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Aryana
I couldn’t believe I had slept with a mafia family heir. This had to take the cake out of all the absurd things I had done. Who would have thought that a random person I would meet in a club and sleep with would be part of a crime syndicate? What would my father say if he knew? I covered my face with my palms and rested my head against the headrest of the backseat.
I snuck a glance at Alexander. We sat at the extreme ends in the back of the car, leaving a large space in the middle. Since we entered the car and set off, we hadn’t exchanged a single word. I didn’t know what to say to him. I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to talk to him. So far, Alexander had done nothing but look outside the car window. I didn’t know if he was truly admiring the scenery or was lost in his thoughts.
Ever since he entered the car, his body seemed to carry a melancholic aura. I wasn’t exactly sure of the facts, but from what I had seen and heard, he wasn’t happy to leave his father in whatever war they were in.
I wandered to the rearview mirror and saw the cars following us. I sighed internally. Our car was sandwiched between several inconspicuous vehicles as a safety measure. Even our car looked ordinary to blend in with other vehicles.
“Do you know where we’re going?” I ended up asking to fill the awkward silence.
I ignored how the two people in the front seats used the mirror to look at me.
“No,” Alexander answered without looking at me.
I scoffed. “You seriously don’t know where we’re going?” I found that unbelievable.
“Isn’t your father the leader of your…gang?” I pointed out, not knowing what to call them.
I heard the man in the passenger seat snort, but I ignored him. I didn’t know who he and the person driving were. All I knew was that they appeared to have a close relationship with Alexander.
“Do not call us a gang. That is insulting.” Alexander briefly looked at me before returning his eyes to the window.
“Then what should I call you guys?”
“We are a family, and my father is the head of our family.” He answered in a monotonous tone.
His voice sounded nice, with his mild Italian accent accentuating its deepness, especially with how silent it was in the car. Still, it didn’t distract me from noticing that Alexander was also completely clueless about where we were going.
At first, I wanted to panic. What if they killed me and then dumped my body in a ditch? Then I realized how ridiculous that was. They had clarified how much they valued the child growing in my womb. They would do it after the child was born if they wanted to eliminate me. Knowing Alexander had no idea where we were going made me feel at peace and, at the same time, perplexed.
“How can you not know where we’re going?” I asked in an incredulous tone. I must have said something wrong cause I saw his jaws clenched tightly.
He opened his mouth to retort, but the car suddenly swerved to the side before a word could exit. Alexander and I would have flown from our seats if not for our seatbelts.
“What happened?” I asked.
“What is going on?” Alexander demanded, leaning between the two front seats.
“A car just tried to ram into us.” The driver responded.
I was a little pissed that I had been ignored, but the car swerved again. Alexander twisted to look behind us, and his dark expression revealed that the situation was not good. It didn’t take long for me to turn around to see what was happening when gunshots could be heard.
“Lower your head!” My head was suddenly pushed down to my knees by Alexander.
Just then, the rear windshield exploded, shards peppering the interior leather. I screamed, frightened for my life. Sweat beaded down my forehead as I tried to control my shaking hands. My heart thudded in my chest, and blood pounded in my ears. It was hard to breathe as if a vice was gripping me. One minute I was all hot and sweaty, and the other felt like I would freeze. I could feel the tears rolling down my cheek. My mind was unable to grasp what was happening around me fully.
I could distantly hear the other three car occupants shouting in Italian and more gunshots. My ears vaguely processed the screams from outside and the sounds of squealing tires. Alexander’s hand was still pressing my head down, but even that was not enough to block my nose from catching a whiff of sulfur and burning tires.
I felt like I was either going to be sick or pass out. My vision was dark as I had kept my eyes closed, and I had no intention of opening them anytime soon.
“Aryana! You need to calm down!” Alexander’s voice pushed through the dark fog plaguing my mind and gradually brought me back to the land of awareness. There was a harsh breathing noise that sounded out of place. Only after a few seconds did I realize that the dissonant noise was coming from me.
Fully aware of my state, it became more difficult to pull myself together. I could feel my body being pulled into broad arms and a hand stroking my back soothingly.
“Take deep breaths, Aryana. Follow my breathing….”
He placed my hand on his chest where his heart was located, and I focused on following his instructions. I inhaled on one and exhaled on three, allowing Alexander’s smooth voice to calm the frenzy in my head.
