Claimed by the ruthless Mafia king

Zack's mansion

[Emma]

“Move away from him.” He commanded in a deadly voice with his gun still pointing at me.

“Move away, Emma. Please.” My father added. His voice was even, and strangely did not seem like he was in pain.

“You didn't have to shoot him,“ I said, close to tears while I took a few steps away from my dad.

“I didn't.” The leader of the group shot back in a mechanical voice.

My neck snapped as I turned quickly towards my dad who was on his feet now. I swept his entire body with a single glance, and realized that there was no sign of injury in his body even though I could bet that I had seen blood a little while ago. Or was I seeing things?

“I'm fine,“ my dad mumbled. I hated how helplessly he looked right now.

Then I saw my father's car, with the door at the driver's seat wide open, the front tyre was inflated, giving the car a slumped looked. The leader of the group had shot at the tyre, not my dad.

A few more shots went out in the next second. Next to the deafening sound of the gunshots, and the smell of smoke, was a loud hissing sound as air escaped from the other three tyres of my father's car.

“Let's go.” The leader commanded, but he did not move. One of the other men walked towards me, and grabbed me roughly by the arm. My father charged towards him, with his fist raised, but stopped at the sound of a metallic snap.

“Don't even think about it.” The leader said. His gun was pointed to my father now while the other monster headed for the car, pulling me roughly along.

I got into the black SUV which the men had driven into the compound while the other men got into position on both my sides, leaving me in their middle, totally compressed.

The leader of the group sat in the driver's seat after a few seconds, and without a single word, he started the car.

From the window, I saw my father staring helplessly at the car as it headed towards the gate. He had moved from his initial position, and wouldn't stop looking sorrowfully at the moving car.

I looked away when I felt a painful nudge by my ribs. My eyes caught one of the men by my side, the same man who had nudged me. He was grinning.

The SUV nosed its way out of the compound, and hit the road with a breakneck speed.

“f**k!” The man behind the wheel cursed, glancing at his wristwatch. “We wasted too much time. Just hope it doesn't cost our lives.“ He added, but none of the others said anything to him.

Our eyes met in the rearview mirror, and for a brief second, I was sure he had looked at me with sympathy. But then he spoke.

“I can't for the life of me imagine what my boss would want from you, or your likes.” He let out a laugh, a dry sound that came out as a snort after which he focused on the road for a few seconds, and then returned his gaze to the rearview mirror to look at me.

“You'll be dead before you'll figure it out.” He added, and snorted some more while I kept still on my seat, and tried to hide my terror.

Silence filled the car afterwards, but our eyes met from time to time in the rearview mirror. I couldn't decide on where to place him in my heart. I had thought of him as soft hearted and a saviour but now I wasn't so sure about that anymore.

Maybe he's just like the others, heartless, cold, and a bloody monster.

************

The SUV slowed down in front of a gigantic black gate, and honked. The gate pulled open at once as though the honk was the code to getting the gate open.

My chest tightened at the thought that we had gotten to our destination, and in no time, I would stand in front of the monster whom I have heard many terrible stories about.

I wished something would happen to prevent us from going in, but I quickly shook off the thought when I remembered that I could easily be carried inside. Maybe I should have prayed for an accident earlier, one that would make it impossible to continue the journey. But the thought of pain, and the bitter taste that I felt in my mouth made me to instantly wished against it.

Besides, Zack would find us, or worse still, I may not survive the accident. I couldn't imagine my father getting to the accident scene before Zack would, with all four tyres deflated, his car was good as useless.

“Are you deaf?” The words came out quickly and harshly, cutting off my stream of thoughts, and forcing me to focus on the present.

The SUV had pulled up in front of a white building, and all three men were out. The man who had driven the car was holding the door, and staring down at me with irritation.

I got his message, and quickly climbed out of the car. I resisted the urge to place my trembling hand on my tightened chest. I couldn't get my mind off the thought that I would be seeing him really soon.

The building wasn't big or large. It was simply titanic with so many armed men guarding it. Maybe I'll be made to clean every part of the building everyday until he thinks my father's debt has been completely paid. Or maybe…

“You were faster than you should,” the gentleness of the voice forced me to look up at the direction it had sounded from.

Zack stood in the verandah, staring daggers at his men so that I wondered if it was truly him that had spoken. He didn't pay me any attention, and I wasn't sure whether or not to be relieved.

If anyone thought of him as scary in CCTV footages, and in photos, then they should see him now, dressed casually in a black singlet and an ash coloured joggers with the tattoos on his face, arms and chest on full display. His expression which was ever serious on camera was just as serious now, and he still wasn't looking at me.

“We met her father, and–” The man who drove the car started to say but stopped immediately Zack held out his hand.

“Lead her inside.” He said after casting me a quick glance. I saw him grimace like the very sight of me irritated him. But one of the men went back to the car, and returned with the box containing my things–my mother's things.

“What is that?” Zack asked, eyeing both the box, and the man holding it.

“Her–her things.” He stuttered while Zack's grimace deepened.

He pushed himself off the Pillar he was now resting on, and faced the entrance.

“Burn it.” He ordered without looking at any of us.

“You can’—” I started to say, moving forward but stopped when the men beside me reached for my arm and mouth at the same time, and covered it with their palms.

Those were my mother's things, and the only thing I had in her memory but Zack did not stop moving away, and so did the man holding the box.

I watched him with eyes that had begun to sting as he moved towards the back of the mansion, to burn the only memory I had of my mother.