Chapter 14
1296 Words
Sophia’s pov
The cheers don’t last long, as they decide to give us
some privacy by walking a distance away. When our
kiss ends, Valentino doesn’t let go. He places his
hands around me and my forehead against his, then
asks quietly: “Are you okay?”
I nod, then respond: “I should be asking you that.”
He gives a playful smile: “ I’ve been hit harder.”
I hit his chest playfully, then get up and stick my
hand out to help him up, but he grabs and pulls me
back down to him and kisses me again. “Okay, now
we can go he states, moving so we both can get up.
We grab our helmets and guns, then head back to
the group, and they all give me a nod and kudos.
Once we’re done changing, we head back to the
shooting rink to say bye.
“You did well today, Sophia,” compliments
Valentino’s father.“Thank you,” I respond proudly.
“We just came to say bye. We’re heading out now.”
“Okay, be safe out there.”
“We will,” we respond in unison.
The drive back is in peaceful quiet. My entire body
aches, and I feel exhausted, but I feel stronger than
I’ve ever been. After a few minutes pass, Valentino
breaks the silence: Tomorrow we will begin
interrogations.
“Are you sure you’re still okay with me leading it?”
“Yes, you proved that you could handle yourself and
your weapon. I know you could do this.”
“What will happen after it’s done?”
“We’ll know that by how it plays out.”
“You don’t have to do this alone anymore. I’m here
with you now.”“That’s the most dangerous thing you’ve said all
day.”
He parks the car in the building’s parking lot, but we
don’t get out of the car right away: “Why?” I ask.
“Because I can’t promise that more danger won’t
come your way, my world that you’re choosing to be
in is filled with danger and bloodshed. I can’t ask
you to choose this life.”
“It’s a good thing you don’t have to because I
already made my choice. I know you chose me for
all of these years you have chosen me, so let me
make this clear to you: I choose you and the world
you rule.”
Valentino guesses me a few more times before
walking me to my apartment, then leaving for his
penthouse once he knows I'm safely in my
apartment.
The next Valentino picks me up from my apartment,
and we drive to where they have Al’s man.
Owen lets Valentino and me into the room. The
walls are concrete, there’s a single chair bolted tothe floor with a flickering light hanging from the
ceiling. There’s another unbolted chair in a distant
corner.
The man restrained in the chair looks older and
smaller than I would have imagined. As soon as he
sees Valentino, you can see fear instantly take over
his already drained features. Valentino doesn’t say a
word and instead stands against the wall with his
arms crossed. You can see confusion on the man’s
face once I drag a seat in front of him and sit.
“Do you know who I am?” I ask seriously.
“No,” the man says honestly.
“Who is Sophia? The girl who is being threatened in
the note you delivered?”
“I don’t know, the man outside asked me the same
thing, but I don’t know who she is.”
“Why did you deliver the message?”
“Like I told the other guy, Al told me to deliver it; it
was supposed to be my last job before I retired.”
I pull my gun from my back.“You know, I really like my friend here, but she’s
hungry, and when she’s hungry she gets a bit
cranky and starts to demand blood.” I point the gun
at him and glide it down his cheek. “So tell me, are
we going to be feeding her today, or shall I put her
away?” I can see the fear I’m inflicting on his face. I
don’t know where this is coming from, but it’s
happening so naturally.
“Please, I…I will tell you whatever you want to
know. I don’t want any problems with you…with
either of you.”
“Good, but she’s staying out a little longer, in case
you don’t.”
“Look, like I said, I was retiring. I’m tired of this life,
and Al didn’t care about us, so I wanted out. I was
surprised that Al agreed and said I only had to do
one last job, which was to send the note, then
confirm it was received, not that long after. The job
sounded easy enough, so I agreed. It was only after
I did it that I learned the message was meant for
Valentino and some girl named Sophia…I swear I
don’t know anything else. I didn’t even know that Al
was dead. If I knew, that call never would’ve
happened.”“What other information do you know?”
“Like what?” He replies.
“Was anyone else involved? Was Al plotting
anything else? Has anyone mentioned revenge for
Al’s death? Is anyone trying to continue what Al was
doing?”
“No, that I know of, to all of that, and I was foolishly
his right man. Al wasn’t loyal to his men, and
whenever his men wanted out, he threatened them
or ordered me to end them…I…I didn’t though…I
helped them get away. Everyone hated Al, but they
were too scared of what he would do to them or
their families.”
“What will you do if we let you go?”
He scoffs like it’s a crazy question, “Get as far away
from Draven as possible.”
“Would you be willing to share any information if you
get wind of anything against us?”
“Yes, of course, but I don’t know who you are.”“I’m Sophia.”
He looks at me, shocked, then confused, then he
laughs, amused. “You’re Sophia from the
message?”
I nod.
He then laughs even harder:” Al wasn’t loyal, always
an i***t, thinking you were someone weak that
could be used to get to Valentino, s**t, your vibe is a
bit scarier than his.”
“Thank you, I take that as a compliment…from this
moment on, my mouth stays out of your mouth; or
my little friend here would go inside of it and claim
her meal. Understand?”
“Yes, I understand.”
“Good,” I respond before moving the chair back to
the corner and leaving the room. Valentino follows
me out.
In the hallway, Owen asks, “So what’s the call?”
“ Let him go free tomorrow morning with enough
money to leave Draven with his family.”“Will do,” he replies, then enters the room.
“You were great in there, Soph, a bit scary, I’ll admit,
but still great.
“Thank you, Kind of scared myself, but I liked it.
“Do you regret it and want to change your mind?”
“No,” I respond confidently.
“Good, because you are all mine now and I am all
yours.”Author’s note: Thank you so much for spending
your valuable time with the characters in my book. If
you enjoyed the book and you like leaving ratings,
reviews, comments, or reactions, please do. Ratings
and reviews help awesome readers like you find this
book.
- Writer
