ROSE
I suppressed the urge to throw up as Luca's eyes locked with mine. Suspicion and rage were written clearly on his face, but he held an unnerving silence.
I didn't need to be told twice to know that I was in a dangerous corner. My next move could determine if that gun in his hand would fire right through my skull like the unfortunate man writhing in pain beside me. His breathing was laboured as he stared at me.
"Don, this wh*re is a damned co…"
"He tried to rape me," I breathed out sharply, cutting him short. Luckily, he had yanked my gown off my shoulder in our brawl.
Luca's head cocked sideways as if trying to read the lies on my face and his expression was stern. I contorted my face into a pitiful one.
The lighting in the room seemed to grow dimmer under his intense stare.
"How did you get here?" he asked in a deadly calm voice, his fingers caressing the trigger of his gun as he aimed it at me. My heart leapt to my throat.
Behind him, I caught sight of the shivering Sophia. She was white in the face, and her head was slightly bowed to the ground.
"I was headed for dinner, and I got really pressed," I started, evening out the guilt in my voice. "I urged Sophia to tell me where the nearest bathroom was, and she pointed me to the one right outside this room. I had barely gotten in when I saw that man stepping out."
Luca's eyebrows shot up in a gesture of disbelief, cutting me short in my shabbily crafted lie. A chill ran down my spine as the cold muzzle of the pistol kissed my forehead.
For a moment, I considered saying my last prayers, and I shut my eyes sharply. A stray tear found its way down my cheeks, and I trembled.
A loud bang rang out in the room, and I slumped to the ground. Terror rushed through my body, and tears rolled down the side of my eyes as I breathed heavily. This was it. The end of the mission.
"Please don't kill me," I whispered under my breath, and a deep humourless chuckle caused my eyes to fly open.
I stared around me in shock. I was fine. I felt no pain, neither did I see blood on me.
My eyes flited over to the unfortunate man, and my eyes widened at the sight.
His head was barely together anymore. It had been shattered by Luca's bullet, and the splatters of his blood stained some of the cartons close to him.
I placed my hands over my mouth to suppress a scream as I stared at Luca in horror.
He wore a very faint smirk as he tucked his gun back into the side of his jacket. "I won't kill you. Not now anyway," he muttered, turning around. "But trust me, if I smell a rat on you" he blew out on the muzzle of his gun. "You're gone like you never existed."
I gulped. His shrill tone told me that he wasn't kidding around. He walked out of the room after ordering Sophia to get people to clean up the mess.
My heart hammered against my chest as I walked out with him, silent as a mouse.
He stopped sharply, making me almost walk into his back, but I stopped sharply as well, staring at him quizzically.
His face turned towards the entrance of the room, and for a moment, he looked like he was going to say something, but he just hummed.
"Be ready by seven p.m. We are meeting my family. Sophia will get you ready," he stated vaguely. "I hate tardiness."
For some weird reason, his thick accent made my insides tingle slightly. I quickly brushed off the silly feeling. I had a mission to complete.
I gave a small nod and watched as his face contorted into one of displeasure.
"When you're with me, you respond to me with your words, señorita," he snapped.
Terrified, I responded with a squeaky, "Yes, sir."
Without another word, he disappeared, and Sophia scrambled back to me. She wore a displeased expression on her face as she led me to my room.
She had the right to. After all, she could lose her head since she was the one watching after me.
"I'm sorry, Sophia," I sincerely apologised, my voice lowered.
She pressed her lips together, her hands clenching her dress in a mild fist.
"It's fine, miss. I guess it's not your fault that you were abducted from the bathroom and almost raped," she softly mumbled.
We walked in silence until we got back to my prison.
My jaw slacked as I caught sight of a beautiful deep crimson, full-length dress on the bed.
"That's the dress that the master wants you to wear for the meeting with his parents," Sophia pointed out. She had a light smile. "I'll work on your hair and on your makeup."
I picked it up, and the texture of the material made me want to hold it against myself. I held it to my chest when my eyes caught sight of the price tag of it.
I unconsciously flung it on the bed with a sharp gasp.
"Is there a problem, miss?" Sophia asked as she gathered some hair care and makeup items from a drawer I didn't even know was there.
I pointed at the dress. "That dress... it costs thirty grands." I gasped. That was the amount my mother needed for her surgery. The exact amount that had led me to this godforsaken den.
"I-I can't accept this," I choked out.
She wore a light smile, patting my back. "The master's order was for you to wear this. Don't worry. He has paid for it. Now, go put it on."
My throat went dry. How rich was this man?
Without another word, I grabbed the dress and went to put it on.
How Luca knew my measurement without ever measuring me was a mystery to me. The dress was just perfect. My eyes watered. I had never worn something this pretty before. Heck, I couldn't even afford it.
I wiped my tears and returned to Sofia, who gasped. "Wow."
I sat, and to my shock, she and another maid in the mansion styled me into a totally different person.
When I stared back at my reflection, I was in shock.
"Wow," I breathed out. "You guys are amazing."
They only flashed me humble smiles.
"It's six fifty-five already. You don't want to get the master angry. He doesn't joke with his time."
With that, they exited the room, leaving me to my thoughts as I trudged out after them.
Luca had his back to me, and his foot was already tapping on the ground once I got to the living room, escorted by the guard outside my door.
"You're one minute late," he snapped without turning around. I sensed the growl in his tone, and my heart raced.
"It's just seven o'clock," I interjected with a slightly wavering voice, holding the tiny clock that I had found on the table in my room since I didn't have a phone.
He turned around to face me, and I was blown away. How on earth was it possible for someone to be so handsome?
The custom-taillored black tuxedo hugged his muscular build perfectly. His dark hair was slicked back to reveal his perfectly sculpted face. It was such an irony in comparison to who he really was that he was so beautiful on the outside.
He pressed his lips into a thin line. "Let's go," he sharply ordered, and with that, we were on our way to his family.
The journey was quite a long one. Just thinking about my meeting with his family had my stomach in a painful twist. I didn't think I would get this involved with his life.
The more I got roped in, the harder it would be for me to get out once this mission was over.
My jaw fell in shock at the estate we pulled into. It was just as large and luxurious as Luca's. But it was built on blood money. Holding thay thought, I snapped my mouth shut in disgust.
Bile formed in my throat as we alighted the car and headed to the door. Luca didn't do anything to make me feel comfortable.
He rang the doorbell, and my stomach did a double flip. I didn't want to be here.
A wave of nausea hit me, and before I could help myself, I threw up right on the luxurious porch to the disgust of Luca.
At that exact moment, the door was opened by an older woman who looked quite repulsed by the mess...