Introductions

Adelaide

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A minute passed and my eyes were getting heavier and heavier every second. Before I fell asleep against my own will I could've sworn I heard a whisper as soft as the wind.

"Adelaide."

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I was surrounded by a field of colourful flowers that tickled my collarbone. I could sense that something was following me. You have to run, my mind told me. So I did. I was sprinting as fast as one could in a field of flowers, my heart hammering.

I felt a presence behind me but I didn't check to see what it was, I didn't have the time to.

Maybe I could hide

I squatted down, hoping that the long flowers would cover me from whatever was chasing me. Wait, what was I running from? Where am I?

"Adelaide?" I heard a gruff voice call out to me.

It sounded somewhat familiar. I wondered where I'd heard it from. I peeked over the flower heads.

Who said that?

"Where are you, bitch?" I whispered to myself, frantically looking around to spot my attacker.

"Adelaide, I'm here." The mysterious voice answered back.

I felt something touch my shoulder and I was brought back to reality. It took me a minute to realize that I was no longer engulfed by flowers. Damn, it was just a dream. I turned to head to see that Romano was looking at me with an amused look displayed on his face.

"I think you just called me a bitch in your sleep, carota." He said, taking his hand off my shoulder.

"Well, I wasn't lying," I mumbled under my breath. "Where are we? Why'd you wake me up?" I cringed at my voice. My questions were supposed to come out as demanding but instead came out hoarse and pleading.

Romano chuckled at my many questions before handing me a bottle of water from the back of the car.

Jeez, this guy was prepared.

I opened the cap and quickly downed about half the bottle before realizing that Romano was openly staring at me as I did so.

"Whatcha looking at?" I said before draining the rest of the bottle and leaning back in the comfy car seat, letting out a content sigh, and also completely forgetting about my previous queries.

Romano cleared his throat and I looked over to him only to realize that his hands weren't on the wheel.

"Oh shit, is the car driving itself?" I asked, amazed.

Romano started to chuckle again at my obvious amazement. This guy laughs a lot for a mafia boss. I was under the impression they were all supposed to be brooding, possessive assholes that were emotionally insecure but this guy looked to be all sunshine and rainbows, laughing and smiling at everything.

Maybe I read too many Webnovel books before going on this mission.

"Si, the car is driving itself. We're getting close to the main house and I didn't want you to miss our entrance so I woke you up, cavolo."

(Translation: Cabbage)

I nod as a response. Sounds legit enough.

"Wait, the main house? I thought we were staying in your mansion?" Did he stay in the main house with the rest of the mafia?

"We're only passing by the main house, my mansion is located behind it, be patient cavolo." He replied.

I rolled my eyes at his response, seriously, what's his obsession with calling me different types of vegetables?

I didn't reply and looked out the window, settling into a comfortable silence. I noticed that the sun was setting behind the tree line. How long was I asleep for? We were in a densely wooded area. That's fitting for a secret mafia hideout, I thought to myself.

Around five minutes later we passed by a massive mansion which admittedly looked more like a hotel. There were heavily armed guards outside the door with some people milling around, most of them with a serious look on their face and their shirts off.

"Family house?" I asked him, my voice soft.

He hummed in agreement.

As we passed the house, I saw that they had an outside gym and me, being me, took the liberty of checking out the guys that were working out there. Appreciating their sweaty muscles that were glistening in the golden hour.

Even though I found them attractive, that didn't mean I would go for them. My usual type was quite the opposite of these mafia men and all the men that surround me back in MI6. I usually went for boys that had a little stomach, taking comfort in the fact that they weren't living at the gym. It made me feel more relaxed and comfortable when I was around someone that looked like that but didn't mean that I couldn't appreciate muscles when I saw them.

"Are you enjoying the view?" Romano remarked, commenting on the fact that I had been openly, and shamelessly may I add, checking the guys we passed out.

"Maybe I am," I replied, not taking my eyes of the men that we passed.

He let out a small snort.

"I am glad you are impressed, cavolo, but remember that you are working for me and we don't need any other distractions, now do we?" He said a little threateningly, his voice getting deeper as he spoke.

