Under the Mistletoe... with the Mafia King.

Chapter 5 - Didn't take long to find you.

R H E A

It all happens so fast that my mind refuses to accept any of it as real. One moment, I am staring at the trembling deliveryman, trying to understand the silent panic in his eyes, and the next, there is a sudden movement to his right. A hand appears first, large and gloved, followed by the unmistakable black shape of a gun pressed to the side of his head. There is a soft pop, a sound that barely qualifies as a gunshot, more like an exhale that is swallowed instantly by the hallway walls, and then his skull jerks violently to the side. His body follows a second later, collapsing like a puppet whose strings have been severed. The box drops from his hands, thudding against the ground as the man who held it crumples on top of it.

And that's when I see the blood leaking out of his head and onto the box and the floor.

For a moment, I cannot even breathe.

Then everything inside me shatters.

A scream tears out of me before I can think, loud and bloodcurdling, ripping out of my throat. I stumble backwards into the apartment, slamming into the wall as I continue screaming because the deliveryman is dead, he is actually dead, and his blood is already pooling beneath him like spilt paint.

"Rhea, what the f**k was that?!" Cassie yells from behind me, her voice high and terrified.

"S-someone just shot him!" I shriek, pointing wildly toward the door, my entire body shaking so violently my knees nearly give out.

I do not even get the chance to process the horror before a man steps into the doorway as if the threshold belongs to him. He is tall, with a muscular build, dressed in dark combat attire that clings to him like a second skin. He surveys the apartment with a calmness that terrifies me more than the gunshot did, and when his eyes find mine, the slight curl at the corner of his lips makes bile rise in my throat.

"Did not take too long to find you... Rhea..." He lets out with a sinister smile, and my pulse slams against my ribs as though it wants to break out and run for its life.

Cassie rushes to my side and grabs my arm tightly, yanking me away from the door. "Rhea!" she cries, her voice trembling as badly as her hands.

But it is too late.

More men push into the apartment behind the first one. They move with chilling coordination, spreading out to fill the room like shadows taking shape. I count three, then four, then one more, and each one has the same blank coldness around their eyes... and... they are all armed... holding onto rifles.

"W-who are you people?!" I shout, my voice cracking as I back up further, but there is nowhere left to go. The apartment that always felt small now feels suffocating.

"Not important," the first man answers, his tone casual in a way that makes my stomach twist. "But you are coming with us. Both of you."

"Like hell we are!" Cassie snaps, stepping slightly in front of me. It is then that I see the knife still in her hand. I had forgotten she grabbed it earlier, forgotten because the world stopped making sense thirty seconds ago.

The man laughs quietly, a low, rough sound that scrapes along my nerves. "Unfortunately, that is not going to do anything for you, sweetcheeks."

Her answer is immediate, sharp, and furious. "Wanna bet?"

Before I can stop her, she flips the knife in her hand and throws it with a force that shocks even me. The blade spins through the air in what feels like slow motion, cutting a perfect line straight across the room, and for one suspended heartbeat, I think it is impossible, I think she has no chance.

But then it hits...

It sinks straight into the man's shoulder.

He howls in pain, stumbling back as his hand flies to the wound. The other men stiffen, their expressions flashing with surprise before hardening into something darker.

"s**t!" he roars, his voice shaking with anger. His glare snaps to Cassie, burning with fury. "Alright. I am done playing nice. Get them. Boss lady wants this done fast."

Everything inside me freezes.

Boss lady? Who the hell are they talking about? I thought it was Micheal's men that had come for us...

Whoever it is they're talking about, this Boss lady, whatever she wants, none of this is random. None of this is a mistake. My breath catches as four more men move at once, closing in and surrounding us with a precision that makes my skin crawl. Cassie grabs my hand in panic, and I can feel her pulse hammering as violently as mine.

"Stay back!" I scream, but the words feel useless, thin, swallowed by the looming bodies around us.

Two men grab Cassie, hauling her arms behind her back as she kicks and curses and fights with every ounce of strength she has. The others come for me as I try to twist away, but their grips are too powerful to fight, their grip cold and mechanical. I feel someone’s fingers clamp around my upper arm, squeezing too tightly as if my bones are something fragile that might shatter if they are careless.

"Don't touch her, you f*****g animals!" Cassie shouts, her voice breaking as they drag her forward, but not without pulling a cloth over her mouth and gagging her, the only sounds coming out of her mouth being a muffled yet. And soon, they do the same to me...

I am pulled toward the doorway, my feet scraping against the floor as I try to brace myself, try to hold onto anything. My hand catches the edge of the counter for half a second before one of them yanks it away. The apartment blurs around me. The overturned chair, the half-eaten breakfast, my coffee mug still steaming.

It all feels impossibly distant, like the last pieces of a life that is being torn away before I can even blink.

"Mmph! Mmmph1" I try to scream, but the gag around my mouth makes it nearly impossible.

The injured man rips the knife out of his shoulder with a snarl, letting it clatter to the floor before stepping close enough that I feel his breath brush the side of my face.

"See what happens when you make this difficult." His tone is low and venomous. "Should have just behaved."

My stomach flips painfully as the men shove Cassie out into the hallway. She looks back at me with fear, and the sound splits something inside me. Every instinct fights to turn back, to reach for her, but the men tighten their hold, forcing me forward.

All I can think about is the deliveryman’s body lying on the ground, lifeless and contorted, the blood still spreading slowly in a dark circle beneath his head. The red word on the paper. Run. Whoever wrote it must have known. Maybe he tried to warn me. Maybe he knew what was coming and still showed up....

And I opened the door.

I opened the door.

Cold air rushes against my face as they force us down the hallway and toward the stairwell. My thoughts crash against each other like breaking glass. I cannot think straight. I cannot breathe. Cassie is still screaming, struggling with everything she has, but it does nothing. The men do not slow down, nor do not hesitate. Their grip never falters, not even when I trip over my own feet and stumble down several steps before they yank me upright again. We make our way through the hallways, screaming so loudly that at this point, I'm confident the entire building has heard us. Yet no one comes to our aid.

We reach the building's exit, the bright light outside stabbing against my eyes. Christmas decorations flicker along the street, cheerful colours that feel like a cruel joke. People pass by in the distance, unaware of the nightmare unfolding just a few feet away. The world continues existing even as mine collapses.

A black SUV sits at the curb with its engine running. The doors open as soon as we approach, revealing empty seats waiting like a mouth about to swallow us whole.

I twist once more, desperate and frantic, but someone grips my wrists tightly before fastening a ziplock around them, before grabbing the back of my neck and forcing my head down, pushing me forward. The same is done to Cassie, and she is shoved into the vehicle ahead of me, her eyes wide and terrified as she shuffles toward me even though her hands are pinned behind her.

"Mmph!" she lets out a muffled scream, moving closer to me, and at this point, I can feel the tears streaming down my face as I remain close to her. I try to reach back for her, but my wrist is seized and pulled forward, my body shoved into the SUV as the world narrows to a single point of fear.

The door slams shut behind us, and the darkness swallows everything...

I have no idea where they are taking us.