"Come with me, boys" Alicia said to her sons as soon as Dmitri left with Lilly.
The triplets exchanged glances before following their mother to her bedroom. "Sit down" she said and they all obeyed.
"Care to explain what's going on? You're starting to freak me out. Should I be worried about something you're not telling me?" She said.
The three of them remained silent, not wanting to scare their mother. "Do I have to beg?"
Valentino broke the silence first.
"No, mum. It's just that...we think Baron would likely attack tonight" he said.
Mrs Montero looked like she was going to pass out. She'd suddenly turned pale.
"Mum, you should sit down" Xanthis said.
"How do you know that?" She asked, steadying herself.
"Strangely, we all can feel it. An insider just confirmed it" Xandre said.
"Is that why you wanted Lilly out of the house?"
Xanthis nodded.
"Well, if he's attacking tonight... don't you think that Noelle and Ellise shouldn't be here too?" She asked.
Xandre sighed.
"Ellise refused to leave" He said.
"Noelle didn't want to leave either. I tried to convince her, but she wouldn't listen to me" Val added. Alicia pinched the bridge of her nose.
She inhaled shakily.
"If that monster is coming here tonight, I want the three of you to promise me that you won't die. I just got you back few months ago and I can't loose you. I can't..."
The three siblings stood up as their mum broke into a sob.
"I'm sorry. I just... I don't want to loose any of you... I wish you don't have to fight at all" Alicia sobbed. Her three sons took turns in consoling their mum. She smiled at her children.
It felt like it was just yesterday that she'd held her new born babies in her arms. She admired their strength and courage. Her sons had turned out to be such wonderful men and she was proud of them. So proud of them. "Mother, we will be fine" Alexandre said, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.
She beamed.
"One more thing, mum. You shouldn't be in the house either. We want you safe" Xanthis said.
Alicia nodded.
"I'll be leaving right away. Call me when it's over. Please call me. I need to know that you are all okay"
They nodded and accompanied their mum to her car and watched her drive off.
Val pulled back his hair in a low bun and peered down at his wrist watch. "He'll be here soon. We have five minutes left" he said.
"C'mon, let's go upstairs" Xandre said. Ellise walked up to Dre and embraced him.
"You won't get hurt, will you?" She said. He sighed.
"You shouldn't be here, Ellie. I don't want you to get hurt" Xandre said.
"You are not alone in this. This family is my family too. I'm not just going to ignore this fight. I can defend myself"
"Okay. But if anything happens, please don't take a bullet for me"
Ellise frowned, pressing a kiss to his jaw. "I'm not going to promise you that. Besides, I know you'll always take a bullet for me. We're going to be married soon, I will take a bullet for you if need be"
Alexandre stared at Ellise, passion in his eyes. She was such a strong willed lady. She was so stubborn, but he loved her dearly to the moon and back. His angel. His better half.
..
"I'm not going anywhere, Val. You can't change my mind" Noelle said as she loaded her guns. "Look, what I'm doing to you. This is dangerous. Besides, you can't defend yourself"
She scoffed and aimed at a glass cup and shot it without looking at it. "Okay, I get it. You're skilled with guns and....how did you learn to use them?"
"I was a hit girl during my teens. My father was in a mafia, duh"
Valentino sighed, running a hand down his face.
"We're just friends. You shouldn't be risking your life" Valentino said.
Noelle dropped the guns, looking him square in the eyes.
Suddenly, her lips met his. When she pulled away, he stared at her, eyes wide.
"I don't know about you, but I can feel the tension between us. I know I had a rough past and somehow I am comfortable with you. I want to fight for you and with you because I like you. Now, you know. If you'll excuse me, I've got guns to load" she said and walked away.
"Shit" Val muttered under his breath unable to believe what had just happened.
He turned around with a start when he heard someone whistle behind him. Xanthis had a smirk on his face. "Man, that was hot" he said and he felt the corners of his lips curve slightly.
"You should totally go for Noelle. She's very straightforward" Xanthis said. "Shit- Sherlock. I didn't expect that" Valentino said
Xanthis grinned, patting his brother on the shoulder.
"I can tell. It's a beautiful world, Val. Make great use of your time here"
...
"Whatever you do, don't let down your guard--" Alessio had barely completed his statement when they heard a loud bang. The alarm went off and at once, they knew that Baron had finally arrived. They hid their guns close to themselves, wanting Baron to think that he'd caught them unaware.
Several masked men invaded the building and gun shots went off.
They were all over the place. It was hard to find Baron.
Alexandre's men weren't swayed either. They fought vigorously.
Ellise was worried. She was worried about the safety of her fiance. Even as she fought, her mind kept racing.
