Azrael

Chapter IV

It's been a few hours since I woke up here. In Azrael's house. A few hours since I saw Azrael. A few hours of complete boredom. Of course, I used that time to look around like the little snoop I am. I'm not sure what he does for a living but he lives in an actual mansion. Like borderline palace kind of mansion. Five stories with a gym, indoor swimming pool, hot tub, and so many rooms.

My mind was still reeling from being taken by the men and I still had absolutely zero answers. I still had no idea how Azrael knew where I was and why they wanted him.

I made my way back downstairs to the bedroom I woke up in, searching for Azrael's name online, when I bumped headfirst into a wall. Huh? I looked up and met with an unfamiliar face. My body screamed to run, but I was halted by his voice.

"Oh my goodness! You're Lydia! I've heard so much about you. I'm Enzo, Azrael's best friend even though he will never admit it," the man, Enzo, exclaimed as he held his hand out. I shook his hand and I knew off the bat that I was going to like this guy. He was in his mid twenties with blonde hair that stood out in different directions.

I grinned. "Yep that's me. I didn't know you also lived here."

"Yep I live here as well as Alessandro, Leo, and Giovanni. You'll meet them all when they get back from," he paused for a second and considered his next words, "work."

A house full of guys. What kind of place was this?

"Were you going somewhere because if not, we could go and start preparing lunch and just so that you know, I'm the best chef in the state," Enzo continued, smiling coyly at me.

•••

"Shit it's burning!" Enzo screamed, running away from the pot of tomato sauce which was now on fire.

I had taken Enzo up on his offer to cook and we had been chatting for over an hour about everything including the other guys who lived here. It turns out that Azrael was related in some way to all the men living here. They were all either cousins or second cousins. Not that I could ever understand what second cousins were if I'm being honest with myself.

I'd also learnt that Enzo was in fact not the best chef in the state. He was quite the opposite. He'd already mashed the potatoes with the skin on them, burnt the pasta and set the tomatoes on fire. I doubted that we were going to be eating anything for lunch at this point.

I smirked at him as he grabbed the fire extinguisher with a huff and ruined the tomato sauce by spraying the white liquid all over the stove. He looked back at me and frowned at my smirk. Then all hell broke loose. He grabbed a jug of water from next to the sink and ran to me, dumping the whole lot on me. I shrieked as ice cold water ran over my body, and lunged.

"You are so paying for that Enzo!" I screamed and tackled him to the floor, the water soaking him as well. I laughed so hard that tears were forming in my eyes and I couldn't breathe. I rolled off him and we both sat on the floor, laughing hysterically as the fire alarm went off. We lay like that for a few minutes, trying desperately to stop laughing when Azrael walked in, talking on the phone.

"What in the hell is going on in here?" Azrael questioned, turning off his phone and glaring at us. I turned to Enzo and we looked at each other for an answer, before the hysterics kicked in again and we rolled on the floor laughing our guts up.

"We were," I attempted to explain in between laughs.

"Trying to cook," Enzro continued, still chuckling away.

"Lunch," I finished, my voice wobbling as I finally finished laughing and stood up alongside Enzo. We stood in front of Azrael, like two naughty children who were about to go to the naughty corner, containing our laughter.

The tiniest of smiles lit up Azrael's face before he composed himself. "I see you two have met each other then."

"Yep," we said in unison, eyeing the mess we had made. My eyebrows shot up as I noticed the mess of a kitchen.

We're so dead.

"Lydia," Azrael said pointedly at me, "I have something I need to discuss with you." He pointed to another room and left, with me on his toes.

As I left the room, I quickly glanced back at Enzo who winked at me and mouthed, "Don't get pregnant."

I flipped him off as I felt a blush make its way to my cheeks and rushed to catch up with Azrael.

We made our way into an office with a large oak desk facing the door. Azrael sat behind the desk and pointed to one of the chairs on the other side of the desk.

We sat for a few minutes in silence as he arranged and then rearranged his files. He glanced up at me a few times, his eyes roaming around my beat up face, before he cleared his throat and unclenched his fist.

"You're not going to like this," he began, toying with his pen, "but after what happened last night it seems we have no other option. You're going to have to stay here for a while until we know that the group who kidnapped you is gone for good."

He analysed my every move as my eyebrows drew together and my breathing increased.

"I thought they were all dead. You killed them all," I started, a new kind of hysteria building up inside me. Weren't they all gone?

"Yes, I killed the ones who captured you, but their group is much bigger than just them. The group have hundreds of men who work for a rival boss, who has been after me for a couple of years. It appears that he believes you are a weakness of mine because he saw you enter Marcus's house multiple times. You won't be able to leave this house without a chaperone unless you want to be taken again. Only this time, I might not be able to find you," he concluded, his jaw twitching slightly.

"There are more men?" I mumbled, looking up at Azrael, "Speaking of which, how did you know I was gone and how did you find me?" I was finally going to have some answers.

He grumbled. "Your friend Jada came by Marcus' house looking for you last night and I instantly knew that they had taken you. I also have a couple of spies inside their group and I knew where their closest base was."

"Oh," I sighed, wondering what would've happened if Jada hadn't of been there.

"You're safe here," Azrael insisted, looking towards the door as the doorbell rang through the house. "Are you ready to meet my famiglia?" Azrael added. (family)

Will I ever be?

A/N: I love Enzo and Lydia's growing friendship! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it!!

Please vote and comment if you can, I appreciate it so much!!

Until next chapter, where you'll meet the rest of the guys?

-T <33