Romancing The Mob (ON HOLD)

Chapter 4 & 5

Ch. 4

            Opting out of taking a cab, and ignoring Marva’s suggestion of calling her security to pick her up, Laura began her long walk back to the apartment, reveling in the dusk that had settled over the town. On this side of Paris, it was quaint and small, with cramped little shops and dusty cobblestone roads, but Laura knew it like the back of her hand. Sighing a little, reveling in her freedom at last, Laura adjusted the large bag of baked goods Marva had sent her away with. She wondered why she couldn’t remember Alexi Giovanni from when she was younger? Marva had insisted that he had been there, but Laura had no memory of him sweeping up the store. Those had been amazingly lazy summers, wonderful summers running through the streets, unawares of security guards and the media.

            Closer to the apartment now, Laura looked left and right as she attempted to cross the street. The sun had almost completely disappeared from the sky, and it was getting increasingly dark. Laura waited for a black van to pass her by before checking to her left again, and started to step away from the curb. Before she could even put her foot down, someone was grabbing her from behind, one hand coming up and covering her mouth, while a rough arm hauled her up against a male body. Laura was too stunned to struggle at first, but when she was suddenly pushed forward, she screamed against the hand over her mouth and began to thrash wildly. The doors to the black van she had just seen flew open and she was thrust into waiting hands. The door slammed shut and Laura immediately began to scream again, and hit out with everything she had. Her elbow connected with someone’s eye, and a fierce expletive earned her a swift slap across the face. Laura gasped, and then a hand was forcing her face into a cloth. She smelled something pungent and foul, and struggled to turn away, but was no match for them, and the fumes got to her, making her pass out quickly.

            Hearing voices filter in and out woke Laura up slightly. The crick in her neck hurt and her body was screaming to be stretched. Laura moved slightly, only to feel her hands tied together in front of her and her ankles bound as well. Her head hurt, and Laura had to suppress a groan. The events of her kidnapping flew back to Laura, and she had to breathe deeply for several minutes to calm herself down. Opening her eyes, Laura found that she was still in the back of the van, and that it was no longer moving. The voices were coming from the outside, and Laura strained to understand them better, but couldn’t make out their guttural French through her cloudy brain. Looking around, Laura tried to find something she could use to cut her restraints, but there didn’t appear to be anything around her. Oh god, Laura thought, she should have just listened to her father and never had left the safety of the flat. She whimpered, but quickly forced herself to realize that crying wouldn’t solve anything.

            The voices outside suddenly became much louder and closer, and Laura scooted away from the doors of the van and pressed herself into the corner, willing herself to shrink. The door handle was turned down and the door was pulled slightly ajar, but suddenly there was a loud bang that made Laura’s fears climb and she jumped at the sound. There were more voices now, yelling from a distance, and the door to the van was suddenly slammed shut. The new voices got closer, then there was shouting all around her, followed by the sounds of flesh on flesh and the click of something metal, then suddenly it was silent. Laura was breathing heavily, but as the door handle to the van turned, all breathing stopped. With the door suddenly thrown open, Laura yelped, out of pure fear, and cringed away. Opening her eye slightly to peek out, Laura nearly wept with relief at the sight of Alexi Giovanni.

            “I have come to take you away from here, Signorina”

            Laura let out a strangled sob, and he reached a hand out to her. “Come.” Laura help up her hands, shaking her head, trying to force back the tears his sudden presence had evoked. Clearing her throat, she controlled herself.