Grace slowly stirred with a throbbing pain in her head. "What... happened?" she grumbled.

"Sleeping beauty finally awakens," Floyd said as he sat in a chair nearby the bed, drinking wine.

"Floyd?" Grace tried to remember what happened last. I passed out while eating, didn't I? "Did you drug me? And where's Zain?"

"It doesn't matter where Zain is."

So, he's alive. She forced herself to sit up and held onto her head. How pathetic. I got kidnapped again. "What do you want?"

"You."

Her eyes widened slightly. "No, you don't."

"Yes, actually, I do, because I need you to help me complete my brother's mission."

"That's not the same as wanting someone. Ugh..." She rubbed her eyes. "What the hell did you drug me with? These after-effects are killer." She swallowed hard, trying to fight the urge to vomit.

"Need, want, whatever; it's the same thing to me. I need you to be mine, and then our families together will become the strongest after I take over the Bertolottiss and assimilate them into the Russo family."

"That's not going to happen. You think because you kidnapped me, I'll agree to marry you? Dream on. I doubt it'll be long before my grandpa comes looking for me—"

"And all hell breaks loose? Yes, well, then he can die in the war, and the Bertolottiss will be lost without him, opening your area up for us to take over, anyway."

"So this is all about power to you."

"Of course it is." Floyd got off the chair and sat on the corner of the bed, swirling his glass of wine.

"You know, I thought you were better than this."

"Why would you think that? You've been surrounded by the mafia for a while now; I'm sure you've learned we're not a bunch to be trusted."

"That's actually the opposite of what I found out. I didn't want to trust them at first, but things changed. They cared for me and took care of me." Although, they are keeping Roger as a hostage still, but I'm not sure if that's about me or him.

"Because you're the mafia princess there, no matter how long you've been with them."

"Vincent— Ah!" Grace yelped as he grabbed her chin, digging his fingers in.

"Don't mention that skirt-chaser. He's only nice to you because he wants to marry you for power like I do."

Mustering up her strength as she still fought the effects of the drug, Grace hit the inner side of his elbow, making him release her and tilt forward. She thrust her palm at his head and hit him in the nose.

Floyd fell back and hit the floor hard as his wine glass smashed beside him. He gripped his nose, dripping with blood, and cursed at her. "How could you? You crazy wench!"

All the pressure really changed him. Not that I knew him that well beforehand.

"Don't you understand the situation you're in?!" he yelled at her. "You'd do well to treat me nicer! Or maybe I should throw you in the dungeon like we did Zain until you come around."

"What did you expect me to do when you grabbed me like that?"

His eye twitched. "I expected you to realize the situation you're in and be docile like a good little prisoner."

"Have you not looked into me at all? I know we didn't talk much that first day, but I don't think I came across as someone who would simply obey because you said so. And don't tip your head back; you'll choke on your blood." Grace grabbed a few tissues from the box on the nightstand and wobbled over to hand them to him. "Sit up straight and pinch your nose right here for a while." She pinched her own nose to show him.

"Thanks..." Floyd followed her instructions. "Why are you helping me now?"

"Because I don't believe all of this is what you actually want to do."

Floyd rolled his eyes. "That optimism of yours is going to get you in trouble."

She tilted her head as she gave him a wry smile. "I think I've learned as much already, but that doesn't mean I'll change my ways."

"I suggest you learn to be cautious if you want to survive in this world."

"This world, as you put it, could also use a bit of kindness, don't you think?"

"Ha... Helping me now doesn't change anything. You're still trapped here, and I'm not letting you out."

"And what do you plan to do? Attack me? Good luck with that." Grace glared at him. "I believe in second chances, but don't think I'll leave you with just a bloody nose if you try anything with me."

"And you're so certain you could take me?" Floyd stood, still holding onto his nose.

"Since I'm starting to feel better, and I won't give you another chance to drug me, yes." Well, I hope I can.

"I'm not the pushover you think I am; you just caught me off guard."

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"That's what they all say. Trust me, when you're a woman in a male-dominated job, they try to belittle you until you prove yourself. Even then, there's always someone with a—"

"I get what you're saying, but I have this." Floyd pulled his gun out and aimed it at her. "I know you have feelings for Zain, whom we have as a prisoner, and you're defenceless against me right now, so it doesn't matter if you could beat me in a fight."

Grace's hand automatically went to her thigh.

"Did you really think we'd leave you with a gun? Even one so small." His nose finally stopped bleeding, so he tossed the tissue off to the side. "I'm sorry you got caught up in this all because of the family you didn't even know, but trust me when I say being mine is the better of the two options."

"A bit limiting, isn't it? I'd rather choose option three."

"I'm sorry, Grace, but there is no option three. Even if you took me down and made it out of this room, you'd be captured by people a lot worse than me. These people will go to extreme lengths to break you and turn you into whatever they want you to be. If they let you live, that is."

"You were a candidate because your family didn't want a war, right?"

"I suppose, but they're not a patient bunch. They'll go to war with the Bertolottiss if they have to, to expand our area."

Grace sighed. "I'm not sure why you even need to expand. From what I've heard so far, the Bertolottiss are one of the strongest families, so it wouldn't make sense to want a fight with them. No one wants that much blood on their hands. And if everything went bad, they'd probably end up losing territory or their lives."

"If it was my father still in control, I'd agree with what you're saying; we'd avoid a war. But he isn't. My brother doesn't like to back down, and he doesn't like not being the number one family."

