Page 16 of Revived (Lucky Ones #1)

Chapter nine

Elena Rossi

G uns, yelling, blood, and Annie flash through my vision. So much pain. Staring into Zach’s lifeless eyes. Flynn’s wails of agony and Sully’s red rimmed seafoam eyes pleading with me to stay awake just a little longer.

I shoot up in bed and grab at my chest. I can’t breathe. Strong arms wrap around me and pull me in close as I try and fail to thrash around and be let free. I can hear his gentle voice whispering to me, but I’m still stuck in that mansion from over three years ago.

I’m standing in the control room staring in shock and terror as I watch the security feed where this man I don’t know holds a gun that’s trained on Sully.

My body moves before my mind can catch up.

Sprinting down the tunnels that lead from the bunker where I’m currently at with Sully’s in-laws and their families, I hear two sets of feet chasing after me.

Shit… My legs launch me through the secret door leading from the tunnels to a random spare bedroom.

You need a code to get in and out of the tunnels, and luckily for me, I have that code.

Perks of being around for as long as I have been.

Just before the bookcase can latch back in place, Annie slides through the small opening.

We hear the door lock, which means we have two minutes before Zach can enter the code on his side.

“What the hell are you doing? Go back! Flynn will kill me when he finds out.” I whisper-yell at Annie .

Annie’s just a few inches shorter than me, but we have the same brown hair.

Both of our eyes are green, but hers are light, where mine rival the color of the leaves after a storm.

I can see how my biological sister fits into Annie’s family without being detected as the Don’s daughter who was abducted and trafficked as a child. We don’t look all that much different.

“And my sister and Sully will kill me if I let anything happen to you. So we both go back or we both go in. It’s your choice.” She hisses back.

Dammit, we don’t have time for this shit. Zach’s going to come barreling out here any second, and he’ll drag us back to the tunnels to keep us ‘safe’, “Fine, but let's go before Zach opens the damn door and snatches us both back by our ponytails.”

I pull my gun out of the waistband of my jeans.

She’s tiny, but she does the job. I press the weapon into her palm.

Before kneeling and grabbing my other piece from the ankle holster.

I’m more armed than anyone has the right to know today.

I may look like the perfect mafia principessa, but I can outshoot most men, and don’t even get me started on my knife game.

“I can’t use this. I don’t know how.” Annie’s voice quivers, and her hands shake slightly. She’s got to get a hold of that, or she’s not going to do anything but put all of us in more danger.

“Flick off the safety, aim, and shoot anyone who aims a gun at you. Got it?” I’m being stern, but I really don’t have time to baby anyone right now.

She freezes for only a moment before she sets her shoulders and nods with determination.

I silently lead us out of the room and down the hallway until we’re just out of sight from Sully and Flynn, who are standing in front of the second story banister.

They can’t see us, but the slight tick of Sully’s jaw and the way his shoulders tense just a hair tell me that he knows I’m here.

I have just the right view for what’s happening below.

Natasha is trying to convince Declan to fall in love with her.

Clearly she’s never seen him look at his partner.

He and Jakob are end game no matter how big of a tantrum she throws.

That’s not what has bile fighting to work its way up my throat though.

No, that would be the gun in the unfamiliar man’s hand that’s aiming straight at Sullivan.

Now that I’m seeing him in person, I recognize him as a kid I’ve seen around campus over the years.

We all just graduated from Princeton, and if I’m not mistaken, he did too.

I watch in terror as the kid flips off the safety of the gun.

Again, my limbs work before my brain does.

This is a common occurrence where Sullivan Byrne is concerned.

My body throws itself in front of Sully right before the gun goes off.

The guy says something I don’t catch, but that’s quickly forgotten as the feeling of having a fist slammed into my stomach pushes me back into Sully’s grasp.

It takes me a moment to realize the punch sensation came from Annie slamming back against me just before I watch as she stumbles forward and falls over the second story balcony.

No, wait, that couldn’t have been Annie?

Wouldn’t my whole body be hurting if it was?

I look straight up into Sullivan’s eyes in confusion.

His face is pained and panicked. Dammit, did I not make it in time?

I try to push off of him, but before I can, he scoops me up in his arms.

It’s like the move brings everything rushing back to the surface.

Like when your ears pop in an airplane and everything is clear all of a sudden.

I can’t breathe. Fuck, I can’t breathe. I try to call out to Sully, but all that comes out is a gargled moan.

The pure white hot pain that takes over every single cell in my body is unbearable.

My hands and feet are freezing, and I’m not too sure what’s happening around me.

I can hear Sully call my name and feel his tears hitting my face as they fall from his eyes freely.

My last thought before the pain becomes too much to handle, and I let the blackness that’s been closing in on my vision take over, is ‘I love you, Sullivan Rory. Take care of my Papa for me.’

“Shhh. Boo, it’s okay. I’ve got you.” I blink my eyes open to catch the furrow in his brow and the worry etched in every line of his face. “That’s it. I’m right here. You’re okay, baby girl. I promise.”

He’s rocking my body softly to calm the shaking of my limbs and my erratic heartbeat.

It’s then that I realize two things. One, I’m covered by a blanket, and two, someone’s standing in the doorway to my room.

The scream lodges in my throat for only a second before ripping out of me.

In the next second Flynn steps from the shadows and fully into my room.

“It’s just me, Ellie.” Flynn throws his hands up in surrender.

It’s not at all abnormal for Flynn to make his way into any of our spare rooms when being alone in his house gets to be too much.

He carries so much pain around, and when it gets too much, he seeks quiet solace in spending the night at our houses.

