Chapter 122 Deserted
Serena's POV
I jumped.
I jumped into a hole just about big enough to contain my whole size.
I put a hand over my mouth to suppress any scream as I made my way down the hole.
But I regretted it immediately.
I probably should have asked how far the hole was from the ground cause it wasn't long before I crashed on the floor painfully.
“Ouch,” I remarked as I sat on my ass. It couldn't have been more than six feet down.
I shifted slightly as the guy stepped through, standing from the floor to push the shrubs back in place.
When he turned, I could just tell he had an amused look on his face.
“How was the flight?” He asked and again, he was mocking me.
I rolled my eyes even though he couldn't see me and pushed myself off the floor, favouring my left leg as I stepped further into what I couldn't see.
Then I got hold of where I was and panicked slightly. I was about six feet away from the surface in a dark space with a guy I'd just met barely ten minutes ago.
Yes, he saved me. Yes, he protected me, but now, he could do more than just protect me.
I looked around and tried to put as much space as I could between him and I. Then I felt his weight suddenly beside me and I shrieked, jumping against what should be a wall and actually felt like a wall.
I heard him giggle beside me before light filled the small space, bouncing off the marble walls.
The first thing that hit me was how well furnished and properly built the interior was.
It certainly wasn't what I was expecting from the outside.
“You don't have to be afraid,” he muttered. “I would never dream of laying my hands on Don's woman,” he added and heat flooded my cheeks at being called Dante's woman.
I turned away quickly from his face, fast enough to hide my blush.
“Where is this?” I asked as I stepped further inside. But he tapped my shoulder gently and signaled to me to keep quiet.
Then he pointed up and I listened to hear a bit of rustling going on just outside.
We kept silent for a while, practically holding our breath as the sound passed by.
After a while without hearing anything, I tried to speak but he quickly placed a hand over my lips, keeping me shut.
I swallowed against his hand and remained still. Then he slowly took off his hand from my lips.
We remained still for another couple of minutes, felt much more like thirty minutes or so.
After a while again, he stepped back and gestured to me to go on.
“And to answer your earlier question, this is a hideout Dante created for easy stalking in case of an attack, like the one that happened earlier,” he explained carefully.
“Really?” I asked, as I looked around at the very beautifully decorated room.
It was partially decorated, just few chairs and majorly weapons on the interior, that's understandable considering the purpose of the hall.
“Yeah, we barely use it as it has served mainly as a store for weapons, as it is now,” he continued.
I walked around, admiring everything. Dante really took his time to prepare his yards.
“He's got this for all his safe houses?” I asked, still surprised.
“Yeah, but not something he puts out there. Few people know of it still,” he added.
I walked slowly over to one of the chairs and sat, pleased to finally have a good rest.
The guy disappeared and returned with a chill bottle of water.
“You want?” He asked, gesturing the bottle of water towards me.
I practically snatched it from him, feeling completely dry from the sight of the bottle.
I mumbled something that I wasn't sure he could hear. Then downed the bottle as fast as I could.
“Thank you,I really needed that,” I murmured, giving him a grateful smile.
He nodded and dropped on one of the other seats.
After an extended moment of silence, I felt uncomfortable, that's when I realized that I didn't even know who he was.
So nervously, I sat straighter, fidgeting with my fingers before speaking. “So, what's your name?”
Dante's POV
Darkness.
That's all that laid ahead of us as we drove for what felt like hours.
We kept on the trail made by their tire marks till I felt we were going in circles. It didn't help that most of the trees looked strikingly the same.
We passed a tree that I could swear we had passed before.
I had taken over the wheel while Nico was on lookout.
“Any sight of anything?” I asked for the fifth time since we left the bend.
“Nothing, not one thing,” he replied and I could tell he was frustrated too.
We kept driving still, using our headlights to keep track of the trail. We went round a bend and I stopped immediately.
The flashlight picked up the back of the exact same van from earlier. The doors were swung open and the van stood in no particular order, hinting at a forced stop.
I pushed open my door and Nico did the same from the other side as we stepped out, picking up torchlights as we did.
I approached the can carefully, flashing the light around the environment to spot anything or anyone that could give us any sort of reasonable answer.
The van looked deserted and as I stepped closer, I noticed blood smeared over the flood. I followed the trail and it led directly to the woody area to my right.
The first thought that ran through my mind scared me, could it be Serena's blood? Would they have shot her and let her run into the woods?
No, that doesn't sound possible. They needed her alive, Luca needed her alive.
“There's more here,” Nico called out and I turned to find him staring into the van through the now lifted side door.
I stepped over and stared inside at a pool of blood over at the corner, smearing down a bench and over the floor.
The front doors too were opened, meaning they either ran away from something, or ran after something.
What could make such men run? That only left one option.
Before I could reach any reasonable conclusion, a loud bang tore through the woods.