asked me to and he was supposed to spare Massimo.

“I told you he was not to be killed!” Dimitri explodes again.

I guess what Jeremy said was right. He wasn’t going to let Massimo be killed, but it happened anyway.

I press kisses across Massimo’s forehead as I sob over and over again.

“Stop with the theatrics, Mary Elizabeth. This goon wasn’t your family. You have no family.” Then, Isaac kicks Massimo's foot and I snap.

“Don’t you fucking touch him, you vile son of a bitch!” I snarl at him as I cradle Massimo’s face against my chest, running my fingers through his hair. “You don’t know the first thing about me or him.”

“Oh, I don’t?” Isaac throws his head back laughing before squatting down to my level. He smirks before muttering, “Blood is thicker than water, child, and you didn’t blink twice when you killed your own father.”

“You’re saying that quote wrong, Isaac. The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb.

Massimo Aronin was my family and he fucking earned that title ten times over.

He loved me like a brother and even willingly gave his life without complaint to protect me.

It’s not because I’m married to one of his best friends in the world.

It’s because Max, Jer, Xavi, and I have always been the family we found together.

That’s something a disgusting sack of shit like you could never understand.

And, in case you were unaware, I fucking hated my father.

No one who is a part of your band of pedophiles deserves to call themselves a father or a mother.

And thankfully, you’ll never find my child. They are well hidden and protected.”

Dimitri pipes up. “Why would they want–”

I turn my scowl on him as more tears fall.

“Didn’t they tell you? They want me because the one they really want shares blood with me.

Sure, they see me as their property, but I’ve outlived my usefulness to a group of kiddie diddlers.

They want to torture the truth out of me, but it won’t work.

That’s one secret I will take to the grave. ”

“We’ll see about that.” Isaac tries to grab my arm, but I yank it out of his hold before gently laying Massimo’s head on the ground. I stand on my feet, my knees shaking the whole way. “One last thing before you take me away. Trust me. You’re going to want to hear this.”

Isaac crosses his arms as if to say he’s going to humor me.

I lean down to the ground and pick up the phone I dropped before lifting it up, tapping the speaker phone button.

“Did you catch all that, Jeremy?”

The horror that registers across Dimitri’s face is priceless. He knows what this means. His days are fucking numbered.

“Every last fucking word, little ghost.” The rage in his voice speaks volumes, but Isaac looks confused.

“My husband, also known as Dimitri’s grandson, has been listening to everything and he put out a red alert to send everyone here a minute after the first shot was fired.

Max gave me his phone before sending me into the panic room.

Also, Isaac, you’re out of time. You had three minutes left when I walked out, but instead of grabbing me and running, you decided to let me fill it with my chatter. ”

It’s unlikely that they’ll make it out of here unscathed.

I drop the phone on the floor and step down on it, crushing it with my stiletto.

Then, I can hear out the window men screaming, “Spread out and find them!”

Even if they manage to escape with me, it will be with very few men left.

I hope Isaac dies and he chokes on his own blood knowing it’s Massimo’s retribution for a life cut too short.