02

Part 2

We arrived in front of Moda Passione after two hours. The whole car ride had my heart pumping through my veins. I had no idea how Maril was doing in a mansion full of beefy men while Aresco was with me—he was really irresponsible, leaving my sister like that all alone. I mean, if he had captured her, he should at least keep her company. Then again, who would want to be in the company of Aresco? Not me, that was for sure.

“Where is your house?” Aresco asked me.

“Oh, I don’t have a house,” I replied, trying to see if there was anyway I could escape.

“Where do you live?” He enquired, sounding frustrated.

“In my apartment,” I answered, staring out the window.

Aresco growled. “I just asked you that,” he snapped.

“No, you asked me where my house was. And I don’t live in a house, I live in an apartment, there is a difference you know,” I said.

Aresco sighed heavily, as if he was physically restraining himself not to do something rash. I on the other hand looked at him to make sure he wouldn’t explode.

“Fine, where is your apartment?” He gritted his teeth.

I smiled cheekily at him. “In Florence.”

“Dragonfly, don’t test my patience. Tell me where your apartment is.” It looked like Aresco was trying to control himself from strangling me.

“Okay, let me out of the car and I won’t test your patience,” I said, trying to open the door but found it locked.

“You’re not getting out of this car until you tell me where your apartment is,” Aresco stated.

“But I can’t tell you where it is,” I whined.

“And why not?” He enquired, sighing once more.

“Because you’re a stranger,” I replied. “Now, let me out.” I knocked on the window for emphasis.

I thought he wouldn’t comply, but when the locks clicked and I was able to open the door without any problems, I was surprised.

“Wow, thanks for the ride…uh…what’s your name?” I asked.

“I thought you already knew, it’s Aresco,” he replied.

“Oh, so that is really your name, as in your first name? Kinda weird, but I guess you’re Italian and I’m not really familiar with Italian names. Oh well, thanks for the ride, Aresco dude, I’ll see you…never,” I uttered. The truth was, I was going to see him again, when I would come and rescue my sister and bring the police with me.

I didn’t wait for him to respond, I quickly got out of the car and shut the door. Just as I turned to walk on the sidewalk, Aresco sidled up next to me with a grin on his face. What the hell was he upto?

“You didn’t really think I was going to let you go by yourself, did you?” He asked. Judging by the tone of his voice, I believed he was being rhetorical.

“Umm, trust me, I am not going to go wandering in the dark like last time. I’m a big girl, I can find my way, but it’s sweet of you to worry.” Damn it! I didn’t want a criminal to know where I lived.

“Oh trust me, dragonfly, I’m not worried about you getting lost.” He took out his gun but didn’t point it at me. It was clear he was threatening me, letting me know that he was going to shoot me if I did something suspicious.

“Okay then,” I said then headed towards Moda Passione. Maybe I could outsmart Aresco and make a run for my apartment. I just hope he ran at the speed of a turtle.

“Where do you think you’re going, dragonfly?” Aresco, pressing the barrel of the gun at my back.

“Okay, big guy.” I turned to face him. “First of all, I have a name and it’s not dragonfly, so stop calling me that. And second, it’s none of your business where I go or what I do, so put that gun away before I kick your balls,” I snapped, trying my best not to let him see how truly afraid I was.

“You’re not afraid? I have a gun to your back and you have the audacity to talk back to me,” Aresco said angrily.

“I had the audacity to break up my sister’s relationship. When I can do that, telling a crazed maniac to mind his own goddamn business is nothing,” I stated, glaring at him.

The gun went from pressing to my back to pressing to my forehead once again. The man clearly was crazy, otherwise he wouldn’t be walking around the streets of Italy while waving a gun around. I had to find the police, and fast.

“I need to teach you to behave around me. But it’s okay, I’ll do that soon,” he said. What this idiot didn’t know, was that I wouldn’t stay long with him to teach me how to behave around him. I just needed to get inside the boutique and ask Danielle for help.

“I’ll behave when you will.” Either I was ninty thousand percent sure that Aresco wouldn’t shoot me, or I had completely lost the little mind that I had.

