Hot mess.

~*~

"I will repeat myself for the third time, give us the folder miss."

Hot mess!

This is a hot mess!

How did they know I had the file on me? It was deeply tucked in my bag.

And who are these people?

"Uhm, I'm sorry I think you have the wrong person. I'm not from around here and I have nothing with me." I replied with the most polite tone ever.

" You work for Salvatore right?" Another of them asked with a Russian accent.

Salvatore?

Was that the name of a bird?-

"We can help you if you give us the folder willingly, we do not have to take it forcefully." The first man said again as he began moving close to me.

I took a step back.

And another.

And another, until I bumped into what seemed like a wall…. No I mean, a human.

"You don't have to make it hard miss, give us the folder." He said from behind me making me shudder in fear.

"We know you work for Salvatore, and we won't hesitate to end you this instant."

"What? No! I have no idea who Salvatore is." I stated quite angrily getting frustrated at this.

"So you know who Vladimir is as well?"

Vladimir?

Wait! Vladimir? Wasn't he the man from one of the folders I picked earlier? No, I couldn't let them know that I have known him. They might think I have something to do with this bu la la.

"I don't know what you are talking about. Now be a darling and let the lady pass." I said as I tried to move away from them but one of the men stopped me, crushing my arms tighter.

"Ahh, you bastard" I screamed.

"There are ways in which I can make a lady talk" the man replied with the most vicious chuckle I've ever heard.

My body froze with fear, oh God this man... Am I seriously destined to die tonight?

"I-I'm talking right now aren't I? Do you need me to talk more than this?" I asked trying to buy myself some time…..

Buy sometime?

What was I thinking? Nobody was coming to save me.

Okay, martial arts skills, I need you right now.

"I can make you say whatever I want to hear.." he replied huskily.

"Can you now? A strange voice echoed from behind.

"Salvatore!" The guy who held me by the hand gritted at the other guy who just came.

" You should be more mannered, you know how skeptical I am about first name basis." The new guy said.

I couldn't turn to see him because of the guy standing behind me, but I could tell from his voice that he was intimidating.

"I'm a man of a very tight schedule, so I'll be quick about this. A bargain, this girl here in return for a partnership in my next project." He stated in the most detailed way possible, giving the other guy the time to sink the preposition in.

Wait! Which gurl?

I believe I'm the only female here, so who?

Me?

"I'll even cut you in 50% profit and throw in the fact that you'll be the only limited partner." The young man said quite confidently as if he had nothing to lose.

What the heck!?

Was he bargaining…. Me?

I pushed myself off the guy holding me and turned to this self-centered guy to give him a piece of my mind. "Wait a minute, are you talking about me-"

Holy cows!

He wasn't wearing any mask. I could see his face, every defined detail about him.

He was standing there.. with his hands in his pants pockets.

The posture he stood in, in general, emitted arrogance and a decidedly intimidating kind of aura.

He seemed like a magnet, which by nature, did not need to exert any force to have things drawn towards him because it's simply…

Captivating.

Yes, simply that was the word that fit him perfectly.

I gulped.

The Adam before me noticed me gawking but gave little or no effort to render his sight on me as he continued…

" What do you say, Romano?"

This girl must be quite important to you Salvatore, it'd be a shame if anything happened to her, no? Is she your girlfriend?" The guy, Romano asked with a hint of sarcasm in his tone.

" That's not important." The Adam added, with no remorse. Without even shooting me a glance.

"Alright." The masked man, Romano as he was called turned around to the other men as though he was thinking about the preposition.

I could run away, right?

As much as this Adam looks appealing, I do not want to go anywhere with him, and certainly not with this masked individual.

We were standing somewhere close to a flowing river, My eyes shot out to the bridge nearby. If I just ran fast I could jump inside and get lost from both of them right? As though reading my mind. The Adam before me spoke.

" Don't be an idiot."

Wait! Did he just call me an idiot?

Wow!

The masked guy Romano turned back around, " I've made my decision and I decline. " As he pulled out a gun towards me.

Before he could shoot, another gunshot was heard.

It was fired towards…. Him?

He yelled as he got the shot in his leg. Panic flew through me as I gave a shriek and dropped my bag.

" Damn you!" One of the masked guys cursed as he pulled out a gun but before he could aim, he was shot at.

Another dragged me by the neck and brought me to him as a shield. " you little wretch! Trying to trick us! You called Salvatore here! You ruined our plan." He pressed the gun on my head as he started dragging me away.

" If I were you Elvin, I'll drop my gun and run for my life. You have a countdown till 8 to do just that. 1…. 2...." The Adam, still standing tall with his hands in his pocket started counting while fixing his deadly gaze on me.

" Haha, you think I'm a fool. It's either her or me. If you want to hurt me, you'll have to go through her first." Elvin screamed at Adam as he tightened his grip on my neck.

I couldn't breathe.

It was as though I was underwater and I was drowning, but this time, I was drowning in my sweats.

"6….7….8….. Alberto!"

A gunshot was heard.

I felt something on me.

something cold and sticky splashed on me as a strong smell of metallic smell hit me.

Blood.

That was all my brain registered as I passed out.