Only Gaia

Chapter 24:

Gaia groaned softly and opened her eyes. The room around her was dark and cold. Stale, pungent air surrounded her. Her hands and feet were tied to what felt like a metal bed frame. She winced in pain as she tried to move. A thickly accented voice spoke from the far reaches of the room, "Don't move. You'll open your wound again my pet."
Fear gripped Gaia's heart, for a moment she felt as though she couldn't breathe, "Who are you? Where am I?"
A deep chuckle filled the room, "You should have stayed away from the Ricci family my pet. You should have stayed tucked away in your little house where you belonged. " She heard a chair scrape against concrete, heavy footfalls echoed through the room, then a hand touched her face roughly. The calloused hand squeezed her jaw tightly. The man chuckled darkly, "You are beautiful. You don't belong with scum like Ricci. You need someone who will take you away from this life."
Gaia jerked her chin away, a hiss of pain escaping from her lips, "Raffeale is a good man. You stay away from me!"
The man chuckled again, "He is a monster little one. He will use you and toss you away like a wilted flower. He will set you up on a suicide mission like he did your father. He knew the risk to Fernando but he didn't care."
"You're lying!" She screamed, tears began to run down her cheeks.
The man laughed and began to walk away from her, "Calm down little pet. You will come to love it here. I will give you more than that monster ever would."
Gaia's heart filled with fear, her head began to feel fuzzy, and then she faded into darkness once again.

****
Rafe ran a trembling hand through his hair as his men assembled just outside of  what was supposed to be an abandoned warehouse at the wharf. His Gaia was there somewhere but so was Nicola. And Nicola was too intelligent for him to just barge in without a well versed plan.
Phillip stood beside him smoking his cigar, "Hey Chum, we're going to get her back. Don't worry about that."
"I'm worried about all of this. Phillip what if this is a trap?" Rafe muttered.
"Well then I guess we die. But we die trying." Phillip answered as he tried his best to get a chuckle from his friend.
Rafe stared at the ground below him, "If I lose her..."
Phillip placed his hand on Rafe's shoulder, "Stop, you won't lose her. I won't let that happen. You and I are going to get her. The men can handle the rest."
Rafe shook his head, "You will get her. I'm going to kill Nicola. He's mine. That bastard will die by my hands."
"But Raffeale, she will want you. Not me. You!" Phillip argued.
Rafe shook his head, "She will understand. If you want someone else with you take Sal."
Phillip grimaced, "No thanks chum. He's all yours."
Sal approached them with a grim look, "We're ready."
Rafe nodded, "Okay, send the first group in, we follow them in, then you Phillip, and then the last group covers exits."
Tense moments followed Sal's signal to infiltrate the warehouse. When nobody returned to tell them it was empty Sal and Rafe moved to the doors. They had no sooner stepped inside than a knife was placed to Rafe's throat and Sal rasped out, "You shouldn't have gotten the girl involved in your life Ricci."

****

Gaia grunted in pain as she was thrown unceremoniously into a chair and tied down. A dark rumbling laugh filled the room, as she squinted into the dark she could barely make out three people standing by the wall before her. A sudden burst of light made her snap her eyes shut and grumble in protest to the sudden introduction. The man laughed again and called out to her, "Open your eyes my pet."
Slowly she pried her eyes open, blinking rapidly to try and adjust her eyes to the bright room. When her vision finally cleared her breath caught in her throat and a pained cry sprang forward, "Rafe!"
Rafe stood before her, his eyes dark with anger, Sal was behind him and a stranger beside him. Something was very wrong. She could see it in the way Rafe held himself.
The stranger spoke, "Your father spoke so highly of you my pet. He was not wrong, you are truly an enchantress."
Sal chuckled, "She most certainly is. After all she's the reason we got Ricci."
Gaia's eyes went wide as she realized that Rafe's hands were behind his back. That meant he was no doubt tied up like her. Panic set in, her palms began to sweat and she started to hyperventilate. It was Rafe's voice that came to her ears next, "Gaia, calm down mia piccola rosa. I'm here. I will not fail you again."
Nicola snorted, "You already have. You're here, caught like a rabbit in a trap just as much as she is."
Rafe glared at him, "Shut up."
"I really don't think you are in any position to be giving me orders dear Nephew." The man snarled.
Sal chuckled darkly, "You and your sweet Gaia have no chance of making it out of here alive. Once we went inside our men would ambush Phillip and the remaining men. Your first group were all eliminated within seconds of arriving in the door. After all, I knew when we would be arriving."
Rafe glared at the floor, "You traitorous bastard. To think I treated you like a brother. I let you handle almost everything in the business because I trusted you!"
Nicola laughed, "You trusted the man who will now be your successor. You will lose everything. Love, power, family, friends, oh and your life. Are you ready to see Fernando and Antonio again?"