Layla

  LAYLA

  Book One of the Moretti Chronicles

  Description

  I was so close, so close to coming when a knock on the door interrupted us. Emilio got up and licked his lips just as the door opened.

  "Boss we have-" Luca started only to stop midsentence when he saw me sprawled out on the desk naked.

  "I'm uh, I'm going to go and let you guys finish up in here" Luca said exiting as quickly as he had entered.

  Well shit.

  ...

  Layla Smith was alone in this world. Her mother died when she was 16 and having no father around, Layla had to drop out of high school to work and take care of herself, since she had no other family left. Now at the age of 21, she was barely making ends meet with her job as a waitress.

  Emilio Moretti, at the age of 26 was feared by all. He left nothing but chaos and destruction in his wake. He was a very cold and ruthless man, but what else could you expect from the most notorious mafia boss.

  What happens when Layla witnesses something she shouldn't have? Emilio is now left to choose whether she lives or die. Will she make it out alive or will Emilio succumb to his ruthless nature and do what he does best. Kill.

  Chapter 1

  "You're late," my boss snapped as soon as I step inside the changing room. All heads shot to my direction, causing me to look down in embarrassment.

  "I'm sorry, I-" I was cut off when my boss told us to hurry and get to our designated stations. He stormed out of the changing room, muttering under his breath. I took a look around the room and realize that everyone was shuffling about, whether to put on their uniforms or rushing to their stations. I snap out of my daze and quickly change into my uniform.

  I rushed to the main area of the restaurant that I work at so that I could start taking orders. I have been rushing about taking orders and serving the customers. I was now halfway through my shift and was returning to the kitchen when I felt someone grope my butt.

  I spun around and slapped the culprit across the face. He stood to his feet immediately with a murderous look on his wrinkled old face. I took a glance to the other side of the table and saw that he was dining with a beautiful young woman, who did not seem the least bit affected by what was going on.

  Before anything else could happen, my boss came and apologizes for my behavior. He even offered for their meal to be on the house. The man had a scowl on his disgusting face, with eyes shooting daggers at me.

  "I can explain, he was-"

  "I don't want to hear your excuse. You assaulted a customer and didn't even have the decency to apologize. You're fired!" I gaped at my boss for accusing me of being in the wrong. The man, who had assaulted me, smirked in victory at me.

  "But he was the one that groped my butt" I said in frustration, feeling as though the whole world was against me.

  "You know what? I am sorry... I'm sorry that I didn't allow you to touch me with your old, wrinkly hand" I spat at the disgusting old man.

  Turning around I didn't realize that everyone had stop doing what they were doing to watch the scene unfold before them. I held my head down feeling embarrassed from all the attention and made my way to the back to grab my things. I looked around the empty changing room before letting out a long sigh, then exiting through the back door.

  Standing outside in the alley, I let the frustrated tears flow. I was now jobless and probably homeless soon, because I will not be able to pay my rent. It was like the universe enjoyed torturing me.

  First, my dad abandons me, and then my mom died, leaving me all by myself. I don't know if I have any more family out there, because all I knew was my mom and she never once talked about her family. In this moment I felt truly alone. Working at the restaurant with my best friend, Avery made my life a little less sad. She wasn't at work today, which made this a lot harder to handle. At least she would be here to comfort me.

  This job was my only source of income and the little I made was barely enough to cover all expenses. I had to drop out of high school when my mom got sick, so that I could work to pay off her medical bills, since we didn't have insurance.

  While I was busy mulling over my thoughts I felt a drop of water, then another and another. I looked up at the sky and smiled as the rain came pouring down. Oh how I wish the rain could wash away my troubles. I stood in the rain for few more minutes before I decided to seek shelter.

  I wasn't in the mood to go home to my cold and empty apartment to wallow in self-pity. I began walking aimlessly around when I spot a bar. One drink wouldn't hurt right? Who am I kidding? One drink alone could not ease my mind. I wanted a temporary escