The Mafia’s Good Wife
Chapter 21

~ Violet -

For the next few hours, Violet could only pace back and forth in anxiety. People didn't have to tell her, but she already knew. Damon was coming home. And he was most likely angry as hell. "Was it really that big of a deal?" she tried justifying herself, pacing around in the library with Talia sitting in front of her. "All I did was use my phone to call my brother..."

"Sweetie, when Damon's given us an order, there are reasons behind it. You don't ask questions and you follow them. You know that's the rule around here," Talia said sternly.

Violet groaned to herself and continued pacing. She knew she was in deep trouble. Damon would surely punish her for what she did, and no, not the good kind of punishment either. "He's gonna be so mad, isn't he?" she sighed.

"Damon being mad is the least of my concern," Talia said with her arms crossed to her chest. "I'm more worried about your safety. About all our safety. We don't know if there were people who listened to your conversation," "Well, I didn't say anything bad..."

I think.

"Still, they might pick up on something incriminating, you can never be too careful," Talia shook her head disapprovingly.

"I'm really sorry..." Violet let out another long sigh. "I didn't mean to... cause any trouble,"

"I know you don't mean to," Talia said as she stood up, taking Violet's hand in hers. "From now on, just make sure you stay with us at all times,"

Violet nodded her head quickly. She was feeling guilty that her little harmless act caused quite a stir inside the estate. Everyone was on edge now. Because though only Violet made the mistake, Damon would definitely hold everyone else accountable too. "Everything's gonna be fine..." Talia said lowly, most likely she was saying this to herself. * CRASH!!! *

Suddenly and out of nowhere, they heard a loud crashing sound coming from the gates. Violet and Talia whipped their heads around instinctively.

"What was that?" Violet asked.

Talia froze in silence. Horror was splashed across her face.

*RING!* RING!* RING!*

"Code Red! Intruder alert! This is not a drill, I repeat this is not a drill," a voice from the intercom blasted through the speakers all around the house, followed by the sound of the alarm ringing. "Talia, what's happening?" Violet squeaked.

"Miss Violet!" Beau suddenly burst through the door and quickly strode towards her. "Come with me, we need to get you somewhere safe. You too, Miss Talia,"

Talia and Violet nodded quickly and followed Beau out of the room. Violet saw a row of guards with machine guns rushing towards the gate while Beau led them into the basement bunker. Oh, no! What have I done?!

Everything was happening so fast. One minute, Violet was talking to Talia in the library, and the next minute she was hunched inside the bunker, listening to the sound of the alarm ringing throughout the house. Chaotic red lights were flashing and blinking rapidly as the voice on the intercom kept talking, telling all the guards to be in their position, and that this was not a drill.

Violet felt her heart sank to her feet as she stared at the ceiling. Talia was also crouching next to her, putting her arms around Violet's shoulder for support. Beau had left the room and locked it tight. There were only the two of them in there and they had no way of knowing what was happening outside. The air in the room felt heavy and it was hard to breathe. Violet's chest was pounding in terror as only one thought came to her mind. This is all my fault...

Violet bowed her head down and prayed. This was all that she could do at this point. She begged God to spare her life and everyone else's inside this mansion. And most of all, she prayed for Damon to come back soon. * BANG! *

A loud banging sound caused Violet to jerk up instinctively. She looked at the metal door that flew open, and Beau was standing at the doorway. Suddenly, the alarm sound stopped ringing and the red lights stopped flashing. "Beau, what's going on?" Talia was the first to get up to her feet.

"Two people were trying to sneak into the compound, but we got them," Beau replied through labored breaths.

Violet slowly got up to her feet and watched as Beau nodded to the guys behind him. Several guards came into the room bringing two men with them. The men were tied up and their faces were covered by a black cloth. Violet narrowed her eyes as she found the men's figures to be familiar. And when the guards took off the black cloths covering their faces, Violet gasped in shock.

"Dylan! Luke!" she shrieked.

It turns out that Dylan and Lucas were the two intruders. Their faces were battered and bruised, but it was them. Violet shoved past the guards and put her hand on Dylan's face. He flinched in pain at her touch.

"What the hell are you two doing here?" she demanded.

"We're here to get you out," Dylan said simply.

"Get me out? Are you insane!?"

"No, you're the one who's insane for choosing to stay here!" Dylan spat back. He moved around trying to free his hands that were tied behind his back, but to no avail.

"Look, I don't know what kind of sorcery or chip they put in your brain, but enough is enough, Vi. It's time for you to go home!" Dylan barked an order.

"Dyl, I can't do that..." she croaked.

