Danger and Tattoos

Bring Her To Me

Vito's POV::

I sit down in front of Xander, folding my hands. His house always smells like quesadillas. Folding my hands on my lap, I look at the picture I had set on the table. "Why are you bringing these back?" He asks, grabbing one and scanning it over.
"The night at the party, I met this girl-"
"Need my approval or something?"
"John Buena," tell him. His eyes widened.
"Dear lord, was it his daughter? We don't get involved with them. John and his wife stayed out of the whole business, whatever your about to say isn't worth making enemies with yet another Buena."
I sigh, pinching the brim of my nose. "She's the girl in the pictures," I snap. "I talked her last night." He sits down at the desk, taking a better look.
"What did she tell you?" He asks, tilting his chin up.
"That she doesn't know anything other than he had a tattooed neck, which is something Luis has," I tell him. He nods, lighting a cigarette.
"That can't happen. She's not comfortable talking about it, I'm lucky to have got what I did out of her," I tell him.
"But she must have some trust in your dumbass if she told you. Now, you were able to find her a second time yesterday, do it again and bring her to me."
"She won't talk."
"Did I stutter? I told you to bring her to me."
××××××××



River's POV::

"Have you read this yet?" I ask my best friend Cyra, holding up a John Green book. She nods. "What book haven't you read?" I ask her. "What book haven't you read?"
"The school textbooks," she says, a humorous glint in her eyes. "I missed this, us just hanging out at a book store. We don't get to this that often." I sigh, looking through more books.
"I know, and I'm sorry for that. But I can't really cope with being out for to long. It seems the anxiety keeps getting worse," I tell her. She gives me a sympathetic smile.
"Are you ever going to tell me what happened?" I shrug.
"Maybe," I say. "I'm gonna look on the other side really quick," I say. She takes a book down, nodding. I walk around the corner and see the guy from the "party" and last night. Vito I think? "You stalking me now?"
"Took a chance. You should read this," he says, handing me The Hunger Games. I set it down.
"Read it, didn't like them," I tell him. "I told you everything I know." He crosses his buff tattooed arms.
"You told me, not Xander."'
"Who?"
"My...boss. He wants to speak with you about what happened," he tells me. I shake my head violently, tucking my hair behind my ear. "I tried talking him out of it the best I could, but he doesn't understand that you won't talk."
"I talked, to you. That should be enough," I snap at him. I go to turn around, but he grabs my arm. I flinch at his touch.
"If you don't talk, I'll be in trouble for not making his request." My brows draw together. "Tell your little friend you'll see her later and walk to the front. Don't try anything." He walks out of the library in a rush. My heart rate would make anyone think I just ran a marathon without a stop.
I go back over to Cyra, holding my stomach as if I'm sick. "I can't stay anymore. My cramps are kicking my butt," I tell her. She sighs sadly.
"Okay, but call me when you get home." I nod as I walk to the front. My hands shake violently. The air is colder than usual outside, making me shiver.
"Those pants make you look taller," Vito says when I walk over to him. "You always dress so...business?"
"I had an interview," I tell him. He less be over to his car and gets in. Hesitantly, I do the same, to scared to make a run for it.
"What did you have an interview for?" He asks, trying to start a conversation. The last thing I want to do is talk to him the whole ride to where we're going.
"At a publishing company," I answer. He grins at the road in front of me.
"I take it you enjoy books," he says. I nod, tapping my fingers on my knee. "I should let you know now, I'm not a cop."
"I kind of got that."
"It's a gang, the Birds; I don't understand the name either. We're not bad people, just some," he tells me. I tense at the word gang. He parks in front of modern looking home with rose bushes in the front. "Ready?"
"No."
"Too bad." We get out and walk to the front of the house. He walks in, making a women holding a child inside jump. "It's just me Caroline."
"How many times do I need to tell you to knock?" She says. The baby smiles at me. I give it a small wave before following him inside a office. A older looking man looks away from his papers in front of him. His lips curl up into a grin.
"You must be?"
"River," I say. He sucks in his cheeks and shakes my hand.
"Vito has told me some things that...could help us in the situation we're in. You've been involved in one of them," he tells me.
"I told him everything that happened, at least what I remember happened," I tell him.
"Just like I told him, you told Vito what happened, not me," he says. The look in his eyes is harsh.
"They kidnapped me and raped me. There was more than one man. The one I mostly remember was the one with a tattoo on his neck," I mumble, the memories flashing through my head.
"What was the tattoo of?" He asks.
"I don't know, most of my memory from there is blurry," I lie. I just don't want to remember it. He takes some pictures out and stands. Setting them on the table in front of me, he gets too close behind my body.
"Is that what he looked like?" I don't look down.
"Don't you think that's going a little too far?" Vito asks him. His hands press into my waist. I tense against him, now looking down. My eyes widen, seeing that face again.
"He looks familiar," I say. ""He looks familiar, like I've seen his face, but I don't know." He turns me around, smirking.
"We could use you, Vito will give you mine and his numbers. And don't worry Vito, I'm not interested," he says, backing away from me. I look back at Vito to see what he has been talking about. His brows are drawn together as his eyes narrow at his "boss". "You can to. Make sure she gets home safe, we need her."
"What exactly so you need me for?" I ask, my voice shaking.
"We'll see." Vito places his hand at the small if my back as he leads me out of the room.
"I'll see you later, Caroline," he tells the women. She gives us a warm smile. We get in the car, suddenly able to breath.
"You okay? He can be intimidating when you first meet him," he tells me. I nod, looking out the window. I hear his seat moving a little, turning to look has a lot closer to me than I was expecting.
"Whatcha doin'?" I ask nervously. His eyes drop down to my chest. I immediately tense in my seat. He presses his lips against the crook of my neck, making me shiver. I want to move, but I'm too scared. The last time someone kissed me there, or at all, I would be harmed if I moved.
He moves further down, tugging my shirt down. He comes to a stop and moves back. "They used to cut you. Their signature."
"What?"
"They cut the ones they want to own, it doesn't make sense. To the. It most be a sign of ownership. Hermosa, Xander's wife, she was claimed by them before she met him. She has it down her arm. You have it on your chest."
"So they technically own me?" I ask, having a near panic attack.
"Umm." I sigh, looking out the window. "There's one way you get out of it. If Xander had noticed he would have thrown you over to them."
"How?"
"One of us would have to claim you."

AN: I'll edit this later, so sorry if there is any typos. Please comment and share! Believe in yourself -Vaeh