Chapter 4: Fleeing the Crime Scene

Forcing my eyes shut, I held my breath, waiting for the pain of the first blow. But it never came.

The sound of metal clanking to the ground caused my eyes to dart open. I expected to see both men with their weapons still held on me and was shocked when my teary blurred vision focused. Kade and Tony were no longer in front of me. They were now a foot away, face to face, both of them looking furious. The knife lay a little further away on the ground.

“What the f*ck are you doing hitting a knife out of my hand like that?” Tony yelled.

‘What is he doing?’ I thought to myself.

“You don't need to kill her. She didn't do anything,” Kade countered, matching his tone.

‘He’s defending me,’ I realized. ‘Why is he defending me?’

I watched as the argument escalated.

“Your f*cking kidding me, right?” Tony gave a mad laugh. “She just watched us f*cking kill someone, and you're saying to do what? Let her go?!"

My eyes flicked to Kade. His gaze met mine, holding an odd stare momentarily before turning back to Tony.

“She said she wouldn't tell anyone. We know where she lives; do you really think she would risk it?” Kade shrugged as he tried to rationalize with Tony.

I thought about what Kade said. As much as I hated to admit it, he was right. I wouldn't go to the police, but I would definitely be packed up and gone by the end of the night.

“Well, why wouldn't we avoid the drive to her house and just get it over with now?” Tony asked, now taking a very heated step toward me. That demonic look in his eyes hadn't left; if anything, it was stronger.

Feeling panic shoot through me like lightning, I jumped to my feet. Tony continued towards me, his face twisted, clearly ready to hurt me against Kade’s wishes. Right as Tony went to grab me by my hair, Kade intercepted by stepping in between Tony and me. He grabbed Tony by the edge of his shirt and was almost nose-to-nose with him.

“Tony. I said you’re not f*cking hurting her,” Kade sneered in a low and dangerous voice.

That's when I thought about the knife. Seeing that the two men were distracted by each other, I decided to lunge for it. Taking the bloody knife in my hand, I pointed it toward the two men. Kade's eyes were wide with surprise, but Tony began laughing.

“What? Are ya going to kill us, doll?” Tony spat, his eyes gleaming with a sick and twisted amusement.

Kade's glance bounced to the knife in my hand, clearly wondering if I was going to try and use the knife to hurt one of them.

“I'm leaving,” I shouted, holding the knife out like I was ready to use it. I was trying my best to make my false confidence sound believable.

Kade's eyes met mine, and he gave me what looked like a small nod. Tony glared at me, anger seething from him. I started to back away, my eyes still on the men.

I was about five feet away when Tony ripped out of Kade's grip, lunging full speed at me. Out of panic, I shoved the knife toward Tony; the blade entered his flesh, up near his shoulder. He fell to the ground groaning and writhing in pain.

“I'm going to kill you, you stupid f*cking b*tch,” Tony spat, pulling the gun out of his waistband.

Before I could even process what was happening, Kade grabbed my wrist and began pulling me out of the alley towards a black Audi. The sound of gunshots pounded behind us. Opening the passenger door, Kade practically flung me into the car, hopped in the driver's side, and sped off.

Punching the steering wheel as he raced down the dark New Jersey streets, Kade turned to me.

“Do you know what you just did?!” he shouted at me.

My mouth froze shut, fearing what might happen if I answered the question.

Kade's eyes were wild and wide as screamed. "DO YOU?!"

I could hear the stress and panic in his voice as he yelled at me.

“I stabbed a guy...” I forced the words out of my mouth while jolting at his intimidating tone.

I felt tears pricking up in my eyes, I looked down at my hands in my lap. They were covered in blood from stabbing Tony. My eyes fell back upon Kade, whose shirt and face were covered in blood spatter as well.

“You didn’t just stab some ‘guy’. You stabbed the leader of the Garzone Family,” Kade cursed, his eyes darting between the road and me.

“Family leader?” I stuttered out, confused about what he meant by 'family'.

Kade let out an angry huff, looking at me like I must have been idiotic.

“Like the f*cking leader of one of the Italian Mafia families," he said, looking directly at me.

My eyes widened, and chill shuddered through me, realizing the immensity of this situation.

‘I just stabbed a Mafia leader.’ I internally screamed.

We rode in deafening silence for what felt like forever.

