Cataleya Valentina Velez:

His gaze burns through me and I can't get rid of the feeling of his fingers around my neck. God, why now?

'Let me go with you, let me-' 'You're staying in here.' He repeats, slowly heading to the door. 'Then it's settled, I'm going through with that deal.'

'Cataleya, you are not going to do anything.'

'I am.' I try walking past him, but he simply pushes me back into the room.

I stumble back and keep my eyes on him. 'Why not?'

'What?'

'Why won't you let me go? It's not like you care, right?' His body tensed for a second. Wait...

He rolls his eyes and folds his arms, staying right in the doorway.

The only way out now is through him or through the window. I'm willing to break my ankles if it meant I'll be able to get the fuck out of here.

'This is not about me.' He sneers, stepping closer.

Rio noticed my stare at the window and slowly tries to block that too. But he won't be able to block both exits at the same time.

'Then what is it about, Rio?'

He takes another step forward, realizing that I'm waiting for him to pick a side.

If he steps closer like this, I won't be able to go anywhere. He's trying to get me in a corner, making sure my only option is going through him.

'If you go with them, they'll kill you. And they won't spare North either.'

'They will. She'll be alive and-' 'But you won't.' He fumes, taking another step.

'And why does that matter to you? You have Molly right?' The name cuts through him like knives.

The first time I've ever seen him react to anything ever since that night.

'Neveah won't forgive me for letting you go. She'll try to get you back and get herself killed, meaning Leon will be devastated and he'll probably kill himself. So that's why.'

Right...

Deep down. Deep, deep down, I thought it would be something else.

I thought he would finally admit to his feelings, that he would finally change his mind about me. About us.

But no.

Why?

Why did I think he would change his mind? After months? Why?

'We have a plan-' 'A plan that won't work.' He sneers, not even letting me finish.

'You don't know that, you barely let us explain anything!' I shout back, trying to run past him.

His arms wrap around me and he throws me on the ground, making my back hurt like crazy.

I need a few seconds to regain myself as the world starts spinning, before sitting up straight and keeping my eyes on him.

'I know that you're little plan will fail, so don't even start with me.' He fumes, stepping back to the door. 'I honestly thought you weren't this stupid.' Stupid?

He thinks it's stupid that I want to save my best friend? He barely listened to a word I had to say, and he has the nerve to call me stupid? 'Fuck you.'

'You'll stay in here and let me handle it.' No. I don't believe he'll try. He won't try at all. 'If you even care about me in the slightest, you'll let me help!'

He freezes and his shoulders tense as he takes a deep breath. Please. Please. Please.

'Good thing I don't.' Right. 'Then let me go.' 'No.' He slowly turns around and grins at me, letting me know that he won. He won. Again.

'I'm not just going to let you let her die!' He chuckles and steps back into the hall, keeping his eyes on me as his smirk only grows. 'Maybe that's for the best.'

'You piece of shit!' I run towards the door and almost break my nose when he slams it right in my face.

I grab the handle, ready to open it but hear a lock from the other side.

I didn't even know there was a lock from the outside of this door and freeze for a second. No.

'Rio open the fucking door!'

'Not until it's midnight.'

'You piece of shit!' I kick at the door, despite my body begging me to stop.

I'm exhausted, but I'm not giving up.

'Rio! Open the door!' His footsteps fade and I hear some muffled talking down the hall, but I can't tell who he's talking to. 'Rio!'

I kick again, slamming my fist against the door, but it doesn't seem to do shit. 'I'm going to fucking kill you!'

Somehow he hears that, and he has the audacity to chuckle. 'Good luck with that.'

'You asshole! If you let her die! I'm going to fucking kill you!'

I slam my fist against the door. Again and again and again until I notice red stains on the door.

My arm starts to hurt and I try catching my breath.

The window. I turn to the windows in this room and rush to them, trying to pry them open. But they're locked. All of them are locked. No!

I try breaking the glass, but the only thing that will break is my bones.

I grab the chair from my little desk and throw it against the glass.

But nothing.

Not even a single scratch. 'Fuck!'

I rush back to the door and try slamming it open, but it doesn't fucking move. No.

