Sold to the Capo-Chapter 51: AS EASY AS THOUGHT?

ADRIANA’S POV

"Oh shit!" I cursed as I quickly ran to grab my gun from inside the room.

With shaking hands, I quickly tucked it into my pockets, my mind reeling.

Was I really about to leave? What if it didn’t work?

As I rushed back down the stairs, aware I had only about two minutes to get to where Henry said, I couldn’t help but feel bad a little for leaving. Things weren’t as bad as it was, but this place wasn’t for me, and it was all just a facade.

Using the back door, I sneaked out, pressing myself against the wall of the house as I peered at the place he had asked me to meet.

The security lights were turned off and I couldn’t hear anyone from there. It really was clear.

Something had happened. Something bad.

Without thinking, I ran forward; my gaze fixed forward as I tried to stay in the darkness. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Suddenly, I heard a voice making me freeze.

"Who’s there?" I heard a man’s voice.

I looked around me, knowing the darkness only bought me a few seconds before he would see me. Shit.

At this point, I was tempted to pull out my gun and shoot him. I was one step away from leaving this place and no one would stop me. The thought prompted me to pull out my gun, pointing it blindly in the darkness, waiting for him to show himself so I could pull the trigger even with how my hands trembled at the mere thought.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of something being hit, then a thud. My eyes widened as I spotted someone jogging to me, a wild look in his eyes.

"I thought you had cold feet!" Henry whispered harshly to me as he pulled my gun out of my hands, tucking it in his holster. "Let’s move. Now," He didn’t wait for me to say anything; he just grabbed my hand and pulled me along.

We ran as fast as we could until we got to a truck by the left wing where he had originally planned.

"Things are in a lot of chaos right now so I can smuggle you out of this place. I’ll get you to the airport and that’s pretty much it. You have to fend for yourself from there" Henry explained as he jumped into the truck, ushering me into the passenger seat.

My heart was thudding as I fumbled with the seat belt, a groan slipping past my lips. "What’s happening?"

"An attack on Master LaRosa. Nothing you need to worry about. Okay?" He didn’t wait for me to finish, he switched on the ignition and pulled out, driving straight to the gates.

"Will you get into trouble for this?" I crouched in the back, away from the gate lights so they wouldn’t see me.

He didn’t turn back, he just kept driving. "As long as you don’t screw this up yourself, I’m fine" He assured.

I held my breath as he slowed down at the gate, saying something to the guard about him joining Vincenzo now along with the other cars ahead of us, and the gates were immediately opened.

Holy shit. That worked.

I held my breath, knowing that anything could go wrong at any time, even as he pulled into the streets, driving away from the mansion.

I quickly scrambled up to have one last look at the mansion receding now. That was where I had stayed for months now. The idea of leaving now made a weird feeling of dread settle in my stomach.

"Don’t you think Vincenzo will get mad that hㅡ"

"Shut up" He took a left, the sharp movement knocking me against the window.

I whimpered, feeling the slight bump from where my head had collided with the glass window.

"Don’t worry about me. Sorry about that" He muttered, stepping on it as he drove expertly.

"I know this is sudden, and you couldn’t pack anything, but I’ll work something out for you," He whispered softly.

I leaned back in my chair, my head aching and my heart pounding. This was it. This was truly the end of my stay with Vincenzo but where was the happiness? The relief? I didn’t feel anything. I had just glimpsed a bit of the person behind the cold exterior and now I had to leave. I wouldn’t need his secrets anymore anyway

"How were you even able to plan all these in such a short time?" I leaned forward in the seat, watching him drive.

"I have my ways, Adriana. Trust me" He replied.

"I do trust you," I whispered back, and I meant it.

He smiled softly but didn’t answer so I leaned back in my seat, determined to just get some rest before I had to go.

I don’t know how much time had passed but I opened my eyes to see that he was pulling up to a curb.

"Okay," He muttered as he switched off the ignition.

I quickly sat up and looked outside. It was pitch dark and Henry was staring at me like he expected me to go out blindly. "Someone will come pick you up from here. You just wait here. There seems to be some sort of delay or something" He explained.

Looking back outside, I wanted to protest, to say that I didn’t want to be out here alone, but what would that make me? The one thing I never wanted to be. Weak. This place gave me the chills but I had been through worse hell.

"Can I have my gun back?" I asked even as I got out of the truck, stretching my legs. I had to have been asleep for about an hour so this was far from the mansion.

He also got down from his truck and circled around to come meet me. "What do you want to use it for? You’re no longer in hostile territory, which would make you an innocent civilian who shouldn’t have anything to do with a gun." He brandished the pistol in front of me and tucked it back in. Fair point. He was right, I shouldn’t be with the gun.

"So what now?" I was unsure why he had also gotten down from the truck instead of just driving off, and he was just staring at me.

He put his hand in his pockets and shrugged, his face turning soft. "Is this goodbye, Adriana?" He stepped closer to me, his eyes never leaving me.

I wanted to assure him that it was not goodbye, but I knew it would be a lie. I had no plans of returning to Italy after this.

"Yeah," I whispered instead.

He took a sharp breath and rubbed his face. "Right. Makes sense" He muttered more to himself than to me.

"Look, I dㅡ" I opened my mouth.

"Calm down, I understand what you’re saying. It’s just over these months, I’ve come to like you... a lot" He muttered with a soft smile.

"I like you too," I offered a small smile, uncertain where this conversation was heading.

"Not like that," he suddenly laughed, reaching out to gently caress my cheek,, making me stiffe,n, but he didn’t notice. "I actually like you," He muttered, leaning forward as though to kiss me.

My heart was pounding, and for a moment, all I could see and hear was that day again as I felt his touch, but after a second, I quickly looked away, my breathing ragged.

"I’m sorry..." I muttered, stepping back.

Something felt absolutely wrong.

He looked like he was about to say something but he held back, a sad smile on his face. "I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that"

I felt bad for him but not to the point where I would actually kiss him just to make him feel better. "I’m sorry, I don’t have any feelings for you... that way... we’re just..."

"Friends" he completed for me with a soft chuckle.

"Yeah," I forced a smile.

"Okay, I should get going. Whenever we meet again. If we ever see again, that is." He joked, but I could sense the underlying pain in his tone.

We wouldn’t.

We were running out of time, so he waved one last time, hopped into the truck, and drove away. Never looking back.

I stood there in the middle of the road, staring at the truck before I shifted to the corner. Now I waited for whoever he had told to come pick me up.

His words came rushing back to me and I shuddered in the chilly night air. He liked me. I did not like him. Why?

I looked around me, smiling to myself despite the eerie environment. There was no one around but I felt free.

Would I jinx it by saying it? No, I had already come this far.

"I’m free" The words escaped my lips softly as I looked up at the sky, a smile finally gracing my lips.

"I’m finally frㅡ" My words were coming out louder now than before when something hard hit the back of my head, and I felt my knees buckling.

Then darkness.