Chapter 7

• Once the doors open, I don’t have enough time to prepare for whatever we have to face before the bullets start flying.
• “Get back!” Stefano shouts, pushing me back inside, quickly pressing the buttons of the elevator to close. “We have to find another way out of here!”
• “This is the only way out of here.”
• “You think I don’t know that” Stefano says, annoyed with me for stating the obvious, I decide to shut my mouth.
• “We need to make them think we are no longer in the elevator. We are going to stand by the side, make sure when the doors open; we can’t be seen. They will most likely shoot once the elevator doors open and won’t care to make sure if we are standing there or not. When they reload, that’s our opportunity to shoot them down. Do you understand?”
• “Yes, I do,” I say, walking to the left side of the elevator. They won’t be able to see me once you open the door. They can only see me if they poke their head inside.
• “Now on my count, three, two, one,” Stefano says, pressing the button for the elevator doors to open.
• Before the doors fully open, bullets are fired into the elevator. The second the firing stops, I do not wait to be told twice to know what to do next. I quickly come out of hiding with Stefano beside me and shot anyone I see. I shoot almost all of them down, but I run out of bullets. I am reloading my gun, when I feel someone choking me. I use my elbow to hit him in the ribs, this frees his hold around my neck, I quickly turn around and hit him in the face with my fist while also lifting my leg to kick him in the head. He stumbles backwards a little and tries to advance at me but is shot in the head from behind me. I turn around to see Stefano with a gun pointed in my direction. He is the one who shot the guy. I look around to make sure we got all of them.
• “I think that is all of them,” I say to Stefano, as he walks up beside me.
• “We need to keep moving, more might be coming anytime soon,” Stefano says, walking forward but stops in his tracks.
• “What’s wro…” I don’t get to finish talking when Stefano uses his hands to cover my mouth and signals for me to be quiet.
• I look ahead of him and realize there are more guys with guns waiting ahead of us and standing in front of the stairway, which is our only way of getting out of here. Stefano walks back to the guys we shot earlier and searches their bodies, looking for something that can help us out of here. He retrieves a grenade from one of their pockets. Whoever is trying to hurt either one of us meant business. Stefano walks back to where we hid throwing the grenade at the guys in front of the stairway. I close my eyes and wait for it to go off, but it’s bullet shots I hear.
• “What happened?” I ask Stefano, shocked that the building is still intact, but there are four men on the ground.
• “I used the grenade to distract them, did you really think I would bomb my own building?” he says, walking towards the stairs.
• “I should have known better,” I say, following closely behind him.
• We arrive on the ground floor with no complications but meet ten more guys with guns walking around the lobby. Luckily for us, they are not at the front desk, accessible to Stefano and me.
• The front desk is big enough to shield us while we try to shoot our way out of here. We slowly walk towards it while making sure to be as quiet as possible but that goes right out the window.
• “Watch out!” Stefano shouts, dragging me under the front desk as a bullet barely misses my arm.
• Bullets are fired at the front desk while Stefano and I try our best to shoot back. Once all ten of them are down, we quickly step out from under the front desk and run to the door, more bullets are fired our way as we make a run for our lives.
• “Which one is your car?” I ask running into the parking lot.
• “That one,” Stefano says, unlocking a Mercedes AMG GT63.
• We quickly run towards the car and get in. Stefano doesn’t waste any time to roar the car to life, driving out of the parking lot.
• “Are they following us?” Stefano asks, keeping his eyes on the road, driving at a speed that could kill both of us.
• “No, they are not,” I say checking behind us.
• Stefano doesn’t reduce speed and only comes to a stop once we arrive at an underground parking lot. He parks the car and quickly steps out and walks towards an elevator. I follow suit wondering where we are. I want to ask him but as soon as we arrived, he got on the phone. The elevator takes us to the 30th floor coming to a stop. We step into an apartment I am guessing is his. The apartment is beautiful, I must say. The city lights can be seen through the glass windows. I walk towards the living room which is beautifully designed as well. I take a seat on a grey sofa in front of the white marble center table that helps brighten the walls of the room that are painted all black. To my right is the kitchen and a stairway which Stefano used to go upstairs, leaving me here. I wonder why he brought us to his apartment, then again, where else could we go?
• I decide to call my dad and ask him if he has an idea who might have attacked us tonight. I explain to him everything that happened, unfortunately, he can’t think of any of his enemies that would attack me while I am in California.
• Stefano comes back downstairs after a while. He walks over to the bar and pours himself a drink I walk over to him to let him know I should be on my way to my hotel.
• “I should get going, it is getting late.”
• “Where are you going too?”
• “My hotel.”
• “I think it’s best you spend a few days here.”
• “Why?”
• “For now, we do not know for certain who the attack was for and I have a strong security system that can keep both of us safe.”
• “You are right, but I already spoke to my dad on the phone and he says the attack is most likely not for me.”
• “I still insist you stay for your own safety.”
• “I don’t think it will be necessary.”
• “I insist,” Stefano says. He is bent on making me stay, which is unlike him.
• “Why do you suddenly care about my safety?” I ask, a bit surprised he is interested in me being safe.
• “I do not care, but Aurora asked me to make sure nothing happens to you and your family.”
• “Oh,” I say, feeling a little hurt he doesn’t care about my safety.
• “Your room is the first door on the right and downstairs. If you aren’t dying, don’t disturb me. I will be upstairs sleeping.” He says walking away before I can utter another word.
• I walk to the room given to me for the night, a pair of pajamas are on the bed. Stefano was already prepared for me to spend the night. I walk to the bathroom and take a nice hot shower before changing into the pajamas, which fit surprisingly well.
• The following day I wake up early and have breakfast that was made by Stefano’s lovely maid Maria. I am walking around the apartment, and I am bored but my father feels I should stay indoors for a few days to be safe. While walking to the gym, I hear a few voices and I decide to see who is there. I walk inside to find Stefano working out looking sexier than ever. His muscles flex every time he lifts the weight. His body is dripping with sweat making those abs of his shine under the sunlight.
• “Close your mouth, the whole world doesn’t need to know you are attracted to me.” Stefano says.
• I didn’t know my mouth was open until he said so, I quickly close my mouth, and try to act like I am not embarrassed by what he just said. I sometimes wonder how someone so attractive has the character of a beast.
• “What do you want?” He asks, walking up to me. My eyes don’t leave his body, it looks more ravishing the closer he gets.
• “Nothing” I say, not taking my eyes off his body, imagining my hands all over those abs of his.
• “Goodbye then,” he says, walking past me out the door.
• It takes me a good second to come back from dreamland before following suit and walk out of the room.