Two of the masked men approached her, guns pointing at her face. She smirked, swirling around to sweep them off their feets.
"So clumsy" she muttered, her bullets hitting their targets. Through the fog and smoke, it was hard to figure out where the others were.
Just then, someone bumped into her back. She turned sharply, heaving a sigh when she saw that it was just Dominic. He had a few scratches here and there with a sheen of sweat on his forehead.
"Be careful, Ellise. Don't let your guard down even for once" he said as they tackled two other masked men to the ground.
"Where's Xandre?" She asked.
"Upper floor with the others. The men there are more skillful than these ones. You shouldn't head up there" he replied, swinging a heavy punch on his assailant. "They're too many" Ellise breathed.
"We've merely begun. Just keep fighting but don't fight to kill. Fight to disarm. The cops will be here sooner or later"
She nodded.
...
The fight went on until an hour had passed. The smoke had cleared enough to see the wounded masked men lying on the floor. Ellise quickly dashed upstairs.
"No, Ellise! Damnit. Xandre is going to kill me for this" Dominic muttered, rushing after her. As soon as she opened the door, she found Xandre and his brothers.
Baron was standing in the middle of the room. Noelle was being held at gun point by a masked man. Ellise's stomach dropped to the bottom of her boots when Baron's silvery gaze rested on her.
"Look who has decided to grace us with her presence. The queen of all queens, Ellise Sumners. I've heard so much about you" Baron said and she felt her stomach churn. Xandre had a worried look in his eyes, his temple was bleeding and he was bleeding from his nose. Val looked like he was going to be sick, he had a nasty knife wound on his stomach. Xanthis had a look of horror in his eyes, he had lacerations on his arm and a cut above his eye.
"Now, we're all so helpless aren't we?" Baron said, smirking.
"Papa Montero can't help either" he chuckled. It was then I saw Alessio propped up to the wall with a bullet wound to his shoulder. "Let me make it clear to you. I am Emperor X. The king that overthrows every other king. It's just what I do. Unfortunately, the Monteros are considered by the public to be made up of Kings. No one is king apart from me. I've brought down so many Kings.... The Landons of California...it was me. I killed them all. The Vladimirs of Russia, it was me too, I hunted them down. The Stonewalls of Detroit, I brought them down. The Santiagos of Italy, it was all my doing. The list goes on and on. It's your turn now. I admit the fact that you gave me quite a challenge. Everything ends tonight. I'll kill every single one of you and brand my name on your porcelain skin"
"Oh, Ellise... I have a little surprise for you" Baron said and brought someone forward. She had a bag over her face. He took off the bag and threw her at Ellise's feet. She gapsed when she saw her. Anne.
She looked so horrible. Her face was covered in blood and grime, her dress was dirty and torn. She was bony and fragile looking.
Tears filled her eyes.
"I'm sorry, El. He forced me. He tortured me. I couldn't do it anymore. Forgive me, El" Anne sobbed. Ellise knelt beside her as she held her hand.
"Don't let him get away. Kill him. He deserves to die..." Anne rasped. Baron shot her twice on the back. Anne's eyes slipped close one last time as she took her last breath.
"You'll pay for this!" Ellise yelled, anger and grief pulsing through her veins.
Three men came from behind, hitting Dre, Val and Xanthis on the head. Ellise screamed out in anger, thrashing against her assailant's hold. Baron grinned and ambled towards Dre who was being held down by one of Baron's men. With a smile of triumph, his dirty finger traced Dre's skin.
"Why? Aren't you so beautiful. Just look at you" He said and Ellise snapped.
"Get your hands off him, you pig!"
Dre stared at Baron, a bored expression on his face. Ellise stopped struggling, confused. She wondered why he wasn't doing anything.
"You look so much like my ex protège. Don't you think so, Ellie? Why do you want to have him all to yourself, Ellie? You wouldn't mind sharing him with me, right?" Baron drawled.
"What?!" Ellise and Noelle gasped.
Dre smirked, a sinister look in his eyes. Baron's finger glided down to the button of Dre's shirt when he noticed the blinking small object on it and Ellie was about to explode with anger.
"What's this on your shirt? A bomb? You're willing to kill everyone--"
Dre suddenly released himself in one fluid motion and stood up. Baron didn't look impressed. He had a sickening smile on his face.
Xandre and Valentino exchanged glances, they were soon standing beside Alexandre.
"That little drama wasn't impressive" Baron said, letting out a mock sigh.
Dre grinned, pulling out a gun.
"For someone who's so smart and dangerous, you are careless. I'll say you got carried away. You didn't notice that Adelynn had poisoned your feeding tube when she was struggling. The trigger was actually on the button of my shirt. Stupidly, you triggered it and surprise, surprise..... you've lost"