Venus
"Shit." I hissed at the aching in my neck, the blackness I'd awoken to. My futile attempt at escaping was a blur, the seemingly endless ambush of agents knocking me out and stripping me of every hidden weapon.
The Italian crime boss had sold me out.
I swore at him under my breath, judging by my bladder that only a few hours had passed. The sack they'd thrown over my head remained with each breath of mine feeling more suffocated, every thought remaining incomplete as I was left alone for my mind to drive me to insanity.
From what I'd gathered, the guards were waiting for someone, likely a mafia boss wanting to make a spectacle out of my capture. My wrists had turned bloody during my hours of resisting against the rope and cable ties binding my hands- I wouldn't die like this. Not when I'd disappeared without Ash knowing where, not when part of me wanted to hear his stupid piano symphony, the annoyingly exquisite paintings he came out with.
Perhaps Ash's father had sold me out to Vero- but with the long list of potential rivals who had set their sights on the red devil, it could have been anyone. My captor must have discovered my supposed allegiance with the Italians, the temporary safety I'd had in their mansion.
I felt my heart drop to the floor as the sound of heeled boots against the unstable floorboards made me squirm with unease under the mask over my face.
"Let her hear him." The cool voice of a woman ordered, her savage tone sounding somewhat similar to mine as I continued my attempt to curse and scream at her through the tape that had my mouth sealed.
Somewhere behind me I heard a chair get dragged in, the sounds of another strangely familiar yet muffled voice struggling against the guards I couldn't see.
Light invaded my vision as I hissed, the guard removing the sack off my head to tear off the tape as I spat on his face. "Bitch" He muttered whilst wiping his face, retreating to a corner as I still couldn't move my head. Or my hands. In fact, I couldn't manage any movement from any of my limbs, I realised with growing horror.
"It's a paralytic." The voice of the same woman from somewhere in the dim room made my skin crawl- she must have been of a similar age to mine and just as dangerous.
"You won't feel your limbs for at least another hour. Enough time for you to shit yourself whilst we pay a visit to your bastard of a father."
I tried to form words yet I feared I would end up spitting and making a fool of myself.
"Piss off." The familiar voice behind me struggled, the sounds of his chair groaning against the floorboards.
"Domino?" I spluttered, my heart splintering at the brokenness in his voice as he called back my name.
"W-what does this bitch want?" I stammered, cursing myself for how difficult it was to form each word. Perhaps a result of the paralytic- though my own blind fear was enough to choke me, knowing that Domino and I were both prisoners to an unidentified psycho bitch who wanted us dead.
"Let me introduce myself... my name is Myra." I forced my neck to turn to the figure pacing the edge of the room, her mahogany hair which brushed against her shoulders becoming visible as she stood by a small window through which limited light trickled through.
"You're American mafia." I audibly realised, recognising the sharp features, the crimson lips which could have been the blood of her victims. Her eyes appeared to be the same hue as mine, her facial expressions a twin to my own but containing a much deeper fury. I promised myself the red devil had nothing to fear from a desperate agent who hardly held any power the last time I'd seen her years ago. Father had always insisted on lengthy trips to the states whilst we were in Greece, and the permanently bitchy expression Myra was giving me looked familiar enough.
"Who sent you?" Domino questioned from behind me, his voice giving away his exhaustion- I wondered how long he'd been here before they found me.
"Nobody sent me, you asshole. You're looking at the dark horse of the underworld, the leader of the American mafia."
I blinked in surprise at that as Myra spat "You may be the red devil, but there's only one red queen."
"You have no idea how long I've waited to have this moment." She grinned before letting out a startled gasp at the sound of a deafening boom somewhere below us.
Myra yelled orders at her equally confused guards as her men below let out yells of agony, a path being cleared by a massive figure tailed by a handful of guards.
Vero
___
Zoe
I couldn't stop myself from shaking as If I were a pathetic leaf in the wind. I let my tongue explore my own mouth which felt dry from an hour of badmouthing Vero who sped his vehicle as if the world were ending.
"Slow down you lunatic." I growled- a sound I'd definitely learned from him.
I had to admit being dressed from head to toe in the black agent-like uniform Vero had given me wasn't the most fashionable look, though I could imagine myself looking glamorous when I kicked his miserable ass after breaking Venus free.
I hoped the rumours weren't true- from what I'd gathered, Vero had agents infiltrating every mafia, spies who helped craft the potential whereabouts of Venus Castellanos.
The reports had been unclear yet Vero didn't stop for a moment of thought- I fought the urge to knock his thick skull, betting my last dollar that it would be hollow.
From afar the building looked disused, though upon closer inspection it revealed a small, rather dingy passage leading to the dilapidated upper sections of a nightclub.
