From the Bad Boy with Love

Prologue

Rosa had never put much thought into imagining what kind of day her 18th birthday would be, she just wasn’t that type of person, but she had never ever considered that she would be staring at the barrel of a gun in a darkened warehouse as she officially turned 18.

She gulped nervously and tried to summon her inner courage. Her usual hot blooded personality had hidden itself deep down inside her. This was the one time where it would actually be useful.

“...Why am I here?” she murmured.

The gun didn’t move and she managed to meet the cold eyes of its owner. That was no mercy in those eyes. He didn’t even blink. She had never met him before, but she could tell from five minutes in his company that he was dangerous.

“As the daughter of a infamous mob boss, I thought you would know,” was the harsh reply.

Rosa felt a tremor run through her body. Until six months ago she had believed her father was a perfectly normal man with a habit of running late for everything and losing his watch. Then she had found out he was the leader of a mafia group in the city.

She had been assured that nothing would affect her personally, that she would never be put in any danger because of him. To know that her father’s promise hadn’t been true caused a boulder full of panic to hit her stomach.

“I… don’t actually know why I’m here, if you have a problem with my father, take it to him,” she said.

Her voice had remained steady despite the distress in her heart. She was quite proud of herself for that. Right now she had to appreciate small victories.

The wind whistled through the cracked windows of the warehouse and she shivered. It was the time of year when it became obvious that summer was really over.

The gun moved up out of her face and the threatening man grabbed a padded coat that had been lying on top of a crate and threw it at her.

“Can’t have you freezing,” he grunted. 

When Rosa had gone out to meet her boyfriend she hadn’t expected to still be outside on a cold September day so she was still wearing a thin jacket. She put her arms into it and found it was mercifully warm.

Being slightly warmer didn’t change much about her situation though. She was still in a warehouse with a man holding a gun and no knowledge as to why that was the case. He was dressed in an aged leather jacket and black jeans and looked like he was a similar age to her father. There was no sign of any insignias on his jacket so she would have to ask herself to learn where his allegiances lay.

“Who do you work for?” she asked.

The man raised an eyebrow at her.

“Harry Kingston,” was the simple answer.

That answer told her a lot. Her boyfriend was called Lukas Kingston, Harry Kingston was his father. He ran a mafia group in the city as well.

Their fathers were mafia rivals that didn’t get on.

Her mind started to work quickly now that it had the necessary information. She had probably been targeted because of her relationship with Lukas. Harry Kingston probably thought her father had instructed her to seduce his son.

That simply wasn’t the case.

Lukas had been the one pursuing her affections long before she had noticed. There had been no ulterior motives between them. Telling the man wouldn’t do anything though. She could see from his icy gaze that there was nothing she could say to convince him that she and her father were innocent.

She sucked in her breath before speaking again.

“I’ve clearly been brought here for a purpose, what is it?” she asked.

Internally she marvelled how her voice after nine months in the US, had lost its Italian accent. She had been wondering when that day would come. To think it would be a day like this was laughable.

“Your father has been called here to pick you up,” the man explained. “When he comes, there’s going to be an important conversation and maybe everyone will emerge from here unscathed.”

Rosa made some mental calculations. That all meant that she wouldn’t be here for long. Her father would race to the warehouse to get her away.

She retreated into silence now that she knew everything she wanted to know and arranged her legs so she was sitting in a comfortable position. The man raised his eyebrows and stepped back so he was a few metres away. The gun didn’t leave his hand.

“Don’t try anything dodgy. I want to see where your hands are at all times,” he warned.

Rosa nodded. The only thing she could have done with her hands was to somehow discreetly make a phone call or text. Given that she knew her father was coming, she didn’t need to.

The coldness of the stone floor was really getting to her after five minutes. By now the low temperature could be felt through her jeans and she wished that her father would hurry up and collect her.

The phone in her pocket rang and she took it out automatically. Before she could even see who was calling, it had been snatched out of her hand by the man.

The man swiped and picked up the call.

“Lukas, never call this number again!” he shouted and pushed the power button. He chucked the phone on the ground near her and she saw the screen had cracked.

Rosa felt dread in her heart. It was understandable that Lukas had tried to call her to see why she hadn’t turned up for their date. He must be highly confused by the response. There was more to worry about though. 

She was now very single. She hadn’t considered that she and Lukas would never be able to date again. The members of Harry Kingston’s mafia gang clearly didn’t want her anywhere near him.

For the past six months Lukas had been her everything. Knowing that their brief time together at school earlier in the day had been their last time together stabbed her deeply.

“When this situation is over, I’ll find him a nice girl,” the man assured her. “He’ll forget you in no time.”

Rosa glared at him. Lukas had told her that she was the only person he had ever loved romantically and he would never split with her unless she wanted it. Surely he wouldn’t forget her like that? 

Her normal self confidence was nowhere to be found and she lowered her head into her arms. Another barbed insult was sure to result in her tears.

Then she heard the unmistakable sound of a car stopping outside the warehouse and instantly stood up. That had to be her father. He would rescue her.

That sound was followed by the noise of a motorbike. She recognised the distinctive sound. It was Lukas. 

“Daddy’s here,” the man said and the gun was pointed at her again.

Rosa kept her eyes on the warehouse door and two people came running in together. One figure broke ahead and ran faster towards her.

It was Lukas.

A metre behind him was her father.

Lukas looked panicked. She had never seen his perfect hair astray and he was visibly out of breath with a red face. He came to an abrupt stop when the sound of a safety being removed from a gun occured.

“Stop right there Lukas and leave. This isn’t your fight. Get out of here.”

Lukas met her eyes frantically and she kept her mouth closed despite the temptation to explain everything. There was no way that the man would ever allow her to say anything.

“She’s my girlfriend,” Lukas argued. “This has everything to do with me.”

Her father ran past him and straight to her side. He immediately pushed her behind his back.

“Your girlfriend is a trap. I’ll find you a nice and much prettier one,” the man said. “Leave now.”

Rosa watched the scene nervously. She knew Lukas well enough to know that wouldn’t work on him. He was very stubborn.

“I was the one who asked her to date me and I’m not leaving,” Lukas protested.

“Take Rosa with you and leave,” her father instructed.

From Rosa’s position behind her father, she could see that he had un-holstered a gun. She had never seen a gun in his hands before and the sight of it filled her with even more dread. Potentially she could lose her father tonight or even her own life.

Lukas reached out his hand towards her.

The man spluttered loudly in protest.

“No, I want you gone Lukas. The girl and her father stay. They’re the ones involved here.”

Rosa stepped forward to test his reaction and no shots were fired. She stepped forward again and Lukas moved towards her to grip her hand and pull her into a protective embrace. That was when she heard gunfire. Her father had his gun out and the man had his gun pointed right at him. She couldn’t tell who had fired. No one was bleeding so maybe it had been a warning shot.

“Get out of here,” her father barked at them. “I’ll be back soon.”

Lukas led her away and she found herself at odds. She didn’t want to leave her father alone in a dangerous situation, but she didn’t want Lukas to stay either. Rosa turned back just in time to hear the gunshot and the bullet coming towards her. Lukas tugged her to the ground and she felt the white hot pain of a bullet hit her and the world around her began to spin.

Lukas’ face appeared in her tumultuous vision and her frantic mind wondered if this was the true consequence of dating the bad boy.

Memories of their past together swirled in her head and her mind brought her back to when they first met.