CHAPTER 3

Caterina was quite familiar with fear as it is something she grew up around. Being around her father alone was enough reason for her to be afraid. At work, her boss is someone to fear if her scars were anything to go by. But the kind of fear she is feeling right now, she had never felt before. She decides that if this man stalking her was going to kill her, she would at least put in effort to get away. She couldn't fight, she is the least athletic person and she has no one to call, so she would have to use her last feminine weapon: Her mouth. 

'Let's see if I can nag him to death'

She halts, turns around and swallows as she takes in the huge figure of the man standing in front of her. His 6'2 figure was intimidating her 5'8 self. His gray eyes held a threatening look, but she wasn't going to back down now.

"It's rude to stalk someone, you know?" Her voice comes out strong, contrasting to the great fear eating her away on the inside.

"I'm not stalking you, princess." The sound of his voice sent chills down her spine, not your typical chills that made a girl weak in the knees, but the kind that makes you want to run, hide and pray.

"Oh really, so you weren't at the casino? You didn't follow me to my house? You haven't been following me for the past twenty minutes?"

"Yes."

"Oh, and I'm the queen of England! What do you want? You don't look like you want money, so is it me you want?"

"Don't flatter yourself princess, there's nothing to want. Why would I want a stripper?" That felt like a slap on the face, but he wasn't wrong.

"Oh, so you were at the casino! You're a liar and also a stalker!"

"I'm not stalking you, okay?"

"Oh really? Great, then we shouldn't have a problem. Go ahead of me and keep going till you're out of my sight."

"I don't know where I'm going,"

"Of course, you don't. That's because you're stalking me!"

"I am not!"

"Do I look like an idiot?!"

"I'm lost, okay?" He decides to pull on her heart strings. Play the victim card and see how she reacts to it. 

"What?"

"I was in the area when I saw you leave your house. My keys, wallet and phone were stolen from me somewhere close to your house, so I was stranded there. When I saw you leave your house, I figured I would ask for your help but you seemed to have been in a world of your own."

"What were you doing in my area?"

"I came to see a sick friend of mine."

"And you just decided to follow me around?"

"I didn't want to interrupt you though. And I figured you might be headed for the bus stop or somewhere with a bank or a pay phone."

"If I help you, would you leave me alone?"

"Sure thing,"

She brings out her purse, hands him a ward of cash and storms off in the opposite direction. He didn't need to know that she was lost. 

Caterina finds her way back home after getting lost multiple times. She makes her way up the stairs and into her house with only one thing on her mind.

Sleep.

She didn't expect to find a brutally beaten up Sebastian laying on her couch. Fear grips her once again as different scenarios of what could have happen passes through her head.

"Sebastian!" She cries as she rushes to his side and inspects his injuries. 

"Catty, is that you?" His eyes were too swollen to open.

"Shit, let's get you to a hospital." She pulls out her phone to call an ambulance.

"No! No hospitals." 

"What? You look like you were beaten up by an angry mob and you don't want to go to the hospital?"

"Please..." She pause for a few seconds.

"Fine." 

She rushes to her bathroom and comes back with a first aid box and goes straight to work. Half an hour later, he was all patched up. 

"I guess you aren't going to tell me what happened."

"It's not that serious."

"Not that serious? You have a black eye, two broken fingers and a bruised rib. And don't get me started on your busted lips."

"Catty..."

"Don't catty me. You leave my house angry and come back beaten up! If your plan is to give me a heart attack, it's going great!"

"Don't be so dramatic, love. It's not that deep."

"How about you tell me and let me decide how deep it is?"

"Catty, let's talk about this later, okay?"

"Do you know how I feel right now? If anything happens to you, I'll be alone in this world. Do you not care about me?" Tears make their way down her cheeks as the stress and trauma of the day starts to catch up to her. 

"Hey, Catty don't cry okay? I'll be fine and nothing will happen to me."

"You don't know that!"

"Yes, I do. Sebastian knows all, remember?"

"You'll tell me later, right?"

"Of course, love."

Giovanni De Luca smiles as he walks into his office. He knew there was something different about Caterina, but he was surprised when she confronted him. What she did was incredibly stupid and could have cost her her life under a different circumstance, but he was impressed and now he couldn't stop thinking about her.

He had no interest in keeping her when he walked into the casino last night, but now he has his heart set to having her and that is what he is going to do. He would buy her if he has to, anything would work as long as he has her. 

A knock comes from the door and Giuseppe Romano walks into his office.

"Giuseppe, just the man I need to speak to,"

"Giovanni, I've been looking all over for you. The Capri Clan have ambushed another of our containers at the coast and have made away with it."

"How do they keep finding out about our shipments?" 

"Maybe they have someone on our supplier's side? I should pay them a visit."

"Oh, leave that to me. I have something else I need you to do."

"Anything for you, boss"

"Look up Cateri

na Russo for me. She's a stripper at Napoli Royale Casino."

"Anything special about her?"

"Oh, There is, alright. There is."