by Alone Eagle
“You offered yourself,” he replied.
“You could have denied me,” I replied weakly.
His eyes darkened then, and he said under his breath, “You showed me your face.”
Aah. That was just me being ballsy. My cheeks colored slightly that he found me attractive. “My face tempted you?” I asked him, now void of any emotion. “Why didn’t you cut off my head and keep it as a souvenir then?”
Vlad’s eyes shot up, and he just stared at me.
I wasn’t taunting him. I was simply curious.
I shook my head before sighing. “It wasn’t much of a choice… offering myself. It was either be killed or be…raped.”
My voice reflected on the sad reality that I knew was coming. Vlad surely couldn’t be patient for much longer. He couldn’t show mercy on me forever, especially not when his psychotic father lurked around trying to assert power.
Vlad tilted his face as he looked at me.
“Have I done something that makes you think I’ll touch you with force? Today doesn’t count. Have I willingly touched you?”
I stared at him, caught off guard. His mouth was on me a few minutes ago when everyone else had left. My cheeks colored pink and my blood ran hot now. He seemed to notice because he said, “You were hurt. That’s different.”
I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out.
“You didn’t stop me either,” he finished in a low voice.
I took a step back away from him.
His eyes turned softer. “Do you fear me?”
My lip curled up in a cold smile. “I shouldn’t fear the man who leads a mob? I shouldn’t fear Vlad Vitalli who runs brothels and does trades in…” I exhaled deeply before saying, “Sex slaves.”
Shut up, shut up stupid girl!
But it was too late.
I had already spoken.
Vlad was silent and didn’t reply.
“You still haven’t told me what you’re planning on doing with me,” I said, wrapping my arms tighter around myself, feeling vulnerable. “Please tell me. It’s killing me alive. This suspense. This game, I don’t like it. Are you going to sell me?”
I didn’t want to cry in front of him, so I gave him a lame version of a brave face. I hated feeling weak. I wish I could be strong again, but my spirit was fading. The façade of toughness and bravery was slowly vanishing.
“You think I’m going to save you from my father?” he questioned me.
I bit my lip, unsure of how to respond.
“You know Dahlia, I’m not going to save you.”
My heart sank in my chest. The little hope that glimmered inside was crushed. It vanished. Disappeared like it had never been there.
“I’m not going to save you from me,” he added with an edge to his voice.
My head jerked up at his words.
He’d said earlier, he wouldn’t force me, so what did his words mean?
Then, Vlad bent down.
He kneeled in front of me.
Do Don’s ever kneel before anyone?
Then, he picked up my discarded green shirt that was on the floor and handed it to me.
I took it from him, baffled and stunned.
He turned around to leave, but then paused as he spoke again, “I already made my decision regarding you today.”
I watched his back as he walked away. His back disappeared into the hallway, leaving me standing alone.
She belongs to me.
His words echoed in my mind.
The ones he’d spoken to his father.
I don’t share.
A heavy sigh of relief left my chest and my knees almost gave way.
Vlad wasn’t going to sell me nor make me work in a brothel.
I smiled to myself even though my lip hurt.
Then, just as quickly as it had appeared, my smile quickly faded as I focused on his other words.
I’m not going to save you from me.
I wasn’t his hostage anymore.
Was I ever?
I was his captive.
He’d said he wasn’t going to touch me with force, if he was being honest, but he was going to keep me in his castle forever. There were three hells presented as options before, but this one somehow felt like heaven.
10
Chapter 10
Vlad let me walk around the estate now.
I even had shoes.
The area was well guarded by his men, so I couldn’t run anyway.
I was outside in the garden area wearing a white, winter coat. The coat ended at my calves, almost engulfing me in the fabric. The wool was warm against my cool skin. I wore a cream sweater underneath and dark blue jeans.
I assumed it was the beginning of March. I didn’t have a calendar to keep track of the date, so I relied on the weather. I wondered if when it was summer and the weather was warmer, I might be allowed to do some gardening, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up.
