ELEANOR
Tears blurred my vision as I sat frozen in the car, my heart pounding so loudly I could barely hear the hum of the engine. My legs trembled uncontrollably, and I couldn’t seem to stop them. The man sitting beside me-the one Enzo had called Stephan-was silent, staring ahead like nothing had happened.
But what had happened still kept on replaying in my memory like some traumatic event, something I was never going to forget-especially not anytime soon.
I had watched Enzo die right in front of me, how they killed him like he was nothing-like he didn’t matter. And now, I was sitting next to one of the men who had done it. My throat felt tight, but I swallowed hard, forcing myself to breathe.
Stephan didn’t look at me. His calmness was unnerving and I couldn’t help but wonder how he could be so composed after what he had just done?
I clenched my hands in my lap, my nails digging into my palms. I wanted to scream, to cry, to lash out-but I was terrified. I didn’t know what these men wanted or where they were taking me. All I knew was that I couldn’t just sit there. I couldn’t let them take me to wherever they were planning on taking me.
I had to do something. Anything.
“Who are you?” My voice came out shaky and thin, but I forced the words out anyway. “What do you want from me?”
Stephan finally turned his head to look at me, his eyes cold and lifeless. “Don’t start,” he said, his tone flat. “You’re lucky you’re still breathing. So I’d advice you keep it that way.”
I stiffened, the fear twisting in my stomach. “I don’t even know you,” I said, my voice rising slightly despite myself. “I don’t know who you are or what you want. Why would you-why would you do this?”
He didn’t answer right away. Instead, he let out a long, irritated sigh and rubbed his hand over his face. “You don’t need to know anything,” he said finally. “Just keep your mouth shut.”
I swallowed hard, trying to calm the trembling in my hands. “I don’t understand,” I whispered. “I didn’t do anything to you. I don’t even know what this is about.”
Stephan gave me a sideways glance, his lip curling slightly in disgust. “You know Armando Luca,” he said simply. “That’s enough.”
My heart sank. Armando. Of course. It always came back to him.
“This has nothing to do with me,” I said quickly. “I’m nobody. I don’t have anything to do with Armando’s… business, or whatever this is. Please, just let me go.”
Stephan laughed-a low, humorless sound. “You think it’s that simple?” he asked, turning to look at me fully now. “You think just because you’re not ‘involved’ you’re safe?” He leaned closer, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. “You’re involved because he cares about you. And that makes you useful.”
I shook my head quickly, tears streaming down my face. “He doesn’t care about me,” I said desperately. “He doesn’t. You don’t know him. He doesn’t care about anyone but himself.”
Stephan’s expression darkened. “You think I’m stupid?” he said sharply. “You think I don’t know what I’m talking about?” He leaned back in his seat, his jaw tightening. “Keep testing me, girl. See where that gets you.”
I bit my lip, trying to hold back a sob. My mind raced, searching for something-anything-that I could say to make him let me go. But nothing came.
Instead, I blurted out, “Why did you kill him?”
Stephan’s head snapped toward me, his eyes narrowing. “What?”
“Enzo,” I said, my voice breaking. “Why did you kill him? He didn’t do anything to you. He was just trying to protect both himself and me.”
Stephan let out a short, bitter laugh. “That bastard got what he deserved,” he said, his voice cold and hard.
I stared at him, my chest tightening with anger and fear. “No! He didn’t deserve that,” I said, my voice trembling. “He didn’t deserve to die like that. You had no right-”
Stephan slammed his hand down on the seat between us, making me jump. “Shut up,” he snapped, his voice low and deadly. “You don’t get to tell me what I have the right to do.”
I shrank back, my heart racing. But I couldn’t stop myself. “You didn’t have to kill him,” I said, my voice shaking. “You didn’t-”
“That’s enough!” Stephan roared, cutting me off. He clenched his jaw, his hands gripping his knees tightly. “One more word out of you,” he said through gritted teeth, “and I’ll make sure you don’t speak again. Permanently.”
I froze, my breath catching in my throat. For a moment, neither of us said anything. The only sound was the hum of the car engine and the faint rustle of the wind outside.
Then, quietly, I said, “What are you going to do with me?”
Stephan didn’t answer.
I swallowed hard, my throat dry. “Am I just bait?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. “Is that it? You’re using me to get to him?”
Still, he said nothing.
I felt a fresh wave of tears streaming down my face. “You’re wasting your time,” I said, my voice breaking. “He doesn’t care about me. He won’t come for me. He-”
Stephan moved so quickly I didn’t have time to react. He grabbed a handkerchief from his pocket and pressed it to my face.
I struggled, trying to push him away, but he was too strong. The cloth smelled sickly sweet, and my head started to spin almost immediately.
“Shhh,” he murmured, his voice calm now. “We’ll see about that.”
His words were the last things that echoed in my mind as my vision blurred and everything else went pitch black.