"Mom's sick," he cut her off suddenly, catching Violet off guard. Her eyes went wide open as she waited for him to continue.

"I don't know how much longer she has. She's been asking for you..." Dylan continued in a calmer tone. "I tried telling you on the phone, but I can't reach you. That's why we came here," "W-what's wrong with her?" Violet stammered.

"The doctors found a tumor in her brain. They say it's inoperable," Dylan threw his gaze down to the floor and Violet felt her heart sinking lower. Then he looked up at her again and took a step closer. "Please, Vi. You need to come home with us. Right now," Violet felt the weight in Dylan's words. Her mom was sick. Of course, she had to go see her. If this was a couple of weeks ago, Violet wouldn't think twice about jumping on the next plane out to Texas. But right now... she already promised Damon that she wouldn't leave. At least not when the situation was this dire.

"But... Dyl, I..." Violet found it difficult to speak her words. "I can't go right now..." her voice came out low, almost like a whisper.

Dylan's eyes went wide and the veins were popping on his neck.

"Goddamn it, Vi! I told you our mom is sick and this is your response?!" he roared angrily. Violet took a step back and threw her gaze down. She knew how bad this sounded, Dylan had every right to be angry, but she didn't know what else to do. "Dylan, calm down," Luke stepped in suddenly, standing in between the two of them. "Let me try this,"

Dylan was fuming in anger and frustration as he stared Violet down. Luke took a step forward, covering Dylan as he slowly and cautiously stood before Violet.

"Violet," he said.

"Luke..." she looked up at him with glassy eyes.

"I've missed you," he said in that bright, boyish smile. Violet noted the cut on his lip and on the side of his eye. The guards probably did that. But it was lucky they didn't shoot him instead.

"I missed you too..." she said lowly.

Luke's smile went wider as he leaned his face closer to her. If it weren't for the ropes tying his hand back, he would've put his arms around her right now.

"Can you please take these off? I wanna give you a hug,"

Violet glanced at the rope behind him and looked at Beau. Beau reluctantly went over to them and cut the ropes open with his knife. The moment his hands were freed, Luke threw his arms around Violet and hugged her deeply. Violet buried her face into his chest and inhaled his familiar scent. Luke's hug felt warm and nice. She didn't realize how much she'd miss this feeling.

"It feels so good to hug you again," Luke sighed into her ear, taking the words right out of her mouth.

Violet smiled and pulled away slightly. As much as she enjoyed Luke's company, she remembered where she was and the people that were looking at her.

"Luke, you shouldn't have come here," she said, glancing nervously at Beau and the other guards behind them.

"Why not?" Luke replied challengingly. "We all love you and miss you so very much. Please come with us,"

"I can't right now. Trust me, I want to. But things are... a lot more complicated than that..."

"Why? Why is it so complicated?" he pressed.

"I can't tell you that... I'm sorry,"

Luke's warm blue eyes were filled with worry. He let out a sigh and put a hand on her cheek, slowly caressing her skin.

"I'm your best friend, Vi. You know you can tell me anything," he said, pausing for a beat before continuing. "I don't know why you didn't tell me about all this too. I had to learn everything from Dylan, but I'd much rather hear the story from your side. You probably have your reasons for choosing what you chose,"

"I do..." she croaked.

"You know I won't judge you and I'll understand. You can trust me, alright?"

Violet looked up to see his warm, understanding eyes. Tears were pooling in her eyes as waves of emotion washed over her. All this time, she kept her past life with Damon a secret and a burden. She was afraid of what people would think of her if they knew her real story. Even Dylan, her own brother, didn't understand her. But Luke... Luke was different.

"Look, it's okay that you can't tell us anything right now. We'll wait," Luke said again, his hand went to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. "But your mom... she can't wait that long..."

Violet couldn't stop her tears from falling. She was faced with a tough decision and it seemed like there was no way she could win. All she could do was bury her face into Luke's chest again, and he wrapped his arms tightly around her.

"Sssh, it's okay," he cooed. "Everything will be alright. Just come home with us and we'll figure everything out-"

"What the hell is going on here?"

Suddenly, Violet heard a familiar voice and her entire body froze like a statue. The air in the room felt even heavier than before and she couldn't breathe. Slowly, Violet peeled away from Luke and turned her face to the door. Standing at the doorway was Damon, followed by his men.

Damon was glaring at her with a fire burning in his eyes. His gaze darted from her face to Luke's hand on her body, and his eyes turned dark. Violet shuddered at that look in his eyes. She could never forget it. It was the look of an angry, aggravated devil.