The air was so cold that I could see my breath with every exhale. I stared up at the sky. No rain clouds now, although it had heavily rained this morning. The skies had been low and grey lately. The chill in the air meant that winter was still here. The air nipped and bit at my exposed skin. I sucked in the cold air letting it settle and cool my chaotic thoughts.
The breeze tousled my raven-black hair. I was paler now from the lack of sun. The chill in the air drew out the heat from my skin leaving me cold inside.
Lately, I had been looking to find beauty in the things around me, something to occupy my mind. I’d been noticing things I had never focused on before. My eyes fell on the oak tree. It stood nude like an exhibitionist, the leaves from it gone. It was no longer vibrant like it had been when I first arrived. I inhaled the musky smell of the damp earth and glanced around me. There were no guards in this area, so I took a leap and jumped in a puddle in my rain boots. I smiled to myself, feeling like a kid. I had always loved doing this when I was younger.
I moved forward and stared at the massive rose garden. Maybe, at one time it had been lush and beautiful, but now the roses had withered. I squinted, and my eyes caught something. A lone rose that was perfectly healthy.
A beauty in isolation, I knew how it felt.
The delicate stem was glistening with the rain drops that had fallen earlier today. Each drop of rain had the icy kiss of winter. A promise of the snow yet to come. The rose was hidden near the ground. The top ones had died already, just this little one was alive. I eyed it before I bent down and plucked it out, drawing the stem out from the root, careful not to destroy something so precious.
Then, I saw a movement.
I caught sight of a head of dark blond hair.
Gabriele was moving toward the gate.
“Hey,” I called out impulsively.
He paused and turned to face me from a few feet away.
God, he was so tall. I thought Vlad was tall, but Gabriele seemed even taller. I think it was because he was leaner than Vlad. I still wasn’t sure what his exact position was. I knew Leo was the right hand, but what was Gabriele then?
As he moved toward me, my gaze traveled from his face to his body, taking him in. His blue eyes stood out the most. They would be his best feature if they weren’t so cold and hard. He was handsome in his own edgy way. He dressed differently than Vlad, ditching formal clothes. He wore a black leather jacket and dark blue jeans, something not fit for this weather. If he would lose the jacket and smiled, he could be a college golden boy, the star quarterback. But even I knew he was anything but that.
I cleared my throat and asked, “Can you call Vlad?”
“He’s not home.” His reply was sharp and short as I expected.
He turned to leave but then I called out to him, “Wait!”
He paused and slowly turned around “Yes?” he asked, impatiently.
“I want to keep this rose.”
My hand brought up the flower in my hand to eye level.
Gabriele only blinked, clearly not following. “So?”
&
nbsp; I ran a cold hand through my hair.
“I want to preserve it. I’ll need some things.”
Gabriele stared at me, curiously. “What do you need?”
I raised my eyebrows at him. “Can Vlad get them?”
He only shook his head. “That’s something small. I can get it for you.”
I frowned at him. “Won’t you get beat up then?”
Leo’s crushed hands entered my mind.
Gabriele looked at me like I was insane before shaking his head. The movement made his silky, thin dark blonde hair fall over his eyes. Then, he crossed his arms over his chest. My eyes were drawn to the bulge of his muscles under his jacket where they stretched the leather over his biceps. Wasn’t he afraid of getting pneumonia? That jacket was far too thin. Then, I wanted to laugh. He wasn’t afraid of death. None of them were. I averted my eyes from him, hoping he wouldn’t catch me checking him out.
“For getting you roses shit?” he asked disbelievingly.
I took offence at his words and scowled at him. “It’s not shit.”
He rolled his eyes at me. “Trust me. He won’t care.”
“Can you ask him first?”
I didn’t know Gabriele, but I didn’t know Vlad well enough either. I didn’t want to cause trouble, particularly if it might come back on me.
