Michael grunted and opened his eyes. It was very dark and it felt as if he was in a moving car.He sluggishly looked around him to confirm his thoughts. Everywhere was dark and he couldn't even see his arms, yet he felt his body move.Yes, he was in a moving car!What the fuck?He tried moving but he felt restricted and hot. Not only was he in a moving car, but he was also in the fucking trunk.He opened his eyes widely to suck in any little amount of light in the trunk. He reached for his phone in his pocket to use the torchlight, but his pockets were empty.The men must have taken it!The car lurched upwards and slammed back down. His head slammed into the top of the vehicle and he muttered a curse that his mother wouldn't have been proud of.That was when it occurred to him what was happening. These men were kidnapping him!"Hello! Help!" Michael screamed.He kicked about the trunk with all the energy he had but it wouldn't budge.Shit!There had to be a way out.Michael was about
Iryna looked at her reflection in the elevator's mirror. With Selena not around, she had managed to master the art of applying makeup, which she made an effort not to cringe at.Although she had gotten some help from some of the more experienced maids around, she still felt like Selena would have done a better job."Any problem ma'am?" Lucien asked.He was dressed smartly, like a corporate bodyguard. After all, they were attending a meeting with the board members of Evans Modelling Agency. What it was about, she had no idea but she was prepared to face off with Marcus."Nope, I —does this makeup look the right shade to you?" Iryna asked for the fifteenth time since they entered the elevator.Her black corporate-looking dress swished with each movement she made. She had opted for contacts this time. Her hair was tied in a ponytail and her edges had been neatly contoured framing her face like an angel.Lucien sighed. "You look fine. Besides, Carla and Joanna are good at applying makeup.
"Mr. Cuccini Federico," the secretary said with nervousness lacing his voice.Iryna sighed. She had seen this coming so she wasn't surprised that he had already been admitted as a partner.The door flew open and Federico himself walked inside. He muttered silent greetings to the board members around and flashed smiles at everyone like the saint he could never be.He went to the seat where his name badge sat on it and Iryna rolled her eyes. She could have sworn that wasn't there when she got there earlier.He flashed her a smile as he made himself comfortable."Ugh," Iryna shuddered and didn't bother to hide her disgust. Lucien stirred beside her. She shook her head and looked at the secretary."Wow, I didn't know Mr Italia here is our new partner. In fact, I am even more surprised that a partner has been added to our organization. I thought I was always the first that got this type of information, what happened?" Iryna asked in a calm voice.The secretary swallowed. "I am —afraid I ca
"Why don't we cast votes? Our organization isn't a communist regime, right? For the people. By the people." Iryna quoted with a confident air.There was a murmur that passed along the people present in the hall. There was no response, the yes had been given.A mini ballot box was brought inside the conference Hall and put in the center. Lucien himself got up and stood at the ballot box with Iryna to stop any form of cheating.With Federico present anything was possible.Slowly, people rose and went to cast their votes in the boxes. Only the executives and directors were allowed to participate in this event. The shareholders sat back and watched."What is going on here?" Federico whispered harshly against Marcus' ear. He watched as people put in their votes to remove him as a partner from the company. It was funny how the tides had changed against him. Iryna had proven to be ahead of him, once again.Marcus looked at Federico and licked his lips. "We do not have a choice, sir. We are l
Shivering Michael coughed and wheezed heavily against the cold hard ground.He didn't know how many hours or days had passed, since he had drunk water.The room he was put in had no window, no heating and he could smell blood everywhere. Not only his but several other people's own before him.Maybe, this was where Federico converted people to paste which he used for his paint canvases."Fuck," Michael wheezed.He had taken a lot of punches the night, or morning, or afternoon before or whatever time it was then he had been punched in his life. His face felt hot where he had been hit, he knew he had purple eyes for he could barely keep them open.His skin was raw and he had been bound with plastic restraints. His ankles were aching from the rusted chains that dug into his flesh. Any movement he made, he regretted and cursed.Was this how he was going to die? In an old storage room?He was lucky that Federico hadn't killed him yet. But he was being tortured so that they could collect inf
James rinsed his hands in the sink. His knuckles were very bruised, he even thought about consulting the local doctor.He winced when he pressed the reddened area just above his metacarpals. The door to the toilet suddenly flew open and James looked over his shoulder to who had come in."Boss, The mafioso is back," the man said, still standing at the door.James frowned a bit and stared at the mirror. "Did he send for me?" He asked.The man shook his head. "No sir," he replied.James nodded. "I will come and join you later in the boss' room. Let me finish cleaning up here," he said.The man nodded and went away. Hot air flowed into the toilet as the opened and stopped the second the door was shut.James looked at himself in the mirror and he closed his eyes. Michael's words ricocheted through James's head, literally.He had known Michael for a fair number of years, back to their high school days. He knew when Michael was lying, and when he was telling the truth.James scratched his ha