She held onto her head as she swallowed hard. "I'm afraid to ask, but are the Bertolottiss seen as number one?"

"You really don't know too much about all of this, do you? Your grandfather went into a rage when he was twenty years younger and started an all out war with the other mafia families. He was angry about losing his family, and from what I heard, your underboss was given to him to try to make amends and bring peace. Zain's family vanished after that, from what I know. I was super young when all this happened and only know what others tell me about it."

"If he went on such a rage, wouldn't all the other families hate him? Wouldn't they have worked together to get rid of him? You guys are into organized crime, after all."

"People feared him more than anything. You have no idea how surprised I was to see how he is compared to his reputation. He's grown weaker over the years. Complacent because people stopped gunning for him."

"But it's over now."

"Please, Grace, accept me before he comes back."

"Why? What happens when your brother comes back?"

Floyd's stomach churned at the thought of it. "If we're not a done deal, he'll throw you in the dungeon as his plaything while he uses you as leverage and takes out the Bertolottiss. He thinks that'll mean he's the top dog, and he'll use that expanding power to make the other families bow to him."

"Ha..." Crazy bastard.

"By the way, my brother is crazy strong and has been fighting since he was a kid. It wouldn't be so easy to take him down."

"Wouldn't it have made more sense to slowly expand with other small families?"

Floyd shook his head. "He's going to go all out. Hell, I don't even know how long he's been planning this. I shouldn't tell you this, but he has someone on the inside, too." Floyd's hand shook. He shouldn't tell her, in case someone was listening in, because he'd be labelled as a traitor regardless of his relation to the Russo boss.

"On the inside?" Grace's eyes widened. "Who?"

Floyd shook his head. "Only my brother knows. And that's not all; he's also working with someone else. Someone who has a grudge against the Bertolottiss. They've kept in the shadows and only contact us through a secure line with some sort of voice changer. I don't know why he's trusting this man we don't know, but he feels worse than my brother. Enough to send chills down my spine. There's a lot going on, and being with me is the safest option. So, what do you say, Grace? Will you be mine?"

He says while he's still pointing a gun at me! "I haven't interacted much with anyone there other than Zain, Mary and my grandpa, so I don't know who the spy could be." Grace stroked her chin as she thought.

"Uh... Didn't you hear me?"

"I'll have to let the two of them know so they can be on the lookout. And if my grandpa's past is so filled with blood, he's definitely got any number of people who would be after the family."

"Grace..." he growled at her.

"Without my job's resources, it'll be hard to figure any of this out. I don't think they trust me enough to let me use a computer and try for myself, anyway. They don't even give me a phone—"

"Grace!" Floyd finally raised his voice.

She jumped back a bit and looked at him again. "What?"

"Is this normal for you? You stop paying attention part way through a conversation and ignore the other person as you ramble on?"

"When there's a case, it happens."

"This isn't a case! You're not—"

Grace rolled her eyes. "This is a case. And it may not be one for the cops, but it is one for my family."

"You don't have the power to solve it. You're in the middle of a war you don't know much about. What do you think you can do? Especially while you're trapped here."

"I'll escape, eventually." It was different from the previous kidnapping; she wasn't looking to escape them anymore, just help Roger get out.

Floyd shook his head, the vein on his temple sticking out. "Can't you tell that you're not going to make it out of this place? You're stuck here. And may I point out, I still have a gun pointed at you, and you're brushing it off!"

She could tell she had pushed him a bit too much. She held her hands up a bit. "Floyd, it's just that I can tell you don't want to shoot me." She stared into his eyes. "You won't shoot me."

"You don't know that."

"Yes, I do. You have no idea how many times I've had to talk people down from doing things they didn't want to do. Trust me when I say they want an excuse not to."

"What is this? Some kind of psychological trick? We don't have time for this. My brother will be back soon! So, are you mine or not?"

"Not. I'm sorry, Floyd, but for me there're always more options. I just have to find them."

Floyd grimaced. "It's like talking to a broken record." He finally let his arm drop. "I can't do this, but I can't let you leave either. Fine, you're no longer my responsibility."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm going to go use the bathroom and tell someone else to guard the door. If I don't, they'll suspect me. Although, can you pick a lock? They'll find it suspicious if I leave the door unlocked."

"I can, but I don't have any tools with me."

"Tch." Floyd knelt down and picked at the tongue of his shoe to pull out a two pins. "Here, use these."

"That's actually pretty clever."

"You could've said that without the 'actually' part. Anyway, getting out is on you—"

"How do I get to the basement where Zain is?" Grace asked.

"Are you serious? You not only want to break out but also save the underboss? You're crazy. Good luck." He turned to leave.

"Wait!"

He stopped but didn't look back. "What?"

"Any chance I can have your gun?"

He looked at her like she was crazy. "Of course not! You're lucky I helped you at all, you ungrateful—"

"I'm not ungrateful; I'm just trying to make a plan." She bowed her head a little. "Thank you."

"Humph, that's more like it." He left and locked the door behind him before going to look for a weak guard for her room.

Does that mean I should wait a few minutes, so no one suspects him? But even he said I don't have time. If his brother shows up with his closest mobsters, my chances of getting out of this unscathed go from slim to none.

Grace took a few deep breaths and shook out her limbs as she bounced around, trying to check how well her body was doing.

Not super great, but there's no time. Please be safe, Zain.