01

01

Part 1

“You fuckin’ bastards! Let go of me!” I flailed my arms and legs in a futile attempt to escape, but failed. The grip the giant baboons had on my arms was too tight, and despite my efforts to fight them off, Aresco’s minions managed to drag me out of the gigantic mansion, away from my sister.

Aresco, the devil’s spawn, had my sister, and who knew what barbaric things he was planning to do to her. I struggled relentlessly, but the giants dragging me away from my sister were stronger. I knew steroids were pumping in those manly bloodstreams, giving them way too much strength than they actually deserved.

The giant minions managed to drag me out of the gigantic mansion. I had no idea what they were planning to do to me, maybe they were going to kill me. No, Aresco told Maril and I that one of us would be safe if we didn’t live with Aresco, so killing me was not what these pea brained idiots had in mind. Were they going to dump me in the middle of nowhere? Leaving me to find my own way back to my apartment. Were we even in Florence anymore?

Flailing my legs and working my jaw in an attempt to bite one of the beefy men, I was taken out into the open. The sun was shining brightly, casting a happy atmosphere, but I felt anything but happy. Fury was boiling in the pit of my stomach. I wanted to go mad with rage but I knew it would not help Maril. I had to be smart and rescue Maril before it was too late.

Taking a deep breath, I tried to talk these no brainers into letting me go. “Hey, big guy, what do you say you and I go have some fun?” I leaned closer to man on the right and whispered, trying my best to be seductive, “Somewhere private?” Okay, I know it was the most stupid thing I could possibly think of doing, but I needed to distract this guy in order to let me go.

The man grunted before saying, “Silenzio.” I wondered what that meant. (Silence)

They took me to what looked like a forest. Gigantic trees looked down on me, slightly intimidating. The sun rays weren’t as strong over here as they were in the rest of the area. The silence over here was thick, only to be broken by the occasional snapping of twigs under the baboons’ feet.

We entered a small clearing and Aresco’s goons dropped me on the muddy ground like a sack of potatoes. I swore under my breath as I felt tiny rocks digging in my thighs, my jeans doing little to protect me from the sharp, uneven edges.

Cursing the ugly minions, I quickly stood up and dusted myself off, brown and green were not good combinations with my clothes. Running a hand through my hair, I made sure every strand was in place, but found myself growling in frustration when I realized that my hair was a mess.

“Go straight.” The goon on the left pointed behind me. “Find taxi. Go home.” Saying this, both men turned and quickly walked away, leaving me stranded in the deserted forest.

“Well that’s awesome, now I’m free,” I muttered miserably to myself before looking around. I had no idea what kind of aliens Aresco hired to do his bidding, I mean, they just leave me here and tell me to find my way back, what did I look like, Dora the Explorer?! At this rate, even Dora would have an advantage, she had a map.

Having no intention of going home, I started walking back to where I had come from. I was not going to leave this place without Maril, I would not leave my sister in the lion’s den. I just hoped I didn’t die of hunger before then.

After walking for ten minutes, I cursed Aresco’s men and my sanity; I was lost. I had no idea which way to go because everywhere I turned there were trees, trees and more trees. And I was too busy in my pathetic attempts at seducing the ugly brute to notice where they had come from. Damn, damn.

I had been wandering around the forest for seemed like forever before an idea popped in my head. Maybe, if I closed my eyes and walked around blindly, I might just escape this forest and go back to the mansion. Even though it was a long shot, I decided to follow through with my idea. Closing my eyes, I slowly started walking. I had no idea how much time passed or where I was going, I just kept walking.

“Ouch, oh shit,” I swore as my head hit something hard before I lost my balance and fell, once again on the muddy ground. Groaning, I sat up and rubbed my head which felt suddenly tender. “Great, now I am going bruise.” I mumbled before standing up.

My eyes widened and I nearly screamed in frustration when I saw that I had only walked a few steps when I had walked straight into a tree. And I knew this because there was a big bush with some sort of big, red flowers where I was standing earlier, and now that same bush was just a few feet from where I now stood.