Gently Sully’s hand covers my mouth. No doubt just trying to prevent waking up the whole street.

“What’s going on?” I look around terrified. My eyes are bouncing between the twins.

They don’t answer, instead, Flynn sits on the edge of the bed before his permanently sad eyes meet mine, “You still dream about her?”

“Yeah. All the time. It’s not always just nightmares about that day. Sometimes it’s dreams that we’re getting coffee and talking about everything she’s missing… Those ones are my favorites.” I smile to myself thinking about those dreams.

“I dream about her too. Almost every night she comes to visit me, and we pretend for those hours that I’m asleep, that it’s just her, me, and what could have been.” His eyes water, and he looks away. I reach out and grab his hand in a show of silent support.

If anyone were to see us like this, they’d probably assume we were in some sort of poly relationship.

Both Byrne brothers in my bed, shirtless and touching me in some way.

I can admit, it looks sketchy. However, my heart only beats for one person in this world, and that’s the man who has me wrapped in his arms. However, that doesn’t take away from the fact that the three of us went through something that day that no one else will ever understand.

I love Dom, Knox, and Xavier just as much as I love Flynn, but they weren’t in the room with us that day.

They watched what happened, but from a security monitor.

Now that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t mess with them as badly or anything like that.

In fact, I know it does, because I’ve talked to them about it.

The feeling of helplessness and guilt that overcomes them is something I can never understand.

At the same time, Flynn, Sully, and I are the only three still alive who know what it was like to be standing on that balcony.

“I’m so sorry, Flynn. I swear if I had any clue that she was going to do that, I would have locked her back in the tunnels.”

“I know, Ellie. It’s okay. Some people are meant to have their great loves until they’re old and grey.

If you’d pull your heads out of your asses, then that would be you two, if you didn’t know.

” His eyes go between me and his brother just long enough for us to catch his drift.

“Then there’s others who are meant to have their great loves for just a small moment in time before one or the other is taken.

That’s me. I’ve felt great love, it was the best few months of my life, and then I was able to watch her from afar and make sure she was safe and happy.

Until I wasn’t. I’ll never love another person again, and that’s okay.

What's not okay is you two wasting time because you’re afraid. ”

My heart breaks so badly for him and the grief and torment he walks around with every single day.

He does an amazing job of masking it, but I can see those cracks all over the armor he’s covered himself in.

He gives me what’s meant to be a reassuring smile while gently squeezing my hand.

His words hit me right in the heart, but he doesn’t understand that I’m protecting his brother at all costs.

“It’s early, Ellie. Go back to sleep. Sully’s got you.” He nods to his brother before kissing my brow and leaving to go back to the spare room.

He’ll be okay. I’ll make sure of it. But he’s right, it is late, and my favorite emotional support snuggler is holding me. I’m drifting back to sleep when his whispered words cover me like the warmest blanket.

“Sleep, Boo. Nothing can touch you with me here.”

***

Feet on the springboard. Hands on the vault. Arms in tight… twist… twist…

My feet meet the mat about the same time my jaw drops in complete shock.

I just know my eyes are as big as saucers as they turn towards my coach, whose expression looks a lot like what I picture mine to look like.

I’ve been throwing myself around and landing in more than compromising positions for so long that I’m shocked I actually landed it.

The smile on my face could light up the entire universe from how brightly I beam.

“Holy… I did it.” I’m still staring at Jordan in shock when I realize everyone in the gym has stopped to gawk at me too.

Jordan’s arms are around me before I even process that she’s moved, and the next thing I know everyone is cheering for me. “You did it. I knew you could do it, Rory!”

Jordan mostly calls me by my last name, well, what she thinks my last name is. I’m used to it now, but sometimes it still catches me off guard, especially because it’s Sully’s middle name. We take a few minutes to celebrate before she gives me a stern look and a simple, “Now do it again.”

It’s after nine at night by the time we call it quits for the night.

My blood sugar has done fairly well, and no friends are banging down the gym door to shove glucose tabs down my throat.

So, all in all, it’s been a good day. Addison is leaving at the same time as I am, so of course, girl code and friendship states we walk out together.

“You looked amazing today, Addy. You’re a shoo-in for the Trials.” We walk side by side down the hallway leading to the dark parking lot. I figured it would be dark when I left so I parked under a light pole.

“Me? You landed your vault all day long today. Add in your beam routine and you’re on the fast track to the Olympics.” She presses open the gym door and holds it open for me as I pass.

“We’ll see. I’m not holding my breath or anything, but I’m also not going to lie, three in a row would be next level.”

“It’d cement your spot with the best of the best. I’m proud of you, Elle.”

“Thanks I’m–” My words are caught in my throat as I take note of my car and the shards all over it and the area around it. Looking up, I realize that the light I parked under blew. Or more accurately, someone shot it out…

Fuck, he’s back.

I notice the envelope placed under my windshield wiper and make a move to grab it before backing up quickly back to my friend. I pull the piece of paper out and read a similar message to what I assumed I would find.

Thought you could hide from me, principessa?

I’ve missed you, my little gymnast.

-YSA

I pull out my cell phone silently and don’t speak until the person on the other end of the phone picks up. Addison is asking me something, but her questions go unanswered. The phone clicks, and a deep voice rumbles through the speaker.

“Elena? What’s up?”

“He’s back.” My voice comes out shaky even to my own ears.

“He’s not back, Elle. I took care of him last time. Why do you think it’s him?” He tries to reassure me.

“Same card, same signature. It’s him. I don’t know who you took care of, but it wasn’t the right guy.”

“That’s impossible…” He whispers in shock.

“I’m telling you it’s not. What the hell am I going to do, Mac?”