~CHAPTER 9~
"Where's Ivan?" he said calmly. I trembled, unsure of who this Ivan was or why he was so important.
"I don't know," I quickly stammered, remembering how he almost shot me dead for not answering him quickly, but my words only seemed to enrage him further.
His eyes darkened but he didn't change his posture nor did he show another emotion apart for the calm and collected face.
He settled back into the couch, steepling his fingers together in a gesture that looked almost...reverent.
I swallowed hard, the air growing colder as he spoke calmly.
"I expect you to know something about your father's dealings. After all, you're his daughter. His only child."
He stopped talking and stared at me with cold eyes. "Now, tell me what you know about Ivan." I sharply shook my head, trying to convince him. "I swear, I don't know anything."
His calm demeanor was freaking me out. Why wasn't he angry? Why wasn't he yelling? The silence was deafening, and I felt like I was drowning in his unblinking gaze.
His face didn't change, but I felt a very bad feeling inside. "Pick up the gun." he tilted his head and my eyes followed to look over to the gun resting on the side table.
I turned back to him, shaking my head. "Please—"
"Don't make me repeat myself," he growled, I quickly scrambled with my knees, my hands shaking as I grasped the gun.
The cold metal felt foreign in my hands, I had never held a gun before and i wondered if I'd be able to pull the trigger.
My fingers trembled around the grip, making the gun shake like crazy. "What do you want me to do with it?" I whispered, tearing my eyes from the gun to looked at him.
"What do you want to do with it?" he replied.
I looked at him stunned, What if I wanted to shoot you? The thought flashed through my mind, but I didn't dare say it out loud.
Instead, I just looked at him with wide eyes, I didn't know what to do, and his silence was unnerving.
He looked like a man who didn't waste words, who only spoke when necessary.
Seeing as I wasn't going to move, he sighed, before breaking the silence "Shoot yourself to prove you don't know who Ivan is," he said
"Simple."
Simple? Was he mad? Who in their right mind would do that? I looked down at the gun in my hand.
Then I looked back at him and pointed the gun, I don't know what the hell I'm doing but I won't kill myself.
"Go ahead, Shoot me." he taunted, smiking. " See if it saves you." I was stunned. Was he mad? Why wasn't he reacting? He looked completely relaxed, utterly unfazed, with me pointing a gun at him.
"I don't know who Ivan is. And I don't know anything about my father's dealings. Just let me go." I said, counting my words carefully,
"The gun pointing at me says otherwise," his voice was as smooth as silk. He crossed his legs, looking so relaxed with a gun still trained on him. What kind of man was this? Who could remain so calm and collected, in the face of potential danger?
Does he think I was bluffing? or Did he think I couldn't pull the trigger?
"The gun says, let me go," I said, sounding braver than I felt. I don't know where I got the courage to speak those words.
Maybe it was the gun in my hands, that boosted my half ass confidence or it was just survival instinct, kicking in to help me escape this nightmare.
Whatever it was, I do not want it going anywhere.
I took a deep breath to steady my nerves, and spoke again, my voice firmer this time. "Let. Me. Go."
His calm expression finally cracked a little and his voice took on a sinister tone.
"You are brave, I'll give you that, but if you don't tell me where Ivan is right now, what I'll do to you will be far worse than what you narrowly escaped from Dante."
Those were the most words he'd spoken since we started.
I assumed Dante was the man with the tattoos who'd tried to do that horrible thing, good thing his dead. I still don't understand why he killed his own man.
I pushed myself up from the floor, standing on shaky legs. I didn't care that I was half-naked; I just wanted to get out of there.
"Over my dead fucking body," I spat.
I don't know what happened next - it was like my body had developed a mind, it moved on its own. My fingers pressed the trigger, and a loud click echoed through the room.
The gun was...EMPTY.
clap clap clap, his reaction caught me off guard. He began to clap.
Slowly he stood up from the couch and I staggered backwards, shaking my head frantically, speaking. "It was a mistake...I....I didn't mean to pull the trigger. It just... happened."
But the words rang hollow, even to my own ears. What if there had been a bullet in the gun? Would I have still claimed it was an accident?
"Feisty," He stopped in front of me and opened one of his large palms, holding it out.
I looked into it, expecting to see something, but it was empty. What did he want? I looked up to him, searching for answers, but his expression was unreadable.
I looked down at the gun still shaking in my hand, not knowing what to do with it.
Quickly, I dropped it into his outstretched palm,. He closed his fingers around it and raised the gun to my head.
"Why don't I try my own mistake, si?" Sarcasm dripped from his voice.
I had confirmed the gun was empty, but having the cold metal pressed against my temple was not reassuring. I heard the gun clink, but it wasn't the sound of the trigger being pulled.
I saw his hand flicking a small lever on the side of the gun. I had no idea what it did, but it looked scary. He's toying with me. I said to myself, trying to keep my emotions in check.
He knew the gun was empty, but he was still using it to intimidate me.
He looked me in the eyes and I stared right back but then he said "Bang!" and the gun went off.
My ears rang with the gun had been fired mere inches from it. That was my death sentence, my calm expression quickly faded.
But how was this possible? The gun wasn't empty?
I had fired it at him, ev n though it was a mistake but why didn't it fire when I held it? Was it some kind of trick? I was bewildered and terrified.
"Now, that was me confirming if a gun is loaded, let's make a new mistake"