My bones freeze when I hear the cold words that escapes the man’s mouth. The force in them gives me the impression it wasn’t an empty threat. With a few steps, he reduces the gap between us, and I swallow hard locking eyes with him again. I quickly turn away to face the ground.
“I give the orders around here and you’re not going anywhere until I say so and I don't intend on saying so… at least not right now!” His voice is deep and intimidating.
This must be the boss the other guy was referring to. The man looks somewhere in his mid-thirties, probably above six feet in height, and has a muscular build that matched his fearsome voice. A combination that made him frightening to look at.
“Let go of me!” I shout again, struggling with the men holding me while trying not to show the intimidating effect the man’s words were having on me. “You have no right to keep me here. What made you think you could even abduct me in the first place?”
“Gentlemen, look at what you’ve done to her,” I hear him say, fixing the cufflink on his left hand in place. He turns to the man by my left and punches him hard in the gut. He did the same to the other. Both men let go of me and stepped back.
Now I’m finally free from their grip, the thought of making a run for it crosses my mind but I think better of it. This man is stronger than he looks, and I don’t want to find out what’s going to happen if running away doesn’t work out.
“You should never handle a lady so harshly. Especially not one that I have need of,” he points out, darting a deathly gaze at one of the men who are now behind me.
The one on my left falls on his knees, “We’re sorry boss. Please spare us,” he begs, his face down to the ground.
“Yeah boss, it won’t happen again,” the other joins, also on his knees.
Why are they apologizing when they can get even with him? He may be tall and brawny but I doubt he can take two of them on.
“Do I look like someone who gives a shit about your useless apology??” He turns to me and points at my reddened wrist. “Apologize to her.”
Wait, what?
Their eyes leave him and shift to me.
“I am sorry."
"We should’ve treated you with more care.”
They both spoke with a weird sense of sincerity, making me feel more uncomfortable than before.
“Do you forgive them?” The man pulls a gun out of his pocket and points it at the guy on my right.
His words make me more confused than I already am.
“Well?? Do you?” he asks again, cocking the gun.
“Y-Ye-Yes!” I stutter.
He brings his hand down, the gun now pointed to the floor.
He wasn’t really going to shoot either of them, right?
“Can I leave now?”
With his eyes on me, the strange man starts laughing, clearly not noticing how serious I am.
“Leave? We haven’t even discussed why you’re here in the first place.” He brings the gun back up, only this time, it’s pointed at me. Seeing his finger set on the trigger a cold chill flows down my spine.
“Don’t be scared. It’s very easy. You do as I say and get me what I want, then you and of course, your precious little brother can get back to your worthless lives in one piece.” He bringss the gun back down.
“You abducted Derek too?!?” I ask, the building fear in me suddenly replaced with anger and worry. I charge forward but he motions me back with the gun.
“Derek? Cool name, although I won’t say I ‘abducted’ anyone, more like ‘invited’. Just like you, my dear, I ‘invited’ him over for a little chit-chat. Not here though, somewhere else.” I fist my hand, ready to send it to his face.
“Don’t do anything stupid if you want him to remain unharmed,” he warns, his eyes on my hand. “Gentlemen, show this lady to the meeting room.” He puts the gun back into his pocket. “Be! Gentle!” His commanding tone is even more intimidating than his threatening tone.
The two men who are on their knees get up and stood beside me.
“This way,” they lead me to a path by my left. The boss sauntered ahead of us. We walk to the place they said was the meeting room all the while without touching me. They must fear the man in red a lot.
I walk with them to the door of the room. The man in a red suit opens the door, revealing a large room. I walk in, barely able to see through the darkness in it. There’s a fancy long wooden table at the center with several chairs surrounding it. I walked to the table leaving the men by the door. There are a lot of files on both widths of it.
What exactly does he want from me?
“Have a seat opposite the red-labeled chair,” his voice pulls me out of my thoughts as he walks into the room.
I obey without saying a word. He sits down opposite me, his chin resting on his right hand and fingers from his left hand tapping the table preventing the threatening silence. After a while, he picks up a file and stares his eyes into it.
“In here is everything about you. Your birth, personality, education, and a lot of other boring shit.” He closes the file and tossed it across the table to me. “You can go through it to clear your doubts.”
“I don’t care. I want to leave with Derek, now.” I stand from the chair and cross my arms over my chest.
“Sit,” he commands through gritted teeth. “I don’t repeat myself.”
I remain standing. My heart is racing in my chest but I don’t want to give him the satisfaction of knowing I was afraid of him. He snaps his finger and one of the men standing by the door walks up to me. He forces me back into the chair before walking back to his position.
“You have guts, I’ll give you that,” His lips widens, forming a dubious smile. “None of the other girls were this brave.” He brings out the gun again and places it on the table. “Which makes you, more or less, the perfect candid.”
What did he mean to the other girls? Had he kidnapped others too?
“Where are my manners? The name’s Jaden Smith and I am the leader of the strongest mafia in this city; The Blood Oath Mafia.” He leans forward to the table and flexes his fingers while maintaining a stern look at me as he spoke. “Now we’re clear on who’s who, let’s get down to why you’re here.”
A Mafia leader? That explains the henchmen, the guns, the whole kidnapping me and Derek, the luxurious mansion, and the devious look in his brown eyes every time they meet mine. Everything but why he brought me here.
A lot of dreadful reports I’ve heard about Mafia gangs start rushing through my mind. No one ever has a pleasant experience with them. For all I know, Derek could already be dead.
“What do you want from me?” I question, trying to hold back the tears that are gathering in my eyes. “Whatever you think I did, I didn’t do it. I don’t have any drugs or-”
“Calm down Valery. Can I call you Val? I’ll call you Val,” he says, getting up from his chair. “You haven’t done anything wrong. Not yet anyway. What I want from you is simple; a deal!”