Gabriele sighed deeply and a low curse left his mouth. He took out his phone and dialed.
After a few moments, he said, “Vlad. The girl wants to talk to you.” Then, he handed me the phone. “Here. Make it fast.”
I frowned at him, not appreciating that he thought I was a nuisance. I turned away to get some privacy.
“Not too far,” Gabriele called from behind me.
Did he think I was going to call someone else?
I lifted the phone to my ear and said, “Hi.”
“Hello,” Vlad’s deep rumble came from the other end.
Then, he kept quiet, waiting for me to talk first.
I cleared my throat, feeling nervous and childish now.
“I want a rose.” I cringed at the wording.
“What?” Vlad questioned. “You want me to buy you flowers?”
I bit my cheek to refrain from smiling. Had he ever bought flowers for anyone before?
“I mean, I want to preserve one I found in the rose garden. It’s the last one.”
I waited for him to say something, but he was silent. It made me nervous when he didn’t speak.
“I mean, I love flowers and gardening. I’ve mentioned that to you before. I wanted to keep this flower,” I added.
“I can send you roses if you want,” he said after a moment.
He would do that for me?
“No. I just want to do something with my time. It’ll be a fun task, preserving it.” Oh, how I wished someone would kill me right now. I had nothing better to do than to preserve roses. My life was pathetic.
“Alright, Doll. If that’s what you want,” he said softly.
Doll? I furrowed my eyebrows. “So, can you ask Gabriele to get me things?”
“Ask him yourself,” Vlad ordered.
I turned to look at blondie, and he stared right at me.
“He looks kinda mean,” I mumbled.
There was a noise on the other line, like a chuckle.
“He won’t be mean to you, trust me,” Vlad said.
For some reason, his words, trust me affected me more than they should. I didn’t have any reason to trust Vlad, but this was just about roses.
“Why can’t you tell him?”
Vlad was quiet now. I was afraid I overstepped.
“Say please,” Vlad ordered.
What? I frowned again. “No,” I replied in defiance.
“Then, you can ask him yourself.”
He hung up on me.
I stared at the phone, dumbfounded. I blinked slowly then I turned toward Gabriele. I sighed. I had to ask him. I handed the phone back to him and he waited for me to speak.
“I need scissors.”
Gabriele only shook his head. “Not happening girl. What if you stab me?”
I crossed my arms over my chest and stared him down. “I need to trim the stem and remove the leaves.”
He observed me. Then he said, “Fine. But I’ll watch.”
I rolled my eyes at him. “I need hairspray, scotch tape, glycerin, and a vase, preferably something clear like glass that could contain the rose and cover it,” I said off the top of my head. That’s all I could remember about flower preservation.
Gabriele only nodded. Then, he left me standing alone, perhaps to get the things I had requested.
After he left, I returned my room.
This modern palace was beautiful, but it was so damn lonely. There were barely any people around. I had lived alone before they took me, but modestly and in comfort. I missed that now. A mansion with no people couldn’t be called anyone’s home. It was only a mansion. A display. Vlad lived in isolation from the outside world.
Ten minutes later, Gabriele cleared his throat. He didn’t enter my room. Was he not allowed to? Had Vlad forbidden him?
“I bought your things,” he replied, handing me a white paper bag.
I smiled to myself and happily skipped over to him, as if I was a ballerina.
The grump only shook his head at me.
“Do it by the dressing table where I can see you,” he ordered.
I nodded and sat down on the chair before I engrossed myself in preserving the rose. As soon I was done with the scissors, Gabriele snatched them back. I wasn’t planning on stabbing him though. He watched me the entire time, as if I was a toddler engaging in playtime. Maybe I was being childish. But I loved gardening. I couldn’t do any now, so I picked the next best thing. Picking and preserving the rose. It reminded me a bit of myself.
