Adrian I was gulping down a glass of whiskey when Kael came back into the house, and he came to a stop beside me."And?""They've been loaded onto a plane and are on their way back.""Good."Hopefully, they wouldn't remember a thing of what had happened by the time they woke up."And the ship?"Now that my best friend's daughter was out of the way, I could take care of business matters even though that was supposed to come first."The police are looking into it. They think it's a faulty electric system.""What? Not a bomb?" It was the least thing I had been expecting since we lived in a world where everyone was after everyone but a faulty electric system?That was what had fucked my plans up?I refused to believe that."No. They're investigating, so they should come to a conclusion soon."Fuck!"Hope our men are on the assigned team that is investigating?""Yes sir.""Now, prepare a plane. We're going to Rome.""Oh."****LyraThe light was too bright, my head pounding crazily and my
LyraUnfortunately, that bastard carried through with his threat, not just that night but for the whole week while I was waiting for my transfer process to be completed.I wondered how they were even carrying it out when I, the person who was transferring, wasn't around.I shoved it to the back of my mind though and remained sane, thanks to the chef that came in morning and evening to make me food and keep me company.I even learned how to fry an egg.One week later, after the incident and my dumb memory forgetting everything that had happened that fateful night, Kael visited me with the happy news of my resumption.Finally."You'll need to go to the administrative office to finalize things and grab your schedule, and that should be all.""Okay""And here. Make sure you make your whereabouts known.""Fine."I did feel bad after the heart attack I had probably given them due to my disappearance, but I was still livid that they had cut me off from the world completely in return.****Th
Adrian"How is she?""Okay.""Does it seem like she remembers anything?"Kael shook his head as he walked beside me to my car that was on already.The valet handed the key over to him and walked away while we both got into the car."She seems pretty normal and is going about her daily activities without trouble."I didn't trust that about her. Sooner or later, she would fall into trouble and need me to save her, and I really couldn't keep getting distracted by her.I needed to focus and erase her from my mind, but the way her neck had felt under my hand still remained vivid in my memories."Okay then. The money?"He nodded to the bag beside me, "Intact. We had gathered every income we made from our businesses to cover for the loss, and the buyers have agreed to wait one more month for their supplies."It was crazy how the ship had exploded."And you said the police concluded that it was a faulty electrical system?""Yes sir.""Anything suspicious yet?""Not yet. Everyone seems clean,
LyraThe nightmares started soon enough.I wasn't sure what they meant.The man and the eyes that kept falling off their sockets—it was almost as if he was in front of me, but when I woke up, I always realized I was alone and drenched in my sweat.I seriously started to wonder what had gone wrong."Are you okay? You look like a ghost." Greg said when we met up later that day, and I sighed."I don't know. I'm starting to have nightmares.""Concerning that night?" I nodded, collecting the drink that the bartender handed to us."Thank you.""But... I mean..." He rubbed a hand across his forehead"I don't have nightmares, nor does Bella.""I know right. I wonder why mine is different."He sighed, "Maybe you were..." He didn't complete his sentence, fidgeting with his fingers as if I didn't already think of that possibility, and I sighed too."Raped?"He nodded his head slowly. "I would kill myself if that happened, but...""No, it didn't. I would know if I was raped, but I wasn't. It was
LyraFuck!The eyes again.They were moving, crawling out of the guy's face, morphing into something; it felt like it was calling out to my own eyes."Arghhh!" I woke up with a scream when my eyes began to crawl out too.Okay, this was getting out of hand.I still couldn't get to the bottom of this, and I was losing sleep on it.Fuck!I got out of bed and went into the bathroom even though it was just 4 am in the morning, and I prepared the bathtub for a bath."All I know is that he mainly runs his business back in Sicily. I don't really know him or why he told me to follow you around."Sicily.That was where Greg, Bella, and I had gone for the party.Could he have been there?Was that why he had found me?I settled back in the tub after the water had become warm enough and just thought about it.The whole ordeal.The route we had taken to the house.It had been dark that day, but I could try recreating the path in my mind.I sighed and ran a hand through my hair, exasperated.As if I
AdrianJason was the first person to greet me when I got back from Columbia; well, it wasn't really a greeting since I had his brother locked up in my dungeon and all, and I sighed at the state he was in when I got down from the car—drunk and disheveled."What do you want, Jason?"He came forward to meet me, "My brother. I know he acted stupidly, but people make mistakes.""Not trying to rape the target and letting her get away.""He was... I don't..."He knew I was right, but of course he wasn't going to let it go."But we've worked for you for so long.""Something you get paid for."He sighed, "Can't you just let it go?"I scoffed and tapped his cheeks after getting even closer to him. "You should be lucky I'm not keeping him locked up for my next party. Don't worry, I'll give him a nice and clean death."Okay, that was a lie, but he didn't have to know that."No, no, no."I ignored the cries of the guy behind me and didn't even bat an eye when I heard a gunshot behind me.I glanced
LyraThree weeks later,Greg, Bella, and I were all out of breath when we got into an Uber later that afternoon, and we all glanced back out of the car, expecting my "bodyguard" to just pop up out of nowhere."Do you think he fell for it?" Bella asked, and I shrugged."Most likely. But it doesn't matter, as we only need to make it to Sicily before he finds out."Then, it would be difficult for them to find me since it was an island with no one on my back already."Right.""Did you take everything you needed?" I asked both of them, and they nodded"Only the essentials."Due to our predicament of fooling the bodyguard, we had been unable to pack like normal girls would for a trip, but we weren't going there to party either; I was going to find answers."We can always buy anything we need when we get there too."They both nodded, and we headed to the airport, where I had already booked our flights.Thankfully, I had also stopped to withdraw some cash since I thought we might need it on t
Lyra"So what are you doing here in Sicily?" Alfredo turned to me after the guy that had called him earlier left and asked, and I shrugged."Vacation"He chuckled, "Vacation?"I nodded. "What is wrong with that?"He shook his head, "nothing. I just wasn't expecting you to fly all the way from Rome to Sicily for vacation. Rome is already a tourist center on its own."I shrugged, "Well, I love going to new places.""Hmm"We both fell silent as we sipped our drinks, and I kept glancing at him.Why not ask him? He could know something. I said to myself.He caught my eye when I glanced at him again and I cleared my throat, embarrassed."What? Thinking of how to hit on me?"I rolled my eyes at his question and turned to him completely.He glanced at me and away. "What is it?""I... Do you know a guy named Adrian, Adrian Mancini?"I thought I saw a strange expression move across his face, but his fuckboy annoying smile was back on his face before I could dwell on that."Why? Here to find him
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