Three

Cassie could not tell which irritated her most, the dead body of the not-so-shy bodyguard or the fact that it was Lorez who killed a guard to protect her.

"You did not have to kill him," She screamed at Lorez, "I had him; He was about to give me information."

"He was about to rape you and return you to the pool." Lorez showed no emotion.

He ordered the men to hide the body somewhere in the colossal maze of a garden. Somewhere out of sight.

A brief uncomfortable silence. Lorez and the mobsters with him pulled out their guns and cocked them.

"You are done here; we will take over from here." Lorez said as he turned to face Cassie who shivered due to the cold, and the shock from the murder she just witnessed.

Cassie was petrified. It took some time for her to fully comprehend the depth of the mess she was in. A man was just killed in front of her and, hours ago, she had just escaped death at the hands of a Mafia Capo—a Capo to whom she was becoming absurdly attracted.

Her life had been peaceful and boring until she received a letter. In two days she had escaped death twice and was in cohorts with an Italian Mafia family.

"Be Faithful," she muttered to herself as her teeth chittered.

"Luca, take her to the car and keep guard," Lorez ordered one of the mobsters to escort Cassie out of the vicinity, "and put a jacket or something over her". He concluded.

Luca covered Cassie with his suit jacket over her. The slim-fit suit jacket seemed like a huge blanket the moment it rested on her shoulder.

He walked her out of the large garden and through a rusty gate that probably had not been used in eons, they reached outside.

The number of black Cadillac Escalades that dropped her off had increased and more mobsters poured out of the cars into the secret rusty gate, all armed to a fault.

Luca put her into the car parked in the middle, locked her in, and stood guard outside.

The jacket she wore was enough to reduce the cold and the heat the car provided also helped alleviate her cold, yet she still shivered. She was sure; it was the shock from the murder she just witnessed that upset her temperature.

Cassie shivered in the back seat of the car and recapped everything that had occurred from when she received the letter to when she struggled to escape rape.

She couldn't do it anymore. At that moment all she wanted to do was end the whole charade and get out of Italy. The words "Be faithful" were not enough to keep her in check anymore.

It didn't mean much to her, she was more frightened about what the Mob would do to her than what her Anonymous benefactor would do.

She didn't realize it yet but she was trapped. Trapped in a story that she did not know what would happen next. Trapped in a story that she was not telling.

Just trapped.

She sat cuddled up in the back seat of the car. "What if I never said yes to this?" she thought.

At least a dozen thoughts flashed through her mind before she heard the bomb blast.

She raised her head high enough to make out the fire coming out from the right wing of the mansion. The mansion had been bombed.

Screams of the party girls followed the sound of the blast and almost simultaneously, sounds of bullets exiting AK 47s flooded the air. The gunshots were accompanied by sounds of bullet casings hitting the ground. The smell of gunpowder engulfed the air.

Lorez and the mobsters raided the mansion, leaving no soldier of Baccio Giuliano alive. The lethal ruckus turned what was once a magnificent party into a war front.

Cassie cuddled up inside the car and pressed her palms over her ears, a fruitless attempt to block out the sounds coming from the mansion.

The muffled sound of gunshots, screams, Death, and more Death.

Cassie felt the impact of the second bomb blast from the car she was hid in, her hands could not block out the effect of the loud blast this time around but she pressed harder and closed her eyes tighter, the violence was too much for her to endure.

The left wing of the first floor of the mansion was bombed.

She squeezed herself in the Cadillac for an everlasting five minutes, lost in so many thoughts that had muffled gunshots play as background music. Her thoughts were interrupted when the tune stopped.

The noise simmered down to a resounding silence. She slowly got up to make sense of what was happening when she saw mobsters rushing out of the rusty gate and into the cars.

Their numbers had dwindled and a couple of them were in silent agony, suffering from gunshot wounds. From her safe place, she could make out Lorez hauling a butt-naked fat man into one of the Cadillacs parked in front.

The naked man looked familiar to Cassie. She tried to recall where she had seen him before. "Wait a minute," she whispered to herself like she just had an epiphany. She looked around the back seat for the file that Lorez threw at her earlier, she picked it up, and opened it.

"Baccio Giuliano." she whispered to herself, half surprised, half shocked.

She stared into nothing, still trying to make sense of the whole situation, not noticing when Lorez was done tossing naked Baccio and walking toward her. He forced open the back door and got in. Luca and another mobster got into the car.

"What happened to 'Capo likes doing his things silently'? What was silent about all that?"

"I wouldn't say another word if I were you." Lorez threatened.

Silence.

"What was I doing there? If you were going to raid the whole place, why did you need me in the first place? What was my purpose?" Cassie reduced her tone. She was smart enough to know how to ask another question without upsetting Lorez. She needed answers, not his temper.

Lorez ignored the question and a few other questions that followed, and with her questions falling on three deaf ears, she decided to keep silent through the journey.

​​​​​***

Ricci addressed Cassie alone in the colorless meeting room.

