Russian Roulette

Chapter Three~ Man or a Monster

                 MAN OR A MONSTER

"And you?"

I ask the other, completely ignoring the last words I heard.

"What's your name?"

Fixing his rearview mirror so he could make contact with my angry eyes, his voice sounded bored as he stepped on the throttle.

"Jacob."

His green eyes restrain mine for a few moments, only to move his gaze back to the road again carelessly. I am increasingly confused by the fact that both of my kidnappers turn out to be incredibly handsome. With blond hair, in the hue of the sand washed by the clear water of the Pacific Ocean and with a skin tanned by the delicate touch of the sun from here, Jacob looks like a real Californian man, who would bring any woman at his feet with only a smile.If only he got rid of that frowning look and grinned. These two really make a weird couple. One of them doesn't smile at all and the other does too much .

Well, so far I'm sure of a few things: I was abducted and brought back to Los Angeles, and the two guys who are accomplices in my abduction are called Mario and Jacob. I have no idea what their plans are for me or if this has anything to do with my mom's letter, but it's very clear that I don't have too many options in this situation.

"And who is this he that you're referring to?" I straighten my voice and ask in a slightly calmer tone.

They both exchange a serious look, making it clear to me that whoever this mysterious person is, he's not someone you should be taking for granted. Suddenly I no longer feel so confident. As far as I know, these guys could lead me to execution, without even telling me why.

"You're asking too many questions, princess. Let's better appreciate the landscape." Mario says non-expressively and puts on his sunglasses.

***

An arcane place where you could hide an army of people without even wondering if there's enough space and maybe that's exactly its purpose. A place that, as I was told, is isolated, unreachable by any boat, local or tourist. A place far enough from civilization as to remain well hidden and guarded.

Manor seems an inadequate word for the size of the building in front of which the car finally stopped. Sheltered behind giant, automatic gates, with the freshness of the sea just a few steps away, the building is undoubtedly one of the most stunning and most frightening I've ever seen. With a majestic facade, the mansion denotes modernity but also rusticity. Massive, resilient and intimidating, such a building could only be encountered in any luxurious area, as picked from a tale.

Mario finally releases my hands and I managed to escape the warm sweater, letting the warm breeze hug my skin covered by just a simple black t-shirt. As soon as the car stopped quietly in front of the entrance, large groups of peculiar, soberly dressed people greeted us with discreet whistles. My eyes drift to their hands reaching their hips with synchronized movements. Specifically, to their weapons. They harden in place and I dare not take any steps while my eyes are frozen towards them. What the hell?

"It's not necessary. She's harmless." Mario's voice makes me flinch and turn to him confused.

He signals me to start moving forward and I do so without any hesitation. Maybe I have a habit of going over the top sometimes, but I'm smart enough to know that I shouldn't be putting up with an individual who owns a weapon. And in this case, there are more than one.

Even before I walk past the massive entrance doors, a woman's face draws my attention from one of the windows. Young, with long, mustardy hair, her bright eyes look at me from above as if she were about to crush the ground beneath my feet. I can only take my eyes from her image when I realize that both Mario and Jacob left me behind.