Hideout located

Chapter 6

Ariel

I had thought that staying with a man I knew nothing about would be difficult, but it was the opposite. There was a strange kind of peace that washed over me each time I remembered that I was a bit free.

It's been five days since the marriage debacle and Guilia and I haven't stopped exchanging texts. Though she continued to assure me that everything was fine and I didn't have to bother about her safety, I still felt that she was hiding some facts from me.

Knowing who my father was, they'd keep searching for me until they found me, but it was great to know that they might not consider returning to the café. Not until I was gone.

While engrossed in thoughts, Lilia, the mean chief baker, trotted into the kitchen and dumped the tray that she had used in keeping the burgers that she prepared on the sink, wearing a huge scowl on her face.

She glared at me and snorted. "Why are you lazing around? Don't you know that you have to do the dishes and attend to our customers?" She said in a clipped tone.

I gulped and bowed, trying not to infuriate her further. It has only been five days, but she kept treating me like a slave just because Freud allowed me to work here and I didn't understand the reason for her meanness until yesterday when I found her begging him desperately to date her.

I had no idea that he was the boss until I accepted to live with him and then he offered me a job. And now, I was getting to know that she had a crush on him.

"I'm sorry, but the sink is empty. I've done the dishes already," I defended myself.

She raised her hand sharply to stop me from speaking. "You don't talk back at me when I pass an order," She sneered and drew closer to me. "You might have gotten a job here because of your pretty face, but when Freud isn't around, I remain your superior. Do you understand?" She barked, her nose flared.

I wanted to roll my eyes, but I wasn't ready to cause a ruckus here and if I was to ever stand up to her, it would be when I'd gathered enough money to leave this town.

After a moment of silence, I responded grudgingly. "Yes, Lilia,"

She opened her mouth to say something else when the kitchen door was opened slightly and one of the waiters poked his head in.

"Ariel, can you cover for me? Table seven needs to be attended to and I have an urgent errand to run," Gloria informed me, batting her lashes sweetly.

She was a nice lady and one of the people I could speak to when I was bored, but then I was scared of associating with people.

Serving the customers shouldn't have been a big deal for me because of my jovial personality, but each time I remembered that I was wanted by my family and that my father's men were still on the lookout for me, even Dmitri's men, I'd wish to disappear.

"I don't think I can—" I tried to argue.

"Don't you want to get paid?" Lilia's harsh voice resonated behind me. "Do you think that we are lazy here? Look, if you continue slacking around, I'll tell Freud about it and he'll sack you. Don't think you have him wrapped around your fingers just because you give him your body at night,"

Her words stung painfully and I clenched my fists, ready to throw a punch at her but I stopped myself. A sly smirk played on her lips, tempting me to become aggressive and I drew in a deep breath.

She wanted me to dance to her tune, but I wouldn't do her the honor.

"Sure, Gloria. I'm coming right up,"

I masked my anger with a placid smile and walked through the door, wishing that I could lay my hands on some good amount of money so that I'd run away.

If anyone had told me that working would be this hard, then I'd have considered marrying that beast. I slapped my forehead and shook my head.

Hell, no, marrying that masked man wasn't an option.

Fortunately, Gloria had already arranged the customer's order and kept it on the counter so I took the tray and veered toward the table.

I got to the table and scrutinized the man whose head was inclined. He was clad in a black jacket, his hair covered with a matching black face cap.

It was quite odd to see someone dressed like that but I shrugged off the intrusive thoughts. I had no business with his dress sense, what mattered was his ability to pay for his order.

"Good afternoon, Sir, thank you for your patronage. I hope you enjoy our tasty burger..." I said enthusiastically and turned around to leave when his deep chuckle caused me to freeze.

"Ariel Scuderi, I didn't think it would be this easy to find you," His voice was deep and low enough for only me to hear.

My pulse raced and beads of sweat broke out from my forehead as I calculated the distance between the place I stood to the door. I glanced at the walkway and my knees buckled when I saw the familiar fleet of cars packed outside.

With the inscription on the plate number, I didn't have to second guess whom they belonged to.

I balled my fists again and counted to ten, taking intermittent gasps. Feeling bolder even though my insides were jittery and my body was threatening to betray me, I marched to the table and kept up with my fake, naive smile.

"Hello, sir, may I ask how you got to know my name?" I asked coyly, intensely scanning his features.

His accent was different, not very Chicago-like but it sounded familiar as if I'd heard it somewhere. And then It struck me immediately. He was one of the Russian Bratva.

He smirked at me and nudged me to sit opposite him. Everything within me screamed that I should take to my heels, but I realized that they couldn't have found me if my whereabouts hadn't been leaked and for that to have happened...

I didn't even want to imagine what they did.

"I'm Vladimir Mikhailov, Dmitri's younger brother," He replied with so much boldness and a little sass while I melted slowly on my chair. "And I'm here to take you home,"