Valente

The Taking

The time was well after 1am when I decided it was probably time to head home. The guy I had been talking to at the bar asked for my number. He said he was from out of town and was only going to be here for a week, so I thought what's the harm and gave it to him.

When Katrina and I stepped into the night and began to back to our apartment, I allowed my mind to drift to Adrian. What was so important he had to leave me in the middle of our date? It seems like his "business" as he calls it, takes up most of his time. I suppose it is best I don't see him again. With his busy schedule and his dangerous endeavors and the fact that I'm leaving at the end of the summer to start my new job, it just seems like a waste of time. Plus he did say he was going to be my 'friend'. Which seemed like a lie given everything else that he has said. Although he has not tried to kiss me since the night outside my apartment. Maybe he did only want to be friends. We made it back to our apartment and I crashed within minutes.

...

When I woke up the room was still spinning, and my head was killing me. This is why I don't drink. I picked up my phone to see the time reading 8:32am which meant I had an hour to get to work. I also noticed I had a missed call from Adrian and two texts, one from last night and one from this morning.

'I will make it up to you, Bella xoxo' the first text read

'You can't be that mad that you're ignoring me' the second one read

Well, I am that mad and I have made up my mind that I am going to do everything to avoid this dangerous man. I got up and got ready for work, putting all thoughts of Adrian away from my mind.

...

By lunchtime I had forgotten all about the tall, brown haired hunk and our date. I was in the swing of things at work when I got up to grab a coffee from the lunchroom. The TV reporter on the screen was talking about a body they had discovered in some abandoned building that seemed to be linked with organized crime or so they thought. I didn't pay it any mind until I heard her say that the coroners are placing the death to of occurred between midnight and 2am last night.

Could that be Adrian's doing? He left so suddenly and angrily, they linked this man to organized crime and I mean... would it be that surprising. I felt a shiver run down my spine just as my phone rang. I picked it up without checking who it was and immediately wished I hadn't.

"are you ignoring me Gianna?" Adrian's deep voice asked, and I froze. "Yes, I am actually" I said with confidence and he chuckled. "And why is that?" he asked, and I sighed. "Listen, Adrian, I just don't see the point in this, I mean you're... well you. And I'm, I'm me and being friends with a guy like you just isn't for me right now. It was nice getting to know you but it's better that it ends there" I said and there was silence. "is this about last night" he asked, and I sighed.

"I met someone else okay. Don't call me again" I said and hung up. I don't know why talking to him gets me so heated but something about this man just makes me feel so much. It's not that I had actually met someone else, I mean yes, the guy at the bar had asked for my number but that was nothing serious. I just knew now that getting tangled in the Valente's business would be bad for me. Besides, I needed to focus on my career not a man whose very own "business" is what keeps my job so busy.

...

I was walking home from work at 8:30pm. The air was a bit cold for a summer night but when I left this morning I didn't feel like driving. My phone started ringing and I see that it was Adrian. He had called me twice this afternoon and this will be the third time. He can't take a hint. I declined the call and kept walking.

A car pulled up next to me and in the blink of an eye two extremely large men jumped out the back. Before I could even think to run, a sack was put over my head and I was thrown into the back of a car that felt like it took off speeding down the road. I tried to move my hands to take the bag off my head when my arms were grabbed and bound together by what feels like rope. I started kicking my legs trying to hit anyone near me when they grabbed my legs and tied those too. It's him. He's found me. Why did I think I could run from him? Nine years I evaded him and right when I put down roots somewhere, he caught up to me. I knew I should have left right when I graduated, I was foolish to wait. Foolish to think that monster wouldn't still be following me. I was going to die this time for sure.

........