In the rose bush, it was the only one alive. I was surrounded by heartless men who were dead on the insides.
I felt like I was the only one alive too.
Slowly, after I was done, I placed the rose in the plastic vase Gabriele had bought.
“I asked for glass?” I queried.
“I’m not getting you anything sharp,” he said firmly.
I pressed my lips together and just nodded. My lip didn’t hurt anymore, and it had healed. I glanced at him again.
“This vanity table is made from glass. I could easily smash it if I was that desperate.”
Gabriele narrowed his eyes at me but didn’t say anything.
The silent treatment.
Fine!
First, I taped the rose’s stem to the bottom so it would stand up, then I placed the vase over it. It made me sad that I would be caging the little rose in but took comfort in the fact that it belonged to me. It was the only thing here that did.
It gave me hope that beautiful things could still last if preserved.
Gabriele still hadn’t left.
“Are you going to stand there and watch me all day?” I questioned, feeling his gaze on me. “Vlad wouldn’t like that,” I added with a smirk.
When I glanced up at him, he didn’t look away. He didn’t look at me like Leo or Enzo did either though. His gaze was different, tinged with mild interest and fascination. I guess, I was a science experiment for him.
“Blondes aren’t my type,” I drawled, my eyes lighting up at my joke.
I didn’t know why I was trying to instigate a fight, but I didn’t know what he wanted. He should have left when I handed the scissors, the weapon back to him.
“Was this the highlight of your day? You have nobody to kill today?” I taunted him.
Oh, my big mouth really needed to learn how to shut up.
I didn’t know when my fighting spirit had returned. Perhaps, when Vlad had said he wasn’t going to sell me.
I gazed at Gabriele, waiting for him to take the bait.
“You’re a troublemaker,” he said at last, crossing his arms over his chest.
His blue eyes flashed suspiciously at me.
>
I grinned at him, cheekily. “So, what’s your job?” I asked.
His expression turned amused. “My job?”
That sounded so lame. “I mean what is your position?”
“I’m second in command after Vlad.”
My eyebrows shot up. “Oh. I assumed Leo was.”
Gabriele shook his head. “Nah. Leo gets things done. He works as an enforcer. The right hand.” Enforcer, such a strange word for interrogator. He punished people then.
He likes pain… and I poked the tiger. Fantastic!
“How come you’re not one?” I asked Gabriele.
Blondie tilted his head at me, but I didn’t fear him. He seemed nicer than the rest, even if he was a big old grump.
“I have another role.”
That was the only short answer he gave me. He could have told me, he didn’t like to torture people like Leo did, but he hadn’t.
“How old are you?” I asked him.
Gabriele arched an eyebrow at me. “Is this twenty-one questions?”
I grinned at him, but he didn’t return the smile. “You’re in my room. Might as well make conversation with you. Or should I start talking to the rose instead?” I asked, wiggling my eyebrows playfully.
He was in such a mood. It wouldn’t hurt him to loosen up.
Then, he replied, “I’m twenty-five.”
Oh. He was a year younger than me. “You’re a baby.”
Then, I beamed at him.
Gabriele narrowed his eyes at me.
“I can see why Vlad has kept you around now.”
I almost lost my smile. What did he mean by that? I wanted to ask him so many follow up questions.
“Are you related to Vlad?” I asked instead.
“We’re cousins. Our fathers are brothers.”
I nodded as if that made sense.
He’s a Vitalli too.
A shiver ran down my spine now.
Two moody grumps.
Three, if you counted Enzo.
After a few moments, I lost interest in the conversation.
The playfulness in me was gone.
Slowly, Gabriele turned away, exiting my room, leaving me alone.
11
Chapter 11
I was just about to head outside when I saw Mrs. Messana.
I smiled at her, even though she couldn’t see me. I studied her curiously. I wanted to know what it was like working for Vlad. She was wiping the kitchen table. As if she sensed me, she looked in my direction, then smiled.