Taking a deep breath to regain my composure, I began walking, trying my best to avoid the huge trees. My forehead started throbbing where I had banged it against the trunk of the tree. I kept praying that I would find my way back and not get lost for the insects and other animals to feed on. I passed numerous trees and bushes with colorful flowers, but did not see the end to the forest.

Just when I was starting to give up, I saw it. The mansion. It stood tall and proud on its foundation, mesmerizing anyone who got a glimpse of the spectacular façade. The beautiful Italian architecture took my breath away and almost made me forget about my now bruised forehead.

Not wasting time on admiring the grand structure of Aresco’s mansion, I narrowed my eyes as my anger returned full force. I was going to hunt Aresco down and save my sister. Taking a deep breath, I slowly jogged in the direction of the grand entrance doors. I was just about to think of a way to sneak inside when I saw him; Aresco, getting out of the car, a white coat draped on his arm.

“You bastard,” I muttered to myself as I watched Aresco shutting the car door softly before making his way to the entrance doors. I thought that my eyes were deceiving me, that it was not Aresco because he was with my sister, but there was no mistaking it; his face was the same as I had last seen it, like God had taken special care while molding his face and body because it was perfection, his hair looked soft even though he was far away from where I was hiding behind a pillar. But I could tell it was him, the strange and disturbing thing was that he was here, acting like as if everything was perfectly all right in his world and that he did not had an innocent girl locked up in his house, ready to torture for his sick amusements.

Oh, I am going to kill you, Aresco. I am going to make you rue the moment you decided to keep my sister captive.

Deciding to take him by surprise, I charged towards Aresco and tackled him to the ground. I did not think, I just started punching and clawing at Aresco, trying to inflict as much damage to his perfectly sculpted body as I could.

“I am going to kill you! Give me back my sister, you monster or else I’ll scratch your eyes off!” I screamed and continued punching and scratching him.

I really thought I was going to win. I thought that I would punch and scratch Aresco until he begged me for mercy and promised to give Maril back to me. But I was so wrong. In less than five minutes, Aresco had overpowered me, and I found myself lying on my back with Aresco’s battered face looming above me. And boy did he look angry.

Before I could process anything, Aresco stood up and roughly pulled me up with him until I was standing in front of him. He opened his mouth to speak but I did not give him the chance. I raised my hand and slapped him, hard across his face, loving the sound as my hand made contact with his cheek. As soon as he recovered from the shock of being slapped, he glared at me. I raised my hand and tried to slap him once again but he captured my wrist in a tight hold just as my hand was mere centimeters away from his face.

“Vi pentirete questo, libellula,” Aresco muttered, squeezing my wrist, causing me to yelp in pain. (You will regret this, dragonfly)

“Let go of me, you piece of shit!” I shouted, trying to free my wrist, but Aresco had a vice-like grip.

“Sei Americana?” He muttered, slightly loosening his hold on me. (Are you American?)

I ignored his words, mainly because I had no idea what he was saying. “Cut the Italian bullshit and let go of me,” I seethed.

Aresco released me suddenly, causing me to fall flat on my butt. He bent down and gave me a once over, taking in my disheveled appearence. His presence intimidated me; much more than when I saw him in that royal room.

“What are you doing here? Don’t you know, whoever trespasses is shot on the spot, how did you make it this far?” Aresco asked me.

I stared at him in anger and confusion. What the hell was he talking about? His burly men kidnapped Maril and I and now he was holding my sister hostage. Why was he talking like as if he met me for the first time? Did he not remember what happened just an hour ago? Did he suffer from any memory disorder?

“What are you talking about? Your men kidnapped me and my sister. I want my sister back, let her go or I will chop you into pieces!” I threatened.

Aresco frowned, his eyes flashing in confusion. I had no idea if he was really that forgetful or just an amazing actor, because in that moment, he truly looked as if he had no idea what I was talking about.

Aresco moved his arm behind his back and produced a black gun. My heart jumped in my throat as he pointed the gun straight at me. With his other arm, Aresco fished out his cell phone from his pocket, after dropping his white coat on the ground. He put the phone to his ear and waited for the line to connect, while I just there eyeing the gun with barely concealed terror.

