Elena's POV
For a moment, we just stare , a sick grin on his face, and my eyes move over him. Hunter. He has to be the one. The one Rocco and Enzo were talking about.
"Oh, so you do know me. That's why your face is all scrunched up in utter horror," he darkly chuckles.
He stands up, straightening his pants, and sits back on his chair in front of us.
"I would love to know what exactly you've heard about me. Tell me," he shrugs, wiping invisible dust off his pants.
He's so full of himself, I want to shove his ego up his ass.
"Nothing much… just a name," I croak out. Audible, but my voice is shaky and cracked.
"Oh, dang. I thought I was a legend or something… tsk." He sighs.
"What do you want, Hunter?" I ask, glancing at Sam, who's groaning. I think she's waking up, and I'm glad she is.
"Right, that part. What I want is pretty simple, you know…" he says, dragging smoke from his cigar, holding, and blowing it into the air.
"Get to it. These cuffs are hella uncomfortable," I snap at him.
"I want us to be friends… partners," he says, dabbing the cigar on his ashtray nonchalantly.
I snort and laugh under my breath. He can't be serious.
"Remind me why I should be friends with my captor. Are you delusional? Or sick in the head? Or both?" I ask with a small laugh, feeling more confident.
"Well, because you'll be forced to. You don't have a choice," he says with a shrug. He coughs, clears his throat. I raise my brow at him wondering what the fuck he's talking about.
"So, I know your little boyfriend is gonna be here to play hero any second now. I just wanted to have a proper introduction , to get to know you," he says, standing up. My eyes follow him as I try to decipher what kind of sick man he is. My heart skips a bit because I know he's talking about Rio .
Except he's not my little boyfriend anymore, but he doesn't need to know that .
"People write friendly letters or something — not kidnap people," I say, groaning when one of his men uncuffs me.
I stand up straight as I watch them uncuff Sam too.
"Well, what's the fun in that, huh?" he asks, stepping closer to me. I back away, helping Sam up, though she still looks weak.
"I'm not the bad guy, well I am ,we all are but am not as bad as them . I'll be seeing you soon, Elena. It was nice meeting you. Adios." He smirks and salutes with his index finger before turning around and motioning for his men to follow him.
They disappear using a back door in the container. I stand there, confused as hell about what in the world just fucking happened.
I place Sam down, her head resting on my lap as I sit on the floor.
"Hey, Sam, wake up…" I whisper, slapping her faintly. She opens her eyes and, just on cue, the door to the container bursts open. Men in suits swarm in , guns raised, then lowered when they see no one but me and Sam.
Rio's men.
And Rio emerges from them, stalking toward us.
"Elena," he says, kneeling near me.
"I'm fine. Sam's drugged," I say, standing up. Two of his men lift her from the floor as she mumbles something about guns and masked men.
I wipe the dust off my skirt, my fingers running over my red wrists.
I look up to find Rio staring down at me, worried. His fists clench and unclench as he steps forward, but I take two steps back.
"Don't. I'm fine," I say.
"You're not fine, Elena! What the hell happened?" he asks, voice raised.
This man , always so entitled.
"You walked in here, saw no one, and I'm fine. Sam's fine. End of story. Move," I snap, trying to shove past him, but he grips my arm and I stumble back.
He motions for his men to walk out, and they do, leaving just the two of us.
"You will tell me what happened here right now, Elena!" his voice drops to a low growl.
I scoff.
"Well, how about no, hm? I'm fine. Now leave me alone. Heck, if your men , the ones you had swarming around me and Sam were actually doing their job, Sam wouldn't be hurt. So, if you ask me, this is as much your fault!" I snap, angry now.
"Elena… I… it's—" he stammers, running his hand through his hair.
He breathes out. I wait — wait for him to say something, anything , but he doesn't. I nod, tears swelling in my eyes.
"You're a very selfish person, Rio, you know that? You demand to know every single detail about me. And when I ask the important question , the why ... why did you do this to me? Why did you wake up one day and decide to break my heart? You don't have an answer." My voice comes out small, cracked, tears brimming.
"I can't tell you, Elena. Fuck…" he murmurs, tugging his hair, walking to the other end of the container and leaning back against it, his eyes on me now.
"You'll find out soon enough. And you'll understand why I didn't tell you , because it will kill me, Elena," he chokes out. His throat bobs. His eyes avoid mine.
"Well, I wish you'd find the balls to tell me instead of me finding out," I whisper, stepping closer.
"It'll be a lot worse if I find out the truth on my own… Goodbye, Rio."
I give him one last look before turning and stepping out.
The tears fall. I wipe them with shaky hands. I look around and spot Sam seated near one of Rio's cars.
---
An hour later
Sam is asleep. One of Rio's nurses told me the drug will wear off by morning , she'll be fine.
I shut the door to the bedroom as I walk back to the living room.
"How is she?" Mariana asks, standing and walking toward me, handing me a cup of hot chocolate.
"She'll be fine by morning," I say, sitting cross-legged on the couch, sipping the hot chocolate.
"What happened?" she asks, taking my hand in hers.
I sigh, setting the cup down, and tell her everything , without leaving anything out.
"What? Hunter?" she asks, shock painted all over her face.
"Yep. Turns out he wants us to be friends. Partners. Whatever that means." I shrug, grabbing the mug again and sipping.
"He didn't hurt you… nothing?" she asks, scanning me for injuries.
"Nope. Just uncuffed us and walked away. Said he'd be back," I say. Even saying it out loud sounds weird , because he definitely looked like someone who'd hurt us if he wanted to.
"That's sick," Mariana whispers, leaning back in her chair.
I hum in agreement as we both sip our hot chocolate. One name stuck in my mind.
With one question.
Hunter. Who is he?