He's not going to do shit. He's not going to Marcello. He's just going to let her die. No.

'Rio!' I shout one last time, slowly dropping to my knees. 'Please save her.' I whisper, knowing that he won't hear.

Midnight. We had until midnight. We had fifteen hours left. Now we only have twelve left. Twelve fucking hours. Shit.

'Rio!' The front door slams shut and I jump to my feet. He's gone. He freaking left. 'Rafael!'

No. No. No. I slam against the door again, ignoring the pain in my hand, but stop when I hear another door open somewhere in the house.

'What's going on?' It's... Molly. 'Molly!'

She walks closer to the door. 'Cataleya is that you?' I have never, in my life, been this happy to see someone. To see her. 'Yes! Please help me!'

'Why are you locked in your room?' What do I say? 'It's not important. I need you to open the door for me, please.'

She pulls on the handle but it doesn't open. 'It's locked.' No shit! 'Isn't there any key?'

'No.' She laughs as if this is funny. 'I need to get out of here.' 'What's going on?'

God! 'Please just find the key and help me.' I don't have time to explain myself to her. I really don't want to either. She just needs to open the door. 'Where should I find the key?' What if Rio took the key?

No. There has to be an extra key in the house somewhere. Maybe... Maybe Leon has one. 'Is Leon still in the house?'

She steps away from the door. 'I have no idea.' 'Go look for him!'

'Okay, damn. Calm down!' She sneers, stepping further away from the door. 'I'll go look.'

Please help me... Please help me... Another hour goes by until I hear footsteps again. 'Hey, I'm back.' I roll my eyes and try to calm down. 'What took you so long?' I sneer, wanting to break this door down. 'I forgot about you, to be honest.' Bitch.

'Did you at least find Leon?' I ask desperately. She's been gone for an hour. The least she can do is take Leon with her. 'Marco said that he does not want to be disturbed.' She chimes. Marco?

'Marco's in the house?' 'Mhm. That's what I said, right?' I want to kill her so bad. But right now she's the only way out. So I have to endure it. She's the only one I have. 'Could you go get him for me?' I ask with my sweetest tone.

'Of course, I'll be back.' And her footsteps fade into the hall again. I just hope that she doesn't take an entire hour this time. And that she doesn't forget about me. And that Marco is coming up here so I can talk to him.

What do I say when he gets here? Should I be straight up? Or should I sugarcoat it a bit? He'll snitch to Rio in no time. So maybe? No. I'm going to be straight up to him. I'm not going to use his feelings, if he even has them anymore, against him.

That's the last alternative.

I stay by the door, trying to focus on the other side, trying to see if I hear a new set of footsteps going around the house.

If only Manuela would be here right now, she would let me out no matter what Rio said. She wouldn't have let him lock me up in the first place. Where is she?

Two sets of footsteps walk up the stairs and I listen to the voices. It's Molly and... Marco! 'Marco!' I slam my hand on the door and wait for him to respond, but he stays away from the door. 'What are you doing Cataleya?' 'Please open the door!'

Silence. Pure and utter silence. 'Marco?'

'I'm here.' Why the fuck isn't he opening the door? 'Go to your room.' Marco says and Molly leaves. 'Marco!' 'I'm still here Cataleya.'

'Open the door.' He walks closer to the door and stays put. 'Marco, open the door.' 'Rio ordered me to keep you in there.' That piece of fucking shit.

He'll do anything to let Neveah die, even if the solution is so easy to find. 'Please open the door, I'm begging you.' 'I can't.'

'You can! He doesn't have to find out, you'll get me back before he even notices!'

Silence. Again, complete and pure silence. But my heart is racing.

I need him to open this door, I need him to let me get to Neveah before they kill her.

'Please Marco.' He takes a shaky breath and I can already imagine him standing on the other side of the door, his hand pressed against the wood. 'Please.'

'I'm not letting you go Leya. I'm sorry.' No. He sounds just as clear as Rio, too brainwashed to see. 'I'm not risking it.' Fucking hell...

'Can I talk to Leon?' My last option. I need to talk to him. He told me that he would take me if ten hours would've passed without any new solution. And so far there's no new solution. So he has to take my offer. 'Please let me talk to him?'

