O L I V I A
I open my eyes and realize I'm not in the cafe anymore.
The room around me has no windows at all and looks to be some kind of dirty basement under a building.
There's a horrible stench that seems to be a mix of mold and something decaying.
I was tied to a chair and placed in the middle of the room under the only light that was positioned right above my head.
As I adjust to the surroundings, I feel the wave of pain hit me from whatever had hit me across the head.
I try to blink past the pain and spot something in the corner of the room.
"What the fuck is going on?"
"If I was you, I'd stay quiet." The voice speaks out.
I realize quickly Tucker is in the room with me and watch as he steps under the small pool of light that is flooding the floor. He glares down at me and a wicked smile creeps across his lips.
"I don't understand. Why would you do this to me." I say brokenly.
He spins a chair from behind him and sits on it backwards, "I told you they paid me."
"For what? What do you get out of this aside from money?"
"You are a pawn, Olivia," He laughs and shakes his head. "They need you to get to Alessio. It's more money than you can imagine and I really need to get the fuck out of this state."
"Was all of this planned? Even before you and I got together?"
"Get comfortable,"He laughs and leans forward on the back of the chair. "The day I met you, I knew I liked you. My feelings were genuine but about two weeks ago I was approached by Jesús. He knew I was with you and let me know about your little obsession with Alessio. I knew you were with him the night of prom, obviously I was just a distraction while he was gone."
I stare at him in complete shock. I couldn't believe Tucker would be so willing to help them out.
"Anyways, they offered me a beautiful sum of money to continue our little relationship. I purposely caught the two of you in the store so I could prove he was back and get you away from him so they could use you as leverage."
"This is fucking insane, Tucker. You know it is."
He rolls his eyes," Business is business, Olivia. You automatically assumed what kind of person I am. You don't even know me."
"I can't believe this."
"Believe it, doll. Alessio is no better."
I shut my eyes tight, "Shut up."
I don't want to picture Alessio doing any of this. It's all too much.
"Act oblivious, Olivia, "He says and I feel his fingers touch my chin. "You knew what this was."
"Just get it over with, Tucker, I'm sick of the taunts."
I open my eyes and see that he has moved from the chair. "I'll let Jesús take it over from here."
The door at the front of the room opens and Jesús steps through with two unfamiliar men following close behind. He takes a few steps towards me and smiles.
I silently study his face and notice the three tear drops directly under his left eye tattooed there.
"Glad to see you are awake," He comments and sits in the same chair Tucker was in, "Sorry, we had to get a little rough."
"Tell me what is going to happen and stop wasting my time." I snap and despite my best judgement, I actually spit right on his forehead.
He grimaces and wipes the saliva away. "Nice."
Before I have time to process his movements I feel a sting burn my cheek as his palm comes down against my face hard. It whips to the side and I taste the blood pool in my mouth.
"You're going to call Alessio and tell him to meet you at this address," Jesús starts and pulls a paper from his pocket. "Act normal and don't for one second think I won't kill you right now."
I watch as Tucker takes my phone out of his pocket and hands it to Jesús. He unfolds the paper for me to read the address sprawled out in black ink.
"Tell him you need a ride home and want to talk to him," Jesús continues on, "He knows you met with Tucker so this shouldn't come as a shock to him."
I watch as he pulls his gun out and carefully rests the metal against the wood of the chair. I stare up at him as he dials out Alessio's number and the ringing fills the silence around us.
"Olivia?" Alessio's voice echoes.
"Alessio," I swallow and look at the gun in Jesús' hands, "I need you to pick me up."
"I have something going on," He starts and his voice sounds strained. "I can be there in about 10 minutes. Are you okay?"
Jesús stares back at me with a dead stare and moves the gun to the edge of my jaw. "I'm okay, I just need a ride home."
They all watched me in silence as I read off the address to him.
"Okay. Are you sure everything is ok?" Alessio asks again. I can tell he's getting suspicious and so can Jesús.
"I'm fine, I just need a ride home," I tell him and try to force some perkiness to my voice. "I met up with Tucker but he had some things to wrap up at the cafe."
A long pause goes by before Alessio says anything else.
"I'll be there soon."
The line goes dead and I watch Jesús toss the phone back to Tucker. He wastes no time shattering it against the wall.
"Not bad, recruit." Jesús laughs at him.
