Chapter 9

MATTEO'S POV~

"Bastardo!"

In my family, people never do things unless it is an emergency or a direct instruction from the boss, which is me. The men in my family respected Don, it didn't matter if they were against instructions.

They executed it without complaints. I wasn't one to show mercy or grant second chances to people who fuck up and go against my laws making a mistake is one thing but disobeying an instruction is another.

I sat in the meeting, watching as my men filled in one after the other taking their seats. After some the doors closed indicating that everyone was present.

Mikhail was sitting beside me waving a knife around his fingers. My fingers itched to take it from him and use it on someone in the room but I held myself back. It is the right time.

"I called this meeting to inform you all of the recent happenings," the room was silent as everyone listened to me.

" They Russians are out for us because of the missing device, some of out packages keep getting missing and just last night I got a call informing me that one if our warehouses had been robbed," it wasn't stupid fir anyone to go against me. "Now the most important situation at hand is that..." I paused observing all their faces. "There is a mole among us." The whole room was drowned in a deadly silence. I knew the fucker that betrayed me was somewhere in this room and I wouldn't stop until I flushed out the rat.

"I want us to be in guard. Especially with the Russians. We don't know when they will make a move for now so be on guard. You all will be divided into groups and given separate missions. I don't want to hear about any mistakes because there won't be a second chance so better behave," I warned making them aware that I was dead serious.

"Yes, boss!" they all replied in unison

As soon Mikhail finished assigning everyone to their groups ending the meeting, the whole room waited as I stood up to go. I paused by the door , pulled out my gun and shot a certain motherfucker through the head. They watched as Ermanno fell out of his seat dying instantly.

I wasn't going to easily forgive, the bastardo had it coming.

"That was just a heads-up for the rat among us," I hissed before walking out.

***

HAZEL'S POV~

"After I had shut all the doors. He took my dreams."

I was running deep into the woods as someone chased after me. The little light the moon provided was lost in the cluster of trees. This is it, the night of my redemption or so I thought. Just as I burst into a dirty part I was hit by a truck. My body was thrown against a tree as I heard my fragile bones crack.

"She's my daughter," was the last thing I heard before passing out.

"You really think you can run away from" he sneered in a dark voice, pulling me closer to him with the torn shirt I wore. I gasped at the pain I felt all over my body. He shushed me, placing a finger on his lips.

"Tonight, I will not bite the hands that feed you. Since you know nothing about loyalty girl, I will teach you now so next time you won't pull off something like this". I cried out as he descended on my rendering blows and hits. My screams were drowned by his psychotic laughter. He pulled my hair back to stare into my now battered face.

"P-please f-forgive me," I pleaded as I held onto his hands praying he release me but no, he had other plans for me. He lit up a cigarette puffing out smoke into the dark room. I keep silent shivering in fear as he talked to himself. Harsh whispers filled my ears reminding me of how worthless i am at the moment. All of a sudden he turned taking bold steps to me, his.eyes lingered on my face for.a moment before looking down to my exposed.skin. he grinned leaning down and tore the shirt even further leaving me completely bare.

I screamed painfully all through the night as he placed each lit stick of cigarettes on my skin. The next morning while cleaning I discovered the whole packet empty, I could barely move from the sting of the burns on my back.

I hissed as I sat up from the bed trying to Adjust my eyes to the brightness of the room. This was why I preferred coloured bulbs, they never do too much. I turned as I analyzed the room I was still locked in. Beside me on the bed stand lay a couple medications and a little jar of what I observed was an ointment. On the floor sat a basin and blooded towel used to clean me.

My entire face was throbbing from the hits I had received earlier from Ermanno. Pulling up the blankets I rolled out the bed but paused when I saw my reflection on the mirror before me. My left eye was badly bruised, my cheeks swollen with purple blotches scattered around it. I hissed as I touched my busted lip. A plaster covered the cut on my right cheek and another on my eyebrow.