'No.' He sighs, stepping away from the door again. 'Why not?' 'Because Rio told me to not let him too close to your door.'

That motherfucker... He thought about every fucking way to ruin this. To keep me from saving Neveah. 'Please.' 'Don't do this to me Cataleya.'

He's troubled. Marco wants to help me, and I could do two things. I could continue begging him, hurting him because I would be using his emotions against him, or let it go and let Neveah die.

Simple. Just simple.

I don't want to hurt him. But there's no other option.

'I need to get out of this room, Marco please.' Movement, he's moving closer to the door, but nothing happens. 'Just open the door, please.' I desperately mumble, waiting for him to move again.

But nothing happens. 'Marco?' 'I can't.' He steps away again and walks back down the stairs. Shit. 'Marco wait!' His footsteps fade and I slam my fist against the door again. 'Marco!'

Fucking asshole! All of this is Rio's fault. If he would've just listened to what I had to say, if he would've just gone through with my plan, we would've gotten her by now. We would've had Neveah right now. And I would be back with her in a few hours.

But he's too stubborn to listen, too hateful to care about anyone or anything else but himself.

I'm going to be locked up in this room for the rest of the day and Neveah is going to fucking die.

Why isn't Leon doing anything? Neveah's life is on the line here. He should be doing something to save her, but I don't know what he's doing right now.

I need to get out of this room. Somehow. There has to be a way.

'Marco!' I shout as loud as I can. I hear movement down the hall and shout again: 'Marco!'

'What is it Cataleya?' He asks and I take a deep breath. I have to sound convincing. I have to convince him to at least open this door. 'I'm hungry!'

Please. Please. Please! 'What?' He's closer now, almost standing in front of the door. 'I'm hungry.'

He chuckles and is probably shaking his head right now, but stays put. 'Rio said that there should be food in the bottom drawer.' Rio knew about that?

Leon wanted to make sure I always had something to eat in my room, so he put some snacks in the bottom drawer of my dresser.

But I didn't know that Rio knew. Which means he snooped through my stuff. Sick fucker.

'It's empty already.' I lie, staying close to the door. Lies. I'm lying.

I haven't touched the drawer at all.

'And you expect me to believe you?' I sigh and look around the room. What can I do? What can I do? What can I- I could hurt myself? Maybe then he'll listen. Maybe?

'Do you want me to starve?' He chuckles again, slowly stepping closer to the door. 'Cataleya I'm not getting you-' 'Please.'

He sighs again, disappointed. But I can't tell if he's disappointed in himself or in me, but I don't care. 'I just want something to eat.'

'How can you be so stupid?' Stupid? 'What is it with everyone calling me stupid, simply because I want to save Neveah!' 'Cataleya, I-'

I walk back to the door and beg for him to listen. 'I'm just hungry. Could you please give me something to eat?' I state, trying to sound as innocent as ever, even though I should yell at him for calling me stupid.

'Fine.' Yes. Yes. Thank God, Yes! 'I'll be right back.' I nod, even though he can't see, and listen to his footsteps. Until they're gone. Silence again. Now.

'Molly!' I scream once, sharp and barely loud enough to hear it downstairs. In the kitchen.

A door opens and I pray to God that it's her. 'You're still in there?' Fucking... 'Yes, could you please get Leon for me?'

'But didn't Marco say-' 'I know what he said but that was an hour ago, I need to talk to him. Please?'

She pauses for a second, not moving or making any sound at all. I can already see her pretty face, debating if she should do as I ask or not. 'What do I get in return?'

Bitch... 'What do you want in return?' I ask, slowly thinking about what she might ask for. I don't have much to offer, but I could give her some money. 'I don't know.' Oh my god...

'I have to think about that one.' 'We don't have time, I'll give you whatever you want.' I say, walking around the room. If Leon gets here, I have to run. I have to get the fuck out of this room and run outside.

Shoes. I walk to the shoes in the corner of the room and put them on as silently as possible. 'Whatever I want?' Her voice sounds... Scarry? As if she's going to ask me to kill someone for her.

