Ayla

My body was shaking with tension throughout the whole drive. The man was silent but the air surrounding him was intense and brooding. When the car finally lurched to a stop, my body froze.

My heart skipped a beat when I heard him open the door. What if he saw me? Was I hidden properly? Horrible thoughts went through my mind as I waited for a reaction from him. But he only stepped out of the car and the door closed behind him. Then it was utter silence.

I breathed out a sigh of relief, my body sagging against the back of the car seats. I was safe. After waiting for a few more minutes, when I was sure that he wasn't close by the car anymore, I went on my knees and stared outside through the tainted window.

I gasped, my eyes widening in shock and surprise. The beauty that beheld me, took my breath away. There was a long circular driveway, lined with pine trees and glass garden stakes. The garden stakes were made of red crackle glass. There were beautiful bushes surrounding a gigantic fountain in the middle of the driveway. The central fountain was made of glazed ceramic tiles and there were roses and magnolias surrounding it. I could see trees from far away, which continued down the long driveway towards the main gate. It was beautiful and the true definition of serenity.

I looked left and right to see if there was anyone. When I saw that my path was cleared, I quickly opened the door and stepped out. I winced at the sunlight and I had to blink my eyes repeatedly to get use to the glare.

I turned around and let out a loud gasp.

"Woah."

That wasn't a house in front it. It was a mansion. An Estate that was much bigger than my father's. Many white marble pillars lead to the entrance of the mansion. The towers were topped in silver domes and beautiful stones decorated the surface of the mansion. There was a large wooden double door that looked very fancy. I took a step forward, mesmerized by the sight.

My father was rich. I lived like a princess, covered with gold and diamonds but I had never seen something as beautiful as the sight in front of me. My father's mansion was much smaller, comparing to this one.

I stopped dead in my tracts when sudden realization came crashing down on me. This man was much wealthier than my dad, and possibly just as dangerous. I had learnt my lesson. Rich people were blinded with their power and they stopped acting like human beings. They had not emotions. I wasn't going to take the risk with that stranger.

I took several steps back and bump into the car. I swallowed and then closed my eyes. I had to go. I had to find somewhere that was much safer. I turned to run away, but my eyes widened in shock when I saw two men striding towards me. They were looking at each other, so I took the chance to quickly hide behind the car, away from their sight.

My body was shaking with fear and I felt myself sweating. I had to leave. But most importantly, I had to make sure that I was safe.

When the men entered the mansion, I released a sigh of relief but my body was still coiled with tension. I felt my stomach cramping, as I stood up. Fear was lodged deep inside of me. As I turned back towards the main gate, my steps froze again.

There was no escape. It was impossible.

For the first time, I noticed four men standing at the main gate. It was obvious they were guarding it, paying close attention to who was entering and leaving. It was the same thing at my father's Estate. There were always guards on the ground, making sure there weren't any impending attacks.

I swallowed and looked back at the mansion. My heart stopped beating for a moment when I saw the doors open. Going through the main gates wasn't an option anymore. And I didn't know the grounds, so I couldn't find any other way to escape.

I took a step towards the opened door, my heart beating hard and fast against my rib cage. I could go in. I could hide in there and mostly likely nobody would see me. I would be safe for some time, until I can come up with a plan.

Before I could take more steps towards the mansion, I heart a shout behind me.

"Hey!"

I froze and turned around to see two of the guards running towards me at full force.

"Stop right there!" One of the men shouted, his face furious. I saw both of them taking their guns out of their holster and pointing them at me.

My heart stuttered and my vision turned blurry with panic. Without a second thought, I turned around and ran towards the opened door. When I got to the threshold, I felt them behind me. They were closing in and their steps sounded hard and angry.

I felt my pulse beating in my throat. My breath was coming in short pants and I smelled it. Fear. Fear surrounded me.

The doors were so close. I was almost inside the mansion.

I felt them close behind me, their heat at my back. Feeling a touch on my arm, I let out a small scream and increased my pace until I passed through the door.

I ran blinding. Between sofas, chairs, table and then the stairs. I didn't pay attention to where I was going. I just ran.

When I reached the third floor, I tripped over my legs and almost went down with a heap, but I was saved just in time with the help of the banister. I looked down and saw the man yelling and pointing at me. When I saw several men coming from different directions, I turned back and continued running.

