Target : 150+ Votes!
-----NOTE----
Dear readers, I'm publishing this chapter since you at least managed to reach 150 votes for the previous chapter, even if you didn't do it for the rest of them. 😗
But the next chapter will be published only if you complete 150+ votes for all the previous chapters. 😤
----NOTE ENDS---
RAELYNN
"I'll go check by the river. Stay in that cave until I return.", Mr. Marino instructed firmly, handing me one of the guns.
"What if I shoot you?", I asked, raising a brow.
"You wouldn't.", he replied calmly.
"Why not?", I questioned, frowning slightly.
"Because you know you cannot take me down.", he said, his tone blunt.
"Arrogance.", I muttered, annoyed.
He then turned around and walked away to find the river.
I scoffed slightly at his retreating back.
The only reason I decided to come with him was because I didn't want to throw my life away unnecessarily.
The man sure has some spine chilling gaze.
Not that it scared me, but I sure was startled when I saw his eyes up close while he was holding my wrist behind my back.
I don't trust him an ounce and I would certainly not wait for him to return.
The whole reason for this situation is him and staying with him would only increase the risk. Not to forget that he is a mafia bast**d too.
Just because he's handsome and decent doesn't mean he's a good person. People often fall for such superficial charms.
The only good thing is he gave me a gun. It'll be useful in case something comes up.
Tucking the dagger at the front of my waist, I held the gun in my right hand on alert, removing its safety lock.
I continued walking briskly in the path we were moving in.
The faster I get away from this forest and that man, the safer I'll be.
As I walked a little distance, I heard the faint sound of footsteps coming from a distance.
Is he back?
Wait.
There are multiple footsteps.
Oh cr*p!
The sudden sound of gunshots from faraway jolted my instincts.
Wait, if someone's firing somewhere that far, then it means Mr. Marino is over there. That concludes my suspicion right.
The footsteps behind me are definitely his enemies.
But, why in the world have they come after me?
I don't know where exactly they are, so it's better to walk normally for a moment and take cover behind a tree.
Taking a few steps forward casually, I leaped to the side abruptly, leaning against the back of a tall tree.
And as expected, as soon as I leapt to the tree, the bullets came rushing to where I stood just a moment ago.
"Stop.", I heard someone order.
The bullets stopped at his words.
I held my gun up, ready to shoot anyone on sight, my heart pacing loudly at the sudden ambush.
"I know where you are standing, woman. Come out on your own and we'll spare you alive.", the same voice said loudly, his voice dripping in arrogance.
I rolled my eyes at that.
Does he take me for a fool?
"I know you're after Mr. Marino. So, go to him and leave me alone.", I replied back loudly, still standing behind the tree.
"We are after that Marino and that's the reason we want you alive.", he sneered.
I frowned at that.
"He wouldn't even come if you took me hostage. He has nothing to do with me.", I scoffed.
"Oh, we know what and how much he has to do with you.", he laughed out in contempt, his words holding some underlying meaning.
What?
What's that supposed to mean?
What is this scum even saying?
"Come out and we'll escort you to our boss safely. If you resist, we'll have to break your legs and maybe have some fun with you.", he sneered.
That triggered my barely controlled fury.
"I'll have some fun in the process."
The all too familiar vulgar voice came rushing forth from my pile of suppressed memories, only enraging me more.
I stayed silent, taking a deep breath to not give into impulses and leaned a little forward to see where they were standing.
I don't know if they were confident or plain stupid, but they were now standing in the open.
Three of them.
"We know where you are, little beauty.", he said , snickering vulgarly.
Little?
Me?
I am just a centimeter less than 5'11 and he's calling me little.
Useless filth.
Clutching the gun tight in my hand and positioning my index finger over the trigger, I leaned forward and shot straight at them towards their vital points and moved back again swiftly in defense.
My aim missed by a few inches and they ducked back to the trees nearby.
Tsk.
"Your aim still needs to improve."
I could almost hear Liam's straight tone in my head.
