LyraI took off the dress the minute I got home, going into the bathroom where I took off my underwear and makeup too, and I stood under the shower for twenty minutes, just fuming.He was an asshole.A pure motherfucker.How could he have dumped another person's drink on me? Emphasis on the "another person's" and smirk at that too.I didn't know what to do with my anger, and after another ten minutes in the bathroom just calming myself down, I came out into the bedroom, where I put on a baggy t-shirt I bought.I wore nothing underneath it except for a pant and thin tube I fished out from my purchase, and I went down into the kitchen like that to search for what to eat.The chef had come by already, and I settled for the bacon, bread, and tea that was available—even though it was already noon—before sitting by the counter to scroll through my phone.My dad's company case was still very much ongoing, and my dad was still nowhere to be seen.That part baffled me a lot. The fact that he
LyraI stepped into the club after a few minutes; the place very lively with music and dance, and I sighted the bartender, Bella, first before her friend, Greg, by the counter."Oh my God, girl, you look stunning!" Greg said once I got close to them, and he widened his eyes for emphasis.Yup, he was so gay."Thank you."Bella, on the other hand, who wasn't really attending to any customers right then, was obviously having a hard time remembering my name, and I offered it to her again, "Lyra.""Yeah Lyra. You're back."I nodded. "Yup, since my mission didn't come to fulfillment last night, so I came up with a better solution to not get drunk tonight."She nodded. "Good idea, actually.""Great because I was just telling Bella of an invitation I got to one of the most prestigious VIP clubs in town, but she is unwilling to go.""I have an assignment to do, Greg, and I don't have interest in male-infected clubs.""You work in one."I ordered a glass of whiskey and drank it slowly as they b
LyraWe were grinding on each other before I knew it, his hands going up and down my body while breathing down my neck some more, and I tried not to imagine that it was Adrian doing it.All to no avail though.Like, why do I keep fantasizing about him when he wasn't even here or probably didn't even fantasize about me too?It was stupid.I sighed, pulling away from Mason, and he cocked an eyebrow. "What?""How about we have a drink? I'll like to get off my feet.""Okay." He nodded and led me to the counter, where the bartender passed us some drinks, and I gulped down a glass without even knowing its contents."Woah, woah, calm down. What's wrong?"I shook my head, "Nothing. Just changing my mind about not getting drunk.""And why is that?""Because I need it."He sipped his own drink and placed the glass back on the counter after a few sips. "So you're a student?"I nodded. "I'm doing my transfer to a university here in Rome.""Hmm...""You?"He shrugged, "I'm just here and there."I
LyraDrinking a dozen beers after the asshole left didn't help to make me feel any better.In fact, it just made me think and groan in anger; I felt the need to do something.Cause havoc.What could I do?Destroy his property?I couldn't even get out of the house.Make him jealous?I don't think he would get jealous considering how disgusted he looked earlier.Spend his money?My eyes lit up at that.He was a businessman and probably advocated for spending wisely, so spending his money carelessly would get him all riled up, right?I stood up from the kitchen counter to go get my phone and laptop that I hadn't really used since Kael got it for me, and I swiped onto Chanel's website page, where I searched for the most expensive thing.Bulgari was next.Followed by Gucci and some other big name brands that I knew and shopped from, and I found myself on a car dealership page before I could stop myself.But what was the point of stopping myself?I was here to spend his money right, and a c
AdrianAlfredo was the first person to greet me when I walked into my study later that morning, his ass sitting on my desk, and he cocked an eyebrow, "Where did you go to?"I walked to the couch in the room and sat, ignoring his question, "Here and there. Why?""You don't just travel to Rome for no reason."Yup, but there had been a reason, right?Scolding my best friend's daughter, who was hard of hearing, but still, I shouldn't have called her that.The look that had washed over her face when I called her a whore was still etched in my memory, which I hated."Adrian?"I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. "I needed to oversee the progress with our establishments.""You could have done that here.""And what are you aiming for?"He raised his hands and stood up, "Nothing. Just curious... and excited for the upcoming party."I rolled my eyes; of course he is.His favorite part of the event would be held, which will make him more excited and bring out that part of him I hate to see.