The halls were big and filled with many doors. When I heard distant screams, I blindly moved towards one of the door and opened it quickly. I ran inside and slammed it behind me.

My body was prickling with tension. It felt like thousands with pointy knives were piercing my body. My heart was beating as fast as the thrumming wings of a caged bird and it sounded like drums to my ears. It was the only thing I could hear. I closed my eyes and leaned heavily against the door.

The mansion was too big. It would take them some time to find me. I slowly slide down until my I was sitting on the floor. I pulled my knees towards me and hugged them tight to my chest. Placing my head on them, I tried to calm my breathing.

When I could finally breathe normally, and my pants no longer filled the room, I looked up. Noticing that I was in a bedroom, I stood up on shaky legs and moved away from the door.

The room was massive. There was king size antic-looking bed in the middle of room and there was a nightstand on each side of it. There was also a bench in front of the bed. I walked closer and pressed my hand into the soft cushions. It was the same style as the bed. Looking to my left, I noticed a chest against the wall. I turned around to see a sitting area. There was two couches and a coffee table in the middle. There was also a fireplace behind the couches.

I looked to my right and saw that instead of walls, there were big paneled windows. Beautiful curtains were attached to each window.

I was about to take step towards the windows, when I heard someone at the door. I turned around to see the knob moving. My eyes widened in panic and my heart started beating fast again.

No. No. No.

I looked around the room for a place to hide. The bed was the closest to me, so I quickly ran to one of its side, and lifted the covers up. I crawled under the bed and pulled the covers back down.

I lied down under the bed. Bringing my knees to my chest, I wrapped my arms around them and closed my eyes tightly, praying that whoever was at the door, wouldn't find me.

********

Alessio

I opened the door to my bedroom, and slammed it behind me. Viktor had been busy with clubs problem, so I had do the house checkups. That was Viktor's job and I didn't trust anyone else to take care of it. So I went myself. I hated house checkups. Even though they were important, it was a waste of time. Once every month, Viktor would go and check the houses of my allies, to make sure that they weren't betraying me in any way.

I shifted my weight on my feet and brought my hands up to my tie, to loosen it. I jerked at it harder until it came undone and pulled it off my neck. As I was taking off my suit jacket, I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket.

Taking it out, I saw Phoenix's name flashed on the screen.

"What is it?" I growled into the phone when I answered.

"Boss..." he said, in a panic voice. He sounded out of breath and I rolled my eyes.

"What is it?"

"Boss..." He started to say but I didn't hear the rest of his sentence, as I tuned him out. My eyes widened when I noticed a white cloth coming from under my bed. I walked closer, the phone still at my ears but I wasn't listening to what Phoenix was saying.

I walked slowly towards the bed, making sure that I didn't make a sound. When I reached the cloth, I crouched down and touched it.

As I lifted the covers of the bed, my mouth fell open at the sight. I quickly snapped it close and I felt my face contort in an all-consuming anger. I glared down at the sight, my eyes flashing and closing into slits.

A girl. A young dirty-looking girl was hiding under my bed.

"Boss... Boss.... Are you there?" Phoenix yelled through the phone.

"What?" I bellowed, as I kept my eyes on the little intruder. I saw my captive jump at my tone and she started shaking, her chin trembling and tears started to form at the corner of her eyes.

I bared my teeth at her, and she tried to scoot away from me, but I didn't give her a chance. Grabbing onto her white, shredded and dirty dress, I held her still. She wasn't going anywhere.

I fisted the material in hand and pulled until she was no longer under the bed.

"Boss! Someone broke into the Estate," Phoenix screamed through the phone, his tone frustrated.

I smiled, my teeth flashing maliciously. The girl continued to lay down, her knees were brought up to her chest but this time her arms were wrapped around her head in a protective gesture. As if she was protecting herself from me.

I laughed at the thought. Poor girl. She didn't even know what she got herself into. Breaking into the house of the Russian Mafia Boss and then hiding under his bed.

"Boss?" Phoenix questioned, his tone confused.

"I got this," I growled through the phone, glaring at my little intruder. I ended the call before he could answer. Putting it back into my pocket, I grabbed the girl's arm and pulled her upwards. She whimpered painfully and her sniffles filled the room. She kept her head down, her hair falling like a curtain around her face, shielding her from me.

