Underworld: The Mafia Heiress and The Spy

2 - The Captivating Stranger

I have been unconscious before, without a doubt but this once seemed to be somehow more tiring than other times. The bright light in the room was almost blinding and for a moment I doubted my sighting capabilities. It would have been truly awful if something had happened to them, I would rather sacrifice my hearing abilities after remembering the reason for fainting.

"Argh," I murmured, raising my hand to block some of the light.

There was shuffling and I immediately got cautious. Jerking up, I sat straight with my eyes wide open.

"Woah, calm down." A deep voice caught my attention to the left. Standing in the corner was a tall, manly figure and except for his muscular shape, I couldn't make out a lot. My eyes were still blurry and except for my instincts, nothing much had kicked in.

I blinked several times but with each blink, he seemed to be moving closer.

"Are you okay?" He asked suddenly, watching me trying to gather my senses. His voice was soft yet deep at the same time, the kind that could comfort and dominate you at the same time. Oddly enough, chills went down my spine after hearing his deep voice or maybe it was one of the post-fainting effects.

I nodded and then looked around the room with a clearer vision now. The room resembled a hospital room and for a moment, I calmed down until I focused deeper. A few pieces of medical equipment could be seen but nothing much could make it a hospital room.

"This is not a hospital room, where am I?" I asked the man in haste and jumped off the bed. There was no reply for a long time. I turned to him and paused too.

I guess I wasn't wrong about the dominating side of his voice. - I thought and gave a glance at his left arm tattoo, stretching from beneath his sleeve and ending at his wrist. He was wearing all black. His pale skin settled perfectly with his jet black hair. I averted my gaze, not taking a deeper look.

"What's your name?" He said and I took a deep breath. The previous events were suddenly filling in my thoughts, overwhelming me once again. The next moment my anxiety attacks were kicking in and I made a desperate attempt to step back. My hand gripped the railing of the bed, trembling and, through the silence, I could guess that the man was watching too.

The past 8 months of Mom's disease along with losing her at the end were devastating enough already and now knowing that I had a father who ran one of the biggest gangs in Chicago, wasn't making it any better. And I had no idea until before I fainted.

My breath hastened with each memory and I stared at the walls as if they would swallow me at any moment. The struggle to inhale properly made me disbalance a little until a hand gripped my shoulder.

"Look at me." His voice came low but more as a command, making me look at him on its own.

For a mere second my eyes met his and every thought paused in my mind right there. They were beautiful and had a gorgeous brown color to them, but most importantly, they were the stark opposite of his words. A calmness flooded through them as if he could see right through me.

"Just breathe, it will pass." He said and I nodded slowly, steadying my breathing or at least trying to.

I stared into his eyes until they were the only thing left in my mind. An echo of footsteps close by could be hard and the next moment, I saw him leaving through a side door. One moment, he was comforting me and the next he was gone.

Is he hiding from someone? Why did he run away? However, it felt more like he was staying out of sight rather than running but I bet he knew the place damn well, since he opened a door out of a plain wall.

Though, as it would seem, he was a stranger and nothing more had happened except that we exchanged a few words before he left. But to me this encounter was one of the ones I might never forget. So far, not everyone had proven helpful to keep me distracted through an anxiety attack and surprisingly so, I was feeling better already.

The other door of the room suddenly burst open and two men entered. One of them stood guard at the gate and the other followed up with me. Both were dressed in a suit but my breath hitched when I saw guns on them. I swallowed then thought, I might know where I am.

Maybe Gael Gonzales brought me here after I fainted. This could be his gang house or whatever they would call it and what if he was planning on keeping m locked in here now that he had found me?

Somewhere in me, a bigger question rose. Why didn't Mom ever tell me? And I couldn't take it as a lie since Aunt Heidi's expressions had confirmed it then along with my physical resemblance with that man. The many questions were already creeping me out, I doubt if I were strong enough to get answers to them.

At the same time, the curiosity of knowing more crept inside me. All I knew was that my father had left Mom before I was even born. Yes, I might have wanted to find him at many points in my life of 20 years but never expected to find him like this.

"Miss Gonzales?" It took me a moment to recognize the name and to who he was referring. My gaze landed on the man across me and I nodded slowly, "Uh, I don't think that's my name." with a small smile I replied, after all, they had guns and I wasn't gonna mess around.

"Miss Blaine, I'd prefer," I informed him of the only last name I knew of mine.

He took a step closer to me, he seemed sharp but slick with his words and actions. I was ready to take a step back but he extended his hand to me.

"I am Colt and I have been instructed to address you as Miss Gonzales and nothing else." He said straightforwardly, taking me by surprise. For a moment, I had begun to expect good words from him.

Everyone in this place or close to Gael Gonzales was probably aware of me being his daughter by now. At least I could guess from his words since he was addressing me openly. That also raised another question, why didn't the man from earlier know about me? He seemed to be equally confused as me.

"Now, can you tell me when did you woke up, and did anybody check in here?" He asked and by his looks, I could tell it was more of a question than a doubt. The brown eyes from earlier reflected in my mind and their calmness once again radiated through me.

Should I mention him? Or-

"I woke up a while ago and nobody checked in yet," I said wondering if there were any cameras nearby that could have recorded him earlier which could easily give in to my lie.

Wait no- I shouldn't be afraid of them. They can find the truth for all I care but I would be satisfied to know that I helped someone in trouble. That man could have been one of their victims or the innocent people the cartels killed.

"Okay. Get me the doc." He ordered the man who was on standby. "Once your final check-up is done, Boss wants to see you."

"Boss?" Confused, I asked.

"Your father."

I gulped slowly then nodded once. I would've known that and probably would have kept my mouth shut instead of making myself look stupid.

"You are clueless, aren't you?" He said once again and I frowned.

Yeah, I do look stupid.

After a while of getting checked up, the doctor gave me a few medicines which I had to take under the scrutinizing gaze of Colt. The doctor took his time to tell me I had fainted due to stress, advising me to take less of it as if it was in my control. Nevertheless, the poor fellow did too good to not mention as he too was afraid to find a man with a gun in the room, watching us extremely carefully. Throughout the checkup, twice my gaze traveled to the plain white wall into which the strange man had vanished earlier.

I wondered, where could he have gone? Will I ever see him again? I wouldn't mind finding a pair of kind eyes here again. They weren't just kind though, the captivating and intensity in those could have drowned if it were not for the panic attack.

"Let's go." Colt stepped up to the door motioning me to follow him.

"Will it all be over after I see him?"

He gave me a silent look and then started walking ahead. I caught up with him and soon we were walking through a partially lit corridor.

"Why do I feel you have something to tell me- Miss Gonzales." He focused up ahead and I gulped slowly, as I thought about the captivating stranger. "I haven't stayed here long enough to have something to tell you about," I said, pausing.

"Nor will I."

Colt stopped short, turning to me.

"Tall, pale, black hair. Did you see him?" His eyes narrowed in on me and my breath hitched for a second but I shook my head as fast as I could.

"No," I murmured.

He took a threatening step toward me, "If you have, then you must tell me. Trust me, he's not the man you should be covered for." Colt had his sharp look from the first time on and I looked straight at him.

"I don't know who you're talking about. Now, can we go see your boss and get this over with?" I spoke, confidence radiating from my words.

Guess whoever that man was. he was in trouble. The urge not to tell about our encounter came from within me, not that he meant something to be. I did it probably to return the favor he had done me earlier by soothing me and definitely nothing more.

I should not be thinking this way especially after I lost my mother and found my long-gone father both in a day, but this man in some way seemed to be the only good thing that had happened in the past few events of my life lately.