Santino

Samantha

I wake up the next morning with a pounding headache. I hold my head and squint my eyes at the ringing sound that only makes my head hurt worse.

I must have drunk so much last night. I don't even remember how I got back to the room. I slowly open my eyes hoping to see the familiar purple walls of my room that I have gotten used to over the year I have spent at Oxford, only to get shocked when I am in a whole new room entirely. Something is wrong.

I shoot up and look around, my head jerking in everything direction.

" No! No! No! Where the hell am I?!" I ask out loud, hoping to get an answer from whichever person brought me here, but no one responds.

I scoff, they didn’t even have the audacity to be here when I woke up.

What am I saying? Did something happen to me?

I began to check myself waiting to feel some kind of pain to let me know if I did engage in any activity while I was drunk, but I come up with nothing.

I survey the room more, just to see if I will recognize anything, but my mind is still blank. My memories from last night are still foggy and the more I try to think about what might have happened, the more my headaches. I am slowly going insane. Little by little I am losing it even without knowing. I need answers, but foremost, I need to get out of here.

I get off the bed and stand up, but that only makes a sharp pain shoot through my head. I put my fingers over my temples and massage them, just to see if it would lessen it.

Like a charm, by the bedside table, there is a glass of water and what looks like a painkiller. I inspect the tablet more and for sure it is a painkiller. I grab it and hold it up in the air toward the light that is coming from the windows. I keep contemplating if I should take the med or not.

Thinking of a window, I walk across the room and peep outside. The view before me is spectacular. It’s unlike anything I have ever seen and stresses far beyond without any houses nearby, not even a simple sign of civilization is nearby. Just where am I?

The ground is far below, an obvious reason that the windows are not an option, any slight mistake and I will be failing to my death. Just how high was this building?

I am back at my inner debate. With each passing second, my head pounds harder. I finally decide to take the tablet. I gulp it down and drink some water. Now all I need to do is wait for the effects to show.

I walk to the door and grab the handle, I turned it, expecting the door to instantly open, only it doesn’t. Just what is happening here?

I repeat the action once and then twice, but the result is still the same. I am locked in here, is someone just playing some prank on me, or am I in danger?

I don’t want to panic, yet I know that all I need to do is call my big brother and all will be well. I was his baby sister after all and the mind behind our shady business.

I walk back to the bed and begin to search for my phone. I turn everything on the bed, but my phone is nowhere to be found. What is going on?

I rushed back to the door and begin to bang on the door.

“ Let me out of here!!! I want to go back home!!”

There is no response, it is dead quiet. I begin to bang once more. I need to know who brought me here and if it was any of my friends I am going to kill them.

The door suddenly swings open. The first thing I see is a pair of black oxford dress shoes. They are so well polished and shiny. Just from the shoe, I am able to tell the person who has walked in here is bad news.

My gaze slowly moves up to the next thing, and it lands on his navy blue trousers. My gaze is slow as it continues and sure he is wearing an expensive-looking belt and a white long-sleeved dress shirt. He doesn’t move, he stays put as if he is waiting for me to finish with my eye fuckery. Damn, the man is hot and tall. His slender build is to die for.

I finally see his face and I feel my breath get caught in my throat. I have never seen such a fine specimen in my life. He is all manly and looks very serious. He has the most beautiful pair of sapphire blues eyes. They are captivating, it is hard for me to even look away.

Who is this man standing in front of me?

He has a thin line set on his luscious plum-pink lips. Every fiber of my being is begging me to jump his bones.

What the hell am I even thinking?

I didn't even know this man. He seems very dangerous and here I am drooling over him, this is why I have a bad choice in men.

He looks at me with so much anger in his eyes. I don’t understand why, because I don’t know him. I know I might have enemies here and there, but none of them know it’s me, they all think it’s Ethan.

His strawberry blond hair is perfectly styled on his head, and his long stubble only makes him look more badass and deadly.

“Who are you?” I gather the courage to ask him.

“Who I am shouldn't even concern you. My business is with Ethan, not you, it's just sad that you have to get caught up in it.” His voice was so deep and sexy, just as I expected. It shakes my core and he doesn’t even know it.

“ If your business is with Ethan, then Ethan is the one you should be bringing here.”

“ Oh, you think we don't want that princess,”

Aww! He called me his princess! What does he mean, we?!

He continues, “ We want that more than anything, but your brother is so smitten. Tell me where he is right now and we will let you go instantly.” He demands.

His gaze on me is so intense I couldn't look away even if I wanted to, it holds me in place, and my body can’t move.

“ He is uhh” I stop mid-sentence. I move a step back. “He is...” It suddenly occurs to me that I have no idea where Ethan is. Because of our dangerous business, we avoid sharing information such a whereabouts to keep each other safe. It’s also been four months since we last met to work on the previous mission. Since then, I haven’t seen him. Knowing where he is is impossible.

“ Samantha, tell me where your brother is.” He demands in his deep sexy voice.

I hesitate as I try to think about where Ethan can be, even if I know I wouldn’t be able to guess. At the moment, the world no longer feels as small as people claim it to be.

Whoever this man is sees my reaction and narrows his eyes.

“You don't know anything, do you?” He suddenly asks, which sounds more like he is taunting me than anything.

“ No, I have just realized that Ethan never tells me anything about his whereabouts or even the job he does. All he ever does is sponsor my education and every other need.” It’s half a lie, a lie that is meant to keep alive.

A low, sinister chuckle leaves his lips. Even as dangerous as this man seems to be, he is still very sexy. “ You must be a fool, then.”

My mouth hangs open, did he just...

“YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT ME!” I yell with so much venom.

“ I know enough to know that you don't know who your brother is. A pathetic thief who stole something very precious from us. We want it back, Samantha.”

Ethan and I are dangerous thieves that have stolen diamonds, golds, emeralds from various people. I am guessing he is one of these people we have stolen precious stones from. In situations like this one, I always have to act aloof like I don’t know what my brother does. If he knows that I know exactly what Ethan does, and I am the main mastermind, he will torture me. I can only continue acting like I don’t know shit about what he is talking about.

“ You are lying! My brother is not a thief, he is better than that!” I defend Ethan.

“Like I said, you are a fool. And I won't let you go until your brother gives us back what he stole from us.” He speaks so casually as if he is talking of the weather.

“You can't do this...” I tell him.

He gives me one last look before he turns, he chuckles and then says “watch me.”

I finally caught his sandalwood scent, and I can’t help but think there is something so familiar about this scent.

“YOU HAVE TO LET ME GO, YOU TRUNK OF A MAN!”

A low, sinister chuckle leaves his lips at my lame insult, his wide shoulders shaking slowly at the motion.

“My name is Santino Ricca.”