BOUND TO HIM BY FORCE

7. DEFEATED

“This is for your own safety too; you will be protected!” Ivan shot. My head bowed as the tears rolled down, my body leaning on Brute. I was defeated, with him opening a car door and pushing me in. It felt like my world was crashing in slow motion, taking up air to let it out with a sob. I stepped up, stumbling and falling on the seat. Brute was already climbing up, the force of him shifting me away, meeting with the other men halfway through as he slid through the other door. The doors shut, sealing my fate, the echo of the doors smashing my life as I knew it to an end.

The car came to life, the driver turning to us and staring at me before turning around and drove away from all I knew. He drove away from my home, drove away from the last of my family, and drove away from all my happiness and joy.

The darkness fell on me as the miles were eaten away, not even able to stare back and say goodbye to my life. It was all darkness around me, clogging my pores with the reality of my situation getting worse in my head.

My parents had left the mafia for a reason and there I was being delivered straight back to it. Nothing but death, hurt, and pain waited on the other side. The worst of humanity waiting to greet me. I did not wish my fate on my worst enemy and my brother had just handed me away.

It was the worst betrayal anyone could have ever done to me and coming from him was the worst part of it all. He was sending me to my death in hopes of righting what he thought he wronged and there was no coming back from his choices nor the outcome of them.

My shaking hands were brought to my face, burying my face in them and bending forward to cry. I wanted to let it all out, I had to let it all out as it built up in my chest and threatened to kill me.

Nothing but my heart-wrecking sobs echoed all over the car with all the men shifting now and again, not knowing what to do.

I cried until I stopped, my head just lying there, leggings wet from my tears. My eyes were beyond painful, sure they were swollen and red.

My fate was sealed and I was alone. I was alone in the world from there and no one would look after me. It was a fast world for only fast and flexible people. I had to think on my feet, I had to be strong, peel my soft skin, and leave the thick layer under it. My body pushed up, my tears wiped away as I took a deep breath, my shaking hands on my lap, staring ahead because crying never helped anyone out.

The only game I was playing from there was the survival game.

“What are the chances that I will survive this?” I asked, staring at none of them, just letting the question hang in there for anyone that wanted to catch it. The tension in the air was so thick you could cut it over and over again.

“Less than ten percent.” One of the men said, not promising at all.

“Ten percent is a lot; I would say none.” The snake tattoo man replied, chuckling and shifting in his seat to shake his head.

I swallowed, my hands running through my hair, pushing it back and wondering how I would survive, how I would come out alive? I was not meant for such a world. I did not know much about it and wished I did not have to know. I wanted a normal life but our lives had never been normal. I had learned to shoot a gun at ten, scared and crying, but I had shot it. I had learned to fight yet never fought against anyone except in practice. I had all the tools to survive and all I had to do was put them to use.

The car stopped; the doors opened with us shuffling out. I looked around, seeing that we were at the mall.

I had not thought they would take me there, shocked, to say the least, but I followed nonetheless. It was risky for them to walk out in public with me just like that. It only had me more worried because it meant they were so confident in their skills, thus took such risks. My hoodie was brought on, barefooted on the ground with the men all surrounding me. There was no way we would not get people staring, but I kept my head down and followed the lead.

We took the elevator then walked through some doors, immediately smelling hair spray and a lot of laughter, knowing it was a salon.

Brute walked on to talk to some girl while we waited in a corner, the men deciding to sit down on a couch, leaving just me standing there. I could not see much besides chairs and legs. I was not in the mood to see people and I did not want their eyes on me as they wondered what was up. I was sure they were already gawking at the hidden girl with the three large men guarding her.

A minute later, the chatter picked back up with the ladies talking to themselves and moving on with their normal lives, while mine was just turned upside down and it seemed to be getting worse with each passing week.

Brute’s hand came on my arm with me not even fighting it. He pulled a chair and I sat down on it, my eyes going to the mirror, them meeting with a pair of brown eyes staring back at me through the mirror. The girl pulled back the hoodie and let my face out for the world to see. They were all staring, wanting to see the hidden girl and, wow, even I was shocked at what I saw.

My eyes were red and nearly closed, dark under my eyes. My face looked as if it went through a thorough washing of color, so pale I looked like a ghost. I had lost weight that could not be hidden and my hair was a flying mess.

The girl froze behind me, her head turning to Brute, who just raised his shoulders.

“Work your magic, we need it.” Brute said to the girl, walking and picking up a bottle of water to sit down. Everyone was uncomfortable in the salon, all stealing glances, sure they had theories about what happened to me and where I came from.

The girl began with my hair as my eyes stared in the mirror, staring at the door and thinking of my chances to get away. I calculated and recalculated, seeing it in my head.

The men were far away from the door, so they would not be able to catch me in time. And if I hid well, they would give up looking. I would not be worth the trouble.

My eyes trailed back to them only to find snake-face staring back at me with a smirk on his face.

“I would like you to try princess.” He mouthed to me, daring me with my heart hammering in my chest. My eyes traveled back to the door, then the girl doing my hair and her own eyes were on me. She shook her head. I felt the tears burn but I blinked them back, shifting in my seat with my lips chirping and perched.