But I'm desperate and desperate times, call for desperate measures. 'Anything.'

'I need you to leave Rafael alone and never talk to him again.' She knows. She knows that that's going to be impossible if he keeps us here. If he keeps me here. 'I want nothing to do with him, trust me.'

'I think you do and I don't like it.' She walks away from the door again. 'I'll leave him alone!' The footsteps stop, and I pray that she's still standing close enough, that she heard me. 'And?'

'And I'll never talk to him again.' It won't be hard. I just have to get Neveah back and get the fuck out of here. 'Okay, I'll see where Leon is.' A breath of relief escapes my mouth and I lean against the door again. 'Hurry up.'

'I'm on it!' She sounds like one of those annoying characters in a kid's show.

I just hope she gets back here before Marco does. I hope that, whatever he's making, takes long ass hell.

I walk back to the bed, trying to focus on the other side of the door, trying to see if I can tell the difference between all the footsteps going around the house.

'Little one?' I hear from down the hall, and I jump to my feet to rush to the door, slamming my entire body against it. 'Leon, please open the door!'

'Did he really lock you in there?' He asks, a little surprised himself. 'Yes, we need to get to Neveah, he's not going to do shit.'

'He said he'll talk to-' 'He lied! He's not going to fucking try because he doesn't care!' I hear Leon sigh on the other side of the door and wait for him to open the door, but he doesn't.

'You said that help me if there were only five hours left!' He can't do this. He can't lie to me. He can't let Neveah die. He can't. 'I never said that I would, little one.' He sneers.

He's tense because he wants to accept. He really wants to, because he doesn't want Neveah to die. So I don't get why he's not taking the offer.

'Leon, we have to do something! Just get me out of this room and I'll-' 'What are you doing here?' Shit. It's Marco. He's already back with the food.

Of course, he is.

'I was just checking up on her.' Leon says making Marco chuckle. 'You know you shouldn't be here.' 'Oh shut up, I'm not even doing anything.'

'Just let me out!' I shout loud enough to get over their bickering. 'We can't do that, and you should go.' I hear Leon groan, before his footsteps fade down the hall. No. Shit. 'Marco, please just open the door!'

'To think I brought you food.' Piece of fucking- I hear a loud thud and try to see what's going on, but I hear nothing else. 'You thought that I was going to let you out, didn't you?' Marco asks.

'Marco, just open the door. Neveah is going to die if you don't open this fucking door!' I look at the clock on the other side of the room.

Nine more hours. Nine more fucking hours.

And I still have to get to Montpellier, wherever the fuck that is. If I even get out of this room at all.

'No.' He states, clearly not wanting to talk to me. But he stays. He stays in the hall, probably leaning against the door, and sighs deeply. 'I'm not letting you out of that room, so I suggest you stop asking.'

'I hate you.' I sneer, slamming my hand against the door again. 'So be it.' Fucking asshole!

Why is everyone letting Neveah die? None of them care. None of them try.

Not even Leon. The one that loves her the most.

Marco is as silent as a grave, while I continue to beg him to open this door. But after two more hours of begging, my throat is starting to hurt and so is my hand.

So for the last three, I just look through the room, trying to see if there's something for me to use to get through this door.

I hear the front door open and straighten my back. Is it Rio?

Did he actually go to Marcello and does he actually know what to do now?

'Marco?' I ask, turning towards the door. 'Mhm?' He sounds sleepy, because of the complete silence for the past two hours, and groans as he moves a little. 'Who's in the house?'

'Leon came back.' Where did he go? Footsteps come up the stairs and I can hear Leon's heavy breathing. 'Ten hours passed and he's still not back.' He groans, stress clear in his voice. 'So? Let him handle it.'

Marco... I can't believe that he doesn't see the point. Rio doesn't care if Neveah dies. So he won't fucking try.

'You're right.' Leon groans, slowly stepping away from the door again. What? 'No!' I slam my hand against the door again, ignoring the pain, wishing that I would be strong enough to just fucking break it. 'You can't give up!'

'Adriano will handle it.' Leon grunts, moving back to the door. 'Please tell me you're lying?'

'I trust him-' 'You fool.' They both gasp for air, but I don't understand why.

