by Alone Eagle
I stared in awe at the overwhelming mansion, my prison. It was disturbing though that in a place like this, there lived only one man, and not just any man —Vlad Vitalli.
My mind took me back to our last encounter that had occurred a week ago.
Vlad had come near me, yet I hadn’t fought him like I had with Leo. I remember when I was close to him, I hadn’t felt the fear that I experienced every time with Leo or Enzo. My body wasn’t stiff and alert when it came across Vlad. It somehow felt… comforted, protected, and safe with him.
It made me ashamed to admit it, but my body wanted him.
He’d always shown small mercies in whatever ways his cold heart was capable of.
Mercy was big in this world that always took.
People thought that you shouldn’t be grateful if someone didn’t rape you. That that standard was too low, but what if rape was all that has happened to you throughout your life? What if no one had ever shown you mercy before?
He spared me instead of killing me.
He didn’t raise a hand to me when I tried to attack him with a knife.
He kept me captive in the house instead of selling me to a brothel or trafficking me.
When his hand been forced in front of Enzo, his touch had been gentle, and he hadn’t taken things farther than necessary. He’d stopped it.
He’d kneeled before me, handing me my shirt.
He’d killed Leo …was that for me too?
He’d also let me go when I knew I probably would have slept with him if he hadn’t stopped.
Maybe I was pathetic, looking for reasons not to hate him, but I knew all those behaviors weren’t the norm here.
Only blood, games, and violence existed in his life.
He was the head of this mob. No one would question him if he forced me. I was in this gilded cage, away from society, hidden.
Power was a corrupt thing. The smell of it drove people crazy, making them do things they wouldn’t normally do. It brought out their true desires and intentions.
But not Vlad…
It was still hard to believe Leo was dead.
And that Vlad had killed him.
Well, I played a large hand in it first, but he had still survived.
Vlad’s men were alert whenever they saw me now, maybe connecting Leo’s death with me.
One of their own dead because of me.
Even though Vlad had shown me small mercies and some kindness, I couldn’t forget after all that that he had kidnapped me. He was holding me captive here, against my will. He ran brothels and sold women. He killed witnesses, innocent people. His hands were covered in blood too. He wasn’t clean either.
My ears perked up at the sound of footsteps, and my eyes popped open.
Speak of the beast, and he shall appear.
Vlad was standing right before me, just a few feet away, toward the entrance. He looked like he was heading inside. He wore one of his long, black coats again and jeans. This time his hair wasn’t damp like our last encounter in the snow.
From a distance, his presence didn’t seem all that bad, but I knew as soon as he came closer, my body would be aware of him. Without saying anything, he commanded authority. I waited it out, to see if he would talk to me this time. I didn’t want to be too hopeful.
The only person who talked to me now was Natalie. The rest of the servants generally only spoke to me when I needed something. They didn’t start a conversation with me as if it was forbidden.
My hope dimmed when he took a step toward the entrance but then he paused and he turned, taking long slow, strides towards me.
Yes. I wanted to grin at myself and maybe cheer in joy.
Why did I crave to talk to him though?
I hated that I kept looking for reasons not to hate him, to humanize him.
Damn, I craved him.
He stood a couple of feet away from me. I could never forget the way his eyes looked. The color so rare and stunning that I’d only seen it in animals. Maybe this was the universe’s sign of telling me he was one. An animal. But of course, I still looked at him curiously. I always checked out his eyes since they often reflected his mood. Today, they were softer. Often, when he was upset, his eyes would flash like lightening, the steel color darkening.
We were so opposite from one another yet, I still wanted to talk to him.
Maybe I was seeking comfort.
“Hi,” I squeaked out.
Then, I cleared my throat. My voice didn’t come out right. I sounded like a rat that wanted to nibble on him.
His lip turned upward almost into a smile.
“Hello,” Vlad replied coolly.
“The weather seems nice,” I added.
Idiot, it’s freaking cold.
I wanted to slap myself. I couldn’t find anything better to talk about?
Ask him about his mother again, my inner voice shot at me.
I shook my head silently. That would put him on an edge again. I couldn’t risk that. He would mind that I was prying into his life.
Bitch, he did a whole background check on you, my inner voice snapped at me.
Shut up, you, I hushed the voice.
Then, I turned to look at Vlad.
His expression looked amused as he arched an eyebrow at me. The way he was staring made me flustered, and I ended up fumbling over my words. Maybe there was a magnetic pull coming from him.
It’s just his appearance, I tried to calm myself. He looked like that and he’s a mafia don. Of course, I would stumble. He was intimidating.
“How was work?” the words popped out of my mouth, and I instantly regretted them.
Are you serious, Dahlia?
I should just shut up and go die in shame somewhere.
What he did can hardly be classed as work…
Vlad obviously seemed to be enjoying my awkward attempt to make a conversation. He gave me knowing, teasing smile, that put me at ease. His eyes crinkled at me, and that deep dimple that I hadn’t seen lately appeared again. I didn’t understand what good was a dimple if it wasn’t even used.
