"But you'll never have to be alone ever again."

My eyes flickered up to Moretti's and he stared back unabashedly.

A wave of relief crashed over me. For so long, I had been wanting to hear those words. For my entire life, I've felt so alone. Passed around from person to person, then eventually all on my own on the streets.

But now, even though I was trapped in a dark hole with no know way out, looking at him, I felt like I had found a home.

Carefully, I leaned in towards him. He tilted his head down to meet mine.

I gently licked my lips and titled my face up towards his.

"Is it okay if I kiss you?" I asked, shy for once in my life.

He put one bloodied hand on the back of my head, gently brushing his fingers over my hair despite it being no doubt knotted.

Separating my lips, I leaned in to touch his to mine.

When we had kissed earlier, it was passionate and rough. But now, not knowing if we were going to make it out or not, all we could do was give eachother our most vulnerable selves.

It was sweet and slow, I could hear his jagged breaths as they mixed with mine between each kiss.

I threw a leg over him and assumed my position in his lap, careful not to further injure him.

He gripped at my waist and neck as we continued, closing his eyes tightly as if he was holding back so much. The knuckles of his bloody hands turned white with how tight he held onto me.

"I mean it, Bella," He broke the kiss, "I don't plan on ever letting you get away."

Finally, the thought of not being able to run away didn't scare me. I liked it.

Slowly, I creeped my way from his lips to his neck, kissing all the way down. He lifted his chin and turned his head to give me better access.

His hands continued to roam my body, smooth and slow.

They trailed from my neck down to my waist, then eventually to my hips, which he grasped tightly. He rubbed the top of my leg before moving slowly towards my inner thigh. My head fell back.

I lost my breath when his fingers touched a certain place.

I looked back down at him, curious as to what he was going to do.

He touched my cheek and held on to it with his left hand as he continued to touch me with his right.

"Please Bella, let me make you mine."

I nodded and covered his hand with mine.

"I'm yours."

___

Our heavy breaths still continued to mix together after, still not off of the high.

I zipped him back up and sat up again, pulling my ripped dress back down over my hips.

Moretti's hands were still knotted in my hair and he pulled me back down to kiss him one more time, a kiss to which I immediately returned. Our lips lazily moving over one another's.

But we both knew what was going to happen to us if we didn't get out.

I laid my head against his shoulder, pressing my weight into him. He groaned. I leaned back up immediately.

"Am I hurting you?"

He forced a smile, "No, lean back down."

I could tell he was still in pain, but I listened to him and rested against him once again, but I still tried my best to keep my weight off of his injuries.

For a while, I closed my eyes.

___

A load creaking and groaning sound woke me up. The wood planks surrounding us and encasing us began to shift around.

If they move, we'll be...

Moretti realized this as well, and he wrapped his arms around my head and neck, trying to cover my body from the impact of the wood.

The cracking grew louder and louder and my heart began to pound. I was scared now.

I was scared now, because I finally had something to lose.

Him.

I wrapped my arms over him as well, trying to shield him to my best ability. But we both knew it would be no use if the full force of all of that came crashing down on us.

A beam on our left side shifted and I closed my eyes shut tightly, wrapping myself around Moretti and keeping his head protected in my chest.

"The hell are you two doing?"

Both Moretti and I jumped at the voice coming from our left.

"You two gonna move or what?"

Santiago's face stared back at us from an opening, one I assume he had made.

So that was the creaking sound.

"Santiago!" I cheered, and I lept through the opening to hug him briefly.

"You two are some trouble, you know that? I called you fifty-fucking-times and got no answer. So had to track your car too," Santiago ranted as he helped Moretti out of the small space.

The ceiling in the hallway of the old building was still intact, but who knew for how long.

"Let's get the hell out of here," I said as I grabbed Moretti's arm and threw it over my shoulders to help him walk.

Santiago spoke up again, "You help him get out, I'll be outside trying to call the doctor, there's no service in this bitch," he huffed and left ahead of us.

Slowly, Moretti and I took careful steps.

"Stop for a minute," he ordered.

I stopped and turned my head towards him.

"Moretti, we need to-"

"Tell me you meant it. Tell me that when we leave this place and get home you're not going to hide." He stared directly, his face cool and impassive.

I wrapped my hand around his, our fingers intertwined. "I've never meant anything more."

My words seemed to uplift him and he leaned in again to kiss me, wrapping his hands in my hair.

We broke apart. "We can do that plenty more later, let's go," I ordered and he followed.

We walked out to the empty lot, filled with beer bottles and old needles, but there was no Santiago in sight.

"The hell did he go?" I asked myself and I continued to support Moretti's large form on my shoulder.

We rounded the corner only for a familiar cool object to be pressed against my temple, and I assume Moretti's as well.

"Move and I blow pretty boy's brains out," The goon beside Moretti said. I stopped immediately and thought of what I could do. But I was at a disadvantage seeing as I was without a gun and supporting an almost 200-pound man on my shoulder. So I went along with what he said.

And I looked in front of me only to see Santiago surrounded by at least ten men, forced on his knees and gagged.

All the men around him had on masks and heavy, dark clothes, holding various guns and knives except for one.

The man standing right next to Santiago, with the gun pointed right to his head stood tall without a mask, just a sinister smile engraved into his face.

"Hi Dollface, miss me?" His gravely voice spoke.

My blood turned to ice in my veins.

"Hank."