CHAPTER XVIII
~~~
“Thanks, I’ll find my way out,” Sophia said to Valerie and disappeared into the bathroom.
She heard Valerie’s distant footsteps and she confirmed that she had gone. She then rested her head against the door and breathed out air through her lips. As if to calm her beating heart down, she placed her palm against her chest.
She flinched when she heard a knock on the door and she called out. “I’m almost out. I’m sorry,”
The person outside the door didn’t seem to get the memo and opened the door, then walked in and slammed her back against the door before locking it in place.
The scent of sandalwood hitting her nose was enough to tell Sophia who it was. “Chase,”
“Gattina,”
{“Kitten”}
“I-this is the female bathroom. You shouldn’t be here,”
Chase gritted his teeth and leaned in to stare into her eyes but she was staring at the ground. “I know. I’m not dumb,”
“Then-,” She pressed her head against the door to avoid body contact with him. “Why-Why are you here?”
“You”, He replied. “I’m here for you, Gattina,” He inhaled the coconut scent of the shampoo on her hair. “I came here to tell you how much I can’t wait to shred this dress out of you,” One of his palms pressed against her curvy waist and he left it there. She wasn’t as curvy as Valerie and Saige, but she was still curvy. Chase knew it was because she was still growing. He was sure that when she would completely grow up into a full woman, her curves would be more prominent and he was ready to be with her till that time so he’d be able to be the only man to explore her body. But too bad, fucking her wouldn’t wait till that time because seeing her like that had crushed every bit of self-control he had mustered and he was going to completely claim her once they get home.
{“Kitten”}
“You-,” Sophia placed her palms on his clothed chest to push him away. “I-You have a fiancee. What you’re doing is wrong,”
“Nothing about me is right, Gattina. Therefore, I’m coming to take what mine when we get back home,”
{“Kitten”}
“Please no,” a tear fell down her cheek. “I-I don’t want this. We can’t do this,”
Chase’s other hand slowly pulled off the pin holding her hair, and he wrapped her soft locks round his palm, then tugged on her hair till her neck was exposed to him. “You won’t tell me no ever again, hmm?”
Sophia whimpered and curled his suit lapel in her fist. “Please,”
He tugged on her hair harder. “Answer me. You won’t tell me no ever again, hmm?” When she didn’t reply to him, he tugged her hair harder. “Hmmm? Answer me!”
“Y-“, She whispered. “Yes. I-“, She shut her eyes tight. “I won’t ever tell you no again,”
“Good girl,” Chase let go of her hair and massaged her scalp where he was sure would hurt her. “If we go home, all you have to do is wait for me in your room,”
Sophia gave a meek nod.
Suddenly, the sound of a gunshot echoed in the whole building, and she flinched. Sophia looked at Chase’s face for any frightened expression but found none other than a blank one.
Who was she kidding? He was used to things like that so he wouldn’t be moved by in even the slightest way.
She jumped in her place again when another gunshot sound echoed, followed by screams, obviously from the women out there.
“Dammit,” Chase grunted. “Look at me, Gattina,” He caressed her cheeks softly. “You’ll be okay, wait for me here. This should be the only safest place here. I’ll go and check what’s going on, and I’ll be back for you,”
{“Kitten”}
Sophia nodded, and he pulled away from her.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .
“Lock the door once I’m gone and don’t open it unless it’s either me, Lucas, or Luciano that comes for you,”
“V-Valerie?” Tears pooled in her eyes, and her voice quivered. “Will she be okay?”
“Valerie knows how to take care of herself. Don’t worry about her. Take care,” He then unlocked the door and turned to her. “Don’t forget to lock the door once I leave,”
Sophia nodded at him, and once he left, she did as she was told. She locked the door.
Once she did that, she slumped to the ground and hugged her knees, knowing her life was at risk and might end up being snatched from her that night. All she had to pray for was that she should be left to live.
After twenty to twenty-five minutes of loud gunshots and screams, there was a dead silence everywhere, and Sophia visibly relaxed. She was safe.
Suddenly, there was a loud, frightening bang on the bathroom door and she stood up from the floor quickly, walking backward till her back hit the sink. The bangs became impatient and Sophia’s body trembled badly until the door fell with a loud thud on the floor, then the intruder marched towards her.
“Ahh!” She whimpered when a rough hand gripped her arm tightly. “Let go of me!”
“Shut the fuck up!” The person roared and she recognized the voice instantly. It was the man from earlier. The host. “Now come with me,”
~~~
It was a trap. A well-laid trap to end his and his cousins’ lives and then, end his empire once and for all. Chase knew that, and decided to play along with Ricardo to make him think he was succeeding in his plan, just so he would crush everything at the last minute. He just didn’t expect the bastard to act upon his plan that quickly because Sophia was there with them.
“Where’s Ricardo?” He asked Lucas, once he was sure Valerie and Saige were safe in the car with his men after the bloodbath that just happened. “He can’t die now,”
They were the only ones left in the hall. Everyone was dead on the floor in the pool of their blood.
Luciano gripped his wounded arm to stop the blood from flowing before they would be able to go home and remove the bullet. He then grunted out in pain through gritted teeth. “I saw the bustard running towards the bathroom,”
The bathroom.
That was where Sophia was. Chase wouldn’t allow anything to happen to her. “Lucas, Luciano, go home. Leave this place with everyone. I’m going to bring the bastard home myself,”
“Don,” Lucas interjected immediately. “I’ll stay with you,”
“No,” Chase said. “Voglio farlo da solo. Questo riguarda entrambi’,
{“I want to do this alone. This is between the both of us. “}
“Okay, Don,” Lucas nodded and helped his brother out of the hall.
Immediately, Chase pulled out his gun from his trousers holster and rushed towards the same bathroom he’d left Sophia in.
Once he got there, he heard her whimpers, followed by someone roaring, and that instant, he knew it was the old bastard, Ricardo. His blood boiled, and he marched towards them
Sophia’s eyes widened when she caught sight of Chase walking towards them. Ricardo hadn’t seen him yet because his back was facing Chase, and she was grateful for that.
“What the fuck are you staring at? “Ricardo yelled and tightened his grip on her arm. “Come with me!”,
He turned to look at where Sophia was staring at but he froze when he felt the sharp edge of a knife slicing through the flesh at the back of his neck.
He instantly knew who it was. His body twisted in pain and his grip on her loosened. The loud sounds of gunshots were heard as Chase emptied all the bullets in his gun inside Ricardo’s skull.
Sophia’s eyes rolled at the sight and her knees buckled. She went toppling down the floor but Chase didn’t let her reach the ground because he wrapped his arm around her body and pulled her into his chest.
A whimper escaped her lips and she strained her neck to look at Ricardo’s body but Chase held her tighter. “Don’t look, Gattina. Don’t look”,
{“Kitten”}