When the hair was done, they did a face treatment for me, taking out dead cells and bringing back the glow as best as they could, but the glow was gone, there was no getting it back.

My hands and nails were done, short and cleaned, neatly painted, with that all they could do, yet still, I looked like a ghost. One of the girls was sent to get clothes. They turned me around to see my size.

I walked into the backroom, the girl with me, and Brute standing outside. I just stood there, still, the girl pulling off my clothes. She folded them, taking off even my underwear and pulling on a lace set that hugged my body. A pair of jeans were slipped on with a corset top and a blazer on top. They were going for the sexy lady boss look. Heels were slipped on my feet. It went well with my high risen ponytail; it was tight as if my hair would rip out of my hair. My face was plain with no make-up, probably their boss was not into it. But that just showed everything I went through in the week. My cheekbones sticking out, my eyes were puffy and red with my skin pale.

I took up my clothes before the girl took them and said I could not go with them. They were all I had left of my parents. I would protect them with my life. I actually felt bare without them, without my hoodie hiding my face away.

Heels were not a problem; I had worn them many times before. I walked out of there with the world heavy on my shoulders, my heart heavy, not wanting to go through the next hours of my life. I wished I could jump bodies or go into a coma for a month to wake up when everything had passed.

I stood next to Brute, him staring at me up and down, seeming less worried, but I could still see that he was struggling and not convinced.

He tried to take my clothes from me but I gave him a look as he chuckled, raising his hands and letting go to turn and walk away.

The way was straight from there. I was going to meet a man that would ruin my life more than it had already been ruined. I did not even know what to think and what to imagine would happen to me. I just knew it was scary, I knew I would die little by little with each passing day if I was even still alive.

We shuffled into the car, the doors closing me from the world as the car moved.

“Raymond thinks the boss will be in the Brax house. We need to rush there if we want to catch him, so hit every red light.” Brute said with the driver not even wasting time but stepping on it.

The car went flying off the road, our bodies swaying now and again. My heart was drumming, scared I would die but partly wishing for it. It would be better than the life I was going into. My eyes were shut, sure I was traumatized from there. The cars we nearly hit were too much as our car jumped and jerked through the road, cars turning all around us to make way.

It was chaos, but it seemed the men were used to it. We came to a red light, passing through as a truck came speeding our way. The car swerved and turned around as the truck sped past us by just a few inches, honking so loudly I thought my ears would bleed. My life flashed before my eyes and I saw it slip away in just a minute. The car had turned itself off only for the driver to turn it back on and continue as if nothing had just happened. They all looked fine, while I, on the other hand, would have rather run on foot to wherever we were going at that point. I clenched my car seat until it was not working for me, grabbing the hands of the men next to me with the car turning a sharp corner. I thought it would overturn, just holding the scream in and clenching the hands of the men tighter. They tried to pry my hands away but I was holding on for dear life.

The car took another turn, taking an off-ramp, of which twenty minutes later we were speeding along a road caged by forests. No cars were on it so the driver just took that as his blessing and went all out. I would never get into a car with them ever again. I thought I would die, just flying along the road and an hour later we were taking a narrow, tarred road that led to a gate. The car stopped, the guards scanning the guards in the car’s fingers, eyes, and scanning the cars for any bombs. Security was tight. The gate opened, cameras everywhere, large men with guns standing on each corner of the estate. It was a large estate, lights everywhere with palm and jacaranda trees, caging the driveway. We drove for ten minutes before coming up to a large house. It was a three-story colonial revival house with a cream exterior and black accents here and there. It was magnificent to marvel at, yet I was not in the right state of mind either. My heart was drumming, wanting to get out of the car immediately and run away as far as possible. There were guards everywhere with guns, walking not far from us, patrolling the area. If I thought Brute and the snake-face guy were scary, I was taking it all back. The men I was seeing were as if trained in the dark corners of hell. They just instilled fear into you with one look. I had told myself to be ready for anything, to relax, and try to be flexible, but I could not. I was scared shitless, the car was suddenly not so bad after all.

“Sh*t, the boss is already here.” Brute said, opening the door and rushing out.

I knew I had to follow but I was so scared. Everything was happening too fast, with no time to breathe, no time to think. My arm was gripped, pulling me over the seat in my state of panic. My body slipped over, the other doors closed, with my heels hitting the ground and nearly falling.

Brute immediately wrapped his arms behind my legs and carried me bridal style to start running. They all looked scared, they all had such terrified faces on. If they were that scared, then what was I supposed to feel? They did not even take the elevator up but just ran up the stairs, their boots echoed all through the halls, passing guards here and there, all the worst I had ever seen.

We reached a floor, Brute rushing to a black door where two guards just stared ahead. My body was lowered to the ground, my legs shaking as if they would break. My hands were as if they would fall off with my heart about to spit out of my mouth. That was the moment that defined whether I lived or died. I had gone through a lot of things in my life but nothing compared to losing my parents and right next to it, standing where I was standing.

The men I came with nodded to the guards as one of the guards turned and opened the door, opening it wide for us to shuffle in. My eyes closed, my body faint, sure I would collapse on the floor.