I let out a chuckle.

"Don't get your knickers in a twist Romano, these men are not my type. I'm simply just appreciating what I see." I can't believe he just tried to threaten me when I had my hands wrapped around his throat only a few hours ago.

"So what is your usual type carota?" He asked me, leaning forwards.

"I prefer men that don't call me vegetables." I shot back, not missing a beat.

He responded by giving me a hearty laugh. I smiled. I loved making people laugh.

"Okay carota, what should I call you then?" He asked me, amusement evident in his voice.

"How about my name?" I said, finally looking over to him.

"Adelaide."

A comfortable silence settled over us yet again and I returned to looking out the window. About 2 minutes later a house started to come into view.

This must be his house, I thought.

The house was a little smaller than the other mansion we passed earlier but that didn't make it any less impressive. The car stopped in front of the staircase that lead to two massive wooden doors. Guards were standing outside of this mansion too. I gave them a curt not and they returned my gesture once they saw that I was with Romano and was not about to kill them on the spot. It was never a bad thing to befriend security guards. Romano climbed out of the car and walked past me.

"Follow me, Adelaide." He said, stressing my name.

I giggled and followed his lead into the house.

I was taken aback by what I saw inside. A classic mansion with a spiral staircase, high ceilings, big doors, fancy vases, chandeliers and large rooms. Paintings lined the walls alongside bookshelves and various other items.

"Most of my men live in the family house but there are still a few that stay here, my most trusted companions." He said before taking off again, leaving me to follow him like a lost puppy.

He climbed up the spiral staircase and lead me to an entryway. He pushed open the door, revealing a decently sized bedroom.

"This is where you will be staying, Adelaide."

The room was of medium size with a double bed, a desk, a balcony, floor to ceiling wardrobes and a tv hung on the wall.

"It's perfect," I say to him, sitting down on the bed.

Most things in the room had neutral colours. The walls were either beige or white and the only dark things in the room were the wooden desk and the black TV.

There was another door which led to what was the bathroom.

"If you give me your clothing measurements, I can get a wardrobe set up for you with appropriate clothes for your job." He said to me, leaning on the door frame.

I wrote down all my measurements on a notepad that was on the wooden desk and handed it to him.

"Do you have any clothes that I could wear now? This outfit is a little sweaty... and bloody." I said gesturing to where his and Adrian's blood had mixed on my sweatshirt.

"I'll get some for you right now." He said with a cheeky grin on his face.

I shrugged off his slightly creepy look and went into the bathroom, looking around. A toilet, a bath and shower in one, plus a sink. I opened the drawers to see all of someones basic necessities including a toothbrush, toothpaste, a hairbrush, pads, tampons, shampoo, conditioner and a little sewing kit.

I closed the door and started to get ready to take a shower, craving pitter-patter of hit water hitting my back.

"Adelaide? I have your clothes." Romano shouted through the door.

"Just leave them on the bed, I'll get them in a bit," I shouted back before turning on the shower and waiting for it to turn hot.

When the water turned hot, I jumped in, letting my body relax under the constant stream. The shower I took was as quick as I could make it with washing my hair and I wrapped a fluffy white towel around myself, venturing back outside into my bedroom.

I walked over to my bed and noticed the clothes that he left. Did he seriously call this an outfit? All that was present on my bed was a ginormous shirt and a pair of boxers.

Must be his clothes, I thought to myself before shrugging and putting the clothes on.

Clothes were clothes I guess.

The shirt was solid black and reached to around my knees. It smelled strongly of men's cologne. My hair was still wet when I walked out of my room and ventured down the spiral staircase, following my nose towards the smell of food.

I walked through various rooms, most of them empty until I finally reached the source where the luxurious smell was coming from. The kitchen. As soon as I walked into the kitchen, I instantly wished I hadn't. Sitting at the kitchen counter was someone that I never thought I would ever be able to see again. Someone that was reported missing by MI6 one year ago.

"Jamie?" I asked, my voice louder than I had anticipated it to be.

He turned and my heart dropped to my feet.

"Adelaide?"

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