The three of those men fired at the tree I was leaning on and the bullets grazed against the trunk, a few pieces of wood breaking into small crumbs.
I need to take a shot quickly.
"If you cannot shoot at a vital spot while they're moving, lure them in first and then shoot at any place on their body. The moment they stagger in pain, take a stable shot to the head."
I remembered Liam's one of many lessons.
I followed the trick and didn't shoot for a moment, staying completely silent.
Taking my silence as defeat or hesitation, two of them moved forward slowly.
At that moment, I swiftly leaned forward and shot randomly at the two of them.
The bullets hit one in the chest and the other on the thigh.
As expected, they staggered a little and without giving them even a second to recover, I shot straight at their head.
One of them was hit on his forehead while the other dodged a little, getting hit in the neck and falling dead anyway.
Much to my disadvantage, the third person shot straight at me and in the process of dodging it, I moved back too quickly.
My back grazed against the sharp branch protruding out of the tree, scraping through my flesh at the center of my back, below the strap of my bra, a little deeply.
"Ah", I grunted low in pain, moving forward on instinct.
My shirt which was struck to the branch tore at the back, exposing my wounded flesh. I could feel my blood slowly trickling out of the wound.
I cursed under my breath at my negligence.
At that moment, the last man on the other side shot straight at the tree in warning.
I moved a little, clenching my jaw to suppress my pain.
"Come out, you b**ch!", he gritted out loudly.
I heard a rustling sound and immediately turned around, firing on instinct.
He moved back to the tree, hiding behind it.
As I clicked the trigger to take a shot at him in warning, I just heard a plain click sound.
My eyes clenched at the worst turn of events.
The bullets are over.
F**k!
And the even worse part is that he heard the empty click sound.
Snickering loudly, he moved out of his hiding and shot straight at me.
Moving aside to dodge, I tripped a little on my foot and fell to the hard ground, scraping my hands, the impact triggering the pain at my wounded back.
He rushed to me swiftly and stood a few feet in front of me, looking down at me with a disgusting grin.
I rose a little, still on the ground and looked up at him with a glare.
His eyes vulgarly scanned me from my face, lingering a little on my chest and moving lower down.
"I can scan all your assets through your clothes. It's like your curves are begging to be seen.", he smirked, licking his lower lip.
I gritted my jaw, rage taking me over, but didn't let it show on my face.
All mafia scums are this disgusting.
I know my clothes are drenched and my white shirt has got slightly transparent.
Clutching a rock in my hand tightly, I waited till he stepped a little closer.
As expected of his perversion, he did step forward.
That moment, I threw the rock sharply straight at his hand and he dropped the gun on impact.
"B**ch!", he hollered angrily, stepping back.
I sprung to my toes immediately, tucking the dagger out and lunged at him, swinging it furiously.
He dodged a little and started backing away.
I deliberately tempted him and gave him an opening to hit and he stepped right into the trap by leaning forward to punch.
I squatted down immediately and cut his knee caps deeply, the blood splattering slightly on my face.
"Ahhhh", he screamed in pain, falling down.
Taking the chance, I kicked the gun that fell to the ground out of his reach.
Gritting his teeth, he tried to swing a knife at me, still lying sideways on the ground, but I easily dodged it.
Stepping on his right wrist with all my weight, I kicked his chin hard, his head swinging back a little at the force of my kick.
Holding him by his collar, I brought him to his knees and pierced the dagger through his right eye.
His screaming continued.
Before he could fall off, I held him by his hair and pierced the knife through his left eye too.
Bringing my right foot a little high, I kicked his neck down to the floor, trampling it under my boots to silence his pained hollering.
"You said you could see my assets right through my clothes and that your eyes are like scanners.", I paused for a moment, stamping his neck even harder.
"Can you scan my assets now?", I asked in a very calm tone, my eyes blankly focused on his struggling form, a wave of satisfaction quenching my anger at his faint pleading to let go.
I snickered internally.
That's as far as their resolve goes and yet they behave superior.
