Marked by The Devil Don

Elena's POV The bass boomed through the floor like a second heartbeat. It was slow, and impossible to ignore. Red lights filled the club house, turning skin into sin and shadows into secrets. Men watched from their seats with dark eyes and smoke emitting from their mouths. This was not a dream house, but a place where desires were being fulfilled. Tonight, I, Elena Virelli, known by my stage name, Raven, was present as usual. My body sliding up and down the pole as I was dressed in a sultry piece, my signature dressing for seduction. However, I was not just going to seduce any man, but a well known Mafia Lord. Dante Vescari. I shivered as I got down from the pole. Even saying his name anyhow could end in my death. The audience gave a round of applause as I got off the stage. I darted my gaze around. I did not have to search, I knew he was here, I could feel it. Still, I looked towards the VIP section. And there he was. He wasn't loud. He was barely drunk. He only sat in the shadows like a verdict, watching me. Dark suit. Still posture. A glare sharp enough to cut through my body. His bodyguards were with him, but distances apart. Despite this, no one, not even the strippers dared to inch closer to him. He was the Don. The man everyone feared. Suddenly, I felt her fingers tightened hard in my palm as I turned away quickly. Even with that, I could still feel his stare on me. “You must never exhibit your fear,” I recalled my boss, Victor Salazar, telling me before I left, “he can detect your emotions from a distance.” I gulped hard. Just then, I noticed a shadow reach up to me and I turned abruptly. It was one of his guards, fierce looking and tough. My heart skipped a beat. “He wants you for the night.” The words landed like a verdict. Even my breath stiffened for a while. The Don wants me? I turned to where Dante sat. He was no longer there. The Don never asked for anyone. He always comes to watch, nothing else. So what had piqued his interest in me? Without speaking, I nodded and grabbed my robe and followed the man, my heels clacking against the floor and my hips swaying as I strutted. As we neared the suite, I could feel my heart thudding against my chest. This was bad for me as I was there for business. The only thing I hoped for was that he wouldn't take notice of my emotions. Inside the suite, I watched as Don stood near the window with his jacket removed and the sleeves of his shirt rolled up. “Lock the door.” I heard him command with a hoarse and deep voice. Suddenly, I felt the air stand still around me. There was silence. Even my pulse had steadied. It was too steady. Then I stepped into the room and began to slide out of the robe. Since I was here for a mission, I figured I should begin early enough to get out of this place. Suddenly, Dante turned. His eyes studied me for a moment. I gulped hard, and hoped he wouldn't notice. Standing before me was a dangerous man, one who could just end my life just as he had ended my parents', and no one would ever find out. When he took the first step towards me, I did not move. Losing was not part of the plan and if something went wrong, I was not sure I would survive it. This man would probably feed me to his rumoured wild dogs and grind my bones into ashes to be mixed into their food. That was the gravity of my situation. “What is your name?” he asked me. I stopped midway from pulling my robe and looked up to him. “Raven. That's what they call me.” “Real name!” he commanded with his voice thundering across the room. “Elena Virelli,” I answered, trying not to shudder as I maintained my gaze on him. I watched as he took two strides towards me and stopped just a few inches away. “You’re not like the others.” “You don't know the others.” I blurted out. What was I thinking?! There was a slight smirk amidst his deadly stare. “I know fear. I don't see it in you.” I gulped hard. I took a step closer, to fill the gap. When I did that, I perceived the smell of whiskey on his breath and saw the faint scar across his left cheekbone. “I am afraid of many things. You are not special.” I said to him. Deep down, I knew I was scared. But again, I cannot lose. Dante lifted his hand and brushed his thumb lightly beneath my chin, tilting my face towards him. He ran his rough thumb on my lips and brought his face closer to me. He wants to kiss me! Dante Vescari wants to kiss me! I screamed in my mind as I closed my eyes slowly. Maybe he only wanted me to satisfy his desires, so I waited for his lips to touch mine. But it didn't, instead, I felt his lips touch my ear, his breath filling the outer skin with hot breath. “There is something about you I can't seem to lay my hand on.” I heard him whisper. Suddenly, I had a flash. A memory. I heard my father's voice telling me to run. His blood gushed out onto the cold concrete as he held the knife that protruded through his chest. On the other side, a few feet away from my father laid my mother lifeless with foam around her mouth. Then I saw him. The person behind their death. His face bearing a smile that still haunts me to this day. A smile that I would never forget. At that moment, my body jerked back to reality and the robe slipped from my body, dropping to the floor. And just as Salazar had taught me, I made a swift turn bringing out the little dagger from inside my tight holster in a clean motion and lunging it towards the man. I expected him to dodge, to move away. But he stood still, the blade grazing across his neck with a thin line appeared abruptly on his skin. For another moment, there was silence and no one moved. Shit! All of a sudden, I felt a hand wrapped around my wrist like iron. I tried to free myself, but I couldn't as my knife clattered to the ground. Shit! s**t!! My heart thudded, as I saw my only weapon lying a few distances away. Salazar would definitely deal with me if I did not fulfill my mission. What should I do? Without thinking, I swung my free hand towards Dante's face. This was my only chance at survival and it didn't matter if I died trying. After all I had nothing to lose, even death was the least among the things that feared me. Before my hand could land on his face, Dante caught it. I froze, looking terrified. I never missed. Not now. Not with Dante. Then I felt it. A strike across my cheek. Not wild. Not emotional. It was controlled and painful. My vision was blurred out the next second and my lips tasted some metallic liquid. Blood. Dante released me to fall to the ground and the last thing I saw before everything went dark was him touching the little cut on his neck and staring at the blood on his fingers. But his expression had changed this time. I could see he was fascinated.