It wasn't unusual for Mr. Santino to come to our estate. It was rare but not completely unusual. What was unusual was that both of his brothers Leo and Benny had accompanied him but not Dante. Considering the conversation they were having in the study was about us. I would have thought he would have been there. And after that kiss we shared. Oh god maybe he didn't want to come.
My mouth was dry, my heart was beating rapid. The beginning stages of a freaking anxiety attack was rising up on me at the sound of arranged marriage. Mr. Santino wanted to arrange a marriage between Dante and me to bring the families together for territory purposes. I liked Dante. He was my best friend. No I loved him, but what is this the 1600's?
My heart nearly jumped out of my chest when I felt the slightest tap on my shoulder. I knew before I even turned around it was my mother.
She was beautiful with her black hair and ocean blue eyes. Even with a raised brow. she never seemed upset at me and always held a smile. She motioned for me to remove my self from the door and into the entertainment room, where Chase was laying on the floor by the fireplace place playing a video game on his tablet.
Lilith: Why not play something my little curious kitten. Take your mind off what you heard.
Rylee: So is it true. They want to arrange a marriage between Dante and me.
Lilith: Would that be such a bad thing. It's not often these things happen between people who already love each other.
How many times today am I gonna be shocked. For someone trained to be a ghost I haven't been doing a very job at staying in the shadows. My mom giggles and winks while gesturing to the piano. Of course she would know. She knows me better then anyone beside Gram. And the piano was always my escape. It helped release the feelings I was to hide on a daily. I ran my hand across the black shiny wood, taking a seat on the black leather cushioned bench. As I take a deep breath closing my eyes I raise my hands. My fingers caress the white ivory keys as I exhale and bring Beethoven "Fur Elis" to life.
My brother joined my mom on the small seat between the piano and fire place. Gram stood near the back service entrance to the kitchen leaning against the door. Though it was his night off he rarely actually took them off. Especially when he knew there was a meeting with the Santinos. Gram and my dad had gone to high school together. When they graduated my dad took over the family business while Gram joined the military. He became some secret special ops soldier and one of the top assassins. When he lost his family in an Italian mafia turf war, my dad helped him get through it. In our world that meant revenge. Gram became his right hand man after that. It gave him purpose.
After I was born my dad appointed him my personal body guard which he took with great honor. As the first born and a princess in my fathers eyes it was the highest position to have in the Banes employment. Gram proved to be a big asset in so many ways, always quick to step in when my parents where having a difficult time with me, or when they were just stressed and tired. Comes with the territory of being a new parent.
I continued into another one of Beethovens classical master pieces "moonlight Sonata" when a strange sense of fear caused a shiver in my spine. My eyes searched for Grams and instantly I knew he felt it too or perhaps he just saw the look in mine. My fingers fumbled the keys as the first boom echoed through out the house. A second later another ear piercing boom echoed the room. I watched as a bullet struck my mother in the head and two more into my little brother. I felt a searing pain rip through my side as more bullets began flying through the piano. In seconds Gram was shielding my body under the Piano. There's blood and debris everywhere. Gram had been hit too. He was bleeding from his neck and arm.
Silence fell as the last of the casings settled on the wood floors.
Mr. Santino: You should have taken the offer Mr. Banes. We could have avoided the blood shed.
I could barely see through the slits of my lids, Leo was digging his fingers into a bullet wound in my dads shoulder causing him to fall to his knees, forcing him to look at my mother and brothers dead bodies. His eyes moved to me and all I could do was remain frozen. He offered a subtle smile that only I could see.
Leo bent down to whisper in his ear with a smug grin. With out warning my dad plunges a knife into Leo's right eye and reaches for his gun. Grams rule "never show emotion" echoes in my head as the gun goes off. I watched in horror as my fathers body fell forward. Vincent Santino stood there with his gun drawn still smoking at the barrel. Leo is cussing holding a hand over his eye as another goon comes into to help guide him out of the house.
Mr. Santino sweeps his eyes over the room watching closely for any movement.
Mr.Santino: I expect you to hold up your part of the deal.
A man I hadn't noticed steps up next to Mr. Santino. My piece of shit uncle Roy.
Roy: You weren't suppose to kill the girl.
He says with gritted teeth as he looks in my direction.
Mr. Santino: He wasn't suppose to kill my brother Benny. It makes no difference now. You are his last of kin. All assets are yours which are now half mine.
Roy: Yes Mr. Santino.
Mr. Santino: Pleasure doing business with you Mr. Bane.
As they walk out he calls for his goons to torch the place. Minutes later fire began climbing the walls as smoke filled the room. Gram suddenly re animated back to life clutching me tightly to his chest as he slithers out of the room to the back service entrance down to a hidden cellar door that lead to an under ground garage and Arsenal. With no time to waist he threw me In the passenger seat of a blacked out ford pick up and hauled ass down a long dark tunnel that opened up a good mile away from the house to a back mountain road. Gram always had a back up plan. He had back plans for his back up plans.
