Isadora's POV
As I prepare in the bathroom, butterflies run amuck in my stomach. I've never been to a ball before. What do l do? How do l act? So many questions and never enough answers. I finish and walk out to see Rafael in a navy blue tux. His hair slicked back and his tattoos peaking on the skin he does have visible damn he looks god. When he sees me his jaw drops. He doesn't move nor speak .. he just stands there, scanning me over and over as if to determine whether I'm real or not.
"Madre de dios." (Mother of God) He mutters to himself but I hear him and giggle. I slowly approach him and he pulls me lightly to his chest, putting his forehead on mine.
"Damnit kitten. Why are you doing this to me?" I raise my eyebrows.
"And what exactly am I doing to you"! I ask. He sighs and grawls deeply.
"'M trying very hard to restrain myself from pinning you to a wall and fucking you till your legs don't work," He whispers through gritted teeth in my ear. I let out a soft but sharp exhale if that doesn't make you instantly wet then I don't know what would.
"Come kitten, before I change my mind." I nodded. We walk downstairs hand in hand and everyone is dressed to the "T". All the boys looking sharp as hell in their suits and the girls more beautiful than ever. Josie decided on a gorgeous maron gown that matched really well wilh her skin tane and made her red hair stand out more. Gabriella wore a gorgeous skin tight gold dress pretty sure it wasn't made with real gold but it wouldn't surprise me if it was That woman is unpredictable. Even Mirella was wearing a cute litle pink dress. She really did look like a princess when she spotted me she gasped . Everyone turned and did the same
"You look so pretty Isa!" Mirella squealed.
"Hot damn!" Alfonza shouts.
"Damn doll, I think I'm in love." Ishmael said patting his chest rapidly. I giggle and Rafael scowls at him.
"Love me all you want Ish, but I'm happily taken." I hook my arm onto Rafael and he calms down but doesn't take his eyes off Ishmael. He's a territorial.
"You ain't gonna break my heart like that Kitty" He pouts. He grabs his chest, over exaggerating the pain of his non-broken heart.
"You look absolutely beautiful darling." Giabriella says and kisses my cheek.
"Thank you Gabriella."
"Are you ready?" She smiles.
"More like nervous. I've never done something like this before." I take a deep breath, steadying my nerves. Rafael takes my hand. "Don't worry baby, I'll be by your side the whole night." He smiles and kisses the back of my hand.
-The Montez Ball-
The size of this place is lilke two football stadiums. Fucking huge! Shiny metallic floors, chandeliers and people crowded around fancy tables full of food and drinks. A couple approach us and greet Rafael.
"Rafael! Good to see you nephew! Damn boy. These guns get bigger and bigger each time I see you!" The man says patting Rafael's arm roughly and laughing.
"Hey Tony, how you been?" Rafael chuckles.
"Good man. Nadia has been dying to see you though." He says looking at the beautiful lady to his right. Rafael leans in and kisses her on the cheek.
"Rafael missed you so much! How are you?" She smiles.
"I'm good Nadi. How's the baby?"
"Keeping me up all hours of the night." The man jests and earns a slap on the back of the head from Nadia.
"I'm sorry What was that, that came out of your mouth just now? Keeping you up? Oh! That's right. I do remember you feeding our son from your swollen lactating breasts every couple of hours. How silly of me." She rolls her eyes so fiercely, even I feel it. I quickly cover my mouth and let my chest violendy convulse as I fight the urge to burst out laughing. She growls in a huff and walks away over to greet Gabriella and Emiliano.
"Who is this lovely creature?" Tony asks taking my hand and kissing it.
"This is my girlfriend Isadora. Baby, this is my Uncle Antonio but we call him Tony" Nadia soon returns and stands in front of me, pulling me into a hug.
"I'm so sorry sweetie. It was rude of rne to walk away like that. Do forgive me. This fuckhead just gets on my nerves sometimes and I have to walk away or I'll get the urge to beat him to death with my shoe." She smiles. She must have learned that from Gabriella.
"I'm sorry my love. Can you forgive me?" Tony asks giving her a pouty lip.
"I'll forgive you when you can breastfeed our son," She hisses and turns back to me. "So what's your name darling?"
"Isadora." I smile at her.
"My girlfriend." Rafael says proudly. Nadia gasps.
"Girlfriend !? Well I'd never thought Id see the day!" She exclaimed and clapped her hands excitedly.
"Why is everyone so shocked by that?" I ask.
"Honey, Rafael has never had a girlfriend before. No woman could ever keep him interested long enough. Plus, he could never tell them he is part of the mafia. They would tuck tail and run so fast. I'm guessing he's already told you though, or you wouldn't be here." She giggles but her expression goes serious when she turns to Rafael and grabs his chin.
"You better be good to her boy or so help me God I will beat you with every shoe your mother and I own combined. You hear me?" He nods.
"Good. Now go dance with her." She lets go of him and winks, grabbing Tony and dragging him away. Rafael straightens his tie and clears his throat before turning to face me and holding out his hand. "Dance with me kitten?" He smiles. I nod and take his hand, letting him lead me out onto the floor. He's smooth on his feet. Twirling me around and dipping me with such passion my knees get weak. I wanna take him right here on this dance floor. "I love you." I whisper to him. He twirls me outwards and yanks me back with a little force against his chest. "I love you too baby." After a few dances and mingling with his family, I start to loosen up.
Gabriella was right, this is so much fun. Rafael kept his promise and never left my side. I met more of his family and friends, and I couldn't be happier. Out of nowhere, Javier appears and whispers something into Rafael's ear. His smile and playful demeanor disappeared all to quickly. "What's wrong?"
"Rodrigo is here but there's no sign of Hector." Rafael growls. I feel panic shoot through me. I'm pretty sure all the blood drained from my body.
Suddenly, a single gun shot and a scream rips through the crowd and everyone panics. People dart in every direction, pushing to get to the exit. I get separated from Rafael and hear him shouting my name. In the midst of the chaos, I see a little pink dress lying on the ground.
"Mirella!" I scream and run to her. Grabbing her little unconscious body from the floor. I look down and see a large portion of her dress stained red. She was shot in the stomach.
"Mirella!" I pat her cheek lightly. Tears blur my vision. "Mirella sweetheart, open your eyes for me!" Rafael spots us and slides next to her.
"Princess!" He sees her blood stained dress. "FUCK!" He screams and turns to me. "Can you get her to the hospital, please baby !? I have to find everyone and tell them what happened. We will meet you there." I nod. He hands me his keys and kisses my head quickly before running off. I pick her up and run out the door. I didn't even bother setting her down. I kept her in my arms as I sped off to the hospital. Covered in blood, with an unconscious little girl in my arms, I ran inside and screamed.
"Please help! She's been shot!" A nurse runs to my side and takes her from me.
"Get her to the ER!" She shouts and runs off with a team of nurses down the hall. I'm at a loss for words. Everything was good. Everything was going good and now an innocent little girl gets shot. I fall to my knees in the middle of the room and cry. She didn't deserve this!
"WHERE IS SHE !? Where is my daughter !?" Gabriella screams, storming into the hospital. She sees me on the floor and pulls me up into her her arms. A nurse comes out of the double doors and approaches us.
"Where is she !? Where is my baby !?" Gabriella screams again. "We have her in surgery right now. She's lucky. The bullet missed all her vital organs and there's no internal bleeding but it's lodged in a tricky place. She may be in surgery for a while." The nurse explained.
"You do everything in your power to save my daughter! If she dies, I will burn this hospital to the ground with you inside it!" Gabriella pointed a threatening finger at the nurse who nodded nervously and left.
*********