CHAPTER FOUR

I paused my steps briefly, forcing me to step on my dance partner rather harshly.

“Oh dear!” I exclaimed, moving back a pace, “I'm sorry, I lost concentration for a bit,” I apologized as all my father's warnings began running a marathon in my head.

‘Run when you see anything strange’

‘Don’t stay too late outside’

‘Don’t talk to strangers’

‘Men are dangerous’

Words that had lost their meaning over the years, but as the seconds wore on and the men kept looking around the full dance floor, something told me this wasn't the right time to ignore dear Papa’s warnings.

“Do you want to continue or..” the guy in front of me asked, trailing off as he followed my line of sight.

Anyone would assume I was so attracted to the Italian hot guy with a leather jacket standing at the door like the security guard there wasn't doing his job properly.

But I was far from attracted, I was getting scared by the second, my fingers shaking as the Russian one began staring back at me intently.

“Um, I think I'm just going to leave,” I replied, moving away from him and heading towards the door.

I called Bethram and watched the phone ring as I weaved through the dancing crowd, singing an anxious ‘Excuse me’ through sweaty bodies and excited cheers.

Right as he picked, a shot rang through the hair and with the way I screamed, you'd think I'd been shot.

Thankfully, I wasn't, and I joined the crowd of people who scampered around the ballroom, looking for an exit.

Which was quite difficult because I was petite and my small form was running a risk of getting stampeded by the terrified crowd.

It wasn't a surprise when the music finally stopped and we could hear the chaos loud and clear instead of the beautiful song we'd been dancing to a few minutes ago.

“Stand where you are right now!” One of the men yelled out in his Italian accent, which was as hostile as I'd ever heard the language. That wasn't the tone I'd heard when learning it, this one was a force of wickedness and anger, with his gun raised to the roof. “If one more person moves, this gun will be firing off and I won't waste my precious bullet again!”

His warning rang through our bodies, making us all stand still, which would have happened eventually considering that all the exists – two, in fact – were blocked by them.

I looked at my phone to see that I'd been on the call with Bethram through it all, and I realized I'd have to cut the call now; the entire place was dead silent.

The second I did, I heard another gunshot, followed by a scream, and I turned my head upward so fast I nearly had a whiplash.

Right on the floor close to the gunmen lay Curtis, one of the guys I'd danced with today in a pool of blood, holding his leg and groaning in pain.

A year dropped from my eyes instantly.

If the entire place hadn't shut up already, that was enough to keep our lips sealed immediately.

A message popped up on my phone, making a loud sound that rang across the entire room.

“That's it, everyone throw your phones towards me,” the second Italian commanded, gun raised.

I cursed myself for not putting the damned phone on DND because of my father's paranoia. If he calls and I don't pick, he'll scream the world down for sure.

Before I slid the phone down, I saw it was Vivi who had messaged me, and she was outside the building, getting help for us.

So when I slid the phone across the room with the rest of the room, I was able to hold back my tears.

“Tuscan here's going to go around the room now and if any phones are found on anyone, instant shot,” understood?” The third guy declared loudly with a thick Russian accent that increased my palpitating heartbeat.

If their guns didn't kill me tonight, maybe my high blood pressure would finish the job for them

But one thing was sure, it was the scariest night of my life.

“Let's give them one more chance to comply, brother, and while you're at it, on your knees!” The second one with thick beards yelled and like a powerful wave, all of us crumbled on our knees.

Nothing was more powerful than a man with a gun and they exemplified that right then.

Some people threw out their phones and the clattering noises rang out across the entire room.

“Good, I like the compliance. This means that anyone found guilty will receive a cruel death for that is the price of my mercy,” Beardy declared and began approaching the crowd, causing a wave of panic to rise through me and everyone around me as well.

“Take off your masks!” Russian screamed, “Once we find who we're looking for, all of this will be over, so let's be quick about it!”

As everyone began complying, I was hesitant.

Everyone here was a regular person who might have nothing to hide but wanted to indulge in the thrill of not being known.

I, however, actually came here because of its anonymity.

My father was one of the most feared or respected men in the city of Colombia, depending on whom you asked, and as his most priced jewel, I'm rarely seen outside.

Whenever I am, there are cameras in my face so I'm nearly always masked. One of the reasons I'm close to Vivi is because of how chill she was when she found out who I was, no drama, hatred, or some form of overreaction.

I was a human being to her and not some beacon of unfair and unexplainable wealth, as people believed there was no way our family depended on the textile business for our wealth.

So, while people were removing their masks, I was trying to move back to the center of the room. If these gunmen came for somebody else, the moment I'm sighted, there's a high probability that their mission would adjust and they'd be more than happy to keep me hostage until my father paid them a fortune.

“We don't have all night, people! Take off that fake covering so we can see who you truly aarreee,” the first Italian with a leather jacket said in a sing-song tone while cleaning his gun with his tongue.

Gross!

“If I meet you and you're still wearing your mask,” Beardy snarled as he came closer to my location even though I kept trying to move backward without drawing much attention to me, “I'll carve you a new face, that way, you'll always wear a mask,” he threatened with a grumpy look.

Giving up hope on the door breaking down and a savior running in to save us, I took off the mask and faced the ground, another stream of tears pouring out of my face.

“Carla Ivanov?” I heard somebody call next to me, making me curse angrily as people turned around to look at me, gunmen included.

“Oh there you are,” Leather Italian exclaimed as his eyes lit up with joy. “Thank you for making this easy; now, if you would come with us, we can stop scaring these wonderful people who were having fun before we interrupted,” he said, stretching forth his hand as he walked towards me.

“No, no, no, please,” I begged, trying to move deeper into a stubborn, unforgiving crowd.

Instead of letting me go back, they all pushed me forward, tears pouring down my face.

“What did I do to you people? Why do you hate me so much?” I asked in confusion. These were people I'd been dancing with and now they were throwing me to the lions without remorse.

“Don't worry, princess, when your father rescues you, you'll be able to ask him,” Italian Leather said as he took my hand and dragged me forward. “For now, we need your pretty ass to come with us.”