Prologue
"You can't stop being afraid just by pretending everything that scares you isn't there."
-Michael Marshall-
***
Phoebe's P.O.V
My eyes slowly flutter open, and I realize that what happened last night was actually real, and the fact that I was kidnapped to another country is also real. I can't believe that everything truly happened, it was like a nightmare.
And now I'm here, it's no longer dark for the small window right above me is shining in some light signaling that it's morning now.
Not long after I wake up, the door in the room opens, and a man enters the room. It's the same blonde man with gray eyes that brought me to this very place last night, the one who seems to be the leader of them all.
He enters with a bowl on his hand and a glass of water, and he has a cold expressionless face on. Gosh, I hate this man already.
He puts the meal in front of the cell, and push them in through the bottom part. I look at it and realize it's a bowl of plain oatmeal and a glass of water.
"Eat up, we're still thinking of what we should do with you." He says that but I remain silence.
He doesn't seem to care but I realize he is staring at me, from the bottom to the top, which makes me feel uncomfortable, so I decide to move back a little.
He doesn't say anything else, and I can hear him standing up, and when he's about to leave the room, I say in a slow tone.
"You bastards!"
He seems to hear it and turns back toward me and he slowly approaches me again, this time, he opens the cell door and comes in.
"What did you say?"
"You are a pathetic bastard." I say slowly, because I don't even have the energy to shout due to the shock factor last night.
His eyes widen in anger and I know that I just made a mistake. This man is several times bigger than me, and I just angered him.
He raises his hand and he's about to slap me. I shut my eyes and flinch in fear, preparing myself for the slap, but nothing happens.
So I open my eyes to see him punching the wall beside me which makes me flinch.
"Goddamit!" He shouts and gives me a meaningful look before storming out from the cell, and he quickly locks it again. He has an annoyed expression on his face, and he immediately goes out from the room with a loud banging sound.
Gosh, what is wrong with that man?
Now, what am I supposed to do here?
***
"I am someone who has a cold heart. If I am beside a great grief, I throw barriers up so the loss cannot go too deep or too far. There is a wall instantly in place, and it will not fall."
-Michael Ondaatje-
Edgar's P.O.V
I look at the dying man in front of me. This man just got caught in the bar earlier as I dragged him out this this silent corner on the street, where no one would even hear him scream and no one would come for him.
How pathetic!
Is this really the man who stole thirty thousand dollars from my men during the trip? Don't kidding me, he is too weak for goodness sake.
For me to deal with this little rat on my own, should be a honor to him, because he will at least experience what it's like facing a mafia boss.
Well, I guess I better be quick so I waste no more time here.
He is begging me for sparing his life right now, blood is coming out from his nose and his mouth, I beat the crap out of him already and his life is on the edge of a cliff right now.
"You deserve this, you damn bastard!" I punch him again in the face. No way I'm going to let this little thief live another day, he should have known better before stealing things from me, The great Edgar Romanov.
"Please... I'm begging you, let me live, I will return your money, just please."
I give him a cold stare. I don't even have any sympathy for this dying man right here. All my mind can think off right now is to finish him off.
"I'll spare you no more pain." I say as I take out my gun and finish him off. With a sound of gunshot, this man is now dead.
I throw him off from my hand and soon after, one of my man and fourth in command, Matvey, comes along with the car. He signals me to enter the car as soon as possible, and without thinking anymore I enter the car and closes the door.
"Well, Ed, you seemed to have a lot of fun there." He chuckles as he drives to the house.
"Shut up, Matvey, or I'll shut it for you." I threaten only to get a grin from him. This man is kind of annoying, if he wasn't one of my best buddy, I would probably have gotten rid of him by now.
"No need to be so harsh on me now."
Harsh?
Well, I am indeed harsh. I have no feelings, or manners, and I really shouldn't have.
Feelings are for weaklings. Feelings are what made my mom took her own life, and got my dad's head shot by his own enemy.
I prefer to live on my own way, with this cold heart of mine. I don't need to live and abide by the law. I make my own rules, and being heartless is what keeps me alive.
***
Soon enough we arrive at the mansion. This all white themed mansion is what I consider my place to return. A mansion is a large sized mansion completed with swimming pool, its own gym area, and decent sized sport field is where I and my men live in, well, most of my men, because I couldn't have all of them here, it's too risky and may attract too much attention.
After all, making trades, doing some 'business' and getting rid of the wealthy enemies have caused me to have my own empire. And this mansion is the result of my hard work for over the years, and I'm proud of it.
We enter the mansion where some men are guarding the outside, and we walk into the living room where my three other men are at.
These men aren't like the other men because they are my second, third, and fifth in command, because they have proved themselves and their loyalty to me. And that makes five of us, in commands.
"Any new stuff?" I ask them shortly, because I need to take a shower as soon as possible to get rid of that rat's blood that may have gotten into me.
"Wow, you're all bloody, Ed." Viktor, the man who is fifth in command, speaks up, and one of my buddy, speaks up.
"Yeah, because none of you actually wanted to get rid of the rat." I murmur sarcastically.
"Well, sorry about that, but we just hate doing the little job, you know, I mean, that guy is no challenge."
"Whatever." I reply as I walk past them to my room. I close the door and headed to the shower.
But before that, I take off my clothes and throw them to my glass trash bin, and then lit some fire and burn those clothes. Who cares if they are designer brand? I can't wear them anymore.
Well, I need to get someone to dispose it later.
I get to the shower and begin turning it on to the coldest setting that I can have. I don't take warm shower, never. I like the cold, because it's what suits me best, and I think, the more I engage myself in the cold, the more I feel alive and I feel a lot cleaner, even though I've got blood in my hand and I'm filthy inside.
After I'm done showering, I get out and wrap some towel on my lower area and get dressed.
Today was such a boring day, I need something more fun and challenging to do. Something that makes me feel powerful and strong.
Just then, I hear a knock on my door and I shout for them to come in.
And the door open, revealing Ivan, my third in command, and he steps in the room casually, as he holds some kind of letter on his hand.
"What is it?" I ask him in a low tone, not even bother to look at him.
"We've got an invitation, from a French man, he seems to have an interesting job for us."
He throws the letter to my bed, and I take a look at it, it's a party invitation.
"We're mafias, not some sort of company."
I tell him as I throw the letter back and it lands on the floor.
"Well, you may want to hear more, after all this man seems to have a lot of money prepared to us."
Well... that sounds quite interesting.
"How much?"
He mentions a pretty high number, not the best, but more than enough, which gains my interest in a second.
"Well, I think it's decided."
He gives me a meaningful smirk.
"We're going to France."