Finding Solace

Chapter 7

Bella recognised the sound of the gunshot and felt her heart beating loudly. Marcello was quick to act on his instincts. He grabbed her hand and started pulling her in another direction. They reached a door and he pushed it open. Bella entered the room and looked around. It looked like a lounge room. There was a bed on one side and a couch on the other and alcohol bottles on a counter. Marcello closed the door behind them and locked it.

"You will stay here till I come back. Don't leave this room. Alright?"

Bella nodded. She wanted to ask what was happening but this wasn't the right time . She would ask him later.

"Lock the door from inside." Marcello said before he turned around and left the room.

Bella locked the room and made sure there were no open windows. Once she was done, she stood in the middle of the room and reflected upon the events of the evening.

This is not how she had imagined the night to go. She had agreed to go clubbing with Savannah. Her mom had been very happy that she was going out and said she would take care of Mason for a couple of hours. She had been very surprised when the cab pulled over in front of Avalon. According to Savannah, it was the place where all the classy, rich people of New York hung out. Bella was nervous. She didn't know if she wanted to see Marcello again. The man was intimidating and obviously dangerous. Even though, he hadn't done anything to her in their last two meetings other than some harmless flirting, she was still nervous to look directly into his eyes. Maybe because he was incredibly handsome and there was just something about him that was very attractive. There was a very effortless quality about him. As if he didn't care and wasn't trying too hard. Bella had always found it very attractive in men. But the man screamed danger and she wasn't looking for trouble.

Bella's mind went back to Mason. She just wanted to go back to him and hug him tight. If only she hadn't come out here with Savannah...

Savannah.

Where is she?

Bella took out her phone from her bag and called Savannah. She picked up after three rings.

"Bella, where are you?" Savannah said in a panick-whisper.

"I am hiding in a room. It looks like a lounge or something. Where are you? Are you safe?"

"Yeah, this guy showed up out of nowhere and dragged me into the men's bathroom. I've been hiding here."

"Thank God." Bella said relieved.

"What exactly happened? I heard a gunshot and then everyone started going crazy."

"I have no idea. It could be an attack or something. I just want to get out of here and go back to Mason."

"We will get out. Why would someone attack this place anyway? This is not some bank where you can pull a money heist. "

"I don't know. Who is that guy with you? Is he still there?"

"No, he left after locking me in the bathroom and asked me to not go out. He had a gun too. He could be a cop or something, y'know. Maybe he was doing some undercover operation?"

"I don't know , Savannah. My mind is just going into an overdrive right know. Listen please stay in there and wait for that guy to come back, yeah? Don't go out. It could be dangerous."

"Yeah, you too. Be safe. I'll hang up now."

Bella was relieved after knowing that Savannah was safe. Her mind went back to Marcello. How one moment they were just talking and flirting and then suddenly there was a chaos. She wasn't completely clueless about the situation. She had googled Marcello. She couldn't help it. He was an intriguing man. Google didn't help much. But it did tell her something that Bella had a hard time believing. According to the internet, the Italian Mafia had long been doing business in the US. And their leader currently was none other than Marcello Ricci. There wasn't any information about him other than his name. The only information available was about how the mafia worked, how powerful they were, their history and a few people who had been arrested in the past for having associations with the mafia and their businesses. She also learnt about how these people had a long history of existence, and had rules and traditions that they followed religiously, even had some kind of signature mark on their bodies indicating their loyalty towards their organisation.