Page 45 of Redemption
“Gabriel, I didn’t do this just to fuck with you. If I hadn’t done it, you would probably be dead tonight and she would end up in a dungeon somewhere.” Damien shrugged nonchalantly. "You just need to lay low and stay away from her. Let me take care of this. I have a plan."
“And what might that be?” I said before downing another shot.
Damien's lips curled into that wickedly confident smirk of his once more. “Well, it’s not exactly my plan; it’s the Family's wishes. Come home, stop pretending to live some alternate life. Forget about that girl if you really care about her. There’s no reason for you to stay here now. The marriage between our family and the Sinclairs is off, obviously. If you stay here, all that does is put that girl in danger.”
"Home?" The word tasted bitter on my tongue. "You really think crawling back to our senile father is the solution here?" I sneered, letting my disbelief seep into my words.
Damien had always been the dutiful son, the one who danced to our father's tune while I stepped on his toes. Going home would mean conceding to an out-of-touch old man who can’t see our world for what it’s become.
Damien's voice dripped with anger and frustration as he snapped back at me, his usually calm, playful demeanor breaking. "It's not about our father. You started a war. I don’t want to lose another brother for no reason.” He bit out, his eyes blazing with emotion.
“Neither do I, Damien. Neither do I, but-”
Suddenly, Damien's phone began to vibrate, and he squinted his eyes, trying to focus through the haze of drunkenness to see the screen. His gaze darted up to meet mine before quickly shifting away as he clenched his jaw. A sense of urgency weighed heavily in the air. "What?" I asked.
"Turns out, they do know about your girl. She’s being followed," he said, his words sharp and cutting through the tense atmosphere.
Without a second thought, I stood up from my seat, knocking over the bottle in the process. Damien smiled slightly, a glimmer of satisfaction in his eyes as he stood and grabbed his leather jacket from behind a chair.
"Glad to have you back, Gabriel," he remarked casually before I could even fully rise from my seat. I was already making my way towards the door when Damien's words registered fully in my mind.
The world outside blurred in streaks of light as we tore through the quiet town at breakneck speed in his yellow Ferrari. The desire for freedom and a quiet, normal life by the ocean was shattered in an instant. A bitter chuckle escaped me as I realized how stupid the idea was. To think that life could be different. The one thing I tried to change is the only unchangeable thing in this world, who I am. I am Gabriel Auditore, firstborn son to the Don of the oldest Mafia family in New York, destined for power, not sand between my toes or the sun on my back. My attention was brought back to the road as Damien expertly maneuvered the car around tight corners and narrow streets, his focus unbreakable even though his hands fought for control over the alcohol.
"Where is she?" I asked, my voice strained.
Without taking his eyes off the road, Damien responded, "Driving down the highway with another girl, towards the city." My heart clenched at the thought of Sophia being followed by Sinclair muscle.
"Where the fuck are they going at midnight?" I demanded.
"We’ll find out," Damien replied, his voice firm and determined. But his words were drowned out by the screech of tires as we took another sharp turn, the car skidding briefly before regaining its grip on the asphalt. With a wide grin, Damien slammed on the gas, and we flew down the highway with a speed that matched my own rage. The screaming engine filled my ears, drowning out any coherent thoughts and leaving me with only a fierce determination to get to Sophia as quickly as possible.
Far in the distance, the city lights lit up the sky like a beacon.
“We’ll be behind them in a few minutes,” Damien said while glancing at his phone.
I grunted in response. How long had men been following her? Was she aware they were after her? Each passing minute brought me closer to her, closer towards the world that I had tried to leave behind. It became clear that there was no distinction between the two anymore. My brother's casualness grated on my nerves, fueling my frustration and anger even more. To him, this was just another job, another normal workday, and he loved his job.
“Grab the case behind your seat, and take your pick,” he said with a smile.
I leaned over and grabbed the heavy thick plastic case. I unlatched the clasps and opened it, unveiling a sawed-off shotgun, a pistol, a silencer, and a sharpened ice pick. “What the fuck is this?” I said, holding up the primitive weapon.
Damien responded with a smile. “It’s quick, personal, and comes with the added benefit of no blood.”
I slid the ice pick into the inside pocket of my leather jacket along with the small pistol. I looked back toward the darkness ahead of us, finding two red brake lights in the distance growing closer. Damien flashed his brights, and the driver of the carahead of us pumped his brakes, flickering the brake lights three times.
“That’s Nikolai and Tony. The Sinclairs men are ahead of them.” Damien slowed down, following closely behind as we continued our pursuit. We were in the heart of the city now, surrounded by towering buildings and bright lights. Finally, Damien came to a stop near a busy nightclub in a run-down corner of the city. We jumped out of the car, and I caught a glimpse of Sophia as she walked around a corner a block ahead of us with another girl, both wearing revealing clothes.
The car following them parked, and two blond guys got out and ran after them. I jogged over to the car Nikolai and Tony sat in and leaned in through their open window. “Stay here and follow whichever car the girls get into.” They nodded, and I turned to follow Damien, who was already making his way down the street after them. I stopped and turned back toward Tony in the drivers seat. “If they split up, follow the girl in the red dress.”
“You got it, boss,” He said.
I caught up with Damien, and we approached the nightclub together.
The pulsating beat of the music inside washed over us as we made our entrance. Stale smoke and a heavy cloud of alcohol filled the air. We pushed past a mass of people near the entrance, passing by women in barely-there outfits dancing on elevated platforms, their bodies glowing in purple light. Men in expensive suits leaned against the platforms, their eyes predatory as they watched the dancers with keen interest.
We moved swiftly through the chaos and scanned the crowd.
A wave of relief swept over me as I finally spotted Sophia sitting at a black leather booth curving around a table in a secluded corner. A deep red dress hugged her body in all the right places. Her brown wavy hair flowed down her shoulders, bouncing lightly with each movement she made. I looked closerand realized the other girl was Emma. But it was the two blond guys who had followed them inside that held my attention. They stood close to the girls, their eyes never straying from them. One was tall and lean, his hair slicked back neatly while the other was shorter but more muscular. Both wore dark suits, their ties undone and shirts unbuttoned slightly, an attempt at casual sophistication, but their cautious glances gave them away.
