Emilia ✔️ NOW PUBLISHED!

12

♥️

He's here.

He's right there.

I see him, and my joints begin to turn to jello at the sight of him alive. But hurt. He's caked in blood, and he looks like he's lost weight. What have they done to him? Why is he only wearing boxers? My heart aches at the sight of seeing such a powerful man so... restrained.

Aiden sits flush against a wooden pillar, the room he is in looks like an unusual place to hold someone captive. An open archway reveals stone trimmings and warm lighting and then you have Aiden, unclothed and bloody sitting in the middle. Tied.

A man's greasy head peaks around the corner. He's short, almost bald save a few stray hairs on top of his head and he's wearing thick jewelry. I don't miss the busted lip he has. He smiles wide, "Ciao, penso che ti sei perso." (Hello, I think you've gotten lost.)

Leo's cool demeanor doesn't match my racing heart. Leo speaks to the man,"Eravamo diretti alla cantina. Un cameriere mi ha parlato dei tuoi vini della casa e ci piacerebbe provare." (We were headed for the wine cellar. A waiter told me about your house wines and we would love to try.)

"Oh si. Hai appena chiuso la sala sbagliata, vai da questa parte." (Oh, yes. You just turned down the wrong hall, go this way)" He gestures back where we came from.

Extending his hand, he shakes Leo's. "Giuseppe Russo."

"Luca Greco." He smiles at Giuseppe, they're introducing themselves.

I extend my hand, trying to not shake as he brings it to his lips. Kissing the back of my hand. Do I say my name? I don't know what to do.

He turns his attention to Leo as he politely drops my hand. "Vedo che hai la tua ragazza con te."(I see you have your girlfriend with you)

"no no questa è mia moglie." (No, no this is my wife.) Leo takes my shaking hand in his, I see Aiden's eyes widen slightly. I tear my gaze from him to look at the man in front of me. I wish I knew what they were saying.

The man -Giuseppe- looks at me, suspicion clouding in his eyes. A facial expression that doesn't fog upon language barriers.

"la ragazza non parla?" (Does the girl not speak?)

"È americana, mi è stata regalata da suo padre. alla fine imparerà la lingua." (She's American, she was given to me as a gift from her father. She will learn the language soon.)

The man claps his hands together. "An American." He says to me in a heavily accented English. I breathe a sigh of relief knowing I'll be able to hear what they're talking about.

"Hello." I say, I note Aiden's body twitch at the sound of my shaking voice. "I'm Madeline Greco." I smile, trying to sound formal. Like I belong in such an extravagant world with such a fancy name.

The men take their time discussing their respected Italian cities. I'm impressed with how natural Leo is with lying, impressed and extremely grateful. What floors me is the way his usual ... accent is gone, and he sounds similar to Giuseppe as he speaks English with an Italian accent.

My trance of watching Aiden is broken at the sound of Giuseppe clapping his hands once. "Well, you two head off to the wine cellar." He looks over to Leo. "You don't want to have such a pretty young girl around one of our prisoners." He gestures a stubby finger towards Aiden. I guess this is a normal sight to see at a party intended for members of the mafia.

"Of course not, come darling." Leo leans in and kisses my temple, my eyes widen at the sight of Aiden's chest moving up and down. He peels his eyes away from mine and looks to the ground his shackled hands balled into fist.

Leo begins to walk away but stops, with a cool demeanor he waves a finger up and down with a smile. "You know, interesting choice to have a prisoner attend a party." He says.

Silence. Then they both burst into deep laughter while I try to not pass out.

I was worried that question would send red flags, but it excites Giuseppe. He becomes animated as he talks about Aiden as if he's a zoo animal. I bite back the bile that rises in my throat.

He looks at me, his greasy smile tight. "You'll have to excuse him not being clothed... This one here is dangerous."

He looks back at Leo, "Killed three of our men while he was chained up, we didn't want him covered in our men's blood any longer. Didn't see the point in giving him new clothes." He winks at us.

Leo raises his brow, "Three men?" He says in an astonished voice, "Why keep him alive?" He presses, the question almost making me fall to my knees.

"This one won't be here much longer, once the boss gets here tonight." He walks over and grabs Aiden's hair pulling his face up, then he makes a motion of slitting his throat with his golden ringed finger.

To my horror, he lifts up his black boot and kicks him in the ribs, Aiden doesn't move an inch from the violent kick. He just looks ahead, into my eyes. An unfamiliar sound escapes my chest. Leo holds my hand tighter, his thumb rubbing circles on my skin in a calming gesture.

Giuseppe wobbles his way to me with his short legs. He puts a sweaty hand on my arm, "Mrs. Greco, I apologize I shouldn't be discussing such vulgar things in front of a lady. I just get carried away when thinking of revenge, forgive me."

I fake a smile, turning to Leo I motion for us to go. I think he can sense my terror as he pulls my hair from my face and lays it over my back. We shake hands and make our way to the wine cellar for good measure just in case anyone comes to check on us.

If Leo wasn't holding me up when he closes the wooden doors I would fall to the ground in terror. He's alive, but not for long.

The wooden door creaks opens and I straighten myself up, leaning in closely to Leo as if we're having a moment. A butler hands us two long stem glasses, more people file in for a tasting. I bring the liquid to my lips and sip slowly, the alcohol no longer having any effect on me. When the butler walks away, I bring my lips close to Leo's ear. "We have to get him out of here." I stutter, my voice collapsing.

He nods in agreement, his eyes searching my face. "I have a plan. Just act natural you're doing so good." He lies, I laugh. I have to have hope, no matter how much terror I feel I need to put my trust into Leo.

♥️