RAIN, GUNS AND BETRAYAL

Lucas pov The rain fell in an unyielding sheet, beating against the cracked pavement like a war drum with the neon light flickering, reflecting off puddles that turned the city streets into rivers of broken colours. Lucas Mornetto stepped out of the black limousine with the collar of his drenched coat pulled high against the downpour with his eyes sharp and calculating, scanned the deserted galley where the shipment had gone missing. Tonight, blood will answer questions. There was a gunshot that rang out in the distance that was sharp and unforgiven. Lucas' hands indistinctively went to the cloak at his hip, though the man that was sent ahead would have been cautious. Mist mingled with smoke from a nearby diner creating a haze that made shadows move like predators. “Boss….,its…it's gone, the shipment…..someone intercepted it”, Marcel said with his voice trembling over the intercom, crackling with statistics, Lucas' jaw tightened because the Mornetto family never tolerates failure and betrayal? That was death and immediately he let his hands fall from the gun, walking calmly towards the alley's edge as if the rain could wash away his fury. In the darkness, a figure emerged –tall, soaked and beautiful in a way that was dangerous.Natasha Rosella. Lucas' heartbeat betrayed him for the very first time in years. I wasn't supposed to be here because no civilian dared enter the Mornetto territory alone, especially not to journalists who ask lots of questions at a goal. “You should not be here” Lucas said in a voice low like gravel. “Well, I could say the same about you"I replied with my eyes daring him to act. I held papers in my hands or maybe secret but Lucas didn't need to see to know . I was trouble itself and my trouble smelled like betrayal and gunpowder. There was a scream that echoed from the street behind us and behold it was Morentto men always too slow. Suddenly the firefights began as bullets were cutting through the night and Lucas moved with lethal grace with every motion precise, rehearsed, trained into muscle memory by the years of surviving in a world where betrayal is a currency. I froze and was caught in the crossfire without thinking as Lucas pulled me down behind a dumpster shielding me from the hails of bullets. “You are really crazy” he said and hissed while checking if there were any injuries on my body but my chest rose and fell, panicked but intact. “And you are obsessed”I shot back with a trembling voice but defiant. “So tell me, what happened to the shipment and who betrayed you?”. Lucas' eyes narrowed, he wanted to trust me, he really wanted to but trust was just a luxury in the city. “It was someone close to me, closer than you think” he muttered as rain soaked through his coat dripping into his collar. The alley smelled gunpowder and wet concrete. I was shivering but it was not only from the cold and I could feel the weight of the danger pressing against my chest— with an invisible hand warning me that this night was far from over. There was a laugh–soft, chilling and familiar. Ethan Williams emerged from the shadows, he was Lucas' childhood friend who turned to a rival, he was the one who orchestrated the ambush. A gun glimmered in his hands matching the cold spite in his eyes. “Well well well, Lucas……always playing the big hero”Ethan sneered. “Did you really think you could keep everything?, family, power….. and her?”I said with my gaze lingering on me which made something flickered on Lucas' chest which was Positiveness, fury and the bittered taste of betrayal. The first shot damaged the light as Lucas returned in fire and instinct overriding thoughts with bullets ripped through the air,ricochetting off the walls also echoing like the city itself was screaming. Natasha ducked with my hands trembling. I wanted the story but now Natasha is trapped in a violent game she couldn't walk away from. Somewhere between the bullets and rain, betrayal and the unspoken desire burning in my eyes, a promise deadly was made: Anyone who betrays the Morentto family will not stay alive. Anyone who touches won't be alive to tell the story. The rain soaked the city streets, and washed away the Sims of the night but some stains of betrayal, love and revenge never faded.