A Bride's Mask

"Ahhh..."

A painful scream came from above, which startled Mia.

Gunfires rang, followed by screams of shock and pain. 

"Please, please don't kill me" someone begged for their life just a second before another gunfire rang again, loud and clear. 

Mia doesn't have to think about who is holding the gun.

"The king of darkness is here" she muttered with irritation.

Dead bodies littered the old rundown house. Every surface is covered with blood and bullets.

Reed Carter is standing in the middle of the destruction that he brought upon. His face is expressionless like always. His underboss Matteo is standing a step behind him with a slightly disturbed expression on his face. His suit is littered with the blood of his victims. While Reed looks spotless, as if he just didn't kill a dozen men under five minutes.

Reed Carter, the Greek God who only wears black and who has a history to match his dark aura. The man who rightfully earned his nickname as the king of darkness is now the boss of the NY Mafia. He took over the outfit two years ago. He fit into his role seamlessly. If everyone used to be afraid of Nero, now they are terrified of Reed. He is cold, calculating and cunning. He kills people as if he is born to do it. If anyone makes the mistake of crossing him, they will be killed without mercy. His identity is well hidden, and no one knows who he is, how he looks, or where he came from. Everyone on named him as the king of hell when they saw how ruthlessly he wipes away his enemies without a trace. He comes in the dark wearing black and takes away the life of his enemies without mercy.

"Boss, no one is alive. There is no trace of Miss Vitiello here" one of his men informed Reed.

Reed didn't bother to look at the man who delivered the news. 

"Go and wait outside" he commanded his men.

Without wasting another second, everyone except Matteo piled out of the house as if their lives depended on it. Reed took a sweeping glance around the house. His gaze landed on a spot, which is covered by a dirty carpet, which is now bathed in blood.

He walked closer to the area where his gaze zeroed upon. He kicked the carpet aside and found a small latch there. 

As if on Que, Matteo came and unlocked the latch revealing a staircase which opens into the dark and dirty-looking basement. Reed stepped down on the creaking staircase, alerting the woman whom he came for.

Halfway down the staircase, he came face-to-face with the woman who always elicited something within him, something he couldn't name. She is aiming a death glare at him. If her gaze has the power to kill, then he would have died a hundred times now. But sadly she cannot.

"Good to see that you are still alive princess" he taunted her like usual. 

Like always, her eyes burned with anger.

Despite being pale and worn out, it couldn't destroy the fire in her eyes which never fails to remind him that he is alive with a beating heart. That's the main reason why he always taunts her and provokes her, to feel alive.

On the contrary to the glare he received, something stirred inside his heart when he saw that she is safe, which confused him. This is the first time he felt something for a living person, even though it's just fleeting.

"Sadly I cannot say the same thing about you. I was hoping that a bullet or two caught you in that big head of yours and killed you in the process" she snapped.

Matteo began to shiver with fear. He worked for Nero before Reed, but he was never this frightened of Nero. Reed is unpredictable and highly lethal. He always keeps Matteo on his toes. Matteo can never guess what his boss is thinking. Usually, it's only Miss Mia who could talk to him like this and get away with little to nothing from his side. But still, their banter makes Matteo scared because Reed would punish Matteo if Mia crosses a line on more occasions than he likes.

"Is this how you thank your saviour princess?" he commented when she was about to pass by him and get out of that basement. 

Mia swiftly turned and aimed the gun she was holding to his head.

"I would like to thank you by letting a bullet kiss your twisted mind, but sadly dad likes you alive. So thank my dad that I am not thanking you like I truly wanted to" she snapped.

Reed smirked and pulled the gun out of her hand in a split second. He threw the gun in Matteo's general direction before twisting both of her arms behind her back. He pulled her closer and nuzzled her neck before taking a deep breath of her scent, which is uniquely Mia and so feminine. Unlike every other time, he noticed that she became stiff. She is not even breathing.

This is not the usual way she would react. She would fight and struggle to get herself free from his hold and would even use her legs to kick him between his legs. But today her reaction made him grit his teeth with anger, as he imagined the worst.

Mia on the other hand froze with a hint of fear. Those men touched her and tried to violate her, but she pulled one of their guns and shot them on instinct. The image of blood and the repulsive feeling from their unwanted touch is so fresh in her mind, that for a moment she travelled a couple of days into the past as fear began to creep down her spine.

"Did any of those men touch you, Mia?" all the traces of the Reed from a moment ago disappeared and is replaced by the man whom everyone calls the king of darkness.

Mia snapped out of her mind at his familiar voice and glared at him.

"Let. Me. Go" she demanded with gritted teeth. He likes to push her buttons like it's his favourite game. Reed touches her regularly more than Alesso ever did. His touch is a drug she wants but she should not.

He only pulled her closer and squeezed her cheeks and raised her head so that she is looking directly into his eyes.

"I asked you a question," he asked, letting her see in his eyes that he is expecting her to answer. 

Mia is not ready to talk about the two days when she was forced to stay in this basement while holding a gun in her hands and how she had killed four men for the first time in her life. She wanted to forget how she lived with four dead bodies for two nights. No, she wanted to forget everything and try to erase that as a nightmare.

"And I decided that I don't want to answer" she replied with equal fervour.

A gentleman would have let her go thinking that she is not ready to open up. But Reed is not a gentleman, he is a killer who wanted to kill everyone if they dared to taint this woman. His possessive instinct is at its all-time high and the thought of anyone touching her inappropriately is something which he doesn't want to imagine.

"Too bad Mia. I decide everything for you now. So I want you to tell me if they touched you or not" he asked with barely contained rage. His anger is directed towards her dead kidnappers. 

Mia tried to pull away from him, but he didn't let her.

"I am waiting Mia" he growled. A warning is clear in his tone.

Mia wanted to strangle him with her bare hands. 

"Fine, you a*shole. They tried. But I shot them one after another until they stopped coming and locked me inside this basement along with the snakes and scorpions to die of thirst and hunger if I am not bitten by one of the first" she yelled angrily.

Her eyes pooled with tears, and she turned her face away from him. He loosened his grip around her cheeks but didn't let her go completely. He pulled her along with him towards the waiting vehicles outside. She followed after him without a fight.

Mia became numb to all the blood and the dead bodies lying on the floor. After being locked with four dead bodies for two days and the fact that she killed them all is traumatic to her. Despite her inner turmoil, she refused to break down in front of Reed whom she feels is judgemental. 

He thinks that she is not good enough for his friend Alesso, who saved his own ass while leaving his soon-to-be bride on the Altar to be kidnapped. 

The house where mia was kept is nestled in the middle of nowhere, and there is no one around for several miles on either side. It's just empty barren land all around. Four black bulletproof SUVs drove off after retrieving their princess and burning the house down, leaving no proof behind.