Chapter 9 Vows And Revenge

"Marco? What... what is this?" Lena asked, staring down at Marco. She was too shocked to raise her gun so it remained idled by her side.

"You see, Selene," Marco answered, that lazy smile still on his face, "you've now become important. A leverage we can use against Moretti."

Moretti again!! Lena was getting sick of hearing that name. "A leverage?" she repeated, her voice cold. "Against Moretti?" She gave a sharp laugh. "You're all fools. You and whoever sent you. I am not important to Moretti. I am just a business deal, one he can replace easily."

Marco nodded slowly. "Sí, you can be replaced, but Moretti, the bastard, is a man of pride. He wouldn't let anybody who touches his soon-to-be wife walk away."

A bitter cold passes through Lena. "How did you know about that?" she demanded, finally clicking her gun off safely and pointing it at Marco. His men-all five of them-all raised their guns and pointed them at Lena. But she only had her eyes on Marco. She would kill the betrayer before they killed her.

Marco simply shrugged off her question and said, "We have our means."

Lena narrowed her eyes at him. "Did you get me an appointment with Moretti knowing this was going to happen?"

"Oh, no," he answered. "All that was on Moretti. But now we're going to use that to our benefit."

"Who is this 'we' you keep talking about?" Perhaps if she knew who she was dealing with it would make the ground she was currently standing on, solid. She hated dealing with the anonymous.

Marco grinned. "Smart girl. Still trying to gather information while six guns are pointing at you?"

Lena said nothing and just stared at him.

Marco's expression became serious and he held his gun straight. "You're coming with us."

Lena's fingers tightened on the trigger. "Like hell I am," she gritted.

Marco clenched his jaw. "I don't want to resort to violence, Selene."

"That ship sailed when you broke into my home. You'll all leave here either with my dead body or I'll be the one clearing out your bodies."

Lena tried not to let her nerves show. Six against one was not a fair number. But she wasn't going to follow them out of this house willingly and be a damn leverage that Moretti wouldn't care about and then they'll have to kill her.

Rafe Moretti was proving to be more trouble than Lena was anticipating. Was this marriage deal really worth all this?

"Violence it is then," Marco said, not looking pleased.

She looked at the men again. She had an advantage: she was standing on top of the stairs while they were at the bottom. She could take them out from this angle if she had the perfect shot.

She couldn't run to her room and called the police before they were on her. And besides the police were useless, all under someone's pocket so she couldn't trust them to not take her themselves.

So she was going to fight.

She fired first-two quick shots, the sound of the gunshot ringing through the room. One man collapsed instantly, a clean hit to the chest. Another staggered back, clutching his arm, but managed to stay on his feet, firing wildly in her direction.

"Cazzo!" Marco cursed, looking up at her with a mix of rage and frustration. He motioned to his men, and they scrambled for cover, returning fire in a barrage of bullets that barely missed Lena.

Lena darted behind the railing, ducking to the side as the bullets flew past. Her breath quickened, but she was focused-she couldn't let her guard down. The sound of their footsteps as they moved to flank her echoed in her ears, but she had no choice but to stay hidden.

Her eyes flicked down to Marco, who was now advancing toward the stairs, his body low, avoiding her line of sight. He's coming.

She squeezed the trigger again, but the remaining three men had positioned themselves, blocking her shot. The fight had shifted. She was no longer on the offensive-she was under siege.

"You think you're going to get away from me?" Marco called up to her, his voice cutting through the tension.

Lena gritted her teeth. She had to get rid of those men, and fast. Her gun was useless with them covering the stairway. But there was no way she was letting him reach her unchallenged.

Just then, the sound of heavy footsteps came from the hallway below, followed by shouts.

Lena's eyes widened. It was Rafe Moretti.

The door to the living room slammed open, and Rafe Moretti stepped inside, flanked by a handful of his men. Without hesitation, they took up positions around the room, immediately engaging Marco's remaining men. Bullets flew, but this time, Marco's crew wasn't in control. They were overwhelmed.

"You're outnumbered now, Marco," Rafe's voice rang out, cold and authoritative.

His men systematically took down two of Marco's men with efficient precision, and the third didn't last much longer, dropping to the floor with a gunshot to the leg.

But Marco wasn't done yet. He was fast, and determined, and his eyes were locked on Lena, the only one who mattered now.

The chaos around them only spurred him on, and he dashed up the stairs, making a desperate run toward Lena.

She had no time to react. She needed cover. But Marco was closing in-his movements swift and calculated.

Lena scrambled to her feet, dodging a wild shot from Marco. He was almost at the top. She couldn't let him get close enough.

Her pulse quickened.

As Marco lunged for her, his hand grabbing at her arm, Lena twisted with all her strength, throwing her body into a roll, narrowly avoiding his grasp. He tried again, but this time she ducked under him, pushing him hard into the wall, his body slamming against the banister.

The force of the hit left Marco staggered, but he didn't stay down long. He was back on his feet, his hands ready to strike, but Lena was already moving-throwing a quick, sharp kick to his side. The sound of bone cracking against bone rang out. Marco staggered back, growling in pain, but this only seemed to fuel his rage.

He came at her again, faster this time, his fist coming toward her face with a brutal swing. Lena blocked it, but the impact pushed her back, making her stumble. Damn it, he's strong.

But Lena wasn't out of options yet. She retaliated with a punch of her own, hitting him square in the jaw, sending him reeling. Marco gritted his teeth, blood dripping out of his mouth, shaking off the blow as he went for her again, his anger palpable in every move he made.

Just as Marco moved in for a final strike, Moretti appeared behind him, his voice cutting through the tension. "Enough."

Without missing a beat, Rafe grabbed Marco by the arm, twisting it behind his back and forcing him into an unrelenting hold. Marco struggled against him, but Rafe was stronger.

"You're done, Marco," Rafe said, his voice low and threatening.