LyraI ended up calling Adrian's right-hand man myself after I remembered that he had saved his number on my phone the other day.Those robots outside were unmoving."What is it?" He asked when he picked up the call."That is no way to greet someone you locked up inside a house."I could hear him sigh through the line, "What is it, Lyra?""I need to go out or I'll lose my mind, so tell these men to let me out or put me on the phone with my dad."He definitely wouldn't agree with this after hearing me out."To tell him what? That you went clubbing and almost put yourself in danger?""I was perfectly fine.""So you think, but you were not; trust me. Just sit tight and wait for your transfer process to be over; you'll soon be out and going to school."I sighed and prepared myself to reply when I suddenly heard a beep indicating that he had cut the call."What?!" I scoffed, dialing his number again, and he picked up."What is it?""You don't just cut off a lady like that."He sighed once
LyraThe club was as lively as ever, with Bella standing at the counter, and she gaped at me when she saw me."What?" I asked, sitting by the counter, and she glanced up to meet my eyes."Y-your outfit..."I looked down at the shirt and jeans I had borrowed from the delivery girl before placing the helmet on the counter."What about it?""You shouldn't look that hot if you're not a lesbian."I chuckled, adjusting the loose pants and shirt, and I picked up a glass of cocktail that was already lined up on the counter."What about Greg?"She shrugged, "preparing for an event with his new fling or something, but he should be here any minute."And he did appear a few minutes later, looking surprised when he saw me. "Girl, where did you go? I didn't hear from you after that night."I nodded, unsure if I should tell about my temporary locking-up situation and how I had gotten out, but I decided against it after a while.That wasn't a situation you just tell to friends, especially new ones.
AdrianThe party was in a few hours.The party I usually held every three months for my business associates, friends, and enemies.It was meant to be a networking party; at least that was what I had planned for it to be from the beginning. A party to celebrate life, success, and a connection to the Mancini family, but it ended up being this party that showcased discipline, violence, and a darkness that comes only with a Mafia family.Thanks to Alfredo.I slicked my hair back into place, placing my feet in my shoes and smoothing out my tux, and I stood back to stare in the mirror after that.I was ready.Remaining just the finishing product.The essential product to even be allowed into the party.My mask.Yup, the party was a masked party, an element essential to protecting the identity of huge figures that normally made it to the party, and I stared at myself one last time in the mirror before stepping out."Is everything ready?" I asked Kael, who stepped into view from the corner wh
Bella"My God, I'm so sorry." I immediately glanced around for a napkin or something.He brought one out of his pocket."No, it's fine. I actually forgot you speak English too."Okay, seems like I'm meant to know him.Fuck!"Sorry for startling you.""No, it's fine."Thankfully the stain reduced, but it was still evident to my eyes that I spilled my drink on this dude."So..."I put on a smile and accepted his kiss on both of my cheeks before stepping back again."Nice to see you again.""Yeah..."I nodded, trying desperately to keep my smile as bright as I could."Dance?"I glanced at the dancing floor he pointed to and accepted his offer after seeing him now politely with his hand stretched forward.Oh fuck me!"Do you know him?" I jumped yet again, this time more subtly, as Gary's voice filled my ear, and I glanced at my new partner to see if he noticed or heard that."Shut the fuck up, Gary. How is she meant to answer you?I know, right?For once, we were on the same page."So...
BellaGod, I am so nervous.The party was today, and Quinn telling me now that I'm actually to meet her at the party and not go together today was making it even worse."So that's that, okay?""What?" I glanced up at her confused, the last few sentences she heard completely in the air because I didn't hear any of it."I'm asking if you remember the plan.""Yes, yes, I do.""Great." She picked up a bag of tools and devices she had packed together before heading to the door, and as if on cue, a car pulled up in front of the door outside."Baby girl!" I stood up to glance outside when I heard the voice.Oh, it's that guy.The guy from the borderline who had come with another police officer or commissioner or something.Gary.He was wearing a simple shirt and pants now."Don't call me that."I watched as the guy gave her a hug or tried to until she jabbed him in the ribs."Fuck! Really?"She strapped the large bag over her shoulders and turned back to face me before looking at him."Don'
Bella"Why are you closing your eyes?"I popped them open when her voice asked that question."N-nothing. The water was getting into my eyes."I pushed her back and stood under the water properly to wash the bleach off.I could feel her eyes on me.Fuck.I was wet and hot and bothered, and her staring at me like this was not going to make it any better.We headed back to the mirror, both drenched when I finished with the wash.Now it was time for the dye.Thankfully, I was wearing a sports bra underneath my shirt, so she wouldn't know how hard my nipples were; besides, it seemed like she was nonchalant enough.Like she hadn't felt that.That tension.I washed and blow-dried my hair after the dye had sat a while in my hair, then we were done.Or so I thought until..."We're going to give you a little haircut too."To say the least, at the end of everything, about two hours later, I stared at a different face in the mirror.Short hair, wolf edges, and bangs.It was crazy how talented sh
