Surviving Gangster's Love

First Encounter

It was a normal day. Like any other day, I woke up early and did a little cardio. Austin had been very busy the past few weeks and was skipping breakfast. So, I thought I would put something together for him to take a few bites before he left for work. He was so overworked that he looked haggard. Looking back, I should have sensed something out of place, with Austin being away till late at night, heading out early in the morning and always being on the edge, as if he was scared of something. He would argue with his colleagues over the call and get anxious about every text notification. But I assumed that he was just working on something important. I too get cranky every time the deadline is near and hate my editor's nagging, so I thought he was going through something similar. Plus, we were not that close to prying into each other's lives.

I made pancakes for him and boiled some tea. I remember him coming out of the room with a duffle bag. He was stuffing things into it in a rush. "Sera, I will be outside the city for a while." He was almost stumbling over his things and seemed to be in a panic.

"Maybe take a bite before you leave," I said hesitatingly. It was still awkward to say things like that. It was too domestic. As if we were a real thing.

"Nah, I am fine." He replied, putting on his jacket. Now that I look back, Austin had given me a strange look before stepping out. "If someone comes looking for me, tell them I am gone." I should have taken notice of that statement. I should have been alarmed. But how was I supposed to know that a seemingly normal office worker could get involved with the Mafia and gangsters? It was really fantastic for even a fantasy writer like me. Austin was so normal, so easygoing that I could never imagine him being into some shady business. I knew where he worked. I knew his colleagues. And Katy had introduced us. He was a friend of her friend. I am not the kind to trust anyone randomly, and I always thought I had an eye to judge a character, but I had never been so wrong.

That day, within an hour or so of Austin's leaving, someone was at my door ringing the bell. I was not expecting anyone, so I saw through the peephole of my front door. Four heavily built men in all black were standing outside. I was a bit alarmed, so I did not open the door. I asked them who they were looking for, through the door vent.

"Open the door. We are looking for Austin Clements. We know he is inside." One of them replied in a flat tone. It was so devoid of any temperature that I had my nerves all tied up at that point. I was scared. The first thing that came to my mind was to call Austin, but his phone was unreachable.

"He is not here. He left an hour ago," I replied as I frantically called Austin. I called multiple times to no avail. Next, I decided to call the police.

I was dialling the number when, with a bang, the door flew open, hitting me in the face. My phone fell on the floor with the impact as I staggered back a few steps. I don't know what happened in the next few minutes. When I came to my senses, I was kneeling on the floor with my hands cupping my nose. There was a lot of blood on the floor. I was in so much pain.

"He is not here." One of them said as he walked out of my bedroom.

"When did the bastard make a slip? I was right outside the building the whole night."

"The girl broke her nose. We were not supposed to injure anyone."

"Who told her to act smart? She was calling the cops on us."

They were talking amongst themselves as if I was not sitting right there, bleeding all my blood out. My mind was numb with the pain. I was breathing shallowly through my mouth. I knew I was in great danger, but it felt like I could not move even an inch. My phone was lying at some distance with the screen full of cracks and chipped-off corners. I don't know who pulled the tissues and stuffed them in my nose. I was not fully conscious, I think. I remember sitting in the corner, near the door, huddled on the floor, when he arrived. I don't know how long I had been sitting there like that. My first impression of him was of dread; a tall man with a cold face. It seemed he was the leader of those thugs as they stood straight as he arrived.

"Call the doctor." He gave me a slight glance and turned to talk to his men. They were talking about the CCTV footage around the area. They told him Austin had hidden in someone's car trunk and thus slipped unnoticed. The other team nabbed Austin's partner while he was running away, but Austin's whereabouts were yet to be traced.

"We have his wife as hostage, so the bastard will return anyway." One of them said.

"No" I tried to say. My voice was so hoarse that I could not identify my own voice.

"What are you saying?"

"I don't know why you people are looking for him, but he won't come back for me. We are not close." I managed to say, gathering all my willpower. Even the slight movement resulted in a shooting pain in my nose. I was breathing heavily through my mouth after just a few words. I was focused on breathing as lightly as possible when I heard his menacing voice addressing me for the first time.

"Well, isn't it such a pity, Mrs Sera Clements? See, your husband has caused me some serious losses, and now that he has run away, I have no other way but to recover my losses through you".