Iryna was immersed in a light run on the treadmill.She looked at the speed value and increased it again by a number. Somehow, she enjoyed the way she felt the faint exhaustion of the muscles in her body.She had never really fancied going to the gym. There was one in the residence, but she never used it. The idea of paying money or in her case, since she had one, using the gym to knock herself out to deal with her stress felt alien to her.But she slowly understood why. The faint muscle fatigue in her arms and legs was strangely enjoyable.She pressed the stop button and the treadmill slowed down to a stop. She wiped the sweat off her forehead and sat down."Hell if I continue, I might just become a masochist," Iryna said. The phone screen came on, and she looked at who was calling."You?" Iryna smiled. She picked up the phone and put it to her ear. "Marcus Evans! My man!" She said happily.There was a pause and static in the background. Marcus was muttering something inaudible. "Goo
"Wake up..."It was very faint. It seemed as if it were light-years away.Michael heard it but he kept his eyes sealed shut.What was the point, his eyelids were swollen and there was mild bleeding around the edges as well. Besides, whoever was whispering to him probably wanted to cause him more harm.Michael hoped that if he ignored them they would leave him alone but he was wrong.There was a touch somewhere, someone was moving him. His body was so broken that he jumped in and out of consciousness.At one point, he felt hands on his shoulder. He was made to sit down.Another torture session? he thought but then he shrugged.Good luck to them. He had already told them the truth, but they wouldn't believe him.The darkness when he closed his eyes felt great, he felt he became one with it. He preferred this. He was ready to die."Wake up!" The voice said more urgently this time.Michael's eyes flew open. His left eye wasn't swollen heavily like his right eye, but he could only see slit
The court had been swift in declaring Marcus and Michael's verdict.Michael had hired a hot-shot criminal lawyer that lied like fuck during the entire hearing. The man was so good that he had almost even convinced everyone at the hearing that his client Michael was innocent, but the evidence was just too much against him.Marcus had been sentenced to ten years in prison with light labor in a penitentiary in California.Michael was sentenced to twenty-one years in prison, with hard labor and no parole. His modeling career was over, his life was over as it stood."Mark my words, you will pay for this!" Michael had said to Iryna when he was being thrown in a van."It should get old by now, shouldn't it?" Lucien waved him away at the court.Amanda Walters was still being held by the FBI, and it looked like it would remain like that for a while.The FBI wanted to fish out all information about the Mafia network in Latin America.Tyrese's charred body was later recovered.It was discovered
The sound of helicopters got closer and panic started spreading among the gangs and Mafia lords that surrounded the empty cars."The FBI!" Someone screamed.Government-issued SUVs pulled up and FBI SWAT teams were already over the place, holding their guns at them. They were completely surrounded.Michael gritted his teeth and dropped his phone. "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" He screamed. "Why does this always happen to me!"The FBI team wasted no effort in apprehending all the Mafia and gang members.The mission was possible because of two things, one, the FBI had come in massive numbers and had surrounded their enemies. Two, because of their magnificent entree, the enemy was too overwhelmed to act that they had suddenly given up their will to fight."Drop your weapons and go down on your knees, order of the bureau!" someone said on a loudspeaker."Fuck this!" Michael dragged Amanda and kicked Marcus out of his way. He ran forward to a nearby vehicle, but he was stopped by agents.Amanda tried
"Sir, the plane has landed," the intercom buzzed.Michael was seated inside a black limousine and sipped wine from his cup."Any sign of them?" He asked after he had put his glass down."Yes, they are stepping out of the plane," the intercom buzzed again."Jesus, New Orleans is so cold at this time of the year," Amanda shivered as she entered the car. "So this is the United States," Amanda looked out of the window at the high-rise buildings in the Central Business District."The target has landed, the plan is being kicked into motion," Michael said."Good, they will be heading to the mansion, and we will cut them off in that location you mentioned," Amanda held Michael's chest and began drawing circles."What are you doing?" Michael suddenly asked.Amanda came up and kissed Michael on the lips, short and fast."What was that for?" Michael asked as blushes developed on his cheek."That is just part one, I will give you the rest when we are done with them," Amanda whispered in his ears.