"I don't think so," Tucker grimaces. "I just need to get the fuck out of this shit hole."
"As you wish." Jesús mutters and tosses him what looks to be a band of money.
Tucker fingers through the bills, "This isn't all of it."
"You'll get the rest when Alessio is dead."
Tucker shoots me a glance and almost seems to hesitate as the others get up and move towards the door.
"Man, that wasn't in the description. You told me to make sure you could get to Olivia, that's it."
Jesús looks over at Tucker for a moment and laughs. "Pedro stays here. Tucker, you come with us."
His jaw flexes and he looks back at me one more time before he disappears with the others. The boy left to guard me looks to be only 16.
He's a thin, lanky kid with dark hair and dark eyes. I notice he has a gun resting on his hip.
"How old are you?"
He glares back at me and pulls a switchblade out. "Did I say you can talk?
"You're right, you didn't. I figured we could at least pass the time," I shrug and feel my hands move against the rope. "I bet you wanted to go with them, huh?"
"I guess so...Jesús is just looking out for me."
"Big brother?"
"Yeah."
"Do you not go to school or anything?" I ask and feel a weak spot in the rope under my fingertips.
"Not anymore..."Pedro begins and starts flicking the knife in and out. "I stopped going when I was 11. Alejandro wanted me to get used to this life...I jumped into the gang at 13 years old. Only been two years of me being part of any of this."
"Do your parents know you are in a gang? That your brothers are operating one?"
"Of course," He says wide eyed. "Mama doesn't dare speak a word...my daddy was killed when I was five...it's just me, my brothers, and the rest of the family. " He sneered at the word.
"I get the feeling you aren't a fan of this life, Pedro."
"Nothing I can do now," He mutters and leans back. "It's life or death now."
"Does Jesús know you're unhappy?"
"He wouldn't care and like I said I have no choice in this."
"There's always a way out of everything," I tell him and try to keep his focus on me and not what I'm doing. "Maybe he'd hear you out."
"Easy for you to say,"Pedro says frustrated. "I bet you have a wonderful life. School, friends, college. Everything you could want right."
He's right.
I do have an amazing life.
I have Alessio, Kim, and my friends. I will always have much more than a kid like Pedro would have.
Or someone like Alessio.
"I do have it easy, but I still wish you the same."
His eyes water. "I fucking hate this."
"Run for it! Get out of California then."
"I can't leave my mama," He says sadly. "She'd never do it."
"I bet she'd make an effort for you."
"She hates this for me," He sighs a little. "She's only known this though because of my papa."
"Just give it a try."
"Maybe..."
Without any warning the rope falls to the floor and I see him look up at me in shock.
"What the f-"
He's cut off immediately by the sound of rapid gunfire just outside the door. I see him look at the door before he walks around to me and pulls his gun out.
"Who'd you call?"He snaps at me.
"Do you see my cell phone?" I roll my eyes.
"Don't move from that fucking chair."
I watch as he inches closer to the door and keeps the gun at eye level. He moves slowly to the door as a series of screams and gunfire continues on.
There's suddenly a loud pop inside the room and I crouch down behind him. I'm not sure if he fired at something or possibly even me.
I look up and realize he's laying flat on the ground.
Blood oozing from his skull. Lifeless eyes staring at me.
Everything seems to slow down and I can hear myself screaming but don't even process what is really going on when I realize someone is shaking me around.
"Olivia! Stop fucking screaming! Are you okay?"
I gasp and look up to find Anna's golden eyes studying my face. Splatters of red blood decorating her cheeks.
"Anna?"
She releases me, "Alessio tracked you."
"What do you mean?"
"He's not dumb, Olivia. Your phone call was weird."She rolls her eyes. "We pinged you before it was destroyed."
"Anna...you have to hurry...Alejandro's brother is going to kill Alessio. He has several men with him."
"We're aware," Anna nods. "Alessio knows what is goin on, we'll take care of this."
"You knew about this?"
"We did, yes," She sighs and looks down at Pedro. "I'm just sorry you got involved."
"Do you know about Tucker being involved?"
"No, we didn't, but Alessio realized that today," Anna explains and looks behind her. "We need to get moving."
I look past her and realize Mateo had stepped into the room with someone else. I hadn't met him directly before but I remember Alessio had mentioned Mateo had an older brother named Michele.
