bullets and bouquets

14

Isla wakes up under the covers of Sadie's king-sized bed. It's dark out and the girl can't tell if it's nighttime or early morning. An IV is once again attached to her arm. She lifts the covers up and looks down at her leg where the tattoo should be. Although it's gone, a little bit of scarring can be seen but it doesn't look like 'il mio' anymore.

She sighs with relief and yawns. She puts the covers back down and closes her eyes once again, drifting back to sleep.

***

"What do you mean you have a lead?" Isla's mother asks over video chat.

"There's been a lot more gang activity since Isla's disappearance and ——"

"But I thought you interviewed all the gangs already?" she interrupts.

"We don't have track of all the gangs, but most of them did cooperate ———-"

"So what does that mean?"

"If you let me speak I will tell you!" the officer exclaims. Isla's mother calms down and lets him speak, "There was a warehouse owned by a gang in Palermo. Fifty people were found dead there yesterday. Over what, we don't know, but there aren't usually mass gang deaths this close to town."

"But what does that mean?"

"We think that another gang may have Isla, that she was taken originally and now another gang has taken her," he states.

"What are they doing with her?" her mother cries.

"We don't know, but we are still investigating," he informs them. The video chat ends, once again leaving Isla's parents with little information about their daughter's whereabouts.

That night, Sadie gets back late from business. Isla is still asleep, having slept all day, mostly from the pain medicine. The redhead walks into the room, finding the brunette asleep. She turns on the bathroom light, which is dim enough to not wake Isla, but bright enough for Sadie to see.

Although, Isla hears Sadie ruffling around in her wardrobe, looking for pajamas. Her eyes flutter open to the redhead facing the chest of drawers, lifting her arms over her head to remove her shirt.

"Wow..." Isla says out loud. Sadie jumps and turns, clutching the shirt to her chest.

"I... I didn't know you were awake," the redhead stutters.

"I wasn't, the universe just had to wake me to see you topless," Isla smirks. Sadie rolls her eyes and throws her pajama shirt on. She turns back around and begins to change out of her pants, giving Isla a show.

After changing, Sadie turns the light off and climbs into bed. She scoots close to Isla who snuggles into her. Sadie rubs the girl's back until they both fall asleep.

In the morning, Isla wakes to an empty bed. She sits up and rubs her eyes.

"Good morning, Miss, how are you feeling?" Carlo asks as he enters the room.

"Good," the brunette answers. He walks to the bedside.

"Can I look at the scarring?" he asks. Isla nods, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed. She pulls her sweatpants down far enough for him to see.

"Very good, healing nicely. We can take the IV out today," he says. She brings her arm over to him. He pulls out gloves from his medical bag and takes the IV out of her arm.

"Thank you," Isla tells him. He nods and leaves the room. The girl pulls her sweatpants back up and gets out of bed. She goes to the bathroom and comes out to find Sadie in her work attire.

"Hey," the redhead smiles.

"Hi," Isla answers.

"Good to see you're up," Sadie says. The brunette nods, unknowing of what to say, "What?"

"Nothing... I don't have anything else to say," she responds, sitting down on the bed. Sadie smirks and approaches her.

"Then don't say anything," the redhead whispers, pulling the girl up to kiss her. Sadie is more confident this time, knowing Isla is not seriously injured. She puts her hands on the smaller girl's waist.

Isla's hands go to Sadie's face and then to the back of her head. The redhead then scoops Isla up into her arms, carrying her over to the dresser. The brunette's heart races, not cause she is scared, but because Sadie is really good at what she does.

Like, really good.

Sadie's hands start to run along the girl's waistband, her hand occasionally dipping down to feel her skin. Isla continues to kiss Sadie, running her fingers through her long red locks.

Sadie's hands begin to move farther into Isla's sweatpants, feeling her smooth skin. The redhead can tell Isla's breathing has picked up and she likes it. She likes pleasing her and even if she denies it to anyone else, she loves the feeling of Isla gripping her hair.

Before Sadie can get farther, her walkie goes off, "Madame, we have something you need to see."

Sadie sighs, pulling her hands out of Isla's sweatpants and pulling her lips away to answer.

"What is it? Can it wait?" she replies.

"No. It's urgent," Denmar answers. Sadie sighs loudly.

"Be there in 5 minutes."

"Copy," she puts the walkie back on her waistband.

"I'm sorry. I'll be back later," the redhead apologizes. Isla gets off the dresser.

"It's okay," the girl says, although Sadie can tell by her tone, she's disappointed, "It's business."

Sadie nods and kisses Isla once more before leaving the bedroom. She sits back on the bed and looks around the massive room. She turns to her right and finds a giant wardrobe with her name on it. She didn't notice it the other night when Sadie came back, mostly cause they were partaking in other activities.

She stands up and walks over to the wardrobe. She opens it to find all the clothes Sadie brought to her on the second level and additional clothing.

"Jesus," Isla whispers. She looks through it all, deciding she should probably take a shower. It's been so long since she has had one and is surprised Sadie hasn't mentioned it.

She gathers a new outfit for herself from the wardrobe and goes to the bathroom. She has a double vanity sink, a massive bathtub, a walk-in shower, and a hot tub.

"Holy..."

Isla sets the clothes down on the vanity before going to the shower. She turns it on and the water begins to spray, but it's freezing cold. She turns the different knobs, but can't get it.

She wanders out of the bathroom and out of the bedroom. She steps out into one of the massive living rooms, servants wandering all around and doing their jobs. One notices her standing, looking confused.

"Are you okay, Miss?" he asks.

"Yeah, uh, I can't figure out the shower. Is Sadie nearby?" Isla asks.

"Madame Sink is attending to business, I can help you," he says quickly, walking through Sadie's bedroom into the bathroom. He turns on the shower and twists a bunch of knobs. He tests the water, "Is this okay, Miss?"

Isla sticks her arm in and nods, "Thank you."

"Of course," he answers. He bows before exiting the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. She furrows her brow at the awkward interaction but just assumes it's mafia stuff.

What Isla doesn't know is that when she returned to the Estate, Sadie made it clear to all the servants that if Isla ever needed anything they were to serve her. Especially if Sadie is attending to business. If they don't follow orders, they risk having the same fate as Sadie's enemies.