30. Adriana

Chapter thirty

Adriana

My hands are tied to a rope behind me, with a blindfold covering my eyes. Aldo locked me in the spare room in his house last night.

Our conversation hadn't gone as he expected. I had angrily slapped him in the face after he kept his hands on me, sliding up my jeans. I'm lucky he didn't have his men kill me already.

Someone holds my hand as I walk blindly to wherever the hell they are taking me.

"Bring the car!" One of his men yells in my ears.

I'm getting nervous with the blindfold restricting my vision. It's bad enough he has me kidnapped, and now I can't even see where his men are taking me. I grunt as the man behind me pushes me forward.

"Get your fucking hands off me."

He holds my arm and pushes me into a car. The cushioned seat feels cold as I sit on it.

"Where are you taking me?" Even though I can't see, I move my head sideways frantically. I can perceive a sweet smell.

"Can you shut the fuck up for once?"

"You're not the one in cuffs and a damn blindfold."

I hear him grunt just before he hits me in the head. Hard. "That should shut you up."

Fucking bastard.

The car begins to move, and all I can do is sit back with my head rested on the backseat as they take me.

Alessandro, where are you?

I can't tell how long we've been on the road as the car finally comes to a stop.

I'm dragged out of the car by my wrists. They already hurt. The air is cold from the downpour of last night, causing goosebumps on my bare skin.

I've had my jeans and shirt on since the day I killed Father. Aldo's men didn't give me time to take a shower before dragging me out of his house.

The blindfold comes off as we enter a building.

My eyes twitch, trying to adjust to the lights. The place is dusty and filled with dirt on the bare floor.

They push me to the ground and walk out as I fall to my knees, leaving me alone in the building.

"Stop! Don't fucking leave me here!" I scream. My eyes sting from holding back tears. I crawl to the door, hitting it with my legs. "Let me out! Let me out!"

I break down in tears, with no one coming to save me. A hot liquid trickles down my face. The pain is from the spot where the asshole smacked me earlier. It's bleeding.

I give up my screams and fall to the ground. There are several noises coming from outside. The sound of footsteps moving closer to the door catches my attention.

I crawl away from the door to see who is coming in. The door opens up almost immediately, and someone is shoved into the space.

"Beatrice?"

She groans as she falls to the ground. Her face is swollen like she has been beaten up.

Fuck no.

I crawl hurriedly to her side. She's crying, and lying on the ground. Her hair is scattered across her face.

"Beatrice, how did they find you?"

"Adriana?" She stops whimpering as she realizes I'm also stuck here with her. We keep meeting in the most uncomfortable situations.

"Adriana!" She exclaims, raising her head from the ground. Her gloomy face makes a tiny smile when she sees me.

"Thank God you're alive." She pulls herself together and adjusts to sit upright. "I thought they had killed you," she whispers.

Her wrists are equally tied behind her. I shake my head in response. Beatrice's dress is torn in some parts. Her face is stained with dirt.

"I killed Father," I confess in a low tone.

She stares at me in shock. "It was you?"

"Yes."

The door opens again, but it's Aldo's men who walk in this time. Three of them are each carrying a crate in their hands.

They laugh and murmur words inaudibly as they stare at us, walking to the other end of the room.

Beatrice and I remain silent until they exit the building.

"How did they find you?" I ask Beatrice. She has a bleeding cut on the top right-side of her head.

"They killed everyone, Adriana. Even Aaron." She whimpers quietly, fresh tears rolling down her face.

"Oh, mio Dio (my God) ! "

More men enter the warehouse with heavier crates. Two are carrying crates, while the others have boxes. They place the boxes on the steel tables and open them up. Packed nylons of cocaine are taken out of them. The crates seem to be something different. I can't see what it is from where I'm sitting.

"We aren't safe here, Beatrice. We have to find a way to run away. Aldo is one crazy maniac who wants to kill us all," I whisper.

The men are distracted by the conversation they are having, paying no attention to us. They look like they are arguing about something as their voices are raised at each other.

"What should we do?"

I wiggle my wrists to feel the knot. It isn't as tight as I expected it to be. "Help me look for anything sharp to cut myself free."

She nods in response and turns away from me. The room is big, with crates and dusty boxes stuffed at the far end. There are only a few tables that the men are currently using. It gives me very little to work with. Nothing in sight is sharp enough to cut me free.

"Up there," Beatrice says, turning back to me. "That rusty nail." She nods her head in its direction. The nail is standing on a wooden part of the building. It's in the middle of the plank. I'm never reaching it unless I stand on my feet.

"Fuck. Can you see any other?"

"No. It's just that."

I swallow hard, preparing myself for what I'm about to do next.

"Sit here. I'll distract them."

