CHAPTER FORTY THREE
A groan left my lips as the hammering headache woke me from sleep. Slowly the sight in front of me clears, and I can see the same room I fainted in. I tried to move my hands, but they were still bound together with black ropes. If I moved it even slightly, it would graze my wrists. I was in nowhere. I was sitting in a corner on a dirty mattress with no one else in the room.
All my energy was gone after yelling for help and thoughts about Arcadio coming to save me. My migraine was taking over me, and I had no hope left. Even though I hated being a damsel in distress, situations like this forcefully make you realize you are a woman.
Tears dried up on my cheek and left the strength to cry further. Instead, I looked around the room. Sitting here was no good. If I have to save myself, I need to stop waiting.
I could hear the loud men's voices coming from outside. The television is overpowering their voices, making me more agitated. I moved my leg around, which were not bound. I could make a dash for it! As the voices grew louder, the number of men sitting outside came to her mind. I move my keens closer to my chest. Maybe not!
I need to do something because every time I sit idle mind goes to my helplessness and Arcadio. Who might not be looking for me? Maybe he must have forgotten about me. How long would a Mafia boss pine for you? Especially when he has so many girls wanting to be in those arms.
To make matters worst, the nightmares of the past have started to haunt me again. It's so strange. I didn't have such dreams before or even after the incident. Maybe it was because after the incident did happen, I had always been with Arcadio, whose scent and warmth made me forget about my problems.
But now it was a disaster as every time I closed my eyes, the man's face appeared continuously, haunting me. His voice breathing down my neck from behind, and where he touched me burned my skin, keeping me up all night. The horrified look on his face when I killed him, breathing his last breath, mirages through this empty room. I could still feel his ghost chasing me in my sleep and reality.
"Where are you....?" As soon as the words leave my lips with a plea, the thumping sound makes me scramble to a corner. The noises from the other side of the door make me pushed to a side. Oh God, is Arcadio here, or is this lightning before the storm?
Suddenly the gunshots were fired from the other side of the door. I pushed myself more into the wall. Fear was infiltrating my head as the gunshots fired, and the yelling of men sounded closer than before.
With a thrash sound, the door opens, and the man who was supposed to watch over me rushes in. "Get up you!" He orders while moving towards me. He was holding a gun in one hand. His face looked bruised. There was blood on his shirt. Whose blood was it?
There was a loud commotion still ongoing outside. I moan as his hand across my elbow and drags me up on my feet. He ignored my groans and dragged me to the door. Out of nowhere, someone kicked the prisoner guard, making us both fall. A gunshot came next. My ears ring from the impact, and I hide my head between my elbows.
"Get up," the voice forces me to look up. Seeing a familiar face relaxes me a little but scares me similarly.
I turn my head slightly to see the man. Who was forcing me to rush out was now laid down flat with blood gushing from his body, draining him. Maybe this was going to be my fate as well.
"No!?"
Third Person's POV
"You Morons! I gave you all one task to complete, yet you screwed up this too!" The men who stood in the center camera room flinched at Arcadio's tone.
After the whole incident, when everything quieted down. It took Arcadio a few seconds to realize that something was gone or someone was missing. Before, he never cared about anyone. Now that someone has become such a valuable possession for him that even if her scent is away from Arcadio, he could turn into a madman. Similar to how he was behaving now.
No one knew when his possession disappeared from in front of him, especially among such qualified and skilled men, who suddenly became incompetent in his eyes when they informed him that the other men took her away.
That was the sole reason he was standing in this tiny camera room, scrutinizing every section of footage they had, to get a glimpse of the evidence that could help him search his possession.
The attack on them might've looked so sudden, but because of one of his men's death, it urged many unwanted scary questions into his mind. Someone close to him had to be involved in this. Otherwise, how would anyone go after the one thing he showed everyone he had no interest in?
"Arcadio, you need to calm down." Roger interrupts.
Arcadio throws a glare at him. "Calm down?! Do you want me to f**king calm down when she is out there? God knows under which condition she is. Do you not know what happens to the women of this country? Did you not see or hear the news these days?" If Roger hadn't been his brother, he would probably be in the same condition as his men.
His body shivers at the chaotic thoughts running up in his head. He remembered the news about the women's mistreatment while staying with Ellie's Dad. Women getting kidnapped in mid-day light or little girls getting r**ed. Men of this country had no norms or decrees, which felt more disgusting. It was the sole reason he had forced himself to become the Mafia leader in his Association so that no one should have the same fear he was having right now.
When he was getting pushed back down from his motive, one person came into his life and shoved him into reality. Even though she was annoying to him at first, her habit of pushing his buttons later thrilled him. Sometimes, he knowingly poked her to rile her up. All because he started to like the banter between them.
However, when things became more than a banter between them, even his sharp mind didn't get a clue. Ellie's presence at starting, used to infuriate him and especially when she interrupted him. If anyone else were there instead of her, he would've killed them by now.
Now that one person needed his help, he felt helpless. But he was not ready to give up on her now. All because he was not willing to feel loneliness once again.
"Arcadio!" Julien shouts from in front of the computer.
"What happened?"
"I ran the number plates with Kunal here, and he has found a match." Arcadio had done a great job of calling in his reinforces when he landed here. He had been working with a few business CEOs for a while, and Arcadio had never thought he would meet them in such conditions.
"Don't you think the match would be a fail? If I was to kidnap someone, why would I keep a number plate that authorities can track easily? I had thought the Italian Mafia was smart" Arcadio gritted his teeth at the man who stood at the door.
When he realized what they took away from him, calling anyone else was not a priority. He dialed the only person he knew he could rely on blindly. He was also the one who informed him about the sleazy bast*rd ex of Ellie. Who was taken to the hospital because he was not ready to face Ellie's anger again?
"If you haven't gotten any good news, turn your f**king back and go to hell." Arcadio can't deal with someone like him now.
"Fine! You don't want me to tell you where they have taken your precious I'll leave."
Reyansh Malhotra is not a common name in India. The well-known billionaire owns a large amount of real estate land and is one of the higher shareholders in many multinational companies. According to himself, he doesn't like getting his hands dirty because if you have the money, you can get people to do them. He is also known for keeping his bachelor title the longest because of his cold, expressionless face and any interest in women who throw themselves at him, and his never being in the media for his love affairs.
If Reyansh's father never took him to New York for a so-called convention which turned out to be a secret association meeting when he had just joined his Dad's company, the two wouldn't have met. He might be a pain in the ass for Arcadio a few times, but other times he has proven his worth.
Arcadio abruptly unlocks the safety of his gun and raises at his friend's forehead. "Don't play games with me right now, Rey" The whole room goes quiet, and no one thinks of stepping in between them. The atmosphere becomes tense.
The man with a gun pointed at him chuckled, making the whole room frown at the scene. Few started comparing him with the mad hatter. But Reyansh Malhotra casually mocked smilingly, "She did a number on you, huh?"
Acradio shifted the gun down. He groaned and punched the glass table leaving it in pieces. "I want.....I need to find her!"
"Then what are you waiting for," Reyansh replied. "I may not be a mafia, but with the right price, you can get the right answers."
Without thinking anything else, Arcadio moved out of the room, followed by everyone else.