I walked into work with a big smile plastered on my face. Today, so far, has been a good day and I'm just ready to go home to my kid. It's now summertime and school is out, so Rico is staying with Shay until I get home.

"Grace, you're glowing," Dr. Velez teased me. We laughed and began talking about the baby. Who she's going to look like, eye color, hair color, how light or dark she's going to be. I'm hoping for a dark baby, well as dark as she can be. I'm in love with melanin. The wide variety of complexions holds so much beauty.

As usual, it's slow and boring in here. The main house is also boring because I've learned that it's not Mr. Colombo's house but a distraction from his private home. Nothing exciting really happens here, not that I want injured men laying before me.

A few hours passed by before the door slammed open. A man began yelling in Italian with blood flowing down from his chest. Dr. Velez and I jumped up to help this man.

"What?" I asked him as I helped him to a bed and began searching for the bullet entry.

"Between us and them. They want all of what we have," He spoke slowly and his skin grew cold.

"Please, please, don't die!" I yelled then stepped aside for the doctor to help. This is what Dro was saying? The possibility of a 'war'. He did say in the next 48 hours. I pulled out my phone to call him but it went straight to voicemail.

I called Shay and Reno but neither of them answered. Next thing I know, men are all coming in here dropping like flies. I put my phone down to help but they died the minute they came into the room. The sound of gunshots made me scream. The sound still haunts me from that night.

The gunshots lasted for about an hour before I heard it went dead silent. Throughout the shootout, I hid behind the black steel door that leads to the medical equipment.

"Grace!" Dr. Velez called my name. They're outside? How did they even get through the amount of security that we have? I finally moved closer to him before I was stopped in my steps.

"They're here," I said and it felt like slow motion. A group of men walked into the room with suits on. They all looked around and past me before the one in front eyed me. What are they? The matrix?

"Grace" One looked at me and said. He didn't ask. They all had guns in their hands. I didn't say anything and I tried my best to hide my fear from my face. Just a few hours ago everything was all good. What the hell happened?

"And you are?" I put my hands on my hips to stop them from shaking. I glanced down at my stomach and thanked God I wore my scrubs that are a size too big. Not only is my life at risk, so is my baby's life and that thought alone is pissing me off.

The man chuckled and held his gun up to my face. He took a few steps forward until the cold steel touched my face. I still showed no fear but on the inside I really want to pee myself. In a blink of an eye, I can be dead. My son won't have a mother or father, my daughter will probably die right along with me and my family-

"Gracey," The man brought me out of my thoughts. He pushed the gun deeper into my skin, I'm sure it's going to leave a mark on my face.

"What's your name? You look like a Tony," I smiled in his face and his eyebrows met in the middle of his forehead, confusion written all over it. Rule #1 and rule #2 wrapped up in one.

"Rule number one, never show your emotions. Whether you're mad, sad, happy, scared. Never show it,".

"When you say rules, it makes you sound like you're training me to be a karate kid," I laughed and Dro rolled his eyes.

"Do you wanna learn it not?" He sassed.

I put my hands up. "Sorry sensei," I laughed and soon he laughed too.

"Rule number two," Dro sat in front of me. "Be sarcastically friendly. Ask their name, what they do for a living, something. When they answer, disrespect them,"

"What if they don't answer?" I asked while licking my ice cream.

"Continue on. Still disrespect them. The point of this is to put their guard down by making them angry," He laughed as ice cream fell down my shirt.

"Shut up! It's cold!" I screamed and laughed along with him. "But what if making them angry, makes them shoot?"

"That's something you'll know if you're ever in that predicament. Study you're opponent because he or she wants to kill you, make sure you see what buttons you can confidently push,"

He didn't answer me so I continued. "Because you look like a Tony," I started off. "There are two types of Tony's. There's the sexy, smart, probably good in bed Tony," The guy smirked and winked. "Then you have you. The other type. The disgusting, pathetic, kinda ugly, kiss your boss' ass type,"

"Oh Grace," I heard Doctor Velez say and I know he's shaking his head at me.

The mans whole demeanor dropped and his face turned red. I continued to smile in his face while he brought the gun down from my face and back with a slap. Did he just pistol whip me?

"Rule number three," Dro smiled. "Let them underestimate you. Let them think that you're weak and can't defend yourself,"

"Example," I said to him.

"Say a male has just slapped you across your face," He air slapped me. "Act shocked or in pain. Maybe it'll actually hurt,"

"Then fight?" I asked. He pulled me up off the couch.

"Hit me," He demanded and I laughed. "You can't hit that hard," Oh yeah? That's what you think? I brought my fist out and punched him in the face.

He groaned as the area grew red. "You hit harder than you look like you would've. That's good,"

I allowed my head to hand for a while then looked at him. "You shouldn't put your hands on a woman," I balled my fists up and punched him again and again until I saw his nose start to bleed.

"Rule number four. Nothing is off limits," Dro told me and frowned.

"What?" I asked. He's teaching me this in case anything happens while he's not around.

