To Love in Full

Chapter 39: Gotong-royong Part: 2

"I'm-" I started to say but a gasp escaped my lips as I felt the truck come to a stop.

I quickly ended the call and turned off my watch as I pulled the sleeve of my sweater back down. I flinched once I heard a truck door slam shut and I covered my eyes from the sunlight as the back door began to open.

"Let's go, hurry up!" the man shouted at me.

I slowly stood up and walked over to the edge of the truck before stepping down carefully. I began to look around for Nicolo, but he was no where in sight as the man began to push me towards an abandoned warehouse. Rays of sunlight peeked through the holes of the deteriorating metal roof and my eyes widened as I saw Nicolo sitting in the center of the warehouse with zip-tied hands in his lap.

"Nicolo," I called out to him, but the man behind me pulled me back.

"Let me go!" I yelled at the man as I shoved his hand off of me and began to walk towards Nicolo.

"Are you okay?" I whispered to him as my hand met his swollen cheek.

"Arabella," he groaned out my name as he tried to reach out to me with bound hands.

"I used to be in love once..." I heard Romano's voice echo throughout the warehouse as he made his way towards us.

"...but I killed her after she betrayed me," he said as he began to walk towards us and I stood in front of Nicolo to keep the crazed man from getting closer to him.

"Is that what's going on between you two? Love?" he asked as he waved his gun around and chuckled.

Romano suddenly pulled me towards him and spun me around so that his chest was pressed up against my back and I was facing Nicolo. He placed his hand on my shoulder and I shuddered with fear as I felt the cold metal tip of a gun pressed up against my head.

"Don't kill her!" Nicolo yelled as he began to stand up, but the guards pushed him back down into the chair.

I felt Romano's grasp leave my shoulder but his cold hand met mine as he turned my hand and placed a gun into my palm.

"I will give you two options here, Arabella," Romano said to me as he closed my fingers around the handle of the gun.

"You can either kill Nico and live or if you refuse I'll put a bullet in your head myself," he said as he pushed his gun harder against the back of my head.

"Which one will you choose?" he taunted as he lifted my arm up, forcing me to raise the gun at Nicolo but I began to sob uncontrollably as I could only focus on the gun that Romano held against my head.

"Don't do this to her, Romano," Nicolo seethed as he stared at me with sad eyes.

"We'll let her decide what she wants to do, but if you move or try something on us, I'll shoot her right in front of you," he said.

"It's easy, Arabella, all you have to do is this..." he whispered to me as he brought his fingers towards the gun in my hand and switched off the safety.

"...and now, pull the trigger," he said.

The sight of Nicolo became blurry as tears continued to form. I shook my head and shut my eyes as I couldn't bring myself to look into Nicolo's gaze as I held a gun at him.

"No, I will not kill him," I said as I dropped my arms and lowered the gun.

"Raise the fucking gun," Romano said lowly as he grasped my arm and forced me to aim the gun at Nicolo.

"I will give you one last chance, Arabella. I'm going to countdown and if he is still alive, I will end your life right here," Romano whispered in my ear.