I smile as I feel his lips on my neck once more. I don't even care that my father can see me right now. Having a dance with the man I'm soon to marry has made me extremely happy and I won't let anything ruin it.

His lips linger over my skin for a second before he presses them back into my neck, sucking on the skin for a moment. I let out a little whimper as his lips part against my neck.

Vincenzo lifts his head to look down at me with a wide, proud smile. "Nyx Martinelli," he tests the name on his tongue and I smile up at him. "Can't wait to see you walk down the aisle," he whispers with that smile of his.

He lowers his head and I bring mine up, connecting our lips in a gentle kiss. The guests clap and cheer as Vincenzo and I share a moment of bliss.

His lips part against my lips and I give him a quick peck. I lower my head once more and keep a firm hold on his forearms just incase I slip.

"Absolutely beautiful."

I let my eyes roll back a bit and I see something strange by the doors. They seem as if they are being pushed but someone is fighting to keep them closed.

A moment later, the doors of the ballroom burst open and my eyes widen. Vincenzo quickly lifts me up and pushes me behind his back.

I look past his frame to the top of the staircase and see a bunch of men with guns flood into the room. The sound of machine guns unleashing a deadly amount of rounds throughout the ballroom rings into my ears.

Paula stands at the top of the staircase with a smile spread across her face and a gun between her fingers. The men around the room cease fire, leaving the smell of metal and gunpowder in the air.

I should've killed that bitch when I had the chance.

I step around Vincenzo's frame and she smiles when she sees me. "Good, you are here," she says while stepping down the stairs. She stops in the middle of the staircase and I glare at her.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Lorenzo shouts from somewhere behind us and her eyes find his. "Paula? Have you gone insane?"

"Just a bit," she laughs while pointing her gun at my head. "Die bitch." Instead of the bullet cracking through my skull, Vincenzo moves in front of me.

"No!" I shout and quickly look to see where the bullet penetrated.

"It's just a graze," he says lowly as he shows me his shoulder. The bullet thankfully grazed over his skin and it doesn't look like he is going to need sticthes or anything like that. "I'm fine, I've been through worse," he says as he attempts to ease the worry scribbled all over my face.

"You bitch," I grumble while turning around. I pull the gun out from the holster wrapped around my leg and point it at Paula's head.

I try to pull the trigger, but I'm interrupted by a chilling tone. "I wouldn't do that," a deep Russian accented voice speaks and I slowly turn around.

"You are truly a very beautiful woman," the blonde man compliments as he walks past me.

"I knew there was something up with you," I say while pointing the gun at his head instead.

"My accent slipped at the wrong time," he says with a chuckle. I move my finger to the trigger and he smiles.

The men all around the room point their guns at me, and the rest of Vincenzo's family members. "You pull the trigger, and your new family dies." He walks up the stairs and stands next to Paula who practically throws herself onto him.

"Pull the trigger and watch how your family dies," Paula says while dragging her finger along the man's jaw. "Watch how they mercilessly kill Paolo," she says, her eyes snapping down to mine.

"That's your child!" I shout, my shaky hands unable to keep the gun straight. "You are evil!"

"So are you," she spits while pushing herself off the Russian man. "You left me for dead in a hell hole of a hospital," she grinds her teeth together as she speaks. "Pull the damn trigger and see what happens," she challenges.

I drop the gun and take a step back. I'm not going to let my new family die because I wanted to kill Paula. When we make it outbof here alive, she will be sorry.

"She's an obedient one," the Russian man laughs while shifting his gaze to Vincenzo.

"And you have a reckless one," he says, referring to Paula. "Where is your brother? Does he know you are doing this right now?" I can just hear the smirk in his tone.

I keep my eyes on Paula because I know she's crazy enough to shoot anyone just because.

"Don't act stupid!" The blonde man bursts while stepping down a few stairs. "Your men killed him! You killed my brother and you are here acting dumb?"

"I didn't know he was dead," Vincenzo says lowly.

"Bull shit," his accent is thick. "You killed my brother, now I will kill all of yours, your woman too." The lights suddenly go off and I go into a full panic.

I'm grabbed from behind and try to scream, but he puts his hand over my mouth. "Amore," he whispers and I instantly calm down.

"Count till thirty and don't move," he says and I shake my head. "Trust me." I can't see a thing and there are men in this room who can shoot me down if I stay still. "You will be fine."

"One..." His hand lifts off my mouth as I choose to follow his order. I feel his body heat disappear completely and panic sets in once more.

"Two, three, four, five." The sound of doors banging against the walls catches me off guard but I don't stop counting.

"Six, seven, eight, nine, ten..." Bullets begin to fly and I keep standing still. "Eleven, twelve." A bullet passes right next to my head and I suppress a scream.

I don't know what is going exactly, but I have to trust Vincenzo. He said I'm going to be just fine if I stay still so I'm going to do just that.

This wasn't even supposed to happen. Security was perfect, but these people still found a way past the gates and the guards stationed outside.

They moved into the house without drawing attention to themselves, and here they are now, shooting at the people in this room.

"Twenty two, twent three." Seven more seconds before Vincenzo makes all of this better. This is not how I wanted the night to end at all.

It was supposed to be a happy night where nothing went south and we celebrated our engagement. Now, Vincenzo got shot because he was protecting me and his brothers are in danger.

"Thirty."

The lights come back on, blinding me for a moment, but I soon adjust to the brightness of the lights.

Bodies everywhere.

A few of the men that came with Paula are laying at my feet with blood pooling underneath their bodies. Some of the guests are also on the floor, some of them bleeding out while some are already dead.

Everyone in my new family, my father included, are safe behind a wall of Vincenzo's men. I don't care where my horrible mother nor sister are.

They could be drowning in their own blood right now, and I wouldn't care to help them.

Angelo stands in front of all of the men standing in front of my family with his gun raised. His eyes are extremely red and looks exhausted.

"You are fine," Vincenzo says from besides me and I immediately jump into his arms.

"What happened?" I ask while pushing off of him.

"It's just something that happens when the family is presented with danger. The lights go off and the room floods with my men. They only have thirty seconds to kill the enemy while they are blinded."

"Amazing," is all I can say about this situation. "Wait, where is Paula?"

"Both Paula and Ivan got away," he says with a disappointed look. "But we will get them," he adds, his look changing into one of determination.

"Definitely."

Angelo jogs over to us and bows his head. "The family is secure. Riccardo and Lorenzo have been shot, but it isn't major wounds," he says and my eyes widen.

Angelo lifts his head and there is so much pain in his eyes. I throw my arms around him and he stiffens up in my hold. "I'm glad you are ok," I mumble into his chest as he hugs me back.

We hold each other for a moment longer as I take in his strong scent. "Where's Nicola?" I ask while pulling away from the hug.

He doesn't give me a response.

"Where is Nicola?" I ask once more and he just looks down. "No... no... no..." I step away from him and look around the room, trying to see if I can see him.

"Nyx," Angelo says while trying to hold me, but I duck away from his hands

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Where is Nicola?

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