The Heiress

Ran made it back to the Bertolottis estate after seeing what happened to Zain and Grace. Zain had signalled for him to follow, so he knew he had to be on guard and stay out of sight.

He practically barrelled into the mansion past a bunch of people as he headed for Ray's office. "Please be here," he muttered before he knocked.

"Yes?"

"It's me, Ran. Boss, we have trouble."

"Come in."

Ran opened the door and dropped to his knees in front of Ray's desk. "Zain and Grace have been taken by the Russo family."

"Taken? How?"

"They went there for a date with Floyd."

"Ugh..." Ray held onto his head. "I knew I was taking a chance with that family, but they'd been quiet for so long, I thought everything was water under the bridge now."

"We're mafia; is anything ever really forgotten like that?"

"He, himself, seemed like a good fellow who just needed a bit of help, but I guess his brother has more influence over him than I thought. Honestly, his brother is a dangerous man, and I can't tell what he's thinking. We have to move out now. Call our enforcers and anyone willing to fight. I don't know what we're walking into, but I'm not going to be caught unprepared."

"Yes, sir."

Grace picked the lock on the door and slowly opened it. Peeking around the door, she spotted the new guard heading her way, and they spotted her right away.

"Dammit," Grace cursed and charged at them.

"What are you—"

She jumped at them, grabbed their head, and slammed them into the ground. Lucky for her, no one else was around yet. With her arms hooked under his armpits, she dragged him into the room, hoping to keep him out of sight.

She tiptoed down the hall as she headed for the stairs. Someone was heading upstairs, so she flattened herself up against the door and hoped he'd head the other way. Before she could find out, the door behind her slipped open, and she stumbled back.

"Well, well, what do we have here?"

Grace shivered at the sound of his voice. They'd only met once, but the ice in his voice couldn't be mistaken.

"The rabbit has gotten loose? We can't have that, can we?" He stood from his desk.

"Uh, gotta go!" Grace took off, sprinting down the hall as Samuel contacted his men.

By the time she got to the stairs, a couple of men spotted her.

"Going down," she yelled as she dropped kicked one, dominoing them into each other. Grace landed on top of them and rolled off to the side at the bottom. Ugh... I hope I never have to do that again. Her body ached from the impacts, but her adrenaline kept her going.

"Which way is it?" Grace kept running, but the place was like a maze to her. So many halls. So many doors. The basement could be through any one of them.

One of the men caught up to her and grabbed her from behind. Grace automatically did a reversal on their grip, and tossed them at the other one, headed for them.

She huffed and grabbed at the closest door.

Locked.

"Come on..." she grumbled. The tangled men groaned and started to get to their feet. Grace moved on to the next door, but it was locked as well. She turned the corner.

"Ah!" Grace yelped as she ran straight into someone as solid as a rock. She hit the ground hard and groaned as she held onto her elbow. A pair of expensive loafers came into view.

"It was a fun chase, but you were never going to get out of here."

She cursed under her breath as she glared up at Samuel. I should've been able to handle this better. She looked down the other halls as she forced herself to stand.

"There's nowhere to go, little rabbit. And I guess this means my brother failed to get you to agree to marry him, correct?"

I should spare Floyd, if I can. "What are you talking about? I didn't talk to Floyd about that. I just woke up in a locked room after being drugged." I don't see a way out of this.

"Is that so?" He laughed. "I find that hard to believe. I told him to wait with you until you woke up. If he wasn't there, then I guess he disobeyed an order."

Crap. "Maybe you two should talk about that in private or something to find out the truth."

Slap. Samuel hit Grace's face hard enough to knock her over.

"You think I can't tell when you're lying?"

Grace lightly touched her cheek, stunned. Holy crap...

"I'm guessing you were running around looking for your friend, since you didn't even try to leave the mansion."

This guy actually has some brains and power behind him. Her cheek stung and even moving her jaw made the pain worse. Part of the inside of her cheek got cut from her teeth, and she could taste a tiny bit of blood.

"Although if you're willing to lie to me, of all people, about Floyd, then maybe he still had a chance. Too bad you ruined it by running away." His eyes narrowed. He reached down and lifted her by her collar.

"Ugh..." She glared at him, and he smiled.

"I like that look in your eyes. You're a strong woman; they're more fun to break." He laughed and licked his lips as he pulled her in close. "You're mine, now."

Grace shuddered. A number of ways to break his hold on her flew through her mind, but her body refused to obey her.

"I'll let you stay in the dungeon with your bodyguard while I deal with Floyd, wherever he is." He nudged his head towards her, and two of his men grabbed her arms, lifting her into the air. They followed him to the nearby door.

I was so close! How am I going to get out now?

They carried her downstairs to the dungeon they had in the basement and approached a nearby cell.

"Well, Kuros, you'll get to hang out with your princess until I come back for her." Samuel unlocked the cell door and stepped aside.

