14 Days With The Mafia Lord

~ A Mother's Dilemma ~

ELAINE

When I could finally pry my eyes open, the sun had started its upward journey through the sky.

I was convinced a tiny, angry man with a hammer had been let loose inside my head because that could be the only explanation for why my head was ravaged with pain.

Taking a few deep breaths, I sat up and surveyed my environment. I was on the tiny mattress I owned in my tiny apartment's tiny bedroom.

I rubbed my eyelids to get rid of the sleep in my eyes.

Like a faucet was turned on, the previous night's memories flooded through me in heart-stopping detail.

Walking home from work. Getting ambushed and kidnapped. Being strapped to a chair. That monster and his insane proposal. Not giving him an answer.

I groaned. The pain in my head was starting to have a mind of its own, leaping and roaring unwantedly.

It didn't lessen my shock or confusion at being back in my bed, safe and sound. I thought I wouldn't live past last night but was glad to be wrong.

Was last night some kind of fucked up dream, then?

As if to answer my question, my eyes fell on a white envelope and handkerchief on the rickety, termite-eaten bedside table that served as the only other piece of furniture in my bedroom. The large blood-red "GE" embroidered on the handkerchief confirmed my worst fear.

Last night was no dream. It was all too real.

A shiver ran down my spine, chilling me from the inside out.

Getting up from the bed, I stood in front of the table, staring at the piece of paper, wondering what the hell I was supposed to do next.

If I picked it up, that meant I fully accepted that I was awake. If I didn't, I could remain blissfully ignorant.

Seeing as the latter was a foolish option, I picked up the envelope and opened it. Inside was a small card.

"Till we meet again, la mia donna," was written in clear block letters.

Red exploded in my vision, and rage I never knew was possible filled my entire being.

This was all just a game to him. A way to entertain his dark, heinous soul. A way to pass the time.

Letting out an almost feral growl, I directed my anger toward the only thing I could. The table.

I kicked the stack of old books propped under one mismatched leg to stabilize it, and the whole thing came crashing down in a heap of wood splinters and dust.

I didn't care that it was now a mess I'd have to clean up. I didn't care that the table lamp and novel on top of the table were now homeless on the floor. I didn't care that I would have to cough up some money to replace it.

All I thought was how much I wished it was Giovanni Enrico's lifeless body sprawled at my feet.

But nothing like that happened. As much as I wished otherwise, this was my life now. I was stuck in a nightmarish reality with a sick man who apparently knew where I lived.

I shuddered at the last thought. Fear gripped my heart, and I nearly stopped breathing.

He knew where I lived.

How? I had no idea, but it was alarming.

Looking down at the card in my hand, I found an extra line at the bottom. A postscript I hadn't noticed before.

"PS," it read. "Remember what we talked about, bella. Don't try anything stupid. Do not try to run away, change your address, or do anything equally dumb. I. Will. Find. You. And when I do, you will discover an agony so encompassing it will overshadow the pain of death."