Stepping away so the gun wasn’t pressed to my forehead I turned around to walk in the store. I just hoped that Danielle was present and would be able to help me get rid of this gun wielding psychopath.

Just as I was a few feet away from the front door of Moda Passione, I froze and my heart leapt into my throat as I heard the sound of gun fire. If I wasn’t so shocked, I would’ve screamed.

Quickly whirling around I narrowed my eyes as I saw Aresco advancing towards me, a wicked gleam in his, a sadistic smile curving his full lips. And just like before, Aresco stopped right in front of me and pressed the gun to my forehead. Now I was afraid.

“Kneel.” Was he said.

I didn’t obey. I stared at him right in the eyes, trying my best not to tremble and flinch with the knowledge that a bloody gun was pointed at my head.

“I said kneel,” Aresco said more firmly.

“N—No,” I stammered. Damn it, why did I have to stammer, now he was going to know that I was afraid.

“Do you want your sister to live?” Fuck my turtles, he was going to use Maril against me.

Narrowing my eyes and throwing hate filled daggers at Aresco through my eyes, I hesitantly lowered myself to the ground on my knees.

“Hmm, I kind of like you in this position. Now, you are going to do exactly what I say and if you dare defy my orders and try anything, I will give orders to my men to kill your sister on the spot. Capisce?”

I nodded but didn’t stop glaring at him. Now I didn’t need the police, I wanted to kill this man myself. I was right, this man really was a criminal. I hated criminals.

“Now, first of all, what is your name?” Aresco asked me.

I took a moment to answer. For a little while, I covertly glanced around my surroundings, trying to see if there were any passerbys or even better, a security guard, but there was no one. It was only Aresco and I, in broad daylight, the sun shining down on us, the birds chirping away. I wondered where everybody was. This street was usually deserted, the only time this street had a crowd was during the days of sale in the stores. Even though it had only been a week since Maril and I arrived in Florence, Italy, we knew this much. Our neighbor, a man in his late twenties told us.

“Well?” Aresco persisted.

“First tell me your full name,” I demanded, if I get to know his full name then I would tell the police.

“You are in no position to make demands, answer my question or say goodbye to sister forever,” he replied.

“I won’t tell you. You have to tell me your name first,” I said. Yup, my sanity had definitely fallen off a cliff.

Aresco’s eyes narrowed. He bent down until his eyes were levelled with mine. “You really don’t want to know who I am, dragonfly,” he said softly. Caressing my cheek with the barrel of the gun.

“I do,” I said firmly.

“I’m your worst nightmare. I am a monster capable of killing with my bear hands. Tell me, sweetie, what is your worst nightmare?” He questioned, looking genuinely interested.

“What will you do if I tell you?” Maybe I could ask him not to threaten me using my own sister.

“What do you want?” Wow, he was giving me a wish! He was an evil genie.

“If I tell you, then I want you to stop threatening my sister’s life. You have a problem with me, leave my sister out of it,” I stated.

“Done. Now answer my question.” Wow, that was fast. I wasn’t expecting him to agree so easily.

It’s a catch. There’s always a catch.

“My worst nightmare is the Mafia. Even though I had never met anyone belonging to the Mafia, I still get nightmares about it. Maybe, I watch too much The Godfather or something, but I get nightmares about it. So there you have it, can I go now?” Kneeling on the ground was hurting my knees.

Aresco gave me the most cryptic look ever. I had no idea what the look meant, but my mind said that it wasn’t good.

“What’s your name?” He asked.

“Come on, dude, now you’re getting personal. First you ask me about my nightmares and now you want to know my name. What’s next, you’re going to ask my bra size!” I snapped.

“Your. Name.” He enunciated each word.

“Kelsey. Now can I go?” The sun was getting stronger, I could feel sweat trickling down my back.

“Stand up, dragonfly,” Aresco ordered. I guess he wasn’t capable of pronouncing names properly. Maybe all he could say was dragonfly.

I stood up quickly, my knees sighing in relief. Taking my wrist, Aresco begun leading me away from Moda Passione, my heart sinking in despair.

“What’s your full name?” I asked, as Aresco and I passed various shops, most of which sold strange items which I had no interest in whatsoever.