“Where are we going?” I questioned, terrified of the idea of Tony following us.

“Don't worry about it. But it's safe,” Kade answered, his eyes still on the road. His voice was much softer than before.

Not knowing what to do, I gave him a small nod. I wanted to interrogate him, question him about tonight's events, and why he would save me. However, I was scared, I saw what the two men were capable of. I didn't want to end up on Kade's bad side.

After driving in the darkness for what felt like forever, he began pulling into a long driveway. My eyes widened as the house came into view; it was basically a mansion with a huge yard surrounding it. Everything about Kade was screaming, ‘I have money.'

Once the car was parked, Kade got out and opened my door, leading me into the house. The state of awe Kade's house had caused as we continued as we made our way into the large kitchen. I watched as Kade walked over the coffee pot and began making some.

“Do you want one?” he gestured to the now-brewing coffee.

“Two people were stabbed tonight; one of them is dead. And you're asking if I want coffee?” I said, finally losing my composure.

Kade just blinked at me, processing my statement. He clearly wasn’t joking about being involved with some shady stuff, like the mafia. I felt like I would hurl looking at my blood-covered hands, but here this psychopath is making coffee.

After averting his gaze away from me with no answer, Kade poured a single cup of coffee and then pulled out a cell phone. My head reeled with trying to figure out what had happened and who Kade was. Considering tonight’s events and Kade’s house and car, I made an educated guess.

“You're in the family too?” I abruptly asked.

Kade's eyes flicked to mine. His face wore an unidentifiable expression as he set his phone on the counter.

“Am I in the Garzone family?” Kade repeated my question with furrowed brows.

I looked at Kade expectantly. I was well aware that he had just technically saved my life, but due to the dangerous circumstances, I felt I was due some serious answers.

“If I were in the Garzone family, you’d be dead right now,” Kade stated bluntly. “I'm in charge of the Vivaldi family.”

My mind exploded at all of this intense information. At this point, I believed anything was possible. Feeling like I needed to take a seat, I pulled out a chair, going to sit down. Right before my butt had landed on the cushion, Kade grabbed my attention.

“You’re covered in blood. You’ll stain it,” he gestured to the chair.

Jumping to a straight upright position, I let out a weak breath, feeling Kade's eyes on me.

“I’ll show you to the guest room. There is a shower in the guest bathroom, and I’ll find you something to change into,” Kade spoke softly as he moved toward a hallway.

I looked down at the now-dry blood that covered my clothing and hands. A shower would be a godsend right about now.

Without a word, Kade began leading the way to the guest room. Once inside, I took note of the beautiful, dramatic theme. It looked as if it was professionally decorated, with dark maroon walls, a large bed covered in throw pillows, and a door that led out to a small balcony.

Digging through the closet, Kade pulled out a baggy shirt and a towel.

“You’ll stay here until I can deal with all of this,” Kade said, handing the items to me.

“But I don’t even know you,” I protested.

Kade let out a dumbfounded laugh. “I saved your life. I’m the only reason you're not dead right now. I think it’s safe to say you can trust me.”

He was right, I’d be dead if it weren’t for him. However, his comment sparked a curiosity inside me.

“Why did you?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Why did I what?” he repeated, turning towards me as he ran a hand through his messy black hair.

“Why did you save me?” I questioned once more.

My eyes now holding contact with Kade, I watched as he struggled to form an answer. His face was firm, and his eyes were placed on the ground. He let out a small breath before directing his eyes up to mine.

“In the store the other day, you asked me to be a decent person and cut you some slack,” he started, awkwardly rubbing the nape of his neck.

My mind flashed back to the altercation at the store, remembering my choice of words.

“So, I guess that’s what I’m doing, cutting you some slack,” Kade said quietly.

Before I could get a word out Kade had turned his back and disappeared out the door. Taking another glance around the room, I headed to the shower. I watched the shower water run a light red at my feet from the blood on my body. I tried to numb myself temporarily due to all of tonight’s events.

After a shower, I climbed onto the edge of the queen-sized bed. Letting out a loud yawn, I lay against the mountain of throw pillows. As much as I originally thought I wanted to leave this stranger's house, I hated to admit that, at this moment, I felt peculiarly safe here.

‘I suppose one night won’t be so bad,’ I thought as the sound of a ceiling fan lulled me to sleep.