The Two Families

Chapter Fifteen

Laura's POV:

Aarina De Niro. Hideo had called Aarina by her name. I felt the atmosphere shift, becoming heavy. I felt Aarina's muscles tighten underneath me, as her hand clenched my hip. Panic slowly seeped into my brain, as my heart pounded against my chest, feeling like a cluster of bombs just went off in me. I was frozen in panic. Using every ounce of will power I had, I got up off Aarina's lap, standing behind her, placing my hands on her shoulders; making sure she knows I am here for her.

Hideo tore his eyes away from Aarina and looked at me, recognition setting in his dark pupils. The corner of his mouth twitched, eyes twinkling with amusement. The game of poker went by immensely fast; Hideo winning, leaving Aarina in second place. Oh God Aarina. I couldn't even begin to understand what Aarina might be feeling right now, knowing that Hideo knows who she is and that she works for Luka. 

The other players stood up, grumbling to themselves, complaining about how much money they lost. I grabbed Aarina's hand, trying to get her as far away from Hideo as possible. The moment I turned around, I collided with a hard chest. I looked up, locking eyes with the leader of the Japanse mafia, Hideo. He was smiling, widely, as if he just won the jackpot. By the look in his eyes, I think he did win the jackpot.

"Now, where are you lovely ladies running off too?" He cooed.

I turned around, holding Aarina's hand tightly, only to face Hideo's men, "Ah, we meet again, boys." I said, trying to hide the fear in my voice. The men grabbed me, holding each of my arms, taking Aarina from me. I thrashed around, trying to get out of their grip, but my bicep throbbed, wound still not completely healed.

The men pushed us forward, taking us out of the casino, Hideo leading the way, into their cars. Hideo got into his limousine, as his men pushed Aarina and me into the car. Hideo got out his gun, pointing it to Aarina, "if you try anything, she'll be the first one to get shot." He directed this statement to me. The sound that escaped my throat was something along the lines of a growl and a roar, which made Hideo smirk.

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Someone ripped off the blindfold that was put on my eyes after we got into the car. It took a moment for eyes to adjust to the bright lights around me. I looked around, realising we were in a warehouse before I noticed Aarina sitting next to me. I tried moving towards her; when I could not move, I realised that my hands were cuffed behind my back. My head turned towards the growing sounds of footsteps towards my right. Hideo came out, still wearing the suit he wore at the casino.

"We meet again, Laurel," Hideo said.

"Laura," I corrected, slightly drowsy due to the shots I did at the casino.

Hideo shifted his gaze to Aarina, who was staring at me, fear incredibly evident. She looked up at him; I noticed her swallow. Every inch of my body wanted to tell her that everything will be alright, but I didn't want to give her false, to be honest, I didn't think everything would be okay. Hideo turned around, looking extremely bored. He walked up to me, pressing a dagger on my chest, running it down my cleavage. I maintained eye contact with him, not showing him an inch of fear.

"Don't you get bored of working for Luka, Laura?" he asked, "Don't you get tired of living in his shadow?"

I gritted my teeth, "I am my own person; I am not living under anybody's shadow."

"Oh please," he recoiled, "Luka made you the person you are today, and everyone knows that."

I ran my tongue across the inside of my mouth, "what do you want, Takahashi?

"Remember the last time we met?" He stalled.

"What do you want?" I repeated, ignoring his question. 

"I want you to send Luka a message for me. Tell him to meet me himself, and not send his assistants to me."

I scoffed, "and what's the catch? Nothing is straight with you."

He smiled, "you're smarter compared to our last meeting."

I glared at him, "uncuff me and face me like a man if you really want to know how much I improved since our last meeting."

Hideo chuckled, "last time, you enjoyed being handcuffed."

"Are you going to uncuff me or should I do it myself?" I asked, tossing the handcuffs on the floor next to him, flipping him off with both my hands, smiling from ear to ear. I placed the needle I used back into the bracelet, making sure nobody saw it.

He stared at me in confusion and awe. Grinning, he turned to Aarina once again, stroking her hair. I stood up, trying to get to her, but the men behind me held me down. I snarled at them, trying to loosen their grip on my arms. I saw Aarina's chest fall and rise rapidly, eyes darting to me before going back to Hideo.

"Let her go!" I growled, kicking the man on my right where the sun doesn't shine. He doubled over, groaning in pain as I swung around, grabbing the man's gun from his pocket, shooting him in the back of the head. In my peripheral vision, I saw Aarina jump. I kicked the other man's calf, making him fall on his knees. I pointed the gun at his head, shooting without hesitation because if I hesitated, things could go south extremely fast. 

Hideo drew his gun, pointing it at Aarina's head, maintaining eye contact with me. With wide eyes, I raised my hands, slowly placing the gun down, "let her go Hideo. She isn't valuable."

I saw hurt flash in Aarina's eyes; I wanted to tell her that I didn't mean what I said, I just wanted Hideo to leave her alone. Guiltily I continued, "She has been working with him for a couple of months. Now would you like a PA or his best friend for seven years as leverage? You're a smart man; you'll make the right decision."

I walked forwards slightly, making Hideo cock his gun, "okay, okay. I'll stay here. Just think about this Hideo, Luka doesn't care about Aarina as much as he cares about me. Marcus and Sofia love me as well, more than Aarina. They barely even know her. Alessia Marino is practically my mother, just like Pierre Marino. Keeping me back and letting her go would make the whole Marino family collapse and you know that."

I tried not to look at Aarina while speaking because of the pain I felt in my heart. I didn't know Aarina all that well but saying all this about her felt like someone had just stabbed me in the heart. If Hideo shot me, it would hurt less compared to this. 

Rapid footsteps could be heard outside. Suddenly, someone barged into the room. A very exhausted, bloody man said through deep breaths, "Marino...is...here," before collapsing on the floor.

I looked at Hideo, grinning evilly. Oh, this is going to be fun.