CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CRYSTAL

"Alonso you have been staring at me for the past fifteen minutes. If you want to say something, say it." Crystal demands as she looks out of the window. She stands by the window, admiring the view it provides.

"You know, I thought about you many times; the things you said to me somehow got imprinted in my mind." She smiles at his words, but she doesn't turn around to face him until she hides it. Crystal doesn't trust him, she barely knows him. She doesn't think he intends to hurt her, but she prefers to know him better before she lets him in.

In addition, she feels la little awkward around him after she heard the conversation he had with the other men in the morning. What Alonso told them explained what he wants from her, and while he did come to her mind a few times since they met that night, she isn't sure if she ready to grant him what he wishes for. She doesn't even know if she wants the same thing. Crystal is not blind, she knows he is handsome, but she doesn't know his personality, and until she does she will not let him in.

"Well, I have been told that I have this affect on people." She gives him a cocky smile. Alonso chuckles, it is like everything she does amuses him. Thus, she finds it a little problematic to act the way she did when they first met, to be herself.

"You're tense." It isn't a question.

"You're perceptive." Crystal chooses to not confirm nor deny his claim.

"You don't have to be anxious round me." He gets off the couch with a wince.

"How is your shoulder?" Alonso asks as he presses his hand gently on her wound. She closes her eyes expecting to feel some kind of pain due to the touch earning her a chuckle from Alonso.

"How can you be skilled when it comes to fighting, but you cannot take being shot very well?" he asks her as he strokes her shoulder, her shirt prevents their skin from touching.

"One, that is my first bullet wound. Two, was this your way of asking me about my fighting skills?" she pulls away from him.

"You did say you will explain it." Alonso holds her hand and pushes her towards his chest. Every bone in her body screams at her to break free, but his warmth prohibits her from doing so.

"Let's just say that my brother and Lucas are not the only ones who have secrets."

"Can you trust me with one of your secrets?" Alonso's arms make their ways around Crystal's waist.

"Now why would I do that?" Crystal leans closer to him, their faces get closer to each other with every sentence that is said.

"Because in exchange I will tell you one of mine." When she gives him a hesitant look, Alonso speaks again.

"Okay, I will start. Since you didn't tell me your real name, I gave you one that I felt fits you better than 'Crys' or even 'Crystal' for that matter."

"Oh really? And what is my nickname Bagel?" Crystal wraps her arms around his neck, forgetting her decision to not let him in before she gets to know him.

"Bel fuocu." He answers proudly.

"What does it mean?" Crystal gives him a confused look.

"Beautiful fir…" Alonso gets interrupted by the sirens that echo throughout the house.

"What is this? What is going on?" Crystal moves a little closer to Alonso's body feeling a little intimidated by the sound and the sound of chaos that follows.

"It must be the Russians." Alonso says not really answering her question. He pulls away from her and makes his way into his closet. Crystal is about to follow, but Alonso doesn't give her a chance as he emerges once again with two guns in his hands. She can see another two hidden under his shirt.

"Are you insane? You are in no shape to fight!" Her panic is lucid in both her voice and the way she throws her hands in the air. Alonso walks up to her and cups her cheeks with his hands still holding the guns.

"Crystal listen to me." He says capturing her full attention.

"We need to get out of here okay? And we can't exactly risk running in one of the intruders unarmed can we?" when she shakes her head he gives her a sharp nod before pulling away from her so he can grab her hand.

"No matter what happens you stay by my side." He orders before he walks out of the room with her right beside him. For some reason, crystal concentrates on her worry for Alonso's well being rather than what is actually happening around her.

"Alonso, where are we going?" Crystal asks above the guns shots. The Italian mafia boss doesn't reply, but he pushes crystal into his chest before he fires his gun a couple of times behind Crystal. The sound of bodies dropping to the ground tells crystal that the men Alonso shot are either knocked down or dead. Her fear makes her pray that it is the later.

"Are you alright?" Alonso gives her a quick glance. She nods when her words fail her. Crystal has never thought of death, she didn't think it will come and knock at her door before she is at least sixty years old. Ever since Alonso got shot, however, death has been a constant thought in her mind. It haunted her in the night. It stole her perspective of life, not in the way where she doesn't believe in them anymore, but rather she is scared that it is not good enough.