As he seemed close to losing consciousness, I stepped back, letting him breathe.
He coughed out roughly and continued crying in pain, pleading to be spared.
"You're bleeding.", I heard the familiar deep voice from behind me and turned around abruptly, startled.
"Since when have you been standing there?", I asked, frowning.
"You're not going to finish him off?", he asked, ignoring my question.
I shrugged indifferently.
"He'll die on his own with all the rats, snakes and insects wandering around.", I replied nonchalantly.
"Cruel.", he commented.
Is that amusement I heard in his tone?
Maybe not.
I left the comment without any response.
Well, I intended it to be cruel.
If I had wanted to be done with him simply, I would've just slit his throat and end him in a moment.
But for what he said and the way he looked at me in lust, I wanted him to squirm around in agony and die painfully slow.
My morals are getting questionable.
"You should splash some water on your wound and tie it up to stop the bleeding.", Mr. Marino said calmly, looking at me.
"I don't have a cloth big enough to tie around my abdomen.", I replied flatly.
"Wash your wound first.", he said stoically, turning around, gesturing to me to follow him.
Ugh.
I have no choice but to follow him now.
For some reason, those bast**ds came after me too and now there are no bullets in my gun. I hardly have a dagger for defense. Also, adding to the complexity is my now wounded back.
Such tremendous fortune!
We walked silently for a few minutes until we finally reached the edge of the river.
Far from here, I could see a few corpses lying on the ground, bleeding.
This man .... how skilled is he?
How deeply is he involved in the mafia to be this strong.
The terrifying part is that he has done all this without a single twitch in that robotic expression that makes me wonder how strong he is when serious.
Interrupting my thoughts, he stopped a few feet before the edge of the water and I halted a few feet behind him.
Not turning around, with his back still facing me, he started unbuttoning his shirt.
My eyes widened in shock.
"Hey! What are you doing?", I exclaimed, stepping back in caution.
Ignoring me, he removed his shirt and placed it on the rock beside him.
There was now a vest over his body and probably an undershirt.
Removing the vest, he held it in his hand.
He was now just in his black undershirt with cut sleeves, a tattoo peeking out at the back of his neck, disappearing into his undershirt.
Holding the vest in his hand, he turned around, facing me, a few strands of his hair falling over his forehead, his tanned chest peeking out and the drenched undershirt perfectly hugging his muscled and narrow torso, outlining the smooth folds of his hard abs underneath, the cut sleeves putting his biceps and tautly muscled forearms on full display.
Ahem.
Seems like he exercises a lot.
"Take your shit off, roll it vertically and tie it around your wound. Put this vest over it and you can borrow my shirt.", he said stoically, looking at me.
"You don't need that bullet-proof vest?", I asked, raising a brow.
"Not particularly.", he replied, putting it beside his shirt on the rock.
"I'll wait over there.", he informed, walking away, not waiting for a reply.
He went to the rock a few meters away and sat on it, facing the opposite side, his back to me.
Is he pretending to be a gentleman?
I narrowed my eyes a little, but walked to the river.
Making sure he's not peeking, I unbuttoned my shirt and removed it slowly. Placing it beside me, I collected some water adjoining both my palms and dropped it over my shoulder, drenching the wound, gritting my teeth to endure the burning pain.
The wound was beyond the reach of my hands, so I had to take huge chunks of water and spill it over my shoulder onto the back to drench and wash it completely.
After doing that a few times, I washed off other scrapes on my hands.
Folding my torn shirt vertically into a thin roll, I placed the thicker part over my wound and tied it around my ribs below my bra with the help of the sleeves.
I looked in his direction once again to check if he was peeking, but to my surprise, he wasn't there in his previous place.
Furrowing my brows, I stood up and put on the bullet-proof vest. Sliding my hands into his shirt, I walked towards his previous spot hurriedly, simultaneously buttoning up the long shirt whose hem reached down my thighs.
Did he leave?
I would've been happy before, but right now, I am unarmed.