Zain shot to his feet when he saw Grace, a bruise forming on her cheek already. "What did you do to her?" he growled.

Samuel flicked his wrist towards the cell, and they tossed her in.

Zain caught her and held onto her as he checked on her cheek. "It's a bit swollen..." Zain's brows furrowed as he lightly touched her.

She winced and pulled away.

"Well, well, so she's more than just the boss' granddaughter to you, isn't she?" Samuel shook his head. "She mine now, so even while she's in here, you'd do well to keep your hands to yourself."

"Did he do something to you?" Zain asked Grace.

"Other than a power-filled slap that knocked me off my feet, no, not yet."

Zain gritted his teeth and hugged her close to him for a moment.

"Tch. What did I just tell you?" Samuel stomped up to them.

Zain turned her away from Samuel and set her on the raggedy bed. He stood up, toe-to-toe, with Samuel. "She's not yours and never will be."

"Big talk from the man who got captured so easily."

"Tch..." Zain's shoulders heaved as he got into Samuel's face. "If you try anything with her—"

"You'll what? You can't do anything to me—"

Bam. Before anyone could react, Zain clocked him in the jaw. Samuel lurched to the side and just barely managed to stay standing. His men stayed back, knowing better than to interfere with his business without being told to.

Samuel spit blood on the floor. "Just for that, I'm going to put a bed right outside your cell and make you watch as I take her. You'll get to see her writhing under me in both pain and pleasure."

Pack. A high-heeled shoe hit him in the head. Samuel cursed, grabbing his gun as blood dripped into his eye. He pointed it at Grace.

"Really? And here I thought the rabbit was too scared to do anything. You've got more fight left in you than I thought."

"Boss!" One of his men came running down the stairs. "There's trouble upstairs."

"Can't you see I'm busy?" Samuel shot at the man's feet, and he jumped back.

"But—"

"Next one won't miss."

They swallowed hard and took a step back, shaking. A commotion of people yelling and things breaking could be heard through the open door.

"Tch... That didn't take long."

While Samuel was distracted, Zain lunged for the gun and wrestled with him for it.

"What are you idiots waiting for?! Get this buffoon off of me," Samuel yelled at them.

Grace tried to find a way to help while they were wrestling, but couldn't get in closer. When she saw the other men, she jumped into action, lunging at one of them. She knocked one of them into the others and only remembered her missing shoe as she landed, making her stumbled back.

The other men took that chance, climbing over their comrades to get into the cell. One of them grabbed Grace's arm.

"Let go of her!" Zain yelled.

Bang.

"Arg..." Zain groaned as pain seared through his shoulder.

"Zain!" Grace pulled the man who grabbed her, towards him, and gave an upward thrust to his nose.

"Ah!" He stumbled back and was caught by one of the other ones.

"What are you bumbling idiots doing? Get out of the cell!" Samuel yelled at them. "And you." He pointed his gun at Zain, who was still on the ground, bleeding.

Grace stepped in between the two of them and glared up at Samuel. "Don't you have other things to deal with right now?" Grace asked. They could all hear the commotion getting louder.

"You think I won't shoot through you to get to him?"

"No, because you want me alive."

"Even if I shoot you, it doesn't mean I'd kill you. But you're right. I don't have time for you right now, and I'd prefer to hurt you on a bed, anyway." Samuel suddenly grabbed the back of her head and pulled her towards him. He kissed her and bit her lip as he pulled away. "I'll see you later." He smirked and left with his men. They locked the cell door behind them.

Grace stood there, stunned for a moment. "Ugh..." She rubbed at her lips, hoping to get rid of the feeling of Samuel's lips on hers as she turned around. "Zain..." She knelt down beside him. "Let me look at the wound."

"I'm sorry..." he muttered.

"For what?"

"For not protecting you properly. I let my guard down too much."

Grace helped him sit up, his breathing laboured. Zain kept a hold on the front of his shoulder, hoping to stop the bleeding, but blood was pouring out the back, too.

"The bullet went straight through. Which is both good and bad. Good, the bullet isn't lodged inside of you, but bad that you're bleeding more," Grace rambled as struggled to rip the bottom of her skirt.

"What... are you... doing?" he heaved.

"I'm trying to make a makeshift bandage. It's all I have, but damn, is it tough." Grace gnawed on it and tugged until it ripped. She tore it all the way around twice, making her skirt shorter, but she knew she'd need a long bandage. "I'm actually the one who's sorry." She lifted his hand and wrapped it around his shoulder.

"For... what?"

"For being naive. I'm a cop; I shouldn't have that problem, but I didn't even think to question the food."

Grace leaned into him to wrap it around his chest and mumbled more apologizes.

"It's not your fault," he whispered into her ear, and she twitched.

She pulled away a bit as she tried to fasten it against his shoulder. "It's not the greatest, but it's all I can do right now."

"Thank you." He leaned back against the bed and winced. "This will definitely take time to heal. Ugh, never mind what the boss will do to me."

