Chapter 1
CHAPTER ONE
ISABELLE
Iwas in a terrible mood. I knew it, my friends knew it, hell, even the noisy kid who sat behind me on the flight knew it.
The moment the plane landed, I pulled out my phone and sent a message to my family to let them know that my plane had landed safely in Italy.
“My valium didn’t kick in, can you believe that? I’m so stressed out that even Valium couldn’t calm me.” I texted my mom, who had been trying to get me to back out of this trip for the past two weeks.
Half a second later, my phone rang. “Hi mom.” I said.
“You know, it’s not too late to turn around and get on a plane back home.” She suggested, and that made me laugh.
“I can’t do that, and you know why.”
“I know, I know, you’re the maid of honor. Honestly, I don’t know why you accepted. If she’s going to have a destination wedding, the most she can do is provide for your transportation.” I sighed. It was a topic that mom had a lot to say about.
“Mom, I’m already here. I just want to make the best of it.
” I responded in a tired tone, feeling resigned.
Already, my mind was running through the checklist of things I had to do.
As the maid of honor, I had some tasks and although I told them I would be late, I was still responsible for helping the bride.
Once the call ended, I considered switching my phone off.
My attention was drawn to the carousel, where I spotted my bag.
In one swift motion, I stepped forward and pulled it off.
From the corner of my eyes, I could see a hand reach for my bag too, but I swiftly moved it out of the way.
I didn't bother looking at the person because I believed it was probably a mistake and I was in a hurry to take a shower and take a nap.
“Hey! Signorina!” I heard someone yell behind me alongside a pair of frenzied footsteps running in my direction. The voice was in a thick Italian accent, and although I hadn't seen the speaker, I could practically feel the magnetism rolling off the low voice.
I looked around briefly, but the crush of the crowd made it hard for me to see anything, so I quickly put it out of my mind.
My arm felt weighed down a bit by my bag, but I didn’t think anything of it. I was tired and cranky, and no doubt that made my luggage feel heavier than it had when I had checked it in.
“I just need to get to the hotel and rest.” I mumbled to myself, feeling quite exhausted from both the trip and the crush of people all around me.
As I walked, I kept my head down, relying on spotting the feet before me to avoid bumping into anyone.
It proved to be an efficient method until I spotted a pair of black leather shoes blocking my way.
Without looking up, I moved to the left, intending to sidestep the person, but the person moved to the left too.
When I moved to the right, the person did the same.
Finally, I lost my temper and looked up so I could face whoever it was squarely.
At first glance, I was stunned. A man stood before me with tanned skin, broad shoulders, dark hair and even darker eyes.
He had a sharp look in his eyes, like an eagle looking at its prey.
He was wearing a dark suit that sat on his body so well that I had no doubt it was tailored.
A had a gold watch on his wrist, and his hands were clenched into fists.
“Who sent you? Where are you going with my bag?” He asked, making me raise an eyebrow.
I turned my gaze to the bag I was pulling behind me.
It was black with a bright red tag dangling from its handle.
It was a distinctive thing, so I knew that I was not mistaken.
It felt like the interruption from the man before me was some kind of scam.
“This is my bag. You need to get lost and try your scam somewhere else.” His eyebrows raised at my words, and the look in his eyes grew even sharper, like an unsheathed blade.
“American?” He asked in a thick Italian accent.
“What’s it to you?” I asked.
“Lady, you have my bag and you’re refusing to give it back,” he said as in one swift motion, he stepped forward and grabbed the bag.
“Lady? Buddy, I’m saying you’re trying to scam the wrong girl. You think I don’t know what my bag looks like? I just had it on the carousel.” I felt like the unreasonable one as my voice grew louder, but I didn't take kindly to being called lady.
Something about how loud I was being must have frightened him because he took a step back before looking around. However, he couldn't move too far because we were both clutching the bag.
“Let’s be reasonable, why would I want your bag?” He asked after taking a deep breath.
“I could ask you the same thing, pal.” Him telling me to be reasonable just managed to piss me off even more.
“I've tried to be nice but I don't have time for this, lady, let go of my bag now.” All traces of patience were gone as he spoke. Something about his aura shifted as he looked angry and dangerous. The shift scared me for one moment before I felt a quick rush of courage.
“This bag is mine, and since you're not going to listen, I'm just going to prove it to you.” I finally snapped, tired of going back and forth with him.
I swiftly pinched the zipper before pulling it open so he could see the contents of the bag.
“All the stuff in here is mine…” My words trailed off as my gaze fell on the contents of the bag.
Money. Stacks of it. Clear bags of white powder. Maybe drugs. And worse, four black handguns. There was no mistaking them for anything else.
I could feel the blood drain out of my face.
Immediately after I saw those things, I let go of the bag as fast as I could.
My hands started trembling and I slowly lifted my gaze from the bag to the man holding it.
I couldn't see the expression on his face through the blur of the tears that were forming in my eyes.
“See? Definitely not my bag.” I managed to stammer. However, I didn't need to see the look on his face to tell that I was in serious trouble.