Dungeon

Sofia’s POV

I was overthinking throughout the drive to the destination that fate was going to land me at. I felt suffocated, like the air in the boot was starting to exhaust. The feeling of being in a tight dark part of a moving car made me feel sick. I regretted every second of when I decided to put myself in this situation.

Maybe I should have allowed the guard to catch me, and then beg him to not tell Alessandro. I knew it was impossible, because he had pledged his loyalty to him. The idea of being trashed and beaten by him seemed like a dream right now, because it would be better as I would heal, but the thought of slowly suffocating to death in this boot was absolutely terrifying.

What if the owners of this car didn’t have a business with the boot, and decided to leave me in here? So many thoughts were meandering in my head, each worse than the one before, making me panic and hyperventilate even more. I was still panicking when the car came to a halt, and puke almost came rushing to my throat.

I stifled it when the thought of dying out of suffocation while covered and soaking in my own puke came to my head. I shuddered at the thought of it. Just when the idea of thrashing the car and making myself get noticed came to mind, I felt then a beeping sound, and then the boot started to open slowly.

I didn’t know if I was to jump with joy or be absolutely mortified because of the people I was going to see before me. I felt both in my body as I opened my eyes, and two men were standing before me. My eyes adjusted to the brightness as I propped my head first, then my body.

Then, I dared to look at their faces. Two dangerously handsome men were standing before me, and one of them looked too awfully familiar. From his carefully raven slicked back hair, to the sharp brown eyes and perfect jawline, it didn’t take me too long to recognize him. One of the most evil people in the world that made Alessandro seem as nice as Santa Claus. The man that owned this city and everything that was in it.

Salvatore Luca. My throat went dry, and shock sprang up in my guts like hot sharp metal. He was staring at me, his eyes cold and filled with an element of shock.

“What the hell are you doing in this car, young woman?” The other man standing beside him asked.

I turned my gaze to him. The shock on his face wasn’t as concealed as the one on Salvatore’s face. He was staring at me up and down like I was a ghost.

“I…I am sorry.” I blurted out, not knowing the right words to use.

“I asked what you are doing here. Do I look like I am in need of your apology?” His eyes narrowed into slits as he stared at me suspiciously.

It seemed weird, the way he was speaking to me and I was still curled up in the boot like a hostage. I straightened my body to get out but before I could, the both of them stepped back, and Salvatore suddenly had a gun pointed at me. Waves of panic shot through me as I watched him pointing the gun at me like a criminal.

This was the first time I was in a situation like this, and it made me lightheaded with mortification.

“Step out of the car, slowly.” Salvatore’s deep, dark voice said as he took another step back.

My legs were jelly, but I did as I was said and stepped out of the car with my hands held up in the air like I was a fucking criminal. It was baffling how they would take me as one when all my life I thought of myself as an innocent looking person.

“I am going to ask you again, or this time I am going to put my bullet through your fucking head,” Salvatore said in a threatening tone that nearly made me piss my panties. “Who sent you here, and what did you follow me here to do?”

“I promise I am not here with an ulterior motive,” I choked out, nearly on the verge of tears. “I was about to be seen by someone, and the boot of your car was open. I slipped into it to get away but I closed it too hard, and then you guys came and drove the car away.” I tried to explain, my voice breaking mid sentence. 

“Lies.” The other man scoffed.

“What?” I raised a brow. 

“The story you just cooked up is dumb, but impressive seeing how you cooked it up in such a short time,” he chortled humorlessly. “Now,” his face darkened. “You will tell me the truth if you wish to continue breathing on this earth.”

“I am not lying.” I cried out, my voice going on up a notch.

I thought he was going to shoot me, and my body had already surrendered, knowing I was going to die in the hands of a man like Salvatore over a misunderstanding. But, he put the gun down and tucked it in the back of his pants where I assumed he got it out from earlier. I sighed in relief, then dropped my hands back to my sides.

“Take her to the dungeon, Eduardo. If she isn’t willing to tell me the civilized way, I know other ways to get the truth out of her.” Salvatore told Eduardo, and he nodded.

My throat went dry. The dungeon. The place Alessandro took people, and most of the time brought them out dead or decapitated. My senses sprang to me all at once and I took to my heels, but the man—Eduardo was too fast. He caught me before I had gone too far, then secured me in his large arms.

“Careful. We just want the truth out of you, princess.” He whispered into my ears before he picked me up effortlessly like I was a weightless sack of potatoes and took me to the dungeon. 

I screamed and punched and kicked at him to let me go, but he seemed deaf to my pleas. He whistled silently as he descended down the stairs to where seemed like hell on earth to me, and I was immediately utterly convinced that I was never going to make it out of this place alive.