Aresco sighed before answering, “Severon. Severon Aresco.”

“And what is it you do, Severon?” Wow, strange but a beautiful name. He was smart, he didn’t tell me his real name outright. I was so dumb.

“You’ll know very soon,” he muttered, stopping in front of a traffic signal. “Where do you go from here?” He questioned.

“Go where?” I tried to shake my wrist free but the maniac had a tight grip on me.

“Your apartment,” he answered.

“Why do you want to go to my apartment?” This man had no idea what personal boundaries meant.

“What did I say about talking back?” He gave me a hard look.

“I’m not talking back, I’m asking a question. You didn’t say anything about asking questions,” I replied.

“You are really annoying, you know that?” Severon said irritably.

“Oh you have no idea. One time, Maril and I were in school and she was with her boyfriend—“ Severon cut me off.

“Where is your apartment?” He shouted, his eyes glowing with fury.

“Oh, it’s around the corner,” I answered, afraid he was going to hit me. Severon sighed before turning the corner and continued walking.

“You know, you shouldn’t shout…or get angry for that matter. You can get wrinkles and heart diseases. Not that I care if you die of a heart attack. It would be very good for me, actually.”

“Would you shut up!” Severon snapped.

“But why? I like talking to you, you don’t talk much,” I responded, looking around for a candy store. I had a sudden craving for candy.

I yelped as Severon slammed me against a wall, knocking the wind out of me. He brought his face close to mine, his nostrils flaring, his angry breath fanning my face. He looked furious.

“You say one more word until we reach your apartment and I swear I’m going to break your little neck in half,” he seethed.

“Uh, if I stop talking then who is going to tell you where I live? And if you break my neck then you have no chance of finding out where I live,” I replied calmly, inside my stomach was doing somersaults while my heart pounded with dread.

Severon released me as suddenly as he had captured me. I looked at him, confused, as he punched the wall about five times, causing me to flinch everytime. Was he having one of his psychotic breakdowns? Did he have anger management issues?

You stupid girl, this is your chance. Run.

For the first time in my life, I decided to heed my subconscious and dashed away from Severon. Behind me, I could hear him telling me to stop and get back to him. But I didn’t listen, I just ran.

No sooner had I turned another corner that I heard footsteps pounding the asphalt behind me. My lungs were starting to hurt, but I didn’t stop. I had to lose Severon, he was not sane.

I thought I had succeeded when I saw my apartment building. And miraculously, I picked up speed. Behind me, the sound of footsteps seemed be getting fainter and fainter. Yes! Severon was not fit enough to run. Old man, I was glad that his body couldn’t handle the pressure of running.

Just as I neared the gate of the apartment building, I was tackled to the ground by a muscular body. I screamed as pain exploded all over my body as I hit the asphalt. The pain was intense because I had nothing to break my fall.

I struggled against the big mass of muscles but I was overpowered. The muscular man laid me on my back and pinned my hands over my head. I screamed for help and tried to kick him but I couldn’t move my legs as his legs prevented mine from moving.

“You messed with the wrong man, dragonfly,” Severon seethed as I struggled uselessly.

“Fuck you! Let me go! Help!” I screamed until my throat hurt, but no one came to help.

“No one will help you, I own this country and soon I am going to own you, too,” he stated, making my heart stop. No, I would die before I let him own me.

“Let me go!” I shouted.

Severon stopped me from talking by pressing a rag to my mouth and nose. Realizing his cruel intentions, I begun struggling with renewed determination, trying my best not to breathe. I was wrong, the Mafia wasn’t my worst nightmare, he was.

“Stop struggling,” Severon demanded.

Eventually, my lungs started to hurt and and all my energy deserted me, leaving me Severon’s victim.

“Just breathe, sweetie. It’ll be all over soon,” he cooed.

My lungs screamed in protest. And I did what I didn’t want to do. I breathed in deeply. I inhaled whatever poison Severon had used on the rag. The sweet smell didn’t take long to overpower my senses. After a few seconds, my mind started swimming, my tongue felt heavy and I found myself falling into darkness.