When I tried to pull her close, she resisted and tried to twist away. I tightened my hold on her small wrist. I knew my hold was painful, as I saw her wince and but I didn't let go. If I wanted, with barely no effort, I could break her hands in half.

I let her go and took a step back. She did exactly what I expected. She ran straight towards the door. I laughed and pulled out my gun from the back of my pants. Pointing it at her, I said as calmly as I could.

"Another step and I'll shoot you."

She stopped dead in her tracts. Her body was shaking badly and I knew it was from fear. What she didn't know was that I fed on fear.

I let out a laugh and it sounded harsh to my own ears. She jumped but didn't try to run.

"Turn around."

She didn't turn around.

I felt red hot anger coursing through my body. Nobody ignored me. Nobody dared to. They paid severe consequences if ever did.

"Turn around," I yelled at her back. My little captive jumped again but this time she swiveled around quickly.

She turned to face me but kept her face down.

I wanted to see her face.

I blinked at the sudden thought. What?

Shaking my head, my brow furrowed as I watched her. What was she doing here? Why was she here? By the look of her, she didn't belong in a place like this. Not in a Mafia house. Especially not in my house.

"Look at me," I said before I could stop myself. My fingers tightened around the gun as I waited for her to do as she was told.

She took longer than I expected and if she was one of my men, I would have already shot her for disobedience. But I couldn't bring myself to move.

For some unknown reason, the way she covered her face with her long dark hair, looking so childlike, it made my chest hurt.

What? I thought again. What was wrong with me?

"Look at me," I said again, this time my voice grating. She slowly brought her head up and I spot doe-like eyes peeping through her hair. I sucked in a surprise breath and I felt myself taking a step towards her.

As she continued to bring her head up, I saw a tiny round nose and then pink full lips that had dried blood on them. Her cheeks were round but obviously bruised. I couldn't see her face properly as it was covered with dirt and bruises.

She was hugging her arms around her and her body was still shaking with silent tremors. The little intruder was obviously frightened. She was a small girl and I felt my heart twisting at her fragile state.

Taking a step forward, I saw green eyes peeping up at me under her long eyelashes. She blinked away tears as she saw me approaching, my gun still pointed at her.

When I was close, I slowly brought the gun down and glared down at her menacingly. When she flinched, I felt my resolve slipping.

She took a step back and I growled, "Don't move."

She flinched again. My heart was beating fast in my chest. Why was it beating fast? Why was I not shooting her? What was wrong with me?

I moved closer, until our chests were almost touching. I felt her tremble against me, and she whimpered in fear. She hugged her body tighter and folded into herself, as if she was trying to hide away from me, even in plain sight.

I brought my empty hand up, until it was up to her face. She flinched but didn't move. I saw silent tears streaming down her cheek and I touched a drop, thumbing it away. She froze and I felt her sucked in a surprise breath.

I froze too. Why did I just do that? Before I could stop myself, my hands went the strands of hair that was hanging over her face. I slowly move it to the side, until her whole face was opened to me. I sucked in a quick breath and I felt my heart stuttered for a moment. She slowly lifted her eyes up, until she was staring at me with glassy green eyes that looked like the color of the rain forest.

I felt myself swallowed hard. I slowly moved my thumb over her soft cheek and when I saw her winced in pain, I quickly let her go and took several steps away.

A waved of emotion ran through me. First sadness, then tenderness then anger. I decided to hang on the anger. I let it consume me. There was no place for tenderness in the Mafia life. Tenderness made you weak. Any emotion other than anger made you weak.

And I couldn't be weak. I was the f*ucking Russian Mafia Boss. I had thousands of people following me and I had thousands of people to lead.

So I grabbed onto the anger and let it course through me, until I felt my body shaking. Red hot anger. I glared at the little intruder and pointed my gun back at her. Her eyes widened and she let out a cry, her hand coming up to her chest and she started shaking again. She shook her head repeatedly, her mouth opening and closing, silently, as if she wanted to say something.

"Who the f*ck are you and why are you here?" I growled at her, my voice low but my tone was dangerous. It spoke volume. And it was obvious that the girl understood it.

If she didn't give me an answer that I was satisfied with, I was going to shoot her. Without a second thought.

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