Grace frowned. "Will he hit you even though you're severely injured?"

"Who knows? He might wait for the shoulder to heal and then take a swing at me... or a few... and I'd deserve it, too. I should've stopped you from eating. I should've... kept a better eye on things. I never should've let you out of the house with Floyd without the boss' permission... Ha..."

"Maybe you should stop talking and preserve your energy. You'll need it to get out of here."

"You got a plan? Or are we just waiting to be saved?"

Grace pointed over beside the toilet where a gun was sitting out of sight from outside the cell. "I think one of them men I knocked over dropped their gun and forgot about it."

"Lucky us... Ha..." Zain noticed the high-heeled shoe sitting just under the bed beside him and pulled it out. "You... hit him so hard... you broke your shoe." Zain laughed and then groaned as the pain spiked.

"Yeah. I guess I won't be using these anymore."

"Didn't we get you a ton to choose from? You're... a rich heiress now... Don't worry about it."

"What did I say about talking too much? Geez..." Grace moved to get up, and he pulled her back down. "What are you doing? I need to grab the gun before anyone shows up—"

Her eyes widened, and she froze, her whole body tingling as Zain kissed her. He pulled her in, deepening the kiss until the pain in his shoulder made him gasp.

"Sorry... I took so long." He laughed.

What?

"I'm also sorry he... kissed you... first... or at all... I hope I... erased it a bit... Ha..." Zain winced and held onto his shoulder again, letting her go.

She stared at him with wide eyes, and her heart racing. Heat rose on her cheeks, and she turned away from him.

What was that? She took off her other shoe and hobbled over to pick up the gun.

After a few deep breaths, she turned back around, hoping he wouldn't notice her blushing, and shot the lock on the door.

Bang. The cell door swung open with a creek.

"I hope you're ready to get out of here." Grace knelt down beside him with a hand held out.

"I... don't need help standing. He shot... my shoulder..." Beads of sweat dripped down Zain's forehead, and he groaned as he tried to stand.

"That may be true, but you've also lost a lot of blood, so suck it up and accept my help."

Grace helped him stand and hugged his waist with one arm to make sure he was stable as she kept the gun ready in her other hand. She could feel his body trembling and couldn't help but worry he'd end up going into shock.

I need to get him medical attention soon! And damn, he's heavy. They hobbled over to the stairs together, and his weight slowly leaned more into her. She held onto his waist tighter as they ascended the stairs.

"Ha..." he huffed at the top and braced himself on the nearby wall, trying to take some of his weight off of her.

"Wait here a moment; I'll go look." Grace peeked out the door, but Zain grabbed her arm before she could walk out. "What is it?"

"Don't do this alone..." Zain had gone pale and looked ready to collapse.

"You want to check with me? You're... barely standing." She frowned.

"Give me... the gun..."

"No." She pulled away from him, but his grip on her made him fall forward towards her. "Hey! Oh!" She planted a foot back to stop herself from falling over.

"Ha... I'm useless like this... Use me as a shield..." He coughed as he laughed.

"Quit being a moron." Grace rolled her eyes. "Maybe you should wait here, and I'll get help. It'll be too hard for me to move you around myself if you pass out. Zain? Try to stand, please; I don't know how long I can hold you up for."

"The prisoners are trying to escape!" One of the men, who had retreated from the fight going on, spotted them down the hall.

"Dammit," Grace cursed, looked over Zain's shoulder, and aimed at the enemy. She shot at his feet, and he jumped back. "Unless you want the next one in the middle of your forehead, you'll head in a different direction and keep your mouth shut, got it?"

He stared at the gun in her hand for a moment.

"You have three seconds. Three... two..."

"Sorry, ma'am." He saluted and took off in the other direction.

"Are you sure... you weren't already a part... of the mafia?" Zain finally managed to stand again. "Ho..."

"Can you walk a bit more?"

"As long as I have a trusty wall to support me. Which way, though?"

"My grandpa is probably out the front."

"But so... are all the guys who want to kill us."

"I never really got to learn the layout of this place, so I don't know where the other exits are, but maybe we— I can pry open a window, and we can go out that way," Grace suggested.

A paper airplane landed at their feet.

"That's... weird, right?" Grace asked and picked it up. Inside was a map of the mansion. She looked above where there was a railed hallway, but no one was there.

I wonder if it was Floyd. If they find out about this, he's dead. He might be dead, anyway, with how today went.

"It looks like there's more than one back door. The closest one is here." Grace pointed at it on the map and turned to Zain, who was leaning against the wall with his eyes close. "Zain?" She gave him a light shake, and he opened his eyes.

"I'm still awake... but it's getting harder... to keep my eyes open. Lead the way..." Zain mumbled.

"Tch..." This isn't looking good. Grace adjusted herself to hold on to him while he still used the wall, and they hobbled towards the nearest back exit.

Please don't let there be anyone there.