Enzo tossed and turned in his large bed trying to get some sleep.He turned to his side and closed his eyes. For a moment, everything was still. Then his eyes opened again. He let out a deep breath and shifted unto his back, running his fingers through his hair.
Sleep refused to come.
It was the first time. His life was filled with sleepless night but tonight it was something different. Something ridiculous was occupying his mind.
A small box of crayons and coloring book.
He frowned slightly at the ceiling, then turned again, pulling the blanket slightly higher.
Ridiculous.
He run the city. He had men managing millions,guarding warehouses and movinge shipments across borders. Yet his brain brain refused to let go of a mentally unstable woman giving him crayons.
He shut his eyes again.
Seconds passed, then his jaw tightened in annoyance.
He threw the covers aside at sat up at the egde of the bed.
The room was filled with silence as he stood and walked across it. Seconds later, he opened the door to his office.
The streets lights in his compound cast a soft pool of light across the surface of his desk and they were.
The crayons sitting on the coloring book.
He stood there for a minute, just staring at them. It was as if they were challenging him.
Then he walked over, pulled a chair and sat down.
He pickedthe box and opened it slowly, revealing the bright colors.For a moment, he just sat there.
A ruthles man. A feared boss. Holding crayons in the middle of the night.
' If anyone sees this, they're dead,' he muttered to himself, whiles opening the coloring book.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Enzo slowly opened his eyes and apart from the warmth of the sun on his face, he was greeted by a stiff neck. For a moment, he didn't move, disoriented by the unfamiliar position. The leather chair creaked softly beneath him when he shifted slowly.
He blinked and looked down, there was a crayon still in his hand.
The coloring book was lay open on the desk, he had colored half of a pony. It's body a a shade of pink. Several crayons had rolled across the desk during the night.
He stared at his desk for a long time. Somewhere between the quiet of his office and the ridiculousness of the situation, he had fallen asleep.....coloring.
His jaw tightened as he straightened in his chair. If Lorenzo found out about this, he would never stop talking about it.
Enzo closed the book quickly and gathered the crayons back into their box. He shoved them into a drawer before standing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A few minutes later, Enzo was back in his bedroom. The bed had been remade, it was almost as if he didn't even touch it earlier. He reached for his phone on the nightstand.
Missed calls.
A lot of them.
His face hardened immediately. All of them were from the same number, Alex.
His thumb moved quickly as he called back.
The line rang once...then twice....thrice...then it went dead.
He called again and got the same response.
" Fuck Alex, answer the goddammn phone," he muttered as he redialed the number.
Alex picked up almost instantly.
"Boss," Alex groaned.
"What happened?" Enzo asked coldly.
The man on the other end sounded like he was in pain.
"There was a shootout last night."
Enzo grip tightened on his phone.
"Where?"
"Isla's neighbourhood. I don't know the people behind it but her house was the target. I called..."
"Was anyone hurt?" Enzo's eyes darkened.
The line said silent for a second.
"Idid everything I could," Alex rushed to say. " I called for backup and I managed to get the babysitter out of the house before the shooting got worse."
Enzo found himself shaking slightly.
"And the girl?" He asked, he had already finished dressing and loading his guns.
"That's the problem, boss.'
Enzo felt his room grow colder.
"Someone got to her before I did."
Enzo let out a shaky breath.
"What are you saying?"
" I chased the vehicle. But I got hit, in the arm and....."Alex said quickly, panic creeping in his voice.
"If something happens to her, you're dead."
Enzo hang up and immediately dialed Lorenzo number.
" I just drove..."
"Isla has been kidnapped," Enzo cut him off.
"What?! How?! Wh....."
"Fuck, this isn't the time to be asking me these !" Enzo yelled for the first time in years.
" Meet me downstairs. What do you want me to do?"
"Lock down every exit in the city. We're going to find out who did it and when I do....."
The line was quiet because Enzo didn't need to complete his sentence.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Isla stirred, her eyelashes fluttering as consciousness returned. Darkness came first, then a dull throb on her head. The air smelt dusty and unfamiliar and the ground beneath her was hard, unlike the soft carpet in her living room. The room slowly came into view.The walls were bare, with a single light hanging from the ceiling.
Isla looked down at her hands because they felt weird. Her hands were tied in front of her, the rough rope scratching her wrists as she moved. She tilted her head slightly like a child trying to understand a puzzle.
"Hello?" she called softly, her voice echoing weakly in the empty room.
No answer.
Her bottom lip trembled.
She looked around again, her eyes wide and confused.
"Lena?"
Still nothing.
Her breath quickened.
"I don't like this game," she murmured to herself.
She looked at the rope and tugged at it clumsily, but it didn't budge.
Footsteps suddenly sounded outside the door, followed by male voices.
Then the door creaked open, revealing two men. They were both short, with rough and hard expressions but one had a scar across his cheek.
They stopped when they saw her awake.
"Well look at that, sleeping beauty is finally awake," the one with the scar said.
Isla gave them a frightened look, her lips quivering.
"Can I go home now?" she asked quietly.
The two men exchanged looks, frowning slightly.
"That's not happening."
She tilted her head a little, confused.
" But I didn't do anything," she said softly.
The men watched her for a moment longer. Something about the way she spoke, the way she looked at them was off.
"She's weird," one of them muttered under his breath.
Isla tugged at the rope again. " Lena is going to be worried," she said sadly.
The men exchanged another glance.
Before they could utter another word, a third person joined them.
They straightened up immediately.
The third man's presence filled the space with cold authority,his eyes scanning the room in one quick sweep.
" Boss," they both said, steppimg aside.
Isla looked up, blinking at the unfamiliar face. The man's eyes settled on Isla, tied on the floor.
" So this is her," he said.
Isla tilted her head, looking at curiosity rather than fear.
" Are you the one who brought me here?" she asked softly.
His expression didn't change.
"Untie her," her ordered.
One of the men stepped out and cut the rope around her wrists.
The moment her hands were free, she rubbed carefully.
"That hurt," she pouted.
The boss watched her with narrowed eyes.
"You can drop the act," he said coldy and Isla blinked.
"What act?"
The room fell silent.
The boss stepped closer, towering over her.
" Playing innocent won't help you," he said.
She looked up at him, confused.
"I'm not playing. And I don't like this game either,"
One of the men shifted awkwardly behind him.
" She's been talking lie this since she woke up."
The boss ignored him, his eyes still locked on Isla.
"You know exactly why you're here," he said calmly.
"No I don't," Isla frowned, shaking her head.
He leaned down, just enough fior their face to be level.
" You're scary," she said, shifting back.
"Stop pretending."
For a moment, they just stared at each other, then, Isla's eyes suddenly brightened.
" Oh..... you want me to be your friend!" she pointed at him excitedly.
The room went completely still as the boss's face hardened almost instantly.
Isla smiled, clearly pleased at herself.
" I'll be your friend."
The boss slowly straightened, a humorless smile touched the corner of the mouth.
" So that's what you're doing," he said, straightening his coat.
"What?" Isla blinked up at him.
"Pretending."
"I'm not...." He cut her off with a small hand gesture.
" You expect me to believe this?" he said calmly. " The wide eyes. The innocent voice. Acting like a child?"
Isla looked down, rubbing her wrists again.
" I want to go home," she said softly.
"Enough," the boss snapped.
The word echoed sharply in the room.
He turned to the men standing behind him.
"Take her to the room," he ordered.
"Boss...?" the scarred one said carefully.
They knew exactly which room he meant and they were not sure she could survive.
" Where are we going?" she asked.
The boss looked at her, his expression merciless.
" You'll see."