Where there is Smoke.

*Sandra*

I didn’t know what else to do. I pulled up to the meeting spot and saw a gun trained on Joseph. I couldn't let that psycho kill him. I couldn't let him be shot again. I had to intervene. I had to stop him. I slammed on the horn. I didnt think, all I could see was his lips turning blue. Hearing that he had stopped breathing. I couldn't face that again. I couldn't live without him now. Not since he saved me. Not after everything. We were going to make it back to the house in the country together. I jumped out of the car, unprotected, stupidly, running towards the danger. I screamed at the Italian men standing around my family. “Stop, fucking stop!” I ran in front of Joseph, like a human shield. All the men stared at me like they didnt know what to say. All the men on both sides. “Sunshine what are you doing here?” I heard Henry, but I didnt turn, I kept my eyes on the one with the gun. Tommasso looked at me. I was sure he was unsure of what to say to me. He didnt know what to do. Maybe he had never had a woman who would take a bullet for him. Maybe he had never had real love. I had real love, and I lost it. I had a nightmare, and I survived it. I got my real love back, by accident, and I refuse to lose it again. I can't go back to normal; I live in this world now. I love this world. I love my family. He kidnapped me, he took me from my home. He saved me from my nightmare. I would take ten bullets for him. My mind was racing, like Tommasso, I didnt know what to say. I stood there, like a rock, waiting for him to put the gun down.

After what felt like a longer time than it probably was, I put my hand up. “Please just stop. Look around you. You shoot him, you will never fucking walk away from here. For the men you see, there are hundreds behind them. You won't leave here alive.” Tommasso took an involuntary step back telling me he was listening to me. “Will someone come and get this little princess out of the way so men can handle business.” Another man spoke behind his leader. The other men on the enemy lines laughed. “Shoot me.” I said clearly not thinking about what I was saying. At that point, Joseph grabbed my arm and pulled me back. Zeus walked up and grabbed me carrying me to the back of the circle of me. The look Joseph gave me told me he was furious with me for putting myself in that position. Jackson was there in the back and began to walk me back towards the trees. “What were you thinking? You put yourself and the boss in danger with that stunt Sunshine. I thought you were smart?” His words pissed me off. “I can't lose him.” I said through gritted teeth. When we got to the trees, he stopped me spinning me around to face the group of men. “Do you see all those men?” I looked up at him and just stared. “Every one of those men would die for him in a minute. We know what to do. We know what to look for. That man wasn't going to shoot him, he would have don't that already. He thinks he can negotiate. He knew he was outmanned before you came and shoved it in his face. What you did *queen*, was give him a reason to prove himself.” He grabbed my arm and pulled me into the trees.

I started to tear up. Jackson reached me a comm. “Put this in your ear. I am going back out there, this way you can hear everything. Do not come back out of these trees.” His words were sharp and stern. He was demanding I didnt move. He reached me bottle of water and gathered a log for me to sit on. He handed me a handgun telling me to shoot at anyone who came near me that wasn't a brotherhood member. “Don't fucking move Sunshine.” He said before turning back to the trees. I was pissed by how he talked to me like he was my boss, but he was right. If I was going to be in this family, with these men, I couldn't be so reckless. What I did was emotional and impulsive. I would take a bullet for him, but he would never let me. I did almost get him killed. I did make it worse. What was I thinking? “Are you okay?” I heard in my ear. It was Henry. He was talking to me through the comm. “I am okay, I am so sorry Smoke, I didnt want to lose you.” Joseph didnt answer. I stayed quiet. “What are we doing here Tomasso? I tire of standing here.” Pure rage burned in his words. Joseph was on the edge of blowing up. I couldn't hear what Tomasso was saying, but I heard the men start saying let's go.” I could hear the chanting in my ear and through the trees. Something was happening. I wanted to go see what was happening. I wanted to go back out of the woods. I dug my hands into the log so hard that they started to hurt from the wood digging into my flesh. Suddenly I heard loud smacks, grunting, and loud breathing. I knew they were brawling. I looked up to the sky, looking through sticks and leaves. The clouds were all blue through the small holes between the trees. I prayed, begged the god I was taught was up there to protect my family. Prayed I wouldn't hear a gunshot.

I heard a rustle in the leaves and pointed the gun in the direction. Someone was coming. My heart started to race. I didnt want to go through it again. What I did when Ryan took me. I didnt want to shoot someone again either. Though Ryan deserved what he got, it put a stain on my soul that no holy water could erase. I pulled the hammer back and put my finger firmly on the trigger. “Whose there?” I said loudly but not loud enough to disturb what was happening outside of the woods. When the bushed moved I pulled the trigger. “Hey hey, stop shooting Sunshine, damn. You wanna kill me?” It was Henry. “I am so sorry.” I jumped up and ran over to him. He was bleeding. I shot him. How could I hurt him? “Oh god, I shot you. I am so sorry.” He grabbed my face. “Look at me, you didnt shoot me. This is not from you.” He lifted his shirt showing me a slice on his side. Someone had tried to stab him. I ran to the supplies and grabbed some of the first aid that they had brought. I ran back over to him. I poured alcohol on his wound, covered it with gauze, and wrapped him up. He didnt say much while I worked. “How is everyone? Are we whole?” I asked and he looked down. “Henry?” He nodded. “We are whole.”

Moments later more men started stumbling through the trees. I took care of as many wounds as I could. I started to notice that Joseph, Zeus, and Jay hadn't come back. “Where is Smoke?” I asked as Jackson walked through. He looked behind him then shrugged, “They are coming.” I nodded. I sat there on the log from before and stared at the space through the trees waiting for them to come. The others were surrounding me, all bruised and battle torn. I had dressed many wounds, even stitched up a few. I couldn't understand why the others hadn't come back. “What are they doing?” I asked Henry. He looked down again, like he didnt want to respond. “Henry?” I got closer to him. He looked up at me and almost looked worried to let his words come out. “Sunshine, you don't want to know. They will be coming soon. Then we will have to hurry out of here.” My heart started to speed up. Why would we have to rush? They were all sitting around, no one looked worried. “Why?” I asked the question, but I knew I probably didnt want to know the answer. Henry reached for my hand and pulled me down to sit beside him. When Zeus walked through with Tommasso, beaten and tied up, I thought this was why. Henry looked at me, “Smoke and Jay are burning the bodies, they are starting a fire. He is leaving smoke behind.” Suddenly his nickname made sense. Smoke.