They both know how much he hates her. They both know that he wouldn't even flinch to save her life.

'We have to do something.' 'We can't.' Marco states, standing up or something. Someone starts pacing around. 'Just open the door so-' 'Shut up Cataleya!' Marco shouts.

He's almost breaking, I can tell by the hard sound of his voice. 'No. Just open the door!'

'Please don't make this any harder, little one.' I hear another thud and then something presses against the other side of the door. 'Just open the door.' 'We can't.' It's Leon.

He's sitting on the other side of the door, probably on his knees, and something pressed against the wood. His hand? 'You promised.'

'I didn't say I was going through with your plan, little one.' Still little one... But he's right. He never said he was. 'I'm not talking about my plan. I'm talking about your promise.'

I know that he has no clue what I'm talking about, or at least he needs to think about it for a second. Because he winces when he realizes what I'm talking about. 'You promised that you would do anything to keep her safe.'

'I also promised Adriano to not let you go anywhere.' Shit. I need to hit him where it hurts, otherwise, there is going to be no way that I'm getting out of this room. 'He didn't tell you about Monica's pregnancy.' Shit.

I don't want to do this. I really don't. But I need to get the fuck out of this room. I need to get to the Cathedral in Montpellier. I need to get to Neveah.

'Little one-' 'He kept it from you. The one thing that could've changed everything.' They shift, making me wonder what the hell they're doing. 'Don't listen to her.'

'I'm just being honest.' I sneer, trying to convince Leon to listen to me instead of Marco. 'Stop talking, Leya.' No.

'Not until you open this door.' Marco chuckles and probably shakes his head. I just wish I could see what they're doing. 'Rio's not going to do anything, he's going to let her die!'

'Stop saying that.' Leon grunts, smashing his fist against the door. If it's even him that's sitting on the other side. 'It's the truth.'

'No, it's not! He'll try. Just wait and see.' I hate Marco for being so goddamn loyal. Rio doesn't deserve his loyalty, but he continues to kiss his fucking ass. 'You better keep your promise, Leon.'

'Little one-' 'You know I'm right! You know he's not going to do shit, so just open this door and let me help!' More movement and then the shadow fades. He's walking away. 'Leon, you promised!'

'I also promised Neveah to never pull you into our mess again!' What? When did she do that? When did that happen? What the- 'You can get me back before she can even process it!'

He sighs and walks back to the door. 'Just open the door and let me help get her back. It's the fastest way to get her back and you know it.'

'But it's not the safest, little one.' 'It will be completely safe! You can have me back in an hour or two!' I wait for either of them to move or do anything. 'Please, just open the door!'

Four more hours. Just four more hours until we have to be at the Cathedral. Four hours.

'You're insane if you think we'll open the door, Leya.' Marco... I'm going to fucking- A thud and a loud grunt, coming from... Marco?

'Leon-' Someone cogs a gun and I brace myself for the banging sound, but nothing happens. 'I'm sorry.' And then silence. Absolute fucking silence. 'Leon!?' Nothing.

Nothing for at least five minutes. 'Leon!' I slam my hand against the door, but nothing happens. I hear footsteps and something being dragged across the hall. 'Leon!' Still nothing.

No response to tell me anything. 'Leon, what's going-' 'Move.' What? 'Get away from the door.'

I don't hesitate and run to my bed, keeping my eyes on the door. The door bursts open, almost splitting entirely, falling down onto the ground with the hardest bang I've ever heard.

Leon is breathing heavily as he turns his gaze to me. 'We need to find at least five more trackers and shove them somewhere inside of you, just in case.'

I nod and almost jump into his arms for kicking the door down, but we don't have time for that now. I'll thank him when we get Neveah back.

'How far away is it?' 'Two-hour drive, come on.' He drags me towards the stairs. Marco is laying in the hall, with a pained look on his face, and he has a gun in his hand. Was he going to shoot Leon?

'What did you do?' I ask, jumping over his leg as we head to the stairs. 'He'll wake up when all of this is over.' Oh shit...

We head to Rio's office and I watch as he rumbles through some drawers, keeping my eyes on the clock.

