6
Karina
The moment Aurielo steps out of the room to talk to his boss and convince him not to kill me, I rush toward the man bound to the chair in the bedroom.
I feel for a pulse. It’s faint but steady.
“What’s your name?” I ask.
I want to help him. He’s still alive and likely to be tortured to death by the mafia.
He mumbles incoherently.
“I’m going to check your pocket for an I.D.,” I say. I try to keep my voice down. I don’t want Aurielo to know what I’m up to.
There’s no wallet. No form of identification. It’s likely already been removed.
“I’ll be right back,” I say.
I hurry into the adjoining bathroom. It’s empty of any bags, possessions, anything that I could use to help the man being held against his will.
I’m not sure what I was expecting to find. I was hoping there were a few prescriptions, something I could have mixed and crushed to at least alleviate his suffering.
There’s nothing I can use as a weapon to defend myself.
Returning into the bedroom, I bend down, loosening the man’s binds. “I can’t find anything to use as a weapon,” I say, “but at least you’ll have a fighting chance.”
I want to believe that he can survive and defend himself, but the men on the other side of the wall have guns.
The bedroom door swings open.
“Get away from him!” Aurielo shouts orders at me. “He’s dangerous.”
I stand, and Aurielo rushes toward me and yanks me away from the man who is restrained.
I seriously doubt the guy that has been assaulted is going to hurt me.
Aurielo drags me out of the bedroom and into the living room of the penthouse suite.
My bag has been dumped on the floor.
Everything from my panties to my lipstick lies askew.
What were they expecting to find? Was it tit for tat? I searched their bag and discovered their guns, now they ransack my belongings?
“Collect her stuff. Giovan and Francesco escort Aurielo and the girl to the courthouse for a marriage license. Tomorrow they’ll be wed.”
I bend down, and Aurielo helps me gather my belongings, tossing everything into my backpack that I brought for the night.
My purse’s contents are buried under my clothes, and I shove everything quickly into my knapsack. The last thing I want is to waste a second and have these men reconsider letting me live.
Aurielo grabs my wallet and flips it open, staring at my identification. Thankfully, I don’t have any pictures in my wallet. My phone, however, is a different story. I grab the device on the floor under my pajama bottoms.
He holds out his palm.
Shit.
“I’ll take that,” he says, nodding toward my phone.
I chew on my bottom lip, and he snatches the phone before I can give him an excuse for why I can’t part with the device.
He retrieves his cell phone from his pocket and snaps a photograph of my driver’s license. “In case you run,” he says. “I know where you live.”
Aurielo tosses my wallet at me, and I shove it into my empty purse.
He left the cash in my wallet. There wasn’t much.
He’s not a thief.
Just a murderer.