Taken By The Mafia Lord

She compared Elijah to an eagle; powerful, fast, mysterious and most of all, free! That was all she wanted to be, free from the bondage of the Mafia, especially from Marcel.

And for a moment when Arianna left the base, she thought she finally had that freedom. Her only problem afterward was how to dump Marcel and that she accomplished as well only to be burdened with a secret that gnawed at her chest. Her mother’s existence.

But the emotional bondage was not all, running away was not as fun as it seems. Whosoever was on the run, was not free as she thought because you’re in the bondage of being discovered. Freedom was far away from Arianna than she thought.

Arianna couldn’t relax while on the run and kept looking over her shoulder in case she was being followed. Before she left her neighborhood, she had changed into new clothes she had stolen from the wires of neighbors, and one of them involved a hood which she used to cover her face.

Arianna was tempted to go down to Mimi’s place and check up on her, see if she was doing fine – and if Marcel laid a hand on her. But her instinct told her that was as good as delivering herself right into Marcel’s hands. So she gave up on the idea.

The fastest way to track her down would be on camera, and Marcel had the resources for that. So Arianna made sure to never look straight at one, walking past anyone with her head lowered or avoiding them altogether.

Arianna wore a blonde wig with aviator glasses that swallowed up every bit of her face the hood had left open. She was not leaving the city tonight, which meant she had to look for a place to spend the night.

She was not going to spend her night in the streets or motels, Marcel would expect her at those lowly places which were convenient for hiding. But such places featured whistleblowers and people with questionable characters – she wouldn’t even sleep with her eyes closed there.

.....

Arianna didn’t know who was who or how much Marcel’s influence ran here, that was why she had to get off the street. And ended up in a hotel with his money.

Of course, she can’t run on an empty stomach, so during the hostage situation, Arianna demanded his wallet and as she expected, it was filled to the brim with cash – they all were of large denominations.

Marcel was a meticulous person and that meant keeping enough cash in his wallet in case of emergencies. Thankfully, his idea of emergency became useful to her.

So even when Arianna checked in at the counter, her attention was not on the reception but rather on the camera positions, the number of exits, and suspicious behaviors.

Although it was not a suite, Arianna chose an expensive room that allowed for good security. The common rooms were easier to break into and lacked the comfort and style Arianna desired because she would be here for a while.

The chase was hot and she had no doubt Marcel would be pulling all his resources to find her tonight. Arianna only prayed she had covered her track well. According to her plans, she would hide out here for a week and when Marcel’s given up on the idea of her being in the city, she would sneak out to the next city where it would be easier to leave the country.

Arianna just prayed no harm came to Mimi – she cared little for her uncle’s family. She heard what Marcel was capable of, may he not transfer that cruelty to her friend who had nothing to do with this.

Mimi would surely hate her now. They promised to never hide any secret between them and yet she never told her about this till it escalated to this extent. Not that she had any choice, anyway.

When inside, Arianna went to the shower to take her bath. She did not carry much, just a small backpack where she put the other clothes she had stolen and a few snacks she bought on the way.

She didn’t need room service because they could be working with Marcel or anyone related to him. Whatever she wanted, she would get it herself. This was her one shot at freedom, she can’t mess it up.

Done with her shower, Arianna put on the same cloth notwithstanding the discomfort -it smelled of her sweat. Her clothes were limited and as much as she could wash the current ones and while waiting for them to dry, wear the bathrobe. Arianna couldn’t risk it.

Arianna had a reason for traveling light, she had to be ready every step of the way, and wearing that bathrobe would only be a hindrance to her progress. What if Marcel manages to find her here, she wouldn’t be able to run far in the bathrobe.

So she sat on the bed, leaning against the headboard. Her gun was tucked in her grip, facing the entrance. Tonight, Arianna would sleep with one eye closed and the other opened.

However, exhaustion crawled in and Arianna didn’t even know when she fell asleep which was not surprising after the stress of the day.

But that comfortable sleep didn’t last for long because Arianna jerked up in the middle of the night after she felt a ripple in the atmosphere and the light was off. She didn’t turn the light off.

“Damn it!” Arianna cursed, trying to reach for her gun that she was sure was in front of her only to come up empty. Her heart skipped a beat, this can’t be good.

Before she could get out of the bed, the light came on, blinding her momentarily before a figure appeared out of the shadows, waving the gun she was looking for, “Looking for this?”

Oh, God.

He found her.