The bullets in my gun are over and for some unknown reason, I have a hunch that I would be attacked too if any of his enemies are still lingering in the forest.
As I reached the rock he was sitting by, I looked to my right and left and there he was standing, rolling his undershirt tightly to drain it of water.
His upper body was bare, his back facing me.
Under the orangish hues of the slowly setting sun, I could now clearly see the tattoo that started at the back of his neck and ran vertically down along his spine, ending right above his waist. It was a wide and intricate pattern with minute details etched across its length and width.
But, what shocked me were the scars that spread across his entire back, some small and some looked painfully big and deep. The tattoo seemed to be partially covering the scars.
He is an inherently rich kid born with a silver spoon, isn't he?
Marinos have been rich since forever.
Then what's with those scars?
Before I could continue my chain of thoughts, his voice broke me out of it.
"You're staring.", he commented calmly, his back still facing me.
Dusting his undershirt one last time, he put it on, pulling it down to his waist properly.
He then turned around and looked at me, raising a brow.
"I thought you left.", I cleared my throat awkwardly.
"I already promised I'll get you out.", he replied.
I looked away, not having anything else to say, refusing to admit I felt a very minute relief knowing he didn't just leave me without any arms.
When my mind was finally clear, I realized that one side of the shirt sleeve slid off my shoulder due to how loose the shirt was.
Pulling it up immediately, I fastened the collar button to avoid exposing any skin.
"Wait for a minute.", I said and walked out of his sight.
I folded the sleeves until my wrists and tucked the long shirt into my pants to hold it tightly in place.
The shirt was almost comically loose and I had no other choice but to adjust.
After setting everything properly, I walked back to him and nodded, ready to leave.
He walked past me and led the way, me following a few feet behind him.
"We can reach the nearest town by midnight if we walk without any break.", he informed, walking briskly.
"Okay.", was my short reply.
For a long while, we walked in absolute silence except for the faint chirping of insects and the whooshing sound of the cold breeze, my mind running over everything that happened today.
I took a deep breath in exhaustion.
Looking at him walking ahead, I decided to start a conversation to avoid the memories slowly starting to rush in due to the silence.
"So, we're just going to walk in silence?", I asked.
"I thought you didn't like talking to me.", he commented.
"I don't. But I cannot just pretend to be alone.", I shrugged slightly.
I saw him nod.
"Well, say something.", I huffed.
"What should I say?", he asked in a neutral tone.
"Anything.", I replied tersely.
After a momentary pause, he spoke up.
"Why is your smile so fake while greeting people?", he asked bluntly.
"What?", I questioned, taken aback.
"You heard my question.", he replied.
"Why would you ask something of that sort?", I asked dryly.
"You asked me to talk.", he stated stoically.
"And that's what you wanna talk about?", I scoffed.
"That's what came to my mind at the moment.", he replied.
Infuriating.
"Do you work for the mafia?", I asked firmly, ignoring his previous words.
"That's a very irrelevant question.", he said tautly.
"You asked me something personal, so did I.", I replied nonchalantly.
Smirk.
"In that case, you suggest a topic.", he said in a neutral tone.
After thinking for a while, I chose the most neutral topic.
"Have you seen the trends of fluctuations in the real estate industry in the recent past? It has been fluctuating a little too unstable for a while now. The prices of large pieces of land have been rising even in the remote -", I started, but paused when he turned his face to the side a little, looking at me sideways.
"What?", I questioned.
"You want to talk about real estate right now?", he asked, his tone seeming faintly laced with amusement.
"What else should I talk about with a person like you?", I asked, rolling my eyes.
"A person like me?", he probed.
"Yes. An extremely irresponsible, selfish and entitled rich pervert.", I commented, narrowing my eyes, remembering how close he stood to me a while ago.
"A lady like you would undoubtedly think that way.", he said calmly after a momentary pause, a tinge of nonchalance lacing his tone.
"What does that supposed to mean?", I asked grimly.
