Protecting The Principessa (Complete)

~ Chapter 30 ~

Ignazia's eyes darted around as she tried to find a way to get out of this mess without causing a scene. She wasn't sure whom the fuck had her, but she could feel something poking her back. And by the liquid rolling down, she knew there was there some kind of knife there. She also wasn't sure how they got into the darkened part of the hallway for this man to grab her, but he sure as fuck played the time nicely.

"Don't you dare fucking move. All you have to do is take a walk with me." She knew she couldn't do that, and she knew she couldn't scream. She wasn't sure if he was telling the truth about having a gun trained on her youngest sister but that was a chance she couldn't take. So, with a mental shake of herself, she knew she had to take care of this the best way she could.

Without further thought, she flexed her arm and drove the elbow straight into his side at the same time that she lifted her foot and slammed her damn stiletto into the foot. The guy let out a grunt and managed to let her go, but not before he got a good slice of her back. She cried out, the liquid running down her back letting her know that he got her good. She was about to turn to see who the hell had grabbed her, but a loud gunshot had her diving for the floor, along with multiple others, as well as others rushing the area. She glanced around but the area was too dark to make out any shapes running away behind her and there were too many people running anyways to spot someone.

"Are you okay?" She glanced up to see a hand beside her and then traveled her eyes upward to see Mike there.

"Nothing a bandage won't fix," she told him, taking his hand. She carefully stood up and winced, the sting being the worst. Mike put a cloth against the wound and looked around. "You were close," she said. She didn't want to accuse him, but she couldn't help but find it a little odd that he was right there but couldn't stop the man from doing anything. For Christ's sake, she was almost kidnapped, and no one would have known. That didn't quite sit well with her.

"I saw Adriano being pulled away and as I heard you are quite the special one, I figured someone better be watching your ass a little better." She bristled at that, but she wasn't sure she could object. Her dad was voicing quite well just who she was. He kept his eyes glued to the crowd around her as he stood by her, guarding her. "I'm going to go out on a limb and say you don't know what happened?" he asked, casting a brief glance at her before looking at the crowd again.

She shook her head as she answered, "I was going to talk to Carlo when I got yanked back and a knife stuck to my back. The guy who had me told me not to move." She held onto his side as he kept his arm around her.

"Well, you just got a lot more popular. I'm going to assume you didn't recognize the voice, right?"

"Not at all, sadly. I tried placing it, but I couldn't. I also wasn't trying to focus on it so much as I was trying to figure out not how to die or not how to get anyone else killed." Mike shook his head before nodding at a door, but she wasn't sure if that was at her or at the situation.

"We need to head that way. I won't let you go but that doesn't mean that others may not try to grab you, so hold on tight. Once we're outside, I'll text Adriano and let him know we're there." She nodded, clutching his shirt before heading that way with him. True to what he said, people were rushing so much that many ran into them, and she felt a few tugs on her arm. But if someone was trying to pull her away or if someone was just trying to save themselves, she wasn't certain. She just knew she hated it and wanted to seek some kind of safety.

After endless minutes, they finally made it to the glass doors, and with his arm still around her, he yanked it open and took her outside. She took a deep breath of the air, thankful that for the moment, she was safe. After that brief pause, she glanced around, glad to see that no one else was smart enough to head out this way and once he walked them a little further away, he pulled out his phone to text Adriano. And she had no doubt he was going to be highly upset.

"Mike?" she asked. He glanced up from his phone as he put it in his pocket.

"Yeah?"

"Can you check the wound? I can feel something rolling down my back and I don't want to reach the bottom of my dress."

"Sure," he said, walking behind her. He turned her around so her back was facing the light and held the handkerchief to the wound again. "It's a good slice and it needs a good cleaning and bandage. I'm sure Adriano can take care of it once he gets you home." She nodded as Mike kept wiping at the wound. "Do you live with your dad?" She closed her eyes, hearing the annoyance in his voice. What could she say? She was told to tell no one, and she hadn't. Like anyone else who worked under her father, they weren't going to break his rules so why would she?

"No, I don't, Mike. And before you get all pissed off at me, I couldn't say anything." He turned her around quickly and she looked into his eyes as they flashed.

"I wasn't just anyone! You could have told me, what do you think I would have done with it, huh?"

"I don't know, Mike, but I was told no one, and that meant no one! How the hell was I to know that you would be so interested in me? Come on, I can't be the only female who's caught your eye recently?" she asked him as she looked at him.

"No, but you are one of the few that spiked my interest. But you are for sure hands off now." She rolled her eyes at that. She was quite tired of hearing that, actually. People were pissing her off left and right with that.

"So, just because my dad is the boss means what, you can't talk to me, can't take me out?" He chuckled and nodded.

"Not the talking, but for the sure taking out. I should have picked up on it when Adriano told me no, he's never been the type to cock block me, and I thought he was. But it makes sense. I know you don't see it, Ignazia, and that's refreshing actually, but in your dad's eyes, I'm too low on the pole to be good enough for you."

"On my fucking God, that's so old school, so archaic!"

"You might think that, but it's the truth. Besides, it's not like you would have given me a chance." She narrowed her eyes at him. What the hell did that mean? She was into him; she just wasn't sure that she could fuck him. And even more so now after the night she already had with someone else.

"I don't think that's fair. I can't say when the chance was taken away before I could do anything." He lifted a brow, and she shook her head. "What?"

"I'm not a stupido stronzo (dumb asshole) that's just starting out in this game. My eyes pick up on a lot of things, and the sizzle between you and Adriano is so damn obvious. It's no wonder Sara hates you even more."

"Adriano does not look at me like that, so you can just get that out of your mind. Or did you forget that he likes his women like models, and I'm far from that." But even as she said that she knew it was a lie. He might like to date females like that, but he sure fucked her good and well. And she couldn't fight that the passion that was between them exploded when they touched. She highly doubted he would believe her if she kept on protesting anyway. "Not that it matters because nothing would come of dating Adriano."

"Yeah, tell yourself that. However, engaged or not, Ignazia, that man is into you." She rolled her eyes again at that. "He didn't have to stay close to you all night, but I saw him."

"He did because my dad told him to! My dad knew the shit he was going to pull and say and knew that the word would get out and the target on my back would be even bigger. He told Adriano to make sure he stayed with me. So, I'm not sure what the hell was the deal with Sara pulling him away and leaving me alone. I mean, I wasn't alone, I was close to my dad, but still."

"What the fuck is going on, Mike?" Adriano hollered out as he stormed outside and over to the couple. His eyes flashed in anger as he took in both of them, and Izzy almost sagged with relief.

"I was making sure...."

"Don't fuck with me. Making sure after you got her alone since you seemed to be right by her side the moment I fucking stepped away!"