03. HOSTAGE
MIAMI, FLORIDA
"THIS IS YOURS." The man, who Kalani learned went by Dante, announced as he opened the door to a large room. Kalani was greeted by a California King-Sized bed, bedside tables on either side. The colors of the room were neutral, leaving much to the imagination.
It was spacious, a couch in the corner right by an ajar door. The light was on from within the room, giving Kalani a look at the walk-in closet on the inside. On the other side of the room was a set of double, sliding doors. They were closed so Kalani could only assume they led to the bathroom.
She releases a shaky breath as her eyes scan the room, trying to find a way to escape, but comes up empty. There was a bay window, a seating area complementing it.
Dante seemed to read her mind and with his accented voice, he speaks, "Unless you plan on throwing yourself out of the window, there's no way to leave." He watches as her gaze stays planted on the window, "It is a three-story fall."
Kalani resists the urge to roll her eyes, massively annoyed at how he could read her mind and deter her from trying to leave. She spins around, her arms flailing, "Why can't you let me go?"
Dante shakes his head, "That's not up to me."
"Then who the hell is it up to? That guy from earlier?" Kalani asks a hint of disbelief in her tone, "He won't because he has some vendetta against my brother - which, by the way, has nothing to do with me. Why am I still here?"
"That is not a question for me to answer."
"Well, you're going to have to." Kalani deadpans. Her eyes burn a hole into the man's head as she waits for him to answer her questions.
Instead, he shakes his head and turns towards the door. He pulls it open, Kalani still stuck in her spot by the window. "Riposati un po 'Adesso." Get some rest now.
"What does that even mean?"
Ignoring her, Dante scrambles out of the room, and there is a click signifying that he locked her in there, leaving Kalani to screech in anger and frustration. She wanted to go home. She was in a different place with crazy people who believed that she had something to do with what her brother had done. What has he gotten himself into? So many thoughts bombard her mind as she begins to pace. Maybe with all the pacing, she could do exactly what the man from before had said. She sticks her hands into her back pockets, a reminder that her phone was still at the apartment, probably cracked to the point of no return.
She thinks of her father - of how he would react if his daughter hadn't texted him goodnight or good morning. He might launch a full-fledged investigation in the morning. One part of her felt that she would be rescued from this living hell but another part of her believed that getting the police involved would only make things worse for her. She pondered and pondered until her brain started to hurt. A tear escapes her eyes and hits her cheek, her head falling back. She breathes slowly, trying to get a hold of herself.
Kalani was sure that anyone in her situation would've sobbed their eyes out, especially if they had promised their father that they would be safe in a completely new state. And she was safe at one point - at least until her brother just had to fuck everything up. She racked through her brain, trying to figure out what her brother could've possibly stolen if it wasn't money. The men walking around the mansion looked dangerous. So, how the fuck would her brother have the balls to steal something from them? Maybe being in the military made him bold. After guns or drugs, there wasn't much else Kalani believed could've been stolen from men like these.
But is it worth holding an innocent girl hostage? The thought lingered on Kalani's mind as she lowered herself onto the bed. She didn't want to fall asleep - so much could happen while she was asleep. She had to stay awake to keep her guard up. Always.
KALANI WOKE UP WITH A START. Sometime during the night - she wasn't sure when -her eyes had closed on her and she'd fallen asleep much to her chagrin when she realized. At one point she'd hated the fact that she was such a light sleeper, but this morning, she had a new-found respect for her body. It was the sound of a key twisting in the lock on the door that startled her. Her head shot up when the sound first met her ears. Unfortunately, she fell asleep with her neck at an awkward angle. She rubbed her neck with a hiss. This is not how she wanted to start her morning.
She'd fallen asleep with her jeans and boots on, leaving her peeved at the fact. As much as she hated when there were shoes in the bed, seeing as it wasn't her bed but her kidnapper's, the anger quickly subsided and she found pride in herself. Considering she was sore from all the stress put on her body the day before, Kalani sits up and rises from the bed, a groan escaping her. Her boots hit the marble tiling as she steps toward the door. Her fingers wrap around the door handle that felt cold to the touch. She takes in a deep breath before pulling it down to reveal that it was unlocked.
Kalani was scared to see what was behind the door, in all honesty. Last night she'd let a majority of her rage out. Now, after a night of contemplating, all that was left in her was curiosity and anxiety.