Over the last few days, Crystal has realized that in a way she has been taking life for granted. She held on to her grudges rather than confront her brother, she smiled in Lucas' face when all she wanted was to scream at him, and she published all her work under a name that is not her own.

"I am taking you to one of the same room, you cannot be in the middle of this chaos." He declares as he pulls her from one hallway to the other.

"What? Alonso no! I have to make sure Nicholas and Lucas are okay." He turns Crystal around forcing her to face him.

"Crystal I cannot put you in danger again, I won't repeat the same mistake twice." Alonso doesn't give her a chance to say anything as he pushes her in between his body and the wall as he shoots every hostile that comes their way. A few minutes later, they are once again roaming the house trying to avoid the men who invaded the house.

"I am starting to think we should have stayed in your room." Crystal mutters to herself as she sees his wound start to bleed. His stitches must have opened. If Alonso is in serious pain he doesn't show it.

"I have to say, I am glad my men failed at killing you, that way I get to have the pleasure." A blonde man says at the door of the safe room. He has two men standing at each side, guarding him.

"Ivan." Alonso says bitterly, Crystal can literally feel his anger and hatred in this one word, this one name.

"Don't tell me you're not happy to see me old friend." Ivan gives Alonso a wicked smile.

"I am not your friend." Alonso says through clenched teeth as he pulls Crystal behind him.

"So I have heard. I have to admit, my feelings were a little hurt when I found out that you are the Brazilian's friend and not mine." Then Ivan's attention turns to Crystal making her hold the back of Alonso's shirt a little too tight. There is something about his gaze that screams danger. His presence alone makes her want to run for the hills.

"I was even more hurt when a little bird told me that you have your eyes on my property." Ivan's eyes scan Crystal's body even though most of her is hidden behind the Italian man.

"I am not a property you prick." Crystal gains a part of her courage and personality when the creepy stranger looks at her with contempt and insults her.

"Ah, so your parents weren't lying, you do need a few lessons in manners." Ivan's evil smirk returns.

"What do you want Ivan?" Alonso tries to draw the attention to himself rather than on her.

"Well, Alonso the thing I want is standing right behind you. So, why don't you hand her over?" Alonso's hand reaches out to her, she accepts it immediately.

"That is not going to happen."

"And how are you going to stop me? Alberto is busy saving his wife, Nicholas is basically functioning as a human shield to your sister, Ignazio have at least twenty men on his tail, and Lucas is actually bleeding on the floor as we speak. As for you, you don't look in the right shape to fight all five of us." Crystal can hear her heart bumping when she hears that Lucas is injured.

"You will still lose." Alonso answers simply as his hand tightens even more around Crystal's. She feels like he is trying to give her a message, but she doesn't know what it is.

"I wouldn't be so sure." Ivan says. On cue, his men raise their guns and point them at Alonso's head. Still, the Italian man doesn't stand down.

"Guns are not the only weapons I have." Alonso tightens his hold on Crystal's hand one last time before letting it go. Crystal looks at the ground as she tries to maintain her smile when she understands what Alonso has been trying to tell her. She looks around the room, scanning the furniture that is in it. She is looking for things that can help her. When guy number one turns off the safety of his gun, she moves.

Crystal places her left foot on the wall and jumps. Her right foot collides with the guy number one's gun, throwing it to the ground. Once both of her feet are on the ground, she pushes the gun towards Alonso with her foot before she uses it to push guy number two into the table behind him. Thus, his gun falls from his hands.

Crystal can hear gun shots in the room but she is focused on guys number one and two to check out what is happening. She does, however, lean down pick up the gun on the floor, and place it under her bra. Unfortunately, guy number one uses the opportunity and knocks her to the ground.

Before she can react, the guy wraps both of his hands around her neck. Crystal looks the guy dead in the eye before she wraps her legs around his neck and pushes him off of her. She doesn't wait for him to make a move before she hits his head with guy number one and then the table. As a result, he falls unconscious and the table breaks.

As for guy number one, she grabs one of the table's broken pieces and hits him with it on his leg. Thus, it breaks leaving him whimpering and glaring at her. Crystal ignores him, though, as she goes to assist Alonso.

