Mafia's Angel

ela Montoy

raced the edge of the sunlight with her finger. The paper felt smooth and warm under her skin. The whole estate outside the library window seemed stunned silent by the afternoon heat. Inside, the silence was thick

tween the whisper of imaginary leaves and the shine of the knig

AC

g sound that punched through the sleepy peace. I

heart did that awful flip, then started hammering, like a panicked bird caught deep inside her chest, de

K-PO

impossible to know who. Not Papa's deep voice. Not Quino's rough orders. Panic, cold and slick like ice water,

a

ind her eyes. Mama was in her study, down the

ull. But then – CRASH! From the main hall – the terrible, loud scream of shattering glass, like a giant dropping a w

urvive. Her eyes darted wildly around the library she knew so well, searching, desperate. Where? The tal

The heavy velvet cloth covering it, the one with gold threads shining faintly, hung lo

exploded as her head hit the hard underside of the table. She ignored the sharp throb. Deeper. She pulled her knees in tight, scrambling deeper into the blackest shadows she could find beneath the table. She jammed herself hard against one of the thick, c

ounds were still sharp, horribly clear. Maybe even louder now

ered hearing it once before, when Papa took Quino hunti

outing orders – rough, mean, cold. A voice she didn't know. The sounds came from the main

aller, just vanish. The sharp, familiar tang of lemon polish suddenly warred with something else-a thin, stinging acridness seeping low under the door. Smoke? Was something burning? That smel

y, always watching, always near Mama. Antonio, Ricardo – the guards who alw

hall. Followed by a short grunt of pain – then sile

d deep inside her, vibrating out, rattling her down to the bone. Tears instantly sprang, hot and stinging, but she

ke Mama always tells you. Calm down. Like during

ver. Shouting, muffled by distance but angry. And under it all, a cold feeling grew in her stomach, heavy l

go of

a

ve! But her voice... it wasn't the soft voice Isabela knew. It

liar man's voice demanded. Deep. R

strong, but Isabela heard the tiny shake underneat

a," the rough voice snarled back. Ther

cked. It splintered into pure fear. "Please

breath away. They knew she was here. Or knew about her. Were they looking for her too? Should she run? But where

Don't open the door. Any second now, the heavy wood would sw

halfway through. Choked off. Foll

le

total, terrifying emptiness of sound. The silence pressed down hard, heavy against her eardrums. Suffocating. It felt louder, somehow, than the crashes, t

A footstep? A breath? Mama's voice saying it was

er own heart trying to beat its way out of he

ed by like long, slow hours. Had they left? Was it over

table, shaking. Her hand still pres

creaming for air. Finally, she had to let it go. A slow, shaking g

s a silent scream

k. Just the horrif

le. She just huddled in her dark, cramped cave, small and completely alone. Listening to the terrible, heavy silence where her mother's voice used to be. The safe wo