“Severin, che cosa è uno ragazza a caso facendo nel nostro territorio? Lei sta andando balistico, chiedendo che lasciamo andare la sorella.” Aresco said, the gun still pointing at me. (Severin, what is a random girl doing in our territory? She is going ballistic, demanding that we let her sister go)

“Dove si trova Severin?” He said. (Where is Severin?)

Aresco was quiet as he listened to the other person. I, on the other hand, prayed for my life. I could not believe the turn my life had taken. Just a few hours ago Maril and I had been arguing over paying for a taxi, and now here I was, on the ground, with a gorgeous monster in front of me, pointing a gun to my face. I have heard stories about how Italy was famous for the Mafia, and I prayed that this man was not a part of it, even though the gun pointing at me did not tip the scales in my favor.

After a few ‘hmm’s and ‘ei’s, Aresco hung up and pocketed his phone with a wicked look in his eyes. My heart rate skyrocketed as Aresco stared at me with a terrifying look.

“You were suppose to leave and never come back, yet here you are, trying to sneak back in, you do know I can kill you right now, right?” Aresco stated, cocking the gun, causing a whimper to escape me.

I tried to bargain for my life. “Look, sir, Mr. Aresco.” I hastily stood up, the gun following my movement. “You seem like a great man, you don’t want to shoot an innocent girl like me, you don’t want my blood on your hands,” I said.

“Actually, I always have blood on my hands, having the blood of a trespasser would only make me happy,” he replied, pressing the gun to my forehead, right next to my bruise.

My body started shaking as I took in his words. “Please sir, I just want my sister back. I swear, whoever you are, we won’t say anything to anyone, I swear. Your secret is safe with us, please don’t kill me, let us go, please,” I pleaded, cursing the man standing in front of me for being the cause of my begging.

Instead of answering, Aresco frowned as he eyed my bruise. With the gun still pressed to my forehead, he gently brushed his fingers over my bruise causing me to wince in pain. Just as quickly as he had produced the gun, Aresco put it back in his pants. I sighed in relief and found that I could breathe freely once again. Aresco grabbed my upper arm in a tight hold and begun dragging me away from the mansion.

“Brick. Atomo. Qui ora,” Aresco barked while continuing to tug me along. (Brick. Atom. Over here now)

I frowned when I heard him shouting ‘Brick’. What was brick? I mean, why did he shout for a brick? Was he planning to hit me with a brick and then kill me?!

Suddenly, two men stood in front of us, dressed in all black with a weird tattoo on their left cheek. They resembled the beefy men that had left me in the forest. They stood at attention, ready for orders.

“Chiamare un taxi, in questo momento,” Aresco stated in Italian. (Call a taxi, right now)

No sooner had he said the words, one of the men fished out what looked like black walkie-talkie and said something in the speaker. Another voice responded before the man put his walkie-talkie away.

In less than thirty seconds, a black car arrived with tinted windows. Aresco opened the passenger door and pushed me inside the car, and climbed in after me before shutting the door.

“Where do you live?” Aresco asked me.

“Why?” I questioned, I did not want to tell him where I lived. He was a dangerous man with a gun-a criminal and a stranger, he must never find out where I lived.

“Answer my question,” he said in a dangerous voice, his golden eyes hard.

“N-No,” I stated, my heart resuming its pounding.

Aresco sighed. “Do you want your sister to live?” He questioned.

“What do you mean?” I enquired, suddenly afraid, not for myself but for Maril.

“Easy, you answer my question and I’ll let your sister live, if you don’t, then you say goodbye to her,” Aresco stated.

Angry tears welled up in my eyes but I refused to cry. I would not give this man the satisfaction of seeing me cry, he was not worth it.

“Florence,” I spat, glaring at him.

“Where in Florence?” He questioned calmly, as if he hadn’t just threatened me.

“Near Moda Passione,” I hissed, staring out the window.

“Tu Moda Passione,” Aresco said to the driver, who started driving without a word. (To Moda Passione)

“Where are you taking me?” I queried, as I saw the mansion getting smaller and smaller the further we drove.

“I’m taking you home.” Was all he said. My heart sank as I saw the mansion disappearing from my view. Just as we turned a corner and the mansion vanished from sight, I made a vow to myself.

Maril, I was going save you or die trying.