"Wait..." I look between the three of them. "Why aren't Beto and Giovanni here?"
She ignores me and guides me by the elbow out of the room. I can hear people running and I'm not sure if it's towards us.
I try to keep up with their speed as we move through the dark halls. The stench of blood is very fresh in the air.
"Anna? Where are they?" I ask again.
"Later," She hisses back and stops behind a corner. "Let's move."
I try to keep on her heels but feel my body lunge forward and I trip right into a very dead body.
.I feel a hand catch me and cover my mouth to keep me from screaming. "Please don't scream." Michele begs and his dark eyes plead with me to stay quiet.
He helps steady me before we step over the bodies on the stairs and enter a dark garage. We're surrounded by a maze of crates and several SUV's parked next to the furthest wall.
Anna leads the way and the rest of us stay right behind her.
There's an opening and we see a door come into view. She motions for us to follow and we start to make a run for it.
I watch Anna start to sprint before she is smacked by something hard and her body hits the crates behind her.
A girl about the same age as Pedro steps from behind the boxes and holds up a bat. I notice she's wearing a Minnie Mouse nightgown and has a metal bat.
"Stop! Don't move or I will bash her head in!"
Mateo and Michele step forward and quickly aim their pistols at her head.
I look back at them and put myself between them and the girl.
"Let me talk to her! Please."
"Move, Olivia," Michele snaps.
"Just wait." I turn towards the girl and she stares back at me terrified. "What's your name?"
"Angelica."
"How old are you, Angelica?" I ask carefully.
"Why do you even care?" She spits out but I notice her hands tremble.
"You're right, that was stupid," I laugh a little. "My name is Olivia. I'm probably not much older than you, Angelica. We just want to leave, I promise I won't let them hurt you."
"No! You have to get downstairs!" She screams and pulls the bat back.
"Don't even think about it!" Michele growls out from behind.
"Put the bat down, Angelica," I tell her gently. "I don't want them to hurt you. You have a life outside of this."
She looks back at me and tears fill her eyes. Her lower lip shakes as she speaks. "Just go!"
I try to take another step towards her but Anna is already moving fast. She tightens her arms around the girls neck and within moments she goes limp and falls to the ground.
"I-is she dead?" I stammer out.
"She's just out for a bit."
I follow them quickly as we make our exit through the door. We put some distance between us and the warehouse.
I spotted the familiar black Cadillac parked at the edge of the lot.
"What is this place?"
"They handle their shipments through here. It's really just the family. Lots of young kids." Anna explains.
We all climb into the vehicle together and Mateo starts the car. Michele slides in next to me and immediately starts grabbing my head.
"Let me examine you."
"Are you...a doctor?" I ask awkwardly as he pulls some supplies out.
"Retired," He laughs and smiles a bit. "I'm a little rusty but it looks like you won't need stitches."
I wince as something touches the open wound and stings a little.
"Why don't I see you around as much?"
"I'm usually running things out of the country for Adolfo," Michele explains. I notice how gentle he is despite his terrifying demeanor from before.
"Are you Mateo's older brother?" I continue on and try to keep my mind off of the pain throbbing on my forehead now. "I think Alessio has mentioned that before."
"I am,"Michele snickers and I hear Mateo scoff. "I'm a few years older than he is. Adolfo is our oldest brother but we only share a father."
"You both seem a LOT younger than Alessio's father."
He nods, "Our mother had Adolfo at a very young age. She was only 15 at the time but he left her for a while and eventually returned to tear Adolfo away from the only thing he knew and force him into...a different kind of life."
"What happened after?"
Michele frowned, "Well...our father ended up marrying years later and Mateo and I were the product of that relationship. We were both pretty young when she passed away."
"I'm so sorry," I say softly. "I can't imagine."
"Life is painful,"Michele says simply. "You're all set." I watch as he puts his supplies back in the bag and leans back.
I glance up towards Anna and notice she's texting on her phone. "Anna, I didn't forget. Where are Beto and Giovanni?"
All three of them seemed to tense a bit and Anna sighed. "They are in the clinic back at the house."
"Why? Are they okay?"
"They...they were injured," Anna starts and I hear her voice break. "I thought...I thought Beto was dead."
"What happened?"
"They were handling some family matters and...they were ambushed," She says and I notice Mateo touching her hand in comfort. "I should've been there but I was at the house. Some of the guards had to drag them back into the home."