'Here.' He throws me a bottle of pills that look metal inside. 'What is-''Swallow them.' What?

'You want me to-' 'Yes!' He sneers, going through another drawer. I open the bottle of pills and take one in my hand.

There's no way that these are good for me, the pills look like pure chemicals. 'I need water.'

He nods and runs to the kitchen, with me behind him. But we both freeze when we get there.

Because of the other person in the house.

Molly.

'Shouldn't she be locked up in her room?' Shit. 'She's allowed to be out.' Leon sneers, trying to keep his face straight. But she knows he's lying. For some reason, she's smart enough to figure it out.

'I'm going to-' 'No, you're not.' I sneer, looking around for something to use.

She looks at me and slowly walks towards the door. Shit.

She's going to snitch. She's going to call Rio and tell him that I'm out. She's going to ruin it all.

Molly is taller than me, but I don't think she knows how to fight. The only thing she'll do is stab me with those long-ass nails of hers.

Stab. We're standing in the kitchen. I slowly make my way to the drawer, the one where the knives are, and open them. But Leon closes them and pulls his gun from his back pocket. 'Don't you fucking dare move.' He sneers, pointing it at Molly who instantly freezes.

She raises her hands, begging him to not shoot her, but he's ruthless. As am I. We need to get the fuck out of here, we need to get to the stupid Cathedral, which apparently is two hours away. 'Little one, second drawer on the right. Grab some rope.'

I nod and do as Leon says, finding some red rope laying in one of the drawers. 'Move.' He nudges his gun towards the living room and waits for her to move. 'Now.' Her legs are shaking, but she moves towards the living room and keeps her eyes on us.

'Get in that chair.' She does as he says and won't stop shaking. Leon pulls me closer and hands me the gun, making sure I'm aiming at her face. 'Shoot if she even flinches.'

I nod and keep my hands steady as never before, ready to pull the trigger if she even thinks about moving.

Now I know what they mean when they say they kill for the people they love. I will shoot her if she's going to try and mess this up, if she's going to ruin our way of saving Neveah.

Leon ties her to the chair, not caring about the cuts the rope might leave at all, and walks back to me. 'You better keep your mouth shut.'

No. She'll scream. And the whole world will hear. 'Wait.' I run to the kitchen and grab the little towel, and run back into the living room. 'I won't make a sound! Just don't-' I wrap the towel around her mouth and tie it in the back, making sure she won't be heard.

'We should go.' I nod and look at Leon, who's already walking towards the front door.

We're finally doing this. Finally.

I run through the front door and follow him towards the parked cars. 'You're driving.' I state, jumping into the passenger seat. There's no way I'm driving.

I know I said that I wanted to do this, and I truly do, but I'm nervous. Way too nervous.

Leon types in the address while I look back at the house. It looks peaceful, just another late night at one of the Curzio estates.

But I know that, when Rio gets back before we do, he'll flip out. I just know it.

'Two hours and ten minutes.' I look at the time and realize that we have forty extra minutes. 'Just go.'

He nods and starts the engine, immediately racing out of here.

My heart starts racing and for the first thirty minutes, neither of us say anything.

When we're forced to stop because of a red light, Leon turns to me and shakes his head. 'I'm sorry.'

'Don't be.' The light turns green and he continues driving. 'We'll be fine. We'll just follow the plan.' 'Did you take the knife?' Shit.

'No.' He sighs and points at the dashboard. 'Maybe there's a knife in there?'

I go through the storage and find a gun, some gum, and other candy that looks like it's molten because of the heat. 'Nothing but this.' 'Take it.'

The gun feels heavy, but not as heavy as Rio's gun. The one I shot Luca with. No.

I force those nasty thoughts out of my head and keep my eyes on the road ahead. 'Okay, so convince me to not turn this car around and get back to the house.'

'If you do that, Neveah will die. Plus, we have a plan that will work if we stick to it.' I hope. No. It will work. We will be fine.

We go silent again, both stressing about what we might run into when we get there, for at least twenty minutes. 'Tell me about that plan of yours again, little one.'

'We'll do the trade, make sure that everything is fine. And you'll simply track me before they find out about the tracker. So we'll be back before you know it.'

