Arranged Marriage

Chapter 39

I was dying. At least, I felt like it. My forehead pulsed and something cold and solid was being pressed against my body. An invisible force was holding me down and it felt impossible to move. I could hear flapping like a flag in the wind. Maybe in was plastic. It was the smell that got me the most. The stench of tuna and fish. It made my eyes water, my stomach stir and my jaw slack.

Quiet mattering slowly brought me back to the land of the living. I couldn't work out what they were saying, only a few words. Maestri, Caivano and Drago. None of that made me feel good.

Moving onto my hands, I felt tiny rocks under my palm and the cold of the cement spreading through my limbs. The world began to shake a little before my eyes began to focus. It was plastic that was making the flapping. Shreds of it hung from bars that were connected to posts supporting the building. The fresh sea air mixed with the smell of fish filled my nose and touched my skin, causing me to shiver.

The muttering started to become more clear as well as the male voices.

"I'll bet you a fifty, that Maestri comes in less than five hours," one said, making my whole body freeze.

"Five hours, no way. It will take him more than ten," the other one said.

He sounded younger.

"He still thinks she's at his safe house."

"Look, we're dealing with Patrick Maestri, son of Oscar Maestri. Ringing any bells," the older one told him, "this guy hunts and kills for sport."

That's not the Patrick I know, I wanted to growl at them.

I needed a plan. I needed to find Nickola and get out of here. In front of me was a opened rolling door leading out to the docks. Fishing boats floated out on the marina like they were on clouds.

"Nope, I reckon they'll be dead before he even realized what has happened," the younger one said.

I froze. She couldn't kill us, could she? What the hell was going on? Why were we here?

Looking behind me, I tried to see if I could spot them. Silhouettes moved behind the plastic but couldn't see me.

Where was Nickola?

Where the hell was Paige? Why was she doing this to us? What had we ever done to her?

I had two options. Run and hope I find Patrick before they kill Nickola. Or, find Nickola before they find us. There was no option. None of the boys would leave me so I couldn't leave Nickola.

Moving to my knees, I tried to see if there were any doors that could lead somewhere. I found none.

I made it to my feet, swaying on my legs. My heels. They would be able to hear my heels on the cement. Bending down, I took one off with a shaky grip and placed it carefully on the ground. I repeated my steps with my other shoe, winching at the touch of the cold cement on my feet.

Okay, I breathed, find Nickola, don't get caught.

The flapping plastic gave little cover but it was better than nothing. I tried to avoid them, praying that they wouldn't see me.

"Anyway, do we have a wager?" the older one asked, just as I pocked my head out from the plastic.

My heart skipped a beat when I spotted them, ducking back behind the plastic. Oh God, they were really big. I mean, not Garrick and Antonio big, but definitely could kill me with one punch. Another piece of plastic continued to another beam and another around a corner. The problem was getting from behind this piece of plastic to the other without them seeing me.