Due to her lack of bravery to fight Ivan, she goes after one of his minions. She stands right behind him and hits him weakly on his back to get his attention. Once he turns around, she punches him on his throat, which gives her a few seconds to pull her knee up and hit him in the gut causing him to fall to the ground.

Crystal searches for Alonso with her eyes to find him pinned down by Ivan and the last minion standing. She doesn't want to risk angering Ivan enough for him to come near her. So, she pulls the gun she hid earlier out and uses it to knock the minion out by hitting him on the head with the weapon.

Ivan looks at her with surprise finally realizing that she alone took four of his men down. Crystal uses the opportunity and throws the gun in her hand to Alonso seeing as he managed to lose the one she delivered a few minutes ago.

The Italian mafia boss twists Ivan's arm and pushes his head into the wall. Alonso turns off the safety of the gun and pushes it against Ivan's forehead.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't pull the trigger?" Alonso gasps between his words; a sign that he has overworked his body.

"What is about her that you see? You barely even know her. Give her to me and I will leave your mafia alone." Ivan's attitude does not vanish which makes Crystal want to punch him in the face. His creepy smile is the only thing that stops her.

"I already told you that is not going to happen." Alonso's hand, the one holding the gun, starts to shake due to the ire he feels.

"So, it is true then. You have found your perfect woman in the Brazilian boss's sister. I wonder what Nicholas Moreno will do when he hears about this." Ivan's laugh sends shivers down Crystal's body.

'You have found your perfect woman.' These words remind Crystal of one of the mafia's rules: No man is allowed to date a woman unless he intends on marrying her. Once said woman is claimed no other man has a right to try to approach her.

Crystal doesn't know if the conversation the men had in the morning means that Alonso had claimed her. The idea of being claimed does not settle well with her for many reasons. For example: she doesn't know what would happen if she rejects Alonso; will he be able to take her against her will? Will her brother stand by her? Will Lucas?

After all, she is not in love with the Italian mafia boss, she does not imagine spending the rest of her life with him. That does not mean she doesn't find him alluring. Crystal takes a mental note to ask Lucas about it since it would be too awkward to discuss it with her brother.

"He would shoot you in the balls for looking at his sister in a way he doesn't like." Nicholas appears into the room with his gun raised as he points it at Ivan's private area. Crystal turns her gaze to the door to see the rest standing at the room's entrance. Lucas holds his bloodied hand, his expression reveals that his anger overpowers his pain, Leora practically throws herself in Ignazio's arms as she lets a few tears run down her cheeks and Ignazio barely acknowledging her as he keeps balancing his gun in his hand, and Alberto holds a cold expression on his face while stroking Mila's hair gently. She seems to be overreacting with the tears considering that she is not harmed in any way, but that is just Crystal's opinion.

"All your men are either dead or unconscious, which puts you in a critical situation Ivan." Alberto maintains his hard glare.

"You lost." Ignazio says as he tries to push Leora away, but she doesn't allow him to. Crystal takes another mental note to ask about that.

"On the contrary, the game has just begun, and you idiots gave me exactly what I want." Ivan manages to give Crustal a side glace earning a shudder from her.

"Don't look at her you bastard, look at me." Nicholas yells grabbing Ivan by the hair and slamming him into the wall in much more force than Alonso did. Instead of pushing his head into the wall like earlier, the men let Ivan fall to the ground with a grunt.

It takes him a few seconds, but eventually, Ivan gets up. He gives Crystal a psychotic smile as he starts to make his way to her. Unconsciously, she starts to take a few steps back.

"I am going to make both your brother and your lover suffer through you; just wait until I get my hands on you…" He has gotten to close that Crystal starts to shake and closes her eyes to avoid looking into his.

All she hears is two gun shots and Ivan's screams before his weight falls on her. Before they could reach the ground, Alonso pushes Ivan's body to the side, and holds Crystal by the waist.

Despite it not being the right time to do so, Crystal stares at Alonso in both confusion and reluctance; the whole claiming thing freaks her out even though Alonso has saved a couple of times now.

"Not to interrupt whatever you two are doing, but we really need to leave." Ignazio says with a tired voice.