"I don't like the though of you having to defend yourself, especially pregnant," He rubbed my stomach and I nodded.

"I know," I kissed his arm as he continued to rub my stomach.

He sighed. "Anywhere or anything that looks like it can hurt them, damage it. Whether it be their body, a watch, ring, anything. As long as you feel like it's important to them,"

A gold chain shimmered in the light so I took it upon myself to snatch it off of his neck and throw it on the floor. A picture showed a beautiful young girl and I stepped on it, damaging the chain and the photo.

"That was my mother!" He yelled and I shrugged. "Ahh!" He yelled then pulled the trigger. I moved my body to the right and felt a sharp sting.

"Grace!" The doctor yelled as I fell onto my knees in pain. I just got shot. My hand instantly went to my stomach and I cried. Dro said not to show any emotion but I can't help it. My vision began to blur and I became lightheaded.

"Rule. Number. Five," He smirked. "Always have backup," He pulled out a gun and handed it to me.

"I don't want that," I pushed it out of my face.

"Do you know how to use it?" He asked but I ignored him. "Grace,"

"Yes! I've used one before, Dro. Remember? When I killed Andre!" I snapped and he sighed.

"I know you don't like it but they won't care about your fear," He softly said to me. I nodded because it's true, they only have one objective and it's to kill me.

I reached behind me and pulled the gun Dro gave me from my back. "You just shot me!" I yelled. I don't want to do this again. I really don't want to kill this man and possibly the friends he brought with him.

"Shoot me!" He laughed. "Can't cause you're scared," I looked behind him to see his friends ready with their guns but before I could even blink, they started dropping like flies. Next thing I know, the man is bleeding out in front of me.

"Jesus," The familiar voice muttered. I felt my body being lifted up then set down.

"This isn't good for the baby, they'll live but it's an entire shock on the body," I heard the doctor say before I blacked out.

*

*

*

*

"You put her in this fucking situation! She could've fucking died, Alessandro!"

"Don't you think I knew that! You're not making me feel better! Fuck!" I heard something being thrown across the room and a few sniffles. Is he crying? "If either one of them had died, I don't know what I would've done,"

I opened my eyes to see me in one of the upstairs rooms. Sarah and Alessandro stood there hugging. They pulled away and both of their faces are red. He wiped his face while she just let her tears stay.

"Hey," I called out but it came out raspy. I cleared my throat then said it again. They both turned to me and frowned. My hands instantly went to my belly and I sighed in relief when I felt the bump.

"Grace, I swear to God. I never meant for this to-" He stopped talking. "This is the last place I ever expected anyone to come,"

"Sarah, how'd you find this place?" I asked. If it's such a secret place that I had to be blindfolded to come here, how'd she find it?

"He told me to get you because the doctor called him once the shooting started," She responded.

I nodded. "It's not that I don't trust you, I do, you're my best friend. I'm just more cautious," I looked at my bandaged arm. That shit hurt like hell!

"Sarah can you go? She'll be okay now. Tarzan is heading here," Dro said to his sister and she laughed.

"Probably jumping from building to building to get here," she laughed.

Dro cracked a smile. "Probably and thank you," He kissed her temple and she left but not before kissing my stomach.

As Alessandro paced around the room, I easily got out of bed. "Baby," I held his shoulders.

"Lets go. This is the calm before the storm," He took my hand and we left.

"Please don't blame yourself," I said to him but he ignored me. So I left him alone. We were close to our neighborhood when someone started shooting at us.

"Get down!" He yelled. I did my best to get down as quick as possible. I slid the chair back so there's more space. "Fuck!" I saw him get a large gun from under his seat then cracked his window and began spraying the truck behind us. I didn't hear anymore shooting from behind us but I stayed down. My heartbeat is beating faster than ever with anxiety.

When we finally made it, Reno helped me out of the car and upstairs. This isn't Dro's house. He must've made a detour. Everything happened so quick, I don't even know if I'm breathing.

"You're a trooper. Your sister and Rico are doing fine," Reno whispered to me and I have a little sense of relief.

"You guys were blindsided but that doesn't mean act like bitches. Y'all have strong alliances, use them and I'm sure you have big, big guns. Don't act dumb," I said to him and he chuckled.

"Ok Boss," He nodded and helped me up the stairs of this unfamiliar house. The room he left me in has a bunch of random clothes of mine and Rico's scattered on the bed, some already in a duffle bag.

Dro came upstairs and continued packing clothes in two duffle bags and still hasn't spoken a word to me. "Baby, I knew what I sighed up for when I decided to be with you. Stop blocking me out,"

"Stop! Stop taking to me! This is exactly why I don't do this!" He snapped he then started yelling in Italian. I just stood there. I'm already used to his emotional outbursts. He's only yelling because he feels responsible for all that's happened and is happening to me.

"Don't do what?" I finally asked and he didn't answer. "Don't do what?!" I yelled. He looked at me with dark eyes, I've never seen his eyes get darker by his anger. It's scaring me because the last person whose eyes did that, began beating me.

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