Iryna's eyes felt like lead when she woke up. She was in and out of sleep for the past eight hours. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. The bandages on her hands made them feel even sore.She looked out of the window and all she saw was water, from a bird's eye view. They were on their way to The United States... home."You were out for quite a long," a deep voice spoke.Iryna turned in the direction of the voice and saw Lucien sitting on a chair on the other side. IV lines were there and he wore a blanket over his legs. He looked better now, and his wounds had been tended to."Gosh," Iryna rubbed her eyes and yawned. "How are you doing, Lucien?" Iryna asked. She stretched and heard a few bones bop in her shoulders."Never been better," Lucien laughed. "The doctor said it was a miracle I was alive. My liver has been grazed, plus a lot of other internal blood vessels," he said with a smile. "Seems like I will be out for months," Lucien chuckled."Just rest up," Iryna told him. She looked o
Michael was getting irritated where he was. All of a sudden, the cops were showing up in large numbers, and Amanda was nowhere to be found."Alright boys, let's round this up!" Michael spoke out.The men all stopped and looked at him."I know, I am not your boss, but I can't seem to find Amanda anywhere and the police are coming, so we will have to ditch this place and run," Michael explained.He expected Amanda to do just fine, besides she was crazy enough to save him from the FBI that day. She would save herself."Where is Amanda?" One of the men asked. "We can't leave without her," he looked around. There was a murmuring passing among the group."For Christ's sake! It is almost morning, we have to go," Michael pointed at the sky.The sun was just On the horizon, it was just seconds away from sunrise. There was no time to wait around anymore."Michael!" Amanda suddenly appeared from behind a vehicle and she limped heavily.Her Kawasaki bike was oddly naked and there were a few crazy
Amanda stood up and stepped forward. Her left leg side roared with pain from her contact with the ground after that stunt with the van. There was a bruise on her forehead, but nothing she couldn't handle.Amanda picked up a bat that lay on the floor and smiled. She walked in the direction of the van.Iryna was the first to open her eyes. She let out a cough. Her legs hurt, but she could still feel and move them.She looked around and saw that the door at the back was missing. She felt fear develop in her and turned towards Lucien. He was still breathing, but he was knocked unconscious after the van turned over. Reynold was also unconscious, but his breathing was becoming raspy.Iryna looked at the front, and she saw Selena dangling from her seat belt upside down, the wound on her head looked very bad, and she could already tell that the driver was in an even worse state.Iryna tapped Selena's face. "Selena, Selena, wake up," there was a response, the twitching of facial muscles and so
"Shit, hold him tight!" Selena cussed as they lifted Reynold across the burning parking lot.Iryna held his legs, while Selena held his hands. He turned out to be too heavy for one person to carry."Huh," Reynold groaned. They had managed to stop the bleeding, it was a miracle he was still alive after all that blood loss."Hang in there, we will soon get you a doctor," Iryna said despite the pain in her leg, as they carried him to a waiting vehicle. A nab was waiting outside and when he saw them, he brought out a stretcher and ran to them."He needs medical treatment," Iryna said to the man."Christ! Señorita Selena! What took you so long?" The man asked. He had a very thick accent."Long story, just focus on getting us out of here," Selena said to the man.Iryna opened the door to the bus and saw Lucien sleeping on a bed. There were vials and IV lines that were still attached to him."Hey madam," Lucien's voice cracked."Lucien!" Iryna hugged him. "God, you are alright.""Last time y
Selena would never forget Iryna's scream. It rang through the night and was momentarily louder than the sound of bullets moving around them.Iryna herself could not even hear her own screams. They were silent in her skull. She couldn't even hear the sounds of gunshots. She didn't care about the bullets that ricochetted against the cars.As she watched as Reynold slowly fell to the floor, she wanted to die too."Shit!" Selena cussed as she grabbed Iryna and ran to take cover.Kynes fired several shots at them, but they had safely gone behind vehicles."What are you doing?" Iryna was hysterical. "What about Reynold? We can't leave him there!" She kicked against Selena and thrashed about.She refused to accept that Reynold was dead. He was lying on his back, a pool of blood was already forming there."What are you doing? There is nothing we could have done! There is nothing I can do to bring him back!" Selena screamed.She looked over the trunk of the car and several shots rang. She duck
Reynold rested on the bench and ran his hand gently on Iryna's shoulder. It was the first time he was finding comfort in detention. Even in their situation, Iryna still looked very appealing.Reynold tried not to wake her up as he caressed her gently. Very soon, Selena would come up with a crazy escape plan.He was worried about Iryna, he didn't want any bullets touching her, and how they would move Lucien who had just come out of surgery —everything was hard.Reynold bent down and kissed Iryna's head. She smelled of mint, she must have used the twenty-four hour mist. It had been two days since they had gotten a proper shower. But Iryna still smelled nice.He heard footsteps at the door and Reynold clenched his jaw muscles. He sure hoped as hell that it wasn't Kynes. He always spoiled the mood.There were two heavy thuds. Reynold cocked his brows and watched the door.The door flew open and Selena walked in. She looked around the room and pressed the switch. Reynold flinched from the