Giovanni    Pain.  It was something I was used to. I had felt it so many times before in various forms, but it never got easier to endure. What was more overwhelming was the pain I felt when Emiliana was pulled away from me. I could do nothing, I was helpless. Even when I heard her screams, I couldn’t get up. Everything was telling me to move, but the foot on my neck and the gun to my head were telling me it was a bad move. I had managed a clear shot, right between the eyes just before I dropped to the floor myself. Panic mixed with adrenaline that fuelled the sinking realisation that this could be the end for both of us.  I could hear her faintly in the distance, but I couldn’t reach her. She was too far away. I tried to call back to her, to reassure her that I would find her but all

Emiliana   I had lost all ability to breathe as I stared at Giovanni and his swollen eyes and cut lips. There wasn’t one bit of him that hadn’t been assaulted. Yet his whole demeanour was calm and poured with confidence. I felt guilty that I couldn’t believe his words. I wanted to hold on to them like gospel but I knew he was only feeding me his own strength. Convincing me that he would get me out; he was willing to die if it meant I lived. I couldn’t absorb his words like I had wanted to though, because the reality was that he was broken and I was broken. And we were both going to die here. I watched as the man I had fallen in love with dissolved into nothing. No longer the strong willed, enigmatic man that had captivated me all those months ago. Whatever they wanted with him, I was their token to b

Carter   It had taken me eighteen months to get this far, working the undercover field in my first assignment. I had been watching the Verdi’s carefully, planning my infiltration down to the very millisecond. Everything I had trained for was in preparation for this day.  Their drug trafficking was on the government’s radar and had been for years, but The Don’s son was reckless. Letting his emotions get the better of him, he had his eyes set on more than just channeling drugs through another company. He wanted revenge and that was about to interfere with my hard work.  “How long until the shipment is loaded?” Don Lorenzo asked me as he continued writing figures down on the paper in front of him.  Peeling my arm from my sleeve, I checked my

Emiliana We had been on the road for over an hour, sitting in eerie silence. Giovanni had punched an address into the navigation system before I had the chance to see it and I only had the instructions shouting at me as we navigated out of Paris. Streetlights were replaced with trees and the busy streets turned into empty highways .  The entire journey had me on edge. Everytime I passed a car, my breathing would hitch in my throat and my neck would prickle with anticipation. I would glance back in the mirrors waiting for the lights to disappear before releasing the breath I was holding onto. The last thing we needed was someone following and I couldn’t help the morbid thoughts that swirled around my head. There was no way I could out drive someone if we were being followed and Giovanni was in no condition to do so either. 

Emiliana The gentle whirring of the ceiling fan that I had been so hypnotized to earlier, brought me back from the land of nod. Blinking back the sleep, I rolled over. The bed was empty and cold, and judging by the crisp sheets beside me I sensed Giovanni probably hadn’t even joined me.I peeled back the fluffy blanket that was draped over me and stepped onto the cool floor. I was surrounded by safe calmness as I wandered around the room, taking in the simple decor. The room was sparse, apart from the clean white wardrobes that sat against the far wall and the lamp atop of a small table to the side of the bed. Just like Giovanni, this room told me nothing about the man. A loud smash caught me off guard and I flung the bedroom door open. Gi