We have to. My priority now is to get Neveah out of there. She needs to get the fuck out of there.

'Good, how many pills did you take?' Shit. I forgot about the pills. We were too busy with Molly that I entirely forgot about the pills. 'Little one...' 'I didn't take them.'

He stops the car on the side of the road and looks at me. 'How could you-' 'We were busy with Molly, I forgot!'

'This is a bad idea, we should go back.' 'She'll die if we don't go through with it.' I hate that I'm using one of his biggest fears against him. It feels wrong. But it's the only way it'll get through to him.

Neveah will die if we don't do something now.

'It's not safe, Cataleya.' Cataleya. No little one. Just Cataleya. 'Neveah will-' 'She'll die if we don't go, I know! But I promised her not to put you in any danger ever again. She'll hate me for this and- Fuck!' He slams the wheel and takes a few deep breaths.

'You also promised me to that you would keep her safe. And you'll get me back, you just-' He shakes his head, blocking out anything I have to offer and looks at the ceiling. 'We should go back.' What?

'And let Neveah die, no fucking way!' 'It's not safe!' I shove him away, wishing that I could just push him out of the car so that I can jump behind the wheel and drive myself.

So far those extra thirty minutes. 'Leon we have to-' 'No. We're not going anymore.'

This fucking asshole... He's just going to give up on her, he's just going to let her die? So far for love... I never thought that he was actually going to give up on her. Not when there's a solution to all of this.

'So you're just going to let her die?!' I shout, trying to get it through to him. It's as if he's trying to block it all out, not wanting to understand it because he'll know what he'll do. 'Don't say that... I don't have a choice.'

'You do! We could just- Get out of the car.' He turns to me with a raised brow. 'What?' 'Get out of the fucking car, I'll drive myself.'

'I'm not-' 'We don't have time for this shit Leon! We have to go. Now!' He shakes his head again, making me angry than ever before. 'If you don't fucking start the car right now, I swear to fucking god, I'll shove this gun so far up your ass you'll-'

He starts the car again and continues to shake his head. Good. 'Go.'

'I'm sorry.' I want to tell him that it's all okay, that I understand his concern and that everything is going to be okay, but I can't.

He was going to give up. He was going to let her die. I can't tell him that it's okay. Because it's not.

For the first time in months, I'm happy that Neveah lied. Because maybe if she didn't I wouldn't have forced her to come to Italy with me and we would study somewhere else. And that would mean that I wouldn't have met everyone.

No crazy Brandon who would help me with outfits, No Marco who taught me how to shoot. No Celine who made sure that I would take care of myself correctly. No Leon who would end up being a true friend of mine.

And no Rio. The man that made me feel so many things all at once. Fuck.

For the rest of the drive to the city, he continues to ramble the same words. 'I'm sorry.'

'Leon, don't make this any harder and just take me to the Cathedral.' I groan, trying to keep in my tears. I don't know why I'm crying.

I'm going to save my best friend and get back to her after a couple of hours, everything will be okay. So why am I crying?

'Little one, I'm sorry.' 'It's fine, I don't blame you. Just-' I stop when I look through the windscreen.

Neveah is on her knees, all bruised up and broken, with a gun pressed against her head. One man. Just one man is standing behind her, keeping her in place. But it's not the man from the video, nor the Hunter himself.

Someone else. Someone new.

I jump out of the car before Leon can even open his mouth, but he reacts the same, immediately pulling his gun.

The sound of it echoes through the empty square and I watch as the moon shines on the eerie-looking building behind them.

'Another step and I'll shoot.' The man sneers, pressing the gun further into Neveah's head. Her eyes widen as she realizes what's going on. 'What are-' 'Shut the fuck up!' The man shoves her to the ground and laughs wickedly, sending shivers down my spine.

They're psychopaths. All of them. Every single one of the men that helped with his sick mission. They're all psychopaths.

'Couldn't your boss be here himself?' I ask, slowly stepping closer. 'And risk getting shot by that?' The man asks pointing his gun at Leon, 'Plus, I don't see your boss anywhere, Velez.' He knows who I am.