BellaThe next few days were uneventful.Just me, lying around and watching some TV while my captor paced around and did some workouts. She had this gym/workout room in the basement and never had the nightmare episode again.I wonder what could have made me have such an intense nightmare the other night.By day six of staying after my running away episode, I could say my leg was feeling better.It was still painful if I put too much pressure on the injured leg, but not enough for me to yelp or scream.It was definitely getting better."Let me see."I jumped, startled, when my captor suddenly appeared in front of me while I was testing out the level of pain my leg could accept the next afternoon.It was even better than yesterday and less painful now.I flinched when her hands wrapped around it."What? Is it still painful?""No." I averted my gaze.Just... Her hand felt cold against my—I would say warm—leg.I tried to remain still and not have any other reaction as she pressed on parti
QuinnI took out my phone to call Jose once I finished washing the dishes."Quinn." He coughed repeatedly and sighed when the episode ended."Are you okay?""Just managing as much as I can."Which isn't a lot.It's crazy how much the sickness had taken its toll on him."And Riley?""She's okay. She hasn't run away in the past few hours, so we can be grateful for that, but I still don't think the operation is a good idea. She seems like she isn't ready for this world at all.""No one is ever ready.""But don't you think you should tell her everything first?"I just felt like she deserves to know, even though I don't normally deal with stuff like this, but there was also the possibility of her crashing out on Jose, which I didn't want.To say the least, I just don't have a good feeling about this, and it was making me anxious."After the operation, I'll tell her.""You're sure."He gave a hum, which we both knew wasn't certain, and cut the call after a few moments.It is dynamic, the re
Bella"Here is the plan...""Alessio is as much a party-thrower as he is a general. Father to two children, a beautiful wife..." She pointed to the woman's picture under the guy's picture, "Yet he loves to fuck around.""He has various houses across the states, thanks to his connections and corruption, I'll say, but this..." She sorted out the document to bring on too the blueprint I had mentioned earlier."...is where he would be holding the next party. His birthday party."This was still ridiculous to me, but as long as it's just hacking... right? I could do that remotely but something was telling me that that is not going to be the case.Ugh!"This is the ballroom where the party will be held." She pointed to a section on the paper, "Then this is the passageway that leads to the main living room.""Here, we have his bedroom and study, and that is where our prize is. The study."I glanced at the many rooms and floors sitting in between the main living room and study.This wasn't al
Bella"Uhm... A party is the mission?" I made an incredulous face that portrayed just exactly what I thought about that."Yes. A party.""What am I meant to do there? Hack into the DJ's playlist.""And that's the thing about having a short-circuit brain. You just can't seem to think outside the box.""Haaa..." I gasped, flabbergasted. "Did you just call me short-circuit?""No. Your brain."She dipped her hand into the water to test the temperature and turned back to me."Your leg.""Huh?"I yelped and winced when she held my badly injured leg.It felt shattered, which it should, considering how hard that bitch had stepped on it."Fuck!""This is so going to set us back.""Um... You already said that like a million times, and it isn't even my fault.""Oh, you think so? You're the one who decided it was a good idea to run away, yet again!"She laid so much emphasis on that "yet again.""Ugh, whatever!"She removed the shoes on my leg quite aggressively until I yelped again; then she pla
Quinn I felt the relief in her composure even before she showed it. She laid her head back on the ground and sighed. Uh-oh. She couldn't be more wrong. I felt angry and betrayed. Who would have thought she would run away after being so complacent and cooperative? I had actually thought we were on the same page, but I guess not. So... I nodded to Aria. She needed to be taught a lesson. "Okay. We have the go-ahead and can start the party." "Wait, what? Quinn!" Her eyes widened in panic as two guys pulled her up, and I cocked my eyebrows. "What? You're the one who chose to do this the hard way." "Quinn!" She had no time to protest before her mouth was gagged with some ropes tied around her feet and leg, and I stood to the side with my arms folded while Aria and her men strapped her to a chair. "Mmm! Mmm!" She protested through the tape even though it sounded muffled. "And... here we go." I watched as the two men brought her chair to a basin of water t
BellaI stood in front of the house hours later once I got down from the cab.Ring ring.I waited patiently by the gate while the bell announced my presence to the owners.It wasn't long before a hand was pulling me into the compound and holding me against the wall."Who are you?"I glanced up at the guy when he pointed a light at my face and grunted out, "Bella. Tell Adrian that it's Bella.""Bella?"Both I and the guy turned when a voice repeated my name behind him.As it was dark, I couldn't really see the person's face until he moved closer to me.It was Adrian, and he looked pissed."Did you break out of prison?"The first guy took it as his cue to leave and disappeared into the shadows."It's a long story.""Long story?"I winced and groaned when my back hit the wall again suddenly with his face in my space, "You steal from a dangerous gang, escape from prison, and call it a long story? You literally just brought trouble to my house and family."Right."I know that, and I'm sorr