Bound by Blood and Desire: A Mafia Dark Romance

~Camilla~ “Whatever you do Camilla, don’t stop running!” “Don’t look back. You are almost there!” I chanted the words over and over in my head as I forced my feet to move faster. Eight minutes— that’s how long I had before my father’s men realized that I was missing. Four hundred and eighty seconds to decide my fate. If the plan I had meticulously put together for three months would work or if just when my freedom was within reach, it would be grasped away. I was almost there and then… The air was suddenly knocked out of my lungs as my body was slammed against the wall. A hand wrapped around my neck, stopping my breathing even more. The person snarled in my face, “You stupid little b***h!” His face came into focus and I tried to claw at his hands, “Lucion stop! Stop!” The anger in his eyes only increased, “You think you can just use me and get away with it?” “Stop!” It was the only word I could manage to get out as his other hand roamed up my gown, touching me in places that irritated my entire skin. His cold green eyes locked on me, “I have always wondered what you taste like. Perhaps I will find out before I kill you.” I knew I had messed up. Lucion was a ticking time bomb, one that I shouldn’t have involved but he was the only one that I knew would get me away from my father’s watch long enough to make an escape. The moment we were alone, he tried to touch me and I had stabbed him with the knife my father made me carry, running immediately. Running because no matter what happened I would never do it. I would never marry that monster. “My father will kill you for this.” I managed to get out. He laughed with no humor then grabbed the back of my neck, pulling me forward so fast that I crashed to the ground. The pain instantly shot up but he didn’t stop there. His hands came at me again, this time grabbing my hair until I was lying on the ground. “I will show you what happens to little bitches that cross me.” I struggled against his grip but it was too tight. Lucion grabbed my hands with the second, throwing them to the side and got on top of me, somehow managing to unzip his trouser. His eyes gleamed with his dark intent like he was finally about to get the cookie he had been starved of for years. I knew he wanted to fk me. His gaze had always traveled down my body with want. The same way most men did when my father introduced me to them which was why I had flirted, pretended like I was interested so he would lead me away from the prying eyes of all the guests. Just for a moment. But it would be enough for me to run. He was stronger, there was no way strength would get me out of this so I stopped struggling, waiting for just one opportunity and then I saw my chance when his face came close to mine. Without thinking, I moved my head as far as I could reach. My teeth going for his ears and then I bit down. Hard. He let out a cry filled with a mixture of pain and surprise. It was enough for me to use every ounce of my strength to push him off me, pushing myself upwards. I started to chant the words in my head louder than before. More than ever I knew I had to get out of here. Leave this life behind. I was so tired of being a Mafia Princess. “Camilla!” Lucion growled out and I turned back to see him coming after me, “You are going to regret it when I get you.” “F**k you, Lucion!” I screamed back. I headed straight for the first door that would lead me out of here. I heard his footsteps getting louder and I knew I had to move faster, then finally. There it was— the door to my freedom. Without thinking, I swung it open, slamming first face into a wall. Except it wasn’t a wall. It was a man. A man that was staring at me with so much coldness that on impulse, I took a step back even with the thought that Lucion was behind me swirling in my head. He stood at what I would guess had to be above six feet tall. His dark hair fell messily across his forehead, framing his chiseled beautiful face. It felt like all the wrong things to be thinking about in this exact moment but now there was only one thought in my head. Breathtakingly Brutal. Lucion's voice reached us at that point, snapping my focus back to reality, “Camilla, you are going to pay!” The man’s eyes did not leave my face, neither did I stop staring. It was like I was suddenly numb, unable to look away. Lucion finally reached us, holding his bloodied ear, then yanking me towards him with his other hand. It was either the adrenaline rush did not let him notice the man standing there or he just chose to ignore him. I didn’t know how that was possible. This man whoever he was, was impossible to ignore. “Let go of me, Lucion!” I cried out when his fingers dug into my skin, painfully deep drawing out blood. “Shut up or else—“ The words were cut off when the man who I would have believed was a statue spoke. Just two words but he made them powerful enough to resonate through my spine. “Leave her.” The grip on my hand loosened enough for me to break free as Lucion turned his attention to the man, “Who the fk are you? Don’t even answer that. Why don’t you mind your—“ He didn’t get the chance to complete the sentence before the sound of the shot exploded in my ear. I stood frozen for three seconds before reality registered. Lucion’s eyes were wide with surprise, his mouth falling open with what I could imagine was shock. Shock that he had a bullet hole in his head. Shock that he was dead. His body fell to the ground with a thud and my eyes snapped back to the man who was putting away his gun, his stare still as cold as ice like he hadn’t just killed the son of one of the high ranking members in the underground world. I would have screamed if it was the first time I had seen someone killed in front of me but it wasn’t. Something warm touched my bare feet then and my gaze traveled down to see the blood already pooling at my feet. It felt like time itself was frozen until the alarm I set on my watch rang out thrusting me back. My time was up. There was no escape. The fact I already knew became a whole lot more real when footsteps echoed increasingly towards us until my guards reached us. I expected them to throw a fit at Lucion’s dead body or the fact that I had tried to run away but instead their eyes were on the man. The man who still hadn’t taken his eyes off me. “Axel Vasquez.” They said in unison, bowing their heads immediately. The name slammed into my head and nothing else surpassed it. It echoed over and over as my eyes went from the guards to the god-like statue in front of me. I had never seen him in person. The monster in the shadows. The man whose reputation made men quiver in fear at the sound of his name. Axel Vasquez. His lips turned up in the smallest of smiles, a tiny flicker that I would have missed if my wide eyes and open mouth were not focused on him, “Hello, Camilla.” It was him. The man I was trying to run from. The monster I was supposed to marry. His gaze drifted from my face to my guards, “Tell Victor that the wedding has been moved.” His eyes came back to my face, “To tomorrow.” My heart slammed against my chest. What? Without another word, he turned and strode away walking like the world owed him everything for his existence in it, leaving me with the settling realization. I didn’t have two more months anymore. There was truly no escape and now I was getting married to a man who would be the embodiment of the devil himself if he ever walked this earth… Tomorrow.