Of course, he does. He was sent to get me. To take me to wherever it is they're taking me.

'I suggest you lower your gun, Curzio.' The man grins and looks around, even though there's nothing to see. 'Our men are everywhere.' And then a few red dots appear, all focussing on him. 'The choice is yours.'

Leon stays put, not moving at all. 'Lower your gun.' He looks at me and sighs deeply, before lowering his gun.

Neveah finally starts moving again, trying to climb up, but the man stops her and pulls her head back so that she has to look at him.

She looks like she's going to break any second. Like she's too tired to continue any of it. She looks broken.

Physically and mentally broken in ways I've never seen before.

'Smart move.' The guy chuckles, making me want to shoot him myself. 'Now hand her over.'

'You first.' Leon sneers, waiting for them to move, but they don't. And neither do we.

I can tell that Leon wants to run over there and rip everyone's throat out, but they'll shoot all of us before we can even get close enough to touch them.

'I'm not stupid.' 'Neither are we.' I state, trying to see if there's any way to get out of this. 'Don't do-' 'What did I tell you, bitch!' The guy pulls Neveah to her feet and wraps his hand around the back of her neck.

She lost so much weight that it looks like he's about to snap her neck if he puts enough pressure. 'How about I come over there, get her back here, and then go back to you?' I ask, trying to make him stop hurting her.

He starts laughing and I can hear more people laugh from wherever it is their hiding. 'Do we look stupid to you?' Yes. 'It's the only way I'll come with you.'

'I could just kill all of you.' No. He can't. There's no way Hunter went through all of that just to kill me before he could even get to me himself. That fucker.

'You're smarter than that, right?' The guy looks me straight in the eyes and bites his tongue, trying to keep in whatever it is he wants to say to me. 'Do we have a deal?' 'Fine.'

Leon looks at me, before slowly nodding. His hands are on his gun, ready to grab it if it's needed. But I don't think he'll be fast enough to shoot every other person hiding in the shadows. There's just no way.

I slowly make my way towards Neveah and the mystery guy and wait for him to let her go. He smiles at me and tilts his head as he roams over my clothes. I'm wearing shorts that come to my knees and a black shirt, nothing to see if I'm being honest, but he continues to look at me shamelessly.

'Give her to me.' He chuckles and grins at me. 'You want her?' 'Yes.'

He nods and pulls his gun back, smacking her in the back of the head, making her blackout. 'Take her. She was a pain in my ass anyway.' I can tell Leon is using every muscle in his body to keep himself from running over here, as I catch Neveah.

She's lighter because of all the weight she lost, making me wonder if they even fed her at all, but I know Leon will give her enough food when they get home.

I carry her back to Leon, who's already opening the car door, trying to keep his eyes on our surroundings. I lift her up into the passenger seat and close the door, before looking at Leon.

He shakes his head and walks over to me, wrapping his strong arms around me while all the lasers point at us. 'I'm sorry.'

I hug him back and take a deep breath, bracing myself for what's going to happen. This could go terribly wrong.

But I don't think it will.

We have a plan and I think, no, I know it will work. I'll be back with Neveah before I know it.

Because Leon will convince Rio to get me back. He will. I know he will.

So I break free from Leon's embrace and slowly head back to the mystery man, who's now standing beside a van. 'It's okay.' I say smiling at Leon as I take the last step towards my next obstacle.

I have to survive for the next hours until they come and get me. But I'll manage. I know I will.

I'll have to.

So I step closer to the van, not looking back at all. Because I'll break if I do. The fear will take over if I look back at them.

And I don't even get the chance to look back, because two men shove me into the van and close the door before I can even realize what's going on, and I'm forced to sit in the only chair available. Come and save me.

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A/N: THAT'S A WRAP.. this is it. The end of the story!

This was the last chapter... I know, it's very open... But anyway! Thank you so much for all the love and support this story has gotten! I can't say it enough and I ABSOLUTELY LOVE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU FOR COMMENTING AND VOTING AND BEING EXCITED ABOUT THE POSTS AND AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

But anyway, I hope to see you when I write other stories and uhm... Yeah! Enjoy your life and I'll see you next time! BYE!!!!