Marrying the Mafia

Shattered Glass

Aria's POV:

    My heart begins to pound as I'm pried from my peaceful sleep. I fell asleep in Derek's bed, but there's no Derek. My ears ring as more and more glass shatters out in the main area, followed by gunshots. Against my will, my body violently shakes like a leaf in the wind.

"Where is she?!" A man's voice echoes, reaching Derek's room. With pure adrenaline pumping through my veins, I bounce out of bed and bolt to the window, opening it with a loud squeak. No doubt they're looking for me.

"You can fuck right off, Ortiz!" Derek exclaims. I take all of one second before I'm outside, making a break for the woods. My heart races as my feet fall one by one in front of me. My feet are bare, causing them to scrape against the harsh twigs and thorns. Thank God Derek's place is surrounded by woods and countryside, otherwise, I could die tonight. I should've never gone out with Rowan that night. I should've just stayed home. Then again that probably wouldn't have stopped Derek. He's seemed pretty insistent on making me his wife. If he didn't catch up to me that night, it only would've been a matter of time.

My breathing quickens as I continue to run in a straight line until reaching a cornfield. I spin on one foot and sit on the ground, eyes trained on where I came from so that I can get back. Along the way, I kept track of two large trees so that I know where to go.

"Oh, Aria," A man sings in the distance, coming closer and closer. I put a hand over my mouth to cover my breathing. I can't live like this. I can barely wrap my head around what's happening right now. My body sensed danger, so I let adrenaline take the lead. "You can run, but you can't hide from me. I will find you."

Tears burn my eyes as they create a waterfall down my cheeks. I put my other hand over my mouth as well, shrinking back further in the field. Silently, I pray for Derek to hurry up and get this shit under control. As much as I want to go home, he's right. If I go home, I'm easier to take and kidnap. At least here, Derek can make sure I'm not getting hurt.

"Aw, don't tell me you went into the field, babydoll," The man's tone grows more and more taunting as he stalks closer. My heart races as I scramble further back, my eyes never leaving where I came from. I can't get lost. Not now. If I get lost, then I'll die. "Aria, I know you're in here."

The voice comes from my right. I continue to grip my face, silencing my breathing. He's off on where I am by about thirty feet, the crunching of leaves under his shoes are enough indication of where he is. Where's Derek when I need him? I need help. I don't have a gun, a knife, anything. I need to start sleeping with a butcher knife under my pillow at this point, given the weakened state I'm in when I sleep. I can't leave myself totally defenseless as I sleep. Although it's ironic that this happened the one night Derek wasn't next to me all night. Typically, he has a gun on his nightstand, but he must've taken it with him when the people broke in.

    My ears start to ring again as another gunshot goes off, followed by a thud to my right. "Aria! Come on out, I'm here!" Derek's voice trumps over every other sound in my ear. I desparately clabber to my feet, breaking into a sprint back towards the woods to exit the field. There, Derek waits next to a dead man with an ugly ass mustache.

"Aria, I'm so sorry," Derek apologizes profusely as he wrapped his arms around me, encasing me in protection. "They're all dead. We took care of them, but you need more security, more protection. I'm not going to leave you in the dark. I just started a war by doing this. I slaughtered half of the Ortiz family and-and," Derek's voice grows frantic as he pants. I look up at him and slap him in the face.