She flings the door open, being immediately hit with the sound of laughter from downstairs. She wastes no time in making her way down the two flights of stairs, eager to see who would have the sanity - or lack thereof - to laugh when a girl was being held against her will right above them. Kalani tries her best to be as quiet as possible, but her boots hitting the marble flooring wasn't the softest sound. As she takes the final step, it seems to echo into the room. Even though she was guided through the house yesterday, it seemed a lot different in the daylight.
The echo triggers a cease in the speaking and laughter from before. But that doesn't stop her from following its initial direction around a corner. She's met with a beautiful and expansive kitchen. That was where the marble stopped and the laminate started. The counters and massive island, however, didn't stray from the original design, marble swirls covering them. The cabinets were white, following the pattern of the clean, modern colors. The fridge seemed to expand from one wall to the other and from the floor to the ceiling. Sure, it seemed like a bit of an exaggeration but that didn't stop Kalani's jaw from falling to the floor.
"You must be the girl Giovanni brought home." An accented, feminine voice says, drawing Kalani from her daze. Kalani focuses her gaze to see a woman standing behind the island, a bowl of chopped up fruit in her hands. Kalani takes a second to inspect her. She was pretty, to say the least. Her eyes were a dark brown, her matching hair flowing down her back in ringlets. Kalani barely spares a glance at Dante, the man beside her, "I'm Sofia. It's nice to, finally, have another girl around."
Kalani almost responded with a snide comment along the lines of, "Oh, I'm not sticking around," but Sofia's visible kindness threw her off. "I'm Kalani."
"So, tell me, Kalani, how did Gio manage to get a girl like you?" Kalani's eyebrows furrow at her question. She wondered who the fuck Giovanni was. And she assumed Sofia didn't know that she was kidnapped, "I mean, you're so freaking gorgeous -"
Before she can continue, Dante shakes his head, "Now is not the time, Sof. Kalani has places to be."
Sofia groans and leans forward on the island, stabbing at her fruit, "Party pooper."
"Oh, hush." Dante chuckles before pressing his lips against the woman's temple. He pulls away and walks around the island to meet Kalani who seemed to be frozen in her spot. If she wasn't so annoyed, she would've said that they're a cute couple. At least that's what she assumed they were. But it was none of her business.
"Find me whenever you're finished doing what you have to do," Sofia yells as Dante leads the girl to a sliding door. He pulls it open and gestures for her to step outside. Hesitantly, her boot meets the stone that tracks a path past a huge pool was a rectangular pergola canopy. Under the roof of it were two sets of seating areas. One with a long table and chairs surrounding it while the other set consisted of a couple of lounge chairs.
The long table was occupied by large men in business suits. Sitting at the head of the table was the man from last night, Italian words rapidly falling from his tongue as the men surrounding him listened intently. If Kalani wasn't made completely aware of the fact that the man was armed, she would've interrupted and demanded that he release her, immediately.
Taking notice of the way Kalani was twitching, Dante whispers, "Calm down."
"Don't fucking tell me to calm down," Kalani hissed, the curses spilling before she can push them back in. Usually, when her nerves get the best of her, she could be caught cursing, and Jamaican curses definitely weren't excluded. The men that kept her trapped in the living room before their boss arrived were already well aware of that.
She was fully prepared to release some more curse words when she realized that all eyes were on her. She hadn't even taken notice of the fact that in all her internalized ranting, they had stopped at the other head of the table, opposite the man that seemed to stare daggers into her.
With the flick of his wrist, the men rise from their seats and shuffle away, sending glances to Kalani who narrowed her eyes. Dante nods at his boss and follows behind the rest of the men, leaving Kalani all by her lonesome.
Feeling the burn behind his stare, Kalani does her best to avoid meeting his eyes, her confidence dwindling down. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see him caressing his beard, his gaze stuck on her. Though her eyes weren't completely focused, she could still pick out his features, and, needless to say, this man was more attractive in the sunlight. How that was possible? She wasn't sure.
A tense silence ensues between them. Neither of them wanted to speak first, trying to see who would break first. The way Giovanni saw it: he would speak first - to assert his dominance. So, he did.
"Sit."
and that's it for this chapter. i already love them (tear tear) like ughhhhhh.
anyway, sofia is played by italia ricci.
it's one am and idk why i keep writing at night like this like i don't have to get up in five hours to do school work. sigh, we'll never know.