I got up from my position on the ground while rubbing my neck. Vittore stood emotionless beside me and I really didn't want him to kill the dumb chicken man. I wasn't in the mood to have blood on me. I'd just gotten out of the "safe house" for God's sake! A forced a smile on my face. I was so going to regret this.

"Hi there. I'm sorry. There's nothin' goin' on here," I said in a southern accent.

"You sure?" the chicken man asked.

"Yeah of course. My boyfriend here just gets a little bit... kinky," I said with a shy smile as I moved closer to Vittore, putting my palm on his chest.

Vittore wrapped an arm around my waist and I was shocked for a second. Just a second. "I'm so sorry you caught us like that."

"Uhhh... it's cool," the chicken man said kicking the ground. Great kid. Now leave.

"If you don't mind, I'm going to finish what I started," Vittore said with a very impressive American accent. He moved his hand from my waist to my shoulders and turned around, walking us to where I assume his car was.

I played along, wrapping an arm around his waist. We walked together like this as a corner came up. As soon as we turned it, I tried to push Vittore away from me but he wrapped his arm around my throat from behind. My back was on his chest as I struggled for breath. I tried hitting him with my elbow but it was like he was pain resistant. I continued to struggle but Vittore didn't let go. It must have been about six minutes before dots started dancing in my vision due to lack of air.

"Don't sleep. Don't lose consciousness." I tried to tell myself but I had been holding my breath or too long. I slowly slipped into darkness.

* * *

I was huddled in a corner, freezing, shivering. My breath fogged before my and my lungs were tired of taking in the cold air. There were eleven other girls with me in the room. We were the only ones left. He called us his final creation. I knew he was going into hiding after this. I wouldn't be able to find him but now, I just wanted to be warm again.

The white walls seemed to ripple and close in around me. My heart rate was faster than ever, making my chest hurt with very beat. I held my shaking fingers close to my chest but it wouldn't do anything. I was in just a bikini. My whole body was shivering.

The other girls were all white, unlike me. Their skin was either pink or blue at this point. They all looked like death but we knew the rules. The camera in the corner watched us carefully. We didn't dare try anything. We could be shot down in a second.

In the corner of my eye, I saw a blonde girl collapse on the cold floor. Her fingertips were black and blue, her lips were dry and chapped. No foggy breath left her lungs. She was dead. I was happy about that. I got to live another day. The door to the walk in freezer opened.

"Good work girls. The rest of you shall move on."

My eyes snapped open and I awoke with a gasp. Looking around, I tried to gauge where I was. Black. Black everywhere. Was I finally in hell?

"I see you've finally woken up tesoro," I heard Vittore's voice say. Yep. Definitely in hell. "Have a good sleep?"

I looked up and realised I was in Vittore's office. He sat across me, looking through some papers. I made a move to get up and failed. That's when I realized I was strapped to a wooden hair. My hands were bound together behind me and my legs were zip tied to the two front legs on the chair. Something dripped down my face and landed on my thigh. Inspecting it, I realised it was blood. My white shirt too had stains of it's own. That explained the pounding in my head.

"You are the most resilient person I've ever met," Vittore commented and I leaned back in the chair and chose to keep quiet.

Vitttore went back to his work and I let out a frustrated breath. If he wasn't going to address me, he might as well take me back to my room. I tried to get the knot of my rope untied as I looked around Vittore's office for the closest weapon. The only thing that stood out was the lamp on his table. If I got out of this, that would have to do. The ropes were slowly getting untied when the door burst open.

"Boss, Julia got wounded in gunfire at the drug pick-up. She's in the hospital in intensive care as we speak. Alexa sent me to call you for a meeting for tomorrow's heist. She wants to perfect the details on how to steal money from the Vipers' casino without Julie," some guy said from the doorway.

Vittore got a gun from seemingly nowhere and shot it at the door. A loud bang sounded through the room and I turned to see if he had actually killed the guy. Sadly, he had not.

"Out!" Vittore snapped. The guy didn't think twice before sprinting away. I snickered and turned to Vittore.

"It seems your goons can't keep their traps shut," I said pointing how the guy had just explained one of Vittore's secret mafia schemes to him while I, a possible spy was in the room. "It would be a shame if the Vipers heard about this wouldn't it?" I taunted.

Vittore looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "I suppose you'll tell them?"

I rolled my eyes, both of us knowing I wouldn't. I was stuck with Vittore until I managed to either kill myself or kill him. The second option sounded much more exciting. Vittore stood up and walked behind me, tightening the knot that I had already loosened. He was sure to make it even more complicated.

"Bloody hell," I murmured.

"I have to go to a meeting as you can see. Enjoy tesoro," he said getting up and walking towards the door.

My mind run a mile a minute. I knew I shouldn't but what else could I do. "Wait!" I called Vittore.

His steps halted. "Let me help," I said turning my head to look at him.

"No," he stated and continued his journey to the door.

"You know what I can do Vittore! I managed to escape from your damn mansion. I'm good at what I do," I said trying to persuade him.

"I don't trust you," Vittore stated simply.

"Surprise surprise, I don't trust you either," I said sarcastically and Vittore opened the door to his office.

"No wait! I would be the perfect ally Vittore. You know that!"

The sound of the door creaking open reached my ears and I cursed. Then surprisingly, I heard Vittore's steps come to me. He spun my chair so I was facing him and crouched down to my level. His dark eyes scanned my features and I looked back at him.

"You take one step out of the line and that's a bullet through your head. I caught you once, I will catch you again and this time tesoro, ti pentirai di avermi sfidato (you will regret challenging me)."

"Fidati di me Vittore, rompere la tua fiducia non è qualcosa che ho intenzione di fare... ancora (Trust me Vittore, breaking your trust is not something I'm going to do... yet)," I whispered leaning forward. A smirk made its way on my face.

Robbing a casino was no small job. He knew I would be an amazing ally. Did I plan to betray him? No. Not yet. He showed me he could catch me. With him, I couldn't just think I could waltz out of his mansion and do what I want. Vittore Martinelli was one of the smartest men I've ever met. He was a bomb that needed to be carefully torn apart. One wrong move and you're dead.

"Stai giocando a un gioco pericoloso, tesoro (You are playing a dangerous game, tesoro)," Vittore said standing up. He grabbed the back of my chair, tilting it and dragging me out of his office.

"Non aspettarti di vincere. Non contro di me (Don't expect to win. Not against me)."