BELLAA blunt knife from the 1800s could seamlessly slice through the tension that’s been building at The Rave for the past few days. Miss Carter said it was an annual event the Cosa Nostra families in New York hosted yearly to maintain peace and civility amongst them to keep business running smoothly.A concept I found hilarious because I’ve listened to some of these men talk and I know for a fact they won’t hesitate to set each other on fire. A ball to celebrate peace and civility sounds foolish to me but I guess it’s what kept business running.The Mafia is not native to New York as I’ve come to discover and their operations were mostly camouflaged as business deals, unlike their hometown where the Cosa Nostra is well known and respected down to the church.You heard me right, down to the church. When I found out Dante had a little church in the basement I completely lost my marbles.I knew the Italians took the church seriously with Rome and all that but you can’t have a whole ch
BELLA“Stay out of my way.” Anna pushed past me, snatching the red lipstick I was using off my hands. We were currently in what Vivian liked to call the beauty room. It was a room with all kinds of make-up and clothes for us to pick from whenever we had to make an appearance or perform.Vivian threw me a knowing glance and we both laughed at her stupid antics, earning me a stink eye from her.“I know you fucked the boss in exchange for a spot but I’ll have you know you’ll not be taking my place. I already made some friends among the patrons and they love me. You’re a thing of the past, long forgotten, and should just stay there like every other antic.” She spat, almost pushing me off the vanity.If I was not so focused on my goals for the night, I would’ve given her a taste of her own medicine but I had a bigger fish to fry.“You just wait and see, the moment I climb onto that stage, no one would cast you as much as a glance. One of the patrons has promised to buy me from the Don aft
BELLAIt’s been three days since Anna and I were locked in the dungeon cells. Maybe it was four or five? Possibly seven. I had lost count.Safe for the unstable light bulb hanging loosely off the wall, the room had no lighting and there was no way to know what day it was, not to talk of time. The days blurred into a continuous loop of sad, empty, and agonizing moments.There was also no bed or chair, just a ragged piece of mattress on the floor which was supposed to be for one person. We took turns sleeping on it even though it provided little to no comfort in comparison to the cold hard floor.At least whoever built this hell was ‘kind’ enough to remember the need for relief and put in a water closet and a sink next to it. We used the water from the sink to clean our intimate areas -which was barely a thorough cleansing as there was no soap- There was no opening for the water to flow out so we couldn’t have a full bath.The downside of this generosity was having to sit through the st
BELLA. A groan escaped my lips. My head throbbed with a dull ache, a wave of nausea washing over me, forcing my eyes to crack open. I was met with a flood of bright white light, completely flooding my visual sensors and disorienting me. I blinked multiple times until the fuzzy shapes came into focus. I took a deep breath, the scent of sterile disinfectants and medications filling my nose. The beeping sound that seemed to come from somewhere at the back of my head drew closer till it became very audible and appeared to be right next to me. The memories slowly began to spill in like a flicker of light- the dark cell, the toilet, Anna’s voice, and finally the fall. As if invoked by my memories, the dull pain in my head intensified, drawing another groan from me. “Easy there,” a warm hand gently clasped my shoulder, “you’re fine now.” I turned my eyes in the direction of the voice and was met with warm brown eyes, a soft smile, and the most aristocratic-looking nose I’ve se
I woke up feeling a lot worse than I did before sleeping. I had very little experience with hospitals from when I was still home but I was certain the world had not changed enough for hospitals to go from being a place where people got better to becoming a place they got worse. A groan slipped past my lips as I tried to stretch myself. The pain had gone from being localized to my head to taking over my whole body. My muscles ached and my limbs felt like I had run a marathon and only stopped when I passed out. The dry feeling in my mouth had returned too. Overall, I felt like I’d been hit on the head and dragged through concrete. “You’re awake, good,” Ronan commented, walking into the room. “I should’ve woken you earlier but you looked so peaceful.” “I don’t feel peaceful.” I croaked out, instantly regretting the action. My throat felt rough and charred and the sound felt like dragging a pointy finger through an open wound. Ronan poured a glass of water and emptied the contents
BELLA“Hurry,” Ronan called out, glancing behind him to make sure I was keeping up.My muscles ached, my feet felt like I had run a marathon and my head was about to split. I let out a pained moan, struggling to catch up with Ronan. Why did he have to park so far away? “Just keep going, we’re almost there.” He said, slowing down his pace for me to catch up.“I need to rest.” I groaned, sitting on the floor. I couldn’t do it anymore. I was in pain, my whole body was on fire.I wasn’t expecting us to run this long before getting to the car. Ronan gave me some painkillers before we left but there didn’t do a thing.I felt nauseous, the whole world was spinning and it didn’t help that it was pitch black and I could barely make out the shape of my own hands, not to talk of anything else. “Do you not understand what is at stake? If Don or any of his men finds us, we’re dead meat. There’ll be nothing left of us. You’ll rest when we get to the car.” He scolded, his voice heavy with urgenc
Bella “We’ll be spending the night here, tomorrow we’ll get on a ship heading to the Caribbean.” Ronan casually said, dropping his duffel bag on the bed and falling next to it while I watched awkwardly. I don’t know what I was expecting when he said we were going to stop at a motel to spend the night but a shared bed was not one of them. I stood next to the vanity, transferring my weight from one foot to another. I didn’t know what to do. Was I supposed to go lay next to him till sleep came or was I to wait for him to sleep before getting in bed? “Are you going to stand there all night?” Ronan asked, lifting his upper body off the bed to get a better look at me. I unconsciously wrapped my arms around myself, rubbing them against each other to create a bit of warmth. “Oh, I totally forgot.” He unzipped his bag and pulled out a T-shirt. “Here, you can sleep in this.” He said, stretching out the clothing to me. I forced my legs into motion to collect the shirt from him and
BELLA “Good morning little Pajarita.” A cold voice pierced through the fog of my sleepy gaze as I stretched, causing me to hold the blanket closer to myself. Pajarita? As far as my knowledge goes, Ronan did not speak Italian and even if he did, his voice did carry a characteristic chill. My heart picked up a murderously fast rate and I held my eyes shut, praying to God and all things holy that I’d open my eyes to find Ronan messing around or playing tricks on me. Last night got really emotional and we talked about our fears. In the course of the conversation, I admitted Dante was one of my biggest fears. Maybe he was pulling a fast one on me, right? Everywhere was deathly still, I couldn’t tell if anyone was breathing. If it was Ronan playing tricks on me, he would’ve said something by now. Also, I doubt Dante would be patient enough to wait for me to take my precious time waking up. I shut my eyes tightly, sending one last word of desperate prayer to the big guy upsta