"An extremely judgmental, stupidly arrogant and petty narcissist.", he said bluntly.
"What .....", I fumbled a little, offended at the jab.
"Whatever. I shouldn't have talked to you in the first place. My bad.", I scowled.
"That's a very commendable realization. It's good you've been enlightened.", he said in a neutral tone.
"Why are you so petty?", I asked, now exasperatingly annoyed.
"So are you.", he retorted calmly.
"What's with that constant emotionless tone? Are you a robot?", I asked, irritated, deliberately provoking him.
"And why are you always angry? Is it a habit?", he questioned back.
"You don't have to always be the one to conclude a conversation.", I argued.
"Right back at you.", he retorted.
"Fine. Let's stop talking.", I ended the conversation firmly.
I thought the conversation ended after that.
I was wrong.
We stayed silent for a while and started arguing yet again.
We fell silent for a while and started bickering all over again.
The cycle went on, each of us deliberately yet nonchalantly trying to provoke each other.
We walked for almost a few hours now.
He asked me if I wanted to take a break, but I refused, wanting to reach the town soon.
However, my pace considerably reduced and it took more time than we expected.
Mr. Marino stopped for a while to light up a small stick with fire by rubbing stones against each other skillfully, to act as a source of light amidst the dark forest as the trees were blocking the moonlight.
We started walking again and now it was almost midnight if I'm not wrong.
As we continued further, I was finally relieved to see a two-storied house at a distance.
"Finally.", I breathed out.
"We should ask for directions to a nearby hotel or motel.", Mr. Marino suggested.
"But the lights are off. Maybe they're sleeping.", I thought out loud.
"We don't have a choice. There are only acres of farm before and after that house as far as we can see. To find another house we'll have to walk for a few extra kilometers in a random direction. If by chance the motel is in the opposite direction as to where we walked, that would be a complete waste.", he explained, heading towards the mediumly large house.
I would die of exhaustion if we continue any further.
I hope there's a hotel nearby.
As we reached the gate of the house, I noticed it was fairly large with a mediumly wide garden surrounded on its sides and probably on the back too.
"I'll go and ask.", Mr. Marino said, opening the free farm gate.
"Let me go. People would be scared to see a giant thug knocking at their door in the middle of the night.", I said flatly.
"And you would be scared if a giant thug opens the door.", he retorted.
I scoffed.
"I'd kick him in the shins and knock him out if he tries something unnecessary.", I shrugged nonchalantly.
"And expose our identities and make us the talk of the town, announcing our location to all those who are chasing us. Fine. Good going.", he replied stoically.
"Fine, let's go together. Depending on the situation, we can take turns to handle it.", I concluded.
He gave a nod in acknowledgement and we continued to the porch and rang the doorbell.
There was no response.
"Maybe-", I was saying, but paused when I heard a faint shuffling sound from inside.
A few moments later, a voice of an old woman came through the small speaker placed beside the door lock and below the camera.
"Who is it?", an old woman's voice came through.
"Excuse us for the disturbance, mam, could you please tell us in which direction is the nearest hotel or motel situated?", I asked politely.
Silence.
"What are you doing here at this hour?", she questioned.
What should I say?
Before I could wrack my brain, Mr. Marino spoke up.
"We were hiking and boating nearby, but got lost in the forest and lost our belongings, mam. We're looking for a place to stay for tonight.", he asked, his tone calm and surprisingly gentle.
Good excuse.
"Who are you? What's your name?", the woman asked.
"My name's Vincent Allegrio and I'm a simple gym trainer.", he introduced himself.
Simple gym trainer?
Simple and him?
"Who's she?", the woman probed.
Before I could reply, he beat me to it, his answer freezing me in place, my lips parting slightly in shock, stunning me speechless,
"She's my fiancé."
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Phew! That was a very very long chapter!
How was the chapter?
Fiancé, huh? 😏
Vince is being ho- , ahem, decently showing off. 😉
Next chapter is going to be an adorable overload. 😁
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Yours lovingly,
Author.