"Fuck!" I cursed recalling the fool that had done this damage. I should have reacted, done something to stop him but I didn't want to jeopardize my escape plan. I have to act like the damsel in distress for now until I get my chance. Sitting in the silent room, I thought about Nick, my mom and Gracie. The only people I am close to

Amongst the three of them, Nick is probably the most worried one about my whereabouts. I am sure he's currently searching for me by now, as we were supposed to meet up the evening I was kidnapped. I don't have many people that worry about me. Gracie is my friend because it's inevitable. She's Nick's co-worker so we see each other almost everyday. I suspected the only why she speaks to me is because I'm more tolerable than the other girls back at the club and never judged her for being openly gay. I couldn't wait to get out of here.

As soon as I get out I will go visit mom to see how she's doing. I have never stayed this long without visiting her. I always made sure I showed up at the facility once or twice every week to monitor her improvements. Miss Walters believes she will be okay one day but right now I didn't want to have that hope. I was so used to disappointments that I no longer tried anymore.

For now, I am going to look for a way to get out of here. My thoughts were interrupted by sounds of footsteps entering the room. I turned towards the door, locked eyes with certain grey eyes. The owner of these eyes stepped into the room with an intimidating aura. His dark hair and tan skin glowed under the white light. He carried an unfamiliar presence that left me unsettled. It was him, the same guy at the casino. I observed him as he stepped even further, placing his hands in his pockets. His muscles bulged from that single act even as he was clothed in a three piece charcoal colored suit. Something was definitely different about him, the way he stared at me with so much concentration. His eyes held a vengeful look yet it felt like it was conflicted.

"You..." I voiced out in disbelief as he stepped even closer. He was smirking now, still watching me silently.

"You... Why are you here?" I asked in confusion. I wasn't expecting him to be here. I know we aren't close but from my little experience with him some months ago I felt he was different. Different in a good way, not like the usual pricks I was used to. I expected to see him again, I infact knew it was inevitable. I just didn't expect it to be somewhere like this.

"Me?" He scoffed. "Don't you already have the answer to that question?" He raised an eyebrow up staring into my eyes. His voice was laced in his usual thick Italian accent that always weakend my knees, only this time I wasn't standing.

I recall him putting that out during our brief introduction back then. I didn't disclose anything about myself, only listened as he introduced himself. I recall him telling me he was Italian, apparently he was in the states then for business.

"Well, congratulations on finding me," I said smiling. "Though you took longer than I had expected." That was true though, the look he gave me that night held so much promise although anger was more evident. I heard his unspoken words of I will find you and he finally did

"Matteo right?" Even addressing him by his name felt intimate. I pretended like I wasn't affected by his presence putting up my usual font. When he didn't answer I waved a hand in front of him calling his attention.

"Hey," he was still staring at. "Anyone home," truth was, I was affected by his presence. He wasn't like the rest of them like I said earlier there was something different about him. He caught my hands pulling me up from the bed towards him. I hissed silently from the pain on my right side before looking up to him. His grey felt even more deeper than he looked closely. I sucked in breath as he leaned towards my ears, his breath fanning my face.

" You really shouldn't be talking right now," I heard him say. "If anything you should be on your knees begging for forgiveness." I scoffed at his words, pulling myself away from him. Let him do his worst, I was ready for it. I watched as his eyes trailed down my body, I smirked at his expense. He couldn't hide his attraction towards me. No one can.

"My eyes are up here," he returned his gaze to my eye, hiding whatever he was feeling beneath his emotionless face.

"Who do you work for?" He asked out of nowhere with a serious expression.

"I don't work for anybody." I replied almost immediately. That is true though, I don't work for anyone, not even Jimmy. I only used my clients to get whatever I wanted. It didn't matter what I had to do as long as it is in line with my job and pays very well.

It was funny how whenever I get caught everyone wants to know who I work for pulling on a shirt from the closet, I saw his expression from the mirror in front of me. He was openly staring without shame, smirking. I caught his stare through the mirror raising my head high. The tension in the room dubled as he kept my stare not backing down. I suddenly felt hot within.