The Mafia Boss's Obsession

CHAPTER FOUR

The night passed, not like a blur, not like a flash, no, it passed slowly and torturously. Madeline lay awake on the king sized bed, her tears flowed unstopped and unhindered for they knew no barriers. She cried even more as the reality of it all once again dawned on her, like a bucket of freezing cold water had been splashed at her face to awaken her from whatever slumber she had been in.

Yes she was in a place she had never once dared to fantasize about, the luxury, she had never once dared dream of it, it was unlike anything she had known. Yet as she lay there she realized she had never felt so much fear and dread than she did within the walls of her…..prison.

What scared her though?

Was it the fact that the boss was rich and influential enough to look her up within such a short period of time? Or was it the fact that unlike the monsters who had held her captive he seemed…..different, he seemed to have plans for her, plans she knew nothing about. Was it the sinister look in his eyes? The darkness in his smile? Was it the way he said her name with such eloquence, like a man that saw through her very soul?

For all she knew he was a psychopath, some sort of serial killer. For all she knew he was insane.

She wasn’t sure when the sun rose, she wasn’t sure if she had fallen asleep or if she was just too absorbed in her thoughts to realize that day had broken, but the sudden sound of a knock on the door startled her. It took a while before she pulled her thoughts together, it took a while before she began thinking straight.

The knock sounded again, impatiently. Very slowly she pulled herself up, got out of the bed and walked to the door. Her head felt fuzzy and heavy, it hurt with every step she took. On getting to the door she unlocked it and opened it wide enough to only reveal her puffy and tearstained face.

The lady from the night before stood there, and like the night before she was fully decked up. Her short blonde hair seemed even straighter, her brown eyes seemed darker with an eyeliner lining it thickly, one would think her thin lips was lush due to the amount of blood-red lipstick applied on it, like Madeline, she was a small woman but dressed in a slick grey suit she exuded an aura far greater than her size and Madeline’s combined.

Her brows drew together in irritation as she realized Madeline wasn’t dressed, she glanced at her wrist watch quickly before meeting her gaze again.

“Miss Cooper, you were informed that breakfast would be by seven, one would think you would be ready before then”. She said coldly.

Breakfast? If she wasn’t leaving this house then she sure as hell wouldn’t leave this room either.

“I don’t know who you people are”. She began. “But I will not be an object you can use”.

With that she shut the door and locked it as fast as she could. Her heart raced and pounded against her chest almost painfully, her throat constricted painfully as she fought hard to restrain herself from screaming out her emotions. She crumbled to the floor in a sobbing and broken mess, her memories drifted back harshly.

13 months ago.

In the tacky downtown of Georgia, the smell of smoked cigarette and alcohol was thick in the air, and so was the tension building up within Madeline’s nerves. Standing in a dark alleyway with a member of a gang she had newly been recruited by, she was all but calm.

In the shadows she could see several pairs of neon eyes watching them curiously, cats, street cats. Street cats rummaging through the dumpster in the long and quiet alley.

“You want money? You work for it, period’. Jax said to her. “Boss’s order”.

She nodded slowly.

“I know, but I just need some money as soon as possible, I need…..”. she trailed off as she felt the dryness in her throat intensify as did the trembling of her body.

Jax took in her disheveled state, her worn out beanie, hoodie and faded jeans. His brow arched questioningly but he said nothing.

“I need money to buy some meds, I’m outta meds”. She explained.

He scoffed, his expression saying ‘we calling drugs meds now?’.

“Who’d thought you a junkie huh?”. He mocked.

She shook her head quickly, it was hard to explain, he wouldn’t understand. She dug her trembling hands into the front pockets of her hoodie to lessen the cold that had begun to grip her.

“Look, the boss doesn’t have to know. Just lend me some cash, I’ll pay back as soon as I can”. She said, her voice hoarse and low.

It was a cold night, she was cold too, yet sweat had begun trailing her hairline and settling on her temple, the start of the fever that would follow soon enough.

“Nu-uh, I don’t do that kinda deals no more, not after that f**k-up viper screwed up last time”. Jax said shaking his head. “You want cash? f*****g work for it. Here”.

With that he shoved a small brown package at her which she impulsively collected.

“Sell these, return the money to the boss and he’ll pay you”. He explained.

With that he spun around on his heels and walked away leaving her alone with the watching pairs of neon eyes. Knowing that it wouldn’t be long before she lost it she also turned around and hurried out of the alleyway. It wasn’t far from here; Heather’s, the pharmacy she usually bought her meds from. Perhaps José would be kind enough to give her some on credit.

She walked as fast as her weakening legs would let her, the dizziness that had begun setting in caused her vision to blur and her body to sway, she bumped into people every now and then as she tried to keep her head straight. Her breathing had begun to slow and her chest had begun to hurt.

“Watch it!”.

“Hey!”.

She muttered quick apologies to no one in particular, truth was that she saw no one in particular, everything was unclear.

“Piss off!”. Someone yelled after her.

And as she broke through a bend the glowing entrance of ‘Heather’s’ fell into view, like a deserter finally sighting water after days of scorching heat she rushed to her oasis.