I was feeling cold to my bones and tired. I was so tired.
Gram: Rylee!
He gave my shoulder a shake.
Gram: Stay with me Rylee.
It was the last thing I heard before darkness consumed me. I'm not sure how long I had been out for, but when I heard the soft whisper of a prayer being spoken, I opened my eyes.
Gram was holding my hand reciting "shadow of death". When he felt me stir he looked down with blood shot watery eyes. The man that teaches to never show emotion could not hold back. He had lost a second family. I had just lost mine.
Gram: Welcome back kid.
He smiled tucking some hair behind my ear.
I was lying in a bed in a small room of what looked like a cabin. There was a slight sliver of light slipping through the thick black curtains on the windows.
Rylee: How long was I out for.
Gram: Just through the night.
He had a bandage on the right side of his neck and right arm.
Rylee: Are you ok.
Gram: This ain't the first time I been shot.
He chuckles. I tried to sit up a little fast I guess because I suddenly found my self grabbing at my side falling back against the pillow from a sharp pain. Gram placed a hand on my shoulder.
Gram: Be still. You took one to your side but it went clean through. Doc patched it up last night and left enough antibiotics and pain meds to get through the next two weeks.
Rylee: Where are we.
Gram: One of the safe houses in Vermont. But we can't stay long. I don't know if your uncle knows about this place, so as soon Doc clears you, we'll head into Canada.
No emotion I tell my self but the images of my families execution replays in my head. I can feel the tears swell in my eyes but I immediately begin to plot revenge on my uncle and the whole fucking Santino family.
Gram: I'm so sorry Rylee. I'm so sorry.
I place my hand on his arm nudging him towards me in a half hug as he lays his head on my shoulder. We deserved this moment of grief. We were all we had left.
News spread quickly that the Bane family had been killed. According to the papers it was a house fire. All four of us were pronounced dead and my uncle Roy Bane was about to inherit everything. Luckily Gram was good at saving and keeping secrets. 20 years of service to my dad, he barely spent any of his earnings. He invested in some properties here and there making sure each was equipped with enough money and supplies for one to make a new start. Which is what we did just after Doc the only other person to know I was still alive gave me the clear.
We headed to Canada with our new ID's as Noah Landry a widower and his daughter Emma. This is where my real training began.
Gram insisted I continue my education and enrolled me into a private school. He said it was apart of the training. To really settle into my new ID and pretend to live a normal life.
While I spent my days going to school, he spent his installing untraceable net works and monitoring systems and started tracking everyone responsible. It helped that he had ways of connecting with people on the inside, employees of my dads that still ran the legitimate businesses. My uncle didn't mess with those much.
After school and on weekends we trained and monitored our enemies. There was just one person missing. Dante Santino. Supposedly Mr. Santino had sent Dante to live in Italy somewhere with relatives just after my families death. We caught wind of a few rumors but the one that my heart held onto as the truth was the one where Dante had attempted to kill his father after the news of my death. Instead of killing his only kid he exiled him.
Gram told me I had to be prepared for the possibility of facing him as an enemy. By me going after his family it could sever any relation we had. I knew he hated his family and if the rumor was true, I'm sure he would be on my side, but Gram was right! I did have to prepare. Always prepare for the unexpected.
Apart of my training was learning how to use people manipulate them and eventually to seduce men. Gram didn't like it but it would be necessary in order for me to get close to a few of Santinos men who where frequent in the clubs. He tried to persuade me to wait until I was at least 18 but I couldn't wait that long, I needed as much training as I could get before going back to the states. On the plus side we were setting up an undercover pervert operation. Gram ran a list and monitored known pedophiles and sex traffickers.
So for my 17th birthday I got to chose my first target. Walter Allen! He was a real piece of shit. All my targets would be, but this guy got away with raping his own niece from the time she was 12 to 16. He had been arrested twice in the states for soliciting sex with under aged girls and just before fleeing to Canada he had beat his wife to death after she caught him with a 14 year old neighbor. He almost killed the girl too but luckily she survived. Luckily for us he only lived two cities over.
No distractions, no emotions. Never show the enemy your weakness or your strength. I should have been nervous but I wasn't. The second I caught his eye outside the donut shop where he was searching for his next victim I knew I had him. We knew how he operated and I allowed him to think he had me in his trap, pretending to be a teenage run away. Gram was always two steps ahead and in place incase things went south. This would become our MO. Walter Allen never saw it coming as I plunged my knife into his jugular.
Maybe it was all my training with Gram since 5 years old. Maybe it was apart of being born into the mafia, for what ever reason I found my self smiling down on the sick fuck as he bled out with his dick in his hand. Over the next couple of years we ghosted at least 20 bad guys. It became a job. A job I liked, and I was good at it.