"Are you sure you want to do this? They'll kill you if they find out."

I pull myself to my feet. "Then I won't let them find out."

One of the men turns to look at me as I stand to my feet.

"Sit the fuck down," he growls at me, pointing a gun in my direction. Beatrice gasps, quietly trying to talk me out of it.

"Are you scared of a lady? You stronzo (asshole)!" I'm slowly moving with my back still on the wall.

"I'll fucking shoot you."

"Piero," another says with his hand, pushing the gun of the other down. "Boss says nothing should happen to them," he adds.

"This bitch wants me to teach her a lesson."

The others continue separating the coke packages from the box.

"Stop, dickhead. Boss will have your head if any fucking thing happens to them. Especially that one." He stares at me.

I'm already by the nail and I fall back to the ground. "Yes, listen to your boss, asshole." I laugh.

The other holds his shoulders as he tries to come at me. They switch to speaking Italian with raised voices.

I use the distraction to rub the rope on the head of the nail sticking out. The noise dies down after a heated argument that lasts for only a few minutes.

I muffle my groans as I feel the edge cut my wrist, but I don't stop. The rope is slowly loosening. I look over to Beatrice, who meets my gaze with worried eyes and furrowed brows.

The corners of my lips curve upward as I pull my face into a tiny smile. She watches me closely, then turns her face away the moment one of the men turns to look at us.

I stop moving, letting out calming breaths. He turns back to face the others and I continue cutting the rope, adding a bit more pressure. My eyes meet Beatrice's again.

"You're bleeding," she mouths.

I grunt, nodding my head in response. The rope loosens even more.

"What the fuck is happening there?"

Piero stops arranging the crate and turns, walking in my direction. The rope cuts loose after a few more strikes to the nail, just before he gets to me.

Piero reaches for my arm and tries to pull me up. I take a handful of sand from the ground and throw it in his face as he bends to me.

" Puttana (Bitch)," he yells. He groans louder as I kick him in the groin. His pistol falls from his hand. The others rush towards us. I pick up the gun quickly and point it at Piero.

"I'll fucking shoot him."

They point their guns at me, except one who has his pointed at Beatrice.

Damn it.

"Well, prepare to say goodbye to your sister, too," he threatens.

I exchange glances between Beatrice and the men. Piero is glaring at me with green eyes full of rage.

"One."

The man pulls on the trigger, pointing the gun at Beatrice's head. She's whimpering, staring at him while he's pointing the gun at her.

"Save yourself, Adriana!" Beatrice says.

"Two."

"Okay. Okay! Fuck, stop!"

"No, Adriana!"

"I can't do it, Beatrice. I just can't."

I drop the gun to the ground and raise my hands. One of the men picks up the gun and slaps me in the face with it. My face feels hot from the hit.

"Leave her the fuck alone!"

He slaps me again until I fall to the ground.

"I'm going to teach this cagna (bitch) a fucking lesson to never mess with me," Piero says as I raise my head.

Beatrice is crawling to me, screaming with tears in her eyes.

I'm half deaf, with only the echoes of Beatrice's screams in my head.

I feel hands on my legs, dragging me. The coarseness of the sand, with my body roughly moving on it, makes my skin hurt. I'm bruised by the impact on my body.

I finally get a sense of my surroundings as my head clears. Piero is holding my legs apart. I'm screaming just as Beatrice is.

I try to kick him, but another man holds my neck tight, choking me. I struggle to breathe as I kick my legs at Piero. He is reaching for the button on my jeans.

He's trying to fucking rape me.

Dio Santo (Holy God).

I'm losing my breath as I take a handful of sand to throw into the eyes of the man choking me. He sees me before I can pack the sand in my palm.

"Don't you fucking dare!" He uses his knees to hold my left hand down and let go of my neck. Piero lands another slap on my cheeks.

" Bitch , stop fighting me."

A tear trickles down my face. My head is banging. I'd rather have them kill me than let them fucking rape me.

Beatrice runs towards me and pushes Piero off me. The others run to her and hold her arms. One punching her in the face.

I use my other hand to throw sand in the eyes of the man kneeling on my left arm. He grunts a curse as it flies into his eyes. Piero returns to me with a gun pointed to my head.

"Shoot," I tell him.

Blood seeps out from the corner of my mouth.

"I'll shoot her instead." He points the gun at Beatrice.

We hear a noise from outside, drawing our attention. I can hear the screeching sounds of tires and gunshots.

"Are we expecting anyone?" Piero asks the rest.

"No." The others respond in unison.

Piero bends and pulls me up by my hair. "You're coming with me."

"Fuck you!"

My nose is bleeding as he drags me with him. The rest run to the crates, carrying guns out of them.

Someone's here.

Finally.