Chapter 10: In Which Things Go Wrong

Alexander held open the door of the Limousine for the beautiful miss who got in with a faint blush on her cheeks, her dad getting in from the other side as the chauffeur held open the door for him.

Alexander was instructed to be seated with Isla and her father for protection and so he got in after Isla took a seat in front of her another guard, Mr. Gambino's personal guard got in the car sitting right in front of Richard.

Isla bit her lower lip as she felt her bare knee brush against Alexander's pant clad thigh and her already red face flushed even more.

This little action didn't go unnoticed by Alexander either. It was getting harder by the second for him to control himself and keep his facial expressions neutral with her creamy leg brushing up against his in the packed limo and her teeth tugging at her luscious lips.

God did he wanna bite that lip for her instead.

Isla looked up from toying with her fingers for a moment and her gaze met Alexander's making her breath hitch for a money as she met his heated gaze, with great effort they both willed themselves to look elsewhere.

After a very long tension filled ride, they were finally in front of the plaza that the auction was commence at.

Isla peered outside the window with curiosity however, that turned out to be a poor idea as a man with camera came right thump at the window of the Limo with his face flushed right against it out of the blue, scaring poor Isla away from the window as she yelped and moved back towards her father.

"Whoa their little moon, it's alright, it's just the paparazzi they go crazy like this at times" Richard said keeping a reassuring hand on her shoulder as she let out a sigh of relief, calming herself down.

This is why she rarely went out, the paps and the threats.

Isla's nervousness definitely grew as her hands grew clammy and her heart raced at the thought of stepping outside of the limo into all that chaos.

This of course didn't go un-noticed by Alexander as his jaw clenched at the fear in her eyes, God did he wanna hold her and wipe that look away from her face.

"Alright, we have to get out now, don't wanna be holding up other cars" Richard said as if it mattered to the owner of three states, he could do whatever the fuck he wanted in reality.

Richard's guard and Alexander were the first ones to step out of the Limo as they pushed the paps away towards the other guards before turning around to get the Gambino's safely out. Richard stepped out of the car with grace, but Isla kept sitting. Alexander turned and looked towards her and held his hand out for her, however, she only looked outside warily at the crowd and then at Alexander, her eyes shone with nervousness, Alexander gave her a slight nod of reassurance, a promise of getting her safely inside which gave her a tad bit courage to put her own dainty hand in his rough callused one.

He held her hand in a firm grip as he helped her out of the Limo closing the door and she stood right beside him, gripping his hand.

As soon as she was out there an uproar amongst the paparazzi as there were questions being shouted and camera flashes clicking pictures almost blinding her in the process all the while the guards were holding the paps back, but it seemed there were a lot more paps than guards proving it difficult to contain them.

Without a word Alexander pulled her flush against his back, holding one of her hands with an arm behind him. She stuck close to him as they pushed through the crowds, her hot breath hitting his back making gulp at the incredible chills it sent down her spine which he ignored or at least tried to.

Once they were safely inside the plaza Isla was still clinging to his back making Richard raise a brow towards the two of them.

As much as Alexander wanted her to stay like that, close to him, he cleared his throat in order to get her attention. It was creating an awkward situation with her dad present there.

She peeked from behind him and her face heated as she saw Richard looking at her with a questioning look and she stepped away from Alexander.

"Come on Isla, I am going to introduce you to some people, now darling if they ask for a dance do them the courtesy of saying yes, it's only a dance no harm done, and it will reflect positively on our image as well as relationship with other allies. I need all the guards to make themselves scarce not too close but not too far either, anything can go down during an event as grand as this" Richard instructed. He saw a pout on Isla's face at his instructions, she wasn't keen on interactions, but she had to do it, Richard places a short kiss to her hairline in order it make the situation tad bit better.

Alexander along with the other guards scattered around the humongous plaza, taking positions and guarding from afar.

After an hour or so the auction had been done and over with, people bidding tremendously large sums for useless stuff such as old urns and mirrors, but it was all for goodwill in the end it was worth it.

Now they were all interacting, dancing, and enjoying the food, Alexander's eyes never leaving Isla. She looked nervous and fidgety meeting all these people and already three young men had danced with her, all the while her posture was rigid and she looked uncomfortable which didn't settle well with Alexander, but he couldn't do anything about it.

Isla had occasionally been glancing in the direction where Alexander stood watching over her only to see him looking right back at her making her shy away. Isla had gotten various compliments from various guests as her father introduced her proudly, however, her feet did ache from all the dancing, and at this point, she missed the comfort of her bedroom and silk nightgown.

She was heading towards a table where she had spotted delicious-looking chocolate delicacies calling out to her, but she halted mid-step as all of a sudden, the lights of the huge plaza went out and it was pitch dark.

The next thing that came was nightmarish chaos as the foul noise of gunshots rang through the dark hall.