I zipped up my leathers until my chin was concealed as my fingers ran through my hair to tie them back, making every attempt to look inconspicuous.
"Your job is to lure her back- don't try anything." Vero commanded before I could have sworn the ground shook as he broke through the entrance, throwing aside guards in his furious wake.
The location appeared rather close to what rumours had suggested- and I could only hope my message to the Prince of Scars found its way to perhaps the only man who could get my friend out of the deep shit she was in.
I'd spent my hours following orders, submissive and in fear of the man who threatened me with the consequences- until he stopped watching me like a goddamn hawk. Until my ears tuned into the varying reports, piecing together what I could as Vero assessed them all. I prayed the familiar-looking Greek agent hadn't heard my lies or spotted the fear that threatened to paralyse me as I made my way down to the cells to release Pax by slipping him into a guards uniform.
I still felt nausea overpower me from the anticipation as I hastily begged Pax to pass on a message to whoever would listen for the Prince of Scars, challenging him to take back Venus Castellanos from the location she was rumoured to be at, knowing rival spies would be desperate for any kernel of information to spread.
All I could pray was the rumours found their way to him and sent him down the path to this exact spot. It was a fool's hope- but the hope from an unskilled girl might just be what saved her best friend from the mafia killers that surrounded her.
"Who the fuck are you?" The woman who announced herself as Myra hissed at Vero.
"She's mine." Vero growled before attempting to barge past her into the dimly lit room beyond.
I pressed my back against the wall in the stairwell, compelling my lungs to take in air as a brawl began to unfold, with Myra's agents closing in on Vero and the handful of other sycophants he'd brought along.
I seized my chance to dart between them all in the melee, staggering and sidestepping my way through before slipping inside whilst a handful of guards remained in the room. I made my best effort to blend in before casually making my way towards the bound figure strapped to the chair- Venus. I felt my heart combust in that moment, the pain burning through me at the sight of my friend who hadn't turned her head to notice me.
A few guards began to mutter, with some uselessly barricading the exit whilst others chased after me as I made quick work of whipping out the dagger- one similar to the blades I'd seen Venus often use. The ropes were off in seconds and finally she looked up at me as I helped cut off the cable ties.
Her mouth widened in astonishment, her lips forming my name as guards pounced on us. I resisted somehwat pathetically against the onslaught, elbowing and punching to keep them at bay as Venus swayed on her feet, unsure of her movements after mumbling Myra's use of a paralytic on her.
God, I hoped that bitch and Vero were both dead before Venus ever had to face them again.
I darted between the figures rushing after Venus before cutting free the figure behind her- Domino. I felt the air knocked out of my lungs at the sight of him, his unruly black hair growing past his ears.
"You're too pretty to be using that dagger." Was all he purred before bursting into motion with no signs of the limitations from a paralytic.
Domino was the bait, I realised with growing unease.
"Shit." I muttered before the guards were unconscious across the floor.
"Zoe-" Venus began, moving towards me with her outstreched arms as Vero burst into the room, followed by Myra and a much smaller number of guards who were in no state to continue fighting.
"We both want the same thing." Vero grumbled at Myra, her features etched with distaste.
This isn't the end, I silently promised myself and Venus, knowing that any of them would betray another to get their hands on the red devil, to attain whatever they had to gain from this.
"You won't fucking touch her." I managed to blurt as Vero's eyes darkened with a mania that would have sent my knees buckling earlier. I wasn't afraid now- not ever again with Venus beside me.
The room went silent as Myra casually strode across to Domino, promising murder in her eyes.
"I'd taken one but- I guess I have two bargaining chips now." Myra crooned.
"Fuck you." Venus spat at her feet, prepared to pounce before Myra and Vero had their guns pointed at her head.
"Come with me- or the boy and your bitch die." she hissed.
"Get them in the car." Vero growled from behind.
"I'd like to see you fucking try." I snapped back in unison to Venus and Domino's string of insults.
"You're so dead." Vero chuckled at me as I let out a shuddering sigh at the sound of two figures rushing up the stairwell and into the room, their gun aimed at Vero's head.
"Pax." I breathed as he passed me a cocky grin, followed by the dark Italian prince who Venus almost cried in relief to see.
"Get the fuck away from my fiancé before I skin you both." Ash growled with the ferocity of an apex predator, his eyes searching the room to meet Venus.
"We're not leaving until you pricks are dead." Vero growled back, entering some sort of predatory rivalry with Ash.
"Oh, I think you are." I smirked at the sound of the sirens I'd been desperate to hear.
"Get out of the building." The echoing voice of a cop below commanded.