"You're free to go. You have no obligation to this family and you are no longer my employee. Your contract has been dissolved. You can leave while you're still breathing". Ricci's voice pierced through Cassie.

Earlier, Lorez had reported her performance to Ricci in private.

"She can't help us, Boss," Lorez said, "We do not need to keep her."

Cassie was confused. "Why the sudden change? Did I do something wrong?" she asked Ricci in a feeble attempt to secure the novel life she wasn't sure she wanted to live anymore.

She was confused and engulfed with mixed feelings. She had an excuse to leave now—she has been chased away and her benefactor should understand.

Her mind wandered to the fact that she might not get to see the handsome Italian god anymore. She hoped he would reply with the reason he was sending her out but somewhere deep down she did not want that—she wanted out of everything and back to her normal boring life.

"What are you doing in Italy?" Ricci asked.

That was strange, why would he ask that? She thought to herself.

"I am a writer seeking inspiration for a book I'm writing," she felt that if she told him that she was writing about Italian Mafias, it would stir up further suspicion.

"You risked your life for a book?"

He was onto her. He must be onto me, she thought to herself.

"Yes. I did."

Her mind wandered again, I am having a conversation with the most feared capo in Italy.

He stood paces away from her. She could perceive his perfume from where he stood. The orange morning sun that pierced through the dark room made him look hotter than she remembered. Her lusting was interrupted when he said,

"Go and find thrill elsewhere, this is no place for silliness."

"Excuse me?" In a split second she lost composure and spoke back at him. Cassie could take any insult but she crossed the line at being called silly.

Did I just speak back to him? Well, no stopping now. She thought.

"You're one to talk about silly things. You kill people every day all in the name of family and I'm who's silly?" as she poured out her thoughts so did the little attraction for Ricci that began to fester.

Ricci was shocked. It was the first time anyone had stood up to him since he became a Capo. He couldn't imagine a lady whose life depended on him would do so. He didn't realize it at the moment but he was impressed.

Ricci was taken aback but showed no emotion. "You're lucky my men are not here."

"So you need your men to put a lady in order?" she realized how far she had gone immediately the words escaped her mouth.

Ricci's expression changed. He was angry. He walked toward her, slowly and enraged. She could feel the anger but didn't want to show weakness—she had come so far with the attitude she pulled.

"How dare you?!" His icy voice penetrated her last defense against his silent rage.

Lorez knocked on the door and entered "Boss, you're needed." Lorez could feel the tension in the room. "Is everything okay here boss?"

"Yes, she was just leaving." Ricci stormed out of the room and Lorez followed.

Cassie walked out of the office and met a mobster that escorted her out of the building.

She was free!

She strolled on the road and recalled the event that just took place. She couldn't believe it, she just challenged a revered mafia capo.

"Oh shit!" the realization of her real purpose in Italy hit her. She felt trapped.

She took out her phone and dialed her best friend.

"Cassie! They have been lying to you; the Eiffel tower is so fucking big and Paris is so amazing. Here check out my French accent …"

Aria did not wait for so much as a 'hello' from Cassie; she kept on ranting about her experience in Paris for minutes. Cassie smiled through the rants. She needed that for escape from her reality.

"How is Italy?" Aria finally inquired. "Met any handsome, sexy senor?"

"It's good to hear your voice Aria. Italy is… amazing."

"You hesitated, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's just not what I expected, you know?"

"No I don't. Paris is freaking amazing." They laughed.

Cassie's laugh echoed and that made her realize she had steered into an alleyway. She did not know where she was. She was lost.

Aria noticed the uncomfortable pause. "Cassie, what's wrong?"

"I think I'm lost". Cassie turned around to retrace her steps back to where she could see humans and feel safe. Safe for once, at least, since she arrived in Italy.

"You better hurry up and find your way girl."

Cassie giggled nervously. Nothing seems right.

She walked slowly down the alley with the voice of Aria on the phone to keep her company and make her less afraid but that wasn't any help when a black Chevrolet Impala swerved and parked in front of the alleyway she tried to head out of.

"Is this part of the story? Is this another chapter?" she thought to herself as two men in suit alighted from the car and stormed toward her with murderous intent.

"Aria, oh my God, I am in danger," Cassie said, frightened. The men were a few inches away from her and charged at her.

"Cassie, what's wrong?" Aria screamed, worried for her friend's safety.

Cassie attempted to run but got knocked out by one of the men.

The last thing she remembered was Aria's scream and a cloth being put over her head.

Her vision was blurry and it got less blurry with each passing second.

In a minute she could make sense of her surroundings. She was tied up in what she made out to be a basement. It reeked of gunpowder and heroine.

"Hello! Help. Get me out of here?" she cried out and struggled with the ropes tying her to an immobile metal chair.

A man walked slowly into the room. He was properly dressed and his aura screamed danger. He pulled out a pen knife and pointed it at her.

"Please, I will do anything. Just let me go." Cassie wails in desperation.

He squats and takes the knife toward her leg.

"Please!" she cries louder.

He cuts the ropes.

Silence.

He said, "You had one job."

Her eyes widened in realization.

"Be Faithful!"