He rarely smiled. I should have been born with a dimple instead. Well, fuck, who was I kidding? I barely smiled myself.
Two cold fish in the sea. What a pair.
I think I was a starfish though, but he was looking at me like he was a shark now.
I snapped out of my silly thoughts and tucked a tendril behind my ear.
“You seem nervous,” he observed me, his smile wider now.
I slowly blinked at him. He’d finally decided to call me out.
“You wish,” I lied to him.
His eyebrows shot up at me. “Do I intimidate you?”
“You would intimidate anyone.” I chose not to mention myself. I wanted to believe that I wasn’t afraid of him. “You carry a gun with you, and you’re a Vitalli. You’re the most feared person in the city.”
He stood silent as he stared at me curiously.
Then, I asked him a question I was itching to ask.
“Vlad, why did you keep me?” I asked him after a moment.
He told you to call him Don, my inner voice shot at me.
“Don’t you know already?” he asked me, tilting his head.
The way he looked at me amused and intensely sometimes messed with my head. Why hadn’t he made a move on me yet? He had stopped the other night, not me. It confused me and left me hot and bothered. He looked like he wanted me, he acted like he did, but then he’d left me cold.
It was getting really hard to hate my captor. With hate, maybe I could have lived. It would give me motivation to fight harder against him. It would have given me strength.
He was keeping me his captive, but my dislike for him was slowly fading.
That thought startled me.
I almost didn’t recognize myself.
He’s the enemy no matter how much mercy he shows me.
Just because he spared me didn’t mean he’s good.
I looked upward at the sky, avoi
ding his gaze.
Then he replied in a low voice, “Anything that is beautiful, people want to break. You are beautiful to me. I didn’t want you to fade until there was nothing left of you.”
My head jerked up at him, at his admission.
When he called me beautiful, it didn’t sound like he was talking about my looks.
Vlad’s eyes simply watched me, not moving from me.
I turned my face away from him, hoping I wasn’t reddening. If he called me out, I could always blame winter and the cold air. Now when I blushed with embarrassment, it became immediately evident on my porcelain skin.
He smiled at me then.
Damn. My eyes widened at who had abducted the broody Vlad and replaced him with this charmer instead.
I hoped my joke would have eased the tension in the air, but it only gained momentum. I didn’t like it when he was too smiley. It changed his demeanor and made him seem like a nice guy, when I knew he was far from it.
“I think you have smiled more with me than probably anyone else, am I right?” I asked cheekily. Was I flirting? I was just joking. I hope it sounded like a joke.
His eyes twinkled at me for a moment, then he said abruptly, “Your nose looks like Rudolph.”
My eyes widened at that little dig. Was he making fun of me? My hands automatically lifted to my cold nose. I knew it was red, and I was trying hard not to sniffle.
Then, he opened his mouth to say something, but I started laughing instead.
Out of all things he could talk about, he talked about my red nose? The bad and vicious Vlad Vitalli was making jokes about my nose? I tried to stifle the noise with my hand, but I was giggling too hard.
For a moment, he froze, watching my reaction. His full, pink lips parted, but he didn’t laugh with me. Maybe he was waiting for me to shut up? He didn’t look angry though, just caught off guard.
I forced myself to stop laughing at the silly joke.
“Sorry,” I said, still smiling. “What were you saying?”
He looked at me, amused. “When you laughed, I forgot about everything.”
I grinned at him, but then my smile slowly faded when understanding dawned to me. He was looking at me intently, like I fascinated him somehow. I’d never laughed openly like this with him before.
I heard the underlying message behind his words, nothing else matters. I tried not to make too much out of it. Maybe I was taking it the wrong way, but the mixed signals rang bells in my head, confusing me.
I turned away from him and began walking back to the mansion.
Before I knew it, Vlad’s footsteps were right beside me.
“What are you doing?” I asked him, warily.
His eyes twinkled at me, before he smiled at me. Aah, I was beginning to hate it when he smiled. His humanity showed then, it made me think differently about him.
“Walking,” he replied, raising his eyebrows.
“You know, I call you Beast in my mind.”
Damn! That just slipped out. Then, my eyes widened at what I said. I pressed my lips together and turned away, embarrassed.
A small laugh came from my right side.
“Am I still a beast?” he asked me, after he had stopped smiling.
“No,” I replied honestly.
I wish you still were.
Then, I turned to face forward and looked down to the ground, my expression reflecting this weight in my heart.
“You seem down these days.” Vlad’s voice came closer to me.
I glanced at him, surprised that he even noticed. His eyes had softened despite his frown.
“Yeah well, being held captive isn’t exactly someone’s dream, right?” I said, sarcastically.
“I don’t understand…” he began. “I keep you out of harm’s way. I leave you alone. You’re living in luxury,” he said, with a wave of his hand around the estate.
I tried not to roll my eyes at him, but he caught my grimace.
“There are worse men than me, Dahlia,” Vlad said with an edge to his voice. “I’m not a good man, but do you know what would be done to you if you were found by one of the other families?” His voice rose becoming fierce now. “You would have been passed from one man to another. You would have been sold or kept as a whore. You would have lived in a dark basement with metal bars. You would have been starved. They would have made you walk around naked. I’m nothing like that.”