"It isn't your fault," Michele speaks up. "We would've sent more men if we knew what was going on."
"I scared everyone so bad...I should've checked before I said anything to Al-"
Mateo cuts her off, "Let's discuss it later."
My heart sinks as she pulls up to the familiar gates and pulls through to the manor.
It doesn't feel the same as it normally does. The yard is not illuminated and I can see several guards posted outside.
The car pulls to a stop and I hurry over to Anna to see if she needs any help.
"Are you okay?"
She clutches her side but pushes out of the seat. "I'm fine."
I decide not to push her on it and follow her into the house. She walks through to the livingroom and throws herself on the couch before turning the TV on.
"How can you be...so normal right now?" I ask and stand there awkwardly. I was having an internal panic attack and tv was the last thing on my mind.
"There's nothing we can do but wait."
"How do you do it?" I ask and sit next to her. "How do you not worry about your fiance?"
"I do," She sighs and looks over at me, "I'm always worried about Alonzo."
I hug my knees, "Do you think he'll be alright?"
"He knows what he's doing."
I nod against my knees and stare blankly at the screen.
After a while Anna scoots over on the couch and motions for me to lay next to her. We sit there in silence and stare at the tv mindlessly for what feels like hours before I finally fall asleep.
⟡ ⟡ ⟡
The morning comes a little too quickly and when I realize Alessio is not in his bed my heart sinks.
I look over at the empty spot next to me and feel my insides turn over.
Why isn't he back?
I look over at the nightstand and notice someone has left out some pain killers and water. At the end of the bed is a pile of fresh clothes.
I decide to take Anna's advice and try to go through the motions of having a "normal" day while we wait for his return.
I go through the motions of showering and changing out my bandages before drying off my hair and dressing for the day.
The bruise on my temple is a disgusting purple color and I'm sure looks worse today.
I stare at myself for a while and slowly feel myself becoming more disgusted.
I look so dead. I'm too pale and my eyes are rimmed with black.
Hot mess doesn't even begin to describe it.
I walk back out into the bedroom and realize someone is on the bed.
Alessio.
He's flat on his back and has his arms tucked under his head. I can see faint cuts on his face but he seems to be okay. His eyes are closed but I can see him breathing steadily.
He looks so perfect. Everything about him almost seemed fake as if he was made of clay and sculpted by the finest artists in Italy.
"Olivia." He speaks with his eyes still close. A smile plays on his mouth.
He looks over at me and we stare at one another. I feel my heart beating fast in my chest and within seconds I'm running across the room to him.
He wraps me in his arms and I melt into his stone hard body.
"My Olivia..." He whispers.
"I thought you were dead." I say broken.
"I'm okay, baby. I'm here now."
I pull back and look up into his dark eyes. "I'm so sorry, Alessio. I'm so sorry I let this happen."
He touches my bottom lip, "You didn't do anything, Olivia. Nobody guessed Tucker was involved." I notice his eyes land on my bandage. "Are you okay though?"
"Yes, Michele checked me out." I assure him. "How did you know to track me?"
"I knew something was wrong pretty quickly, we just pinged you with you on the phone."
I frown at the thought of my phone. I'd have to use some of my money for a car to get a new one.
"I already bought you a new phone." Alessio blurts out.
"You did?" I ask stupidly. "I c-can't accept-"
His eyes narrow and I quickly stop the protest. "Thank you."
"Anything for you," He smiles and kisses me firmly on the mouth. "So...who did you choose?"
I snort."Do you really need to ask?"
"No, but I want to hear you say it."
"You. It was always you."
He smiles and pulls me to him again. His mouth finds mine again and I melt into our kiss as we embrace one another for as long as we can.
This is where I belong. This is home for me.
"Alessio..." I say breathlessly.
"Hmm?"
I push away from him and move so I'm practically straddling him. I catch his expression change and he smirks mischievously at me.
"Feeling playful?
"I need to tell you something." I shake my head and feel myself becoming extremely nervous.
"Okay."
I smile down at him and run my fingers along the curve of his jaw.
Everything was perfect. We were perfect.
This is what my mom had been talking about.
I knew at this moment.
It was him.
He caught my hand against his cheek and I felt my cheeks burn.
Before I could waste more time I forced the words out.
"Alessio...I love you. I'm in love with you."
⟡ ⟡ ⟡