My heartbeat was loud, and my eyes met his, but this time without any fear.
“Just because you don’t rape doesn’t mean you’re better than anyone else. It’s not normal to hurt people,” I snapped at him. His eyes narrowed, but I kept talking, “You really think you’re better?”
I should shut up. I should really shut up.
His mouth opened before he clamped it shut.
Then, I shot my final blow.
“You’re clearly delusional, Vlad Vitalli.”
If I were smarter and had better control of my anger, I wouldn’t have tried to provoke him. But I was getting sick of still being caged up with no one to talk to. I had been taken away from my life. It was such a sad, pathetic feeling.
Anger flashed in his eyes then. His jaw ticked, and his gray eyes were no longer soft, turning hard as a rock once again, sharp enough to cut through metal. His hand reached out to grab me and a sinking feeling settled in my stomach.
I had unleashed the cruel beast.
I’m doomed.
I started to scramble away from him before he did something, but he caught my arm, pulling on the coat to bring me closer to him. I didn’t know if I should hit him. My breaths came out in small puffs.
Fury and anger seemed to ooze out of him.
“No,” he growled at me.
My eyes snapped up at him.
“I’ve seen people in my world take. I’ve grown up around force. My world is about taking. I grew up in this. It’s normal in your world to not use force, but it’s not considered fucking normal to not use force in mine.”
My eyes widened at him, and I held my breath.
“It doesn’t make me better, but it sure as hell makes me something if I don’t want to be cruel.”
I could feel his cinnamon, warm breath on my face as he spoke.
Then, I shoved him away, breathing hard.
He still stared at me angrily.
I didn’t want to hit him, so I did the next best thing.
I leaned down and scooped up a handful of snow from the ground and threw a snowball at him.
It hit Vlad right in the face.
19
Chapter 19
A smile threatened to break out from my lips.
The most powerful man in New York, a God to the underworld was attacked by a snowball.
I wanted to laugh.
Vlad only blinked at me, then, he reached up with his leather glove to shove the snow off his face. He set his lips in a grim, thin line. Then, he walked over to me in quick, strides.
I hesitated just a moment too long to move away.
By then, he had picked up a snowball, turned me around, and shoved it down the back of my coat under my shirt.
My mouth gaped open in shock, and then my teeth began to chatter at the icy chill. God damn that was cold as ice. I shot him a look that hopefully said, I will kill you.
“Are y-you s-serious?” I managed to get out through my chattering teeth as I tried to shake out the snow from the back of my shirt, but it was no use. The snow was already melting under my clothes. I could feel it turn into slush, numbing my skin.
His eyes twinkled at me then. His demeanor playful and cocky now. The brooding beast disappeared as soon as it came.
I rolled my eyes at him.
Oh, now he wants to be cute.
I leaned down and grabbed another snowball, throwing it at him, hoping to wipe that smirk from his handsome face.
He blocked it with a forearm, but I kept on hitting him with snowballs.
Then, he leaned forward and tackled me onto
the snowy ground.
Before, we knew it, we were both covered.
I was so cold now that I couldn’t feel my fingers anymore. I guess I was just lucky I’d landed on my back and not my face.
Vlad leaned forward and grabbed snow to throw it at me.
A giggle erupted from my lips at his childish behavior.
Did mobsters really have snowball fights?
I threw another round, small, snowball at him. It hit him in the shoulder, and I grinned, clearly pleased at the noise that came from him.
Just then, Vlad threw multiple snowballs at me.
One hit my shoulder, and the second landed against the front of my neck before it slid down inside my shirt, making my blood run cold. I was only wearing a wool coat and gloves. No scarf or hat. I had only planned on walking outside for less than ten minutes. I hadn’t dressed for a freaking snowball fight. I couldn’t feel my lips or toes anymore.
The third one hit right in my hair and face, covering me in icy flakes.
My eyes froze then at the impact. It wasn’t hard, and it didn’t hurt, but the snow was just so damn cold. It landed right on my nose, cutting off my air. I wiped my face, frantically, struggling to breathe. I was sure my skin was turning red from the sting of ice burns.
Vlad paused as he took in my expression, then his whole demeanor changed, and he rushed toward me.
The ice seemed to be slowing down my blood flow. My clothes suddenly felt too heavy, leaving me breathless. Maybe I was in shock? I needed to get out of these clothes though. The snow was still seeping inside of them.
“Why the h-hell aren’t y-you freezing?” I managed to say as my body shuddered with cold, and Vlad tried to wipe the snow from me.
His movements weren’t calm and measured anymore.
“I have more body heat,” he replied simply. Right. True. How stupid of me to have momentarily forgotten about the differences in our anatomies. My body felt like a popsicle.
“You’re really cold, Doll,” he whispered.
My heart smiled at his words, my mouth was too cold to do so. I liked it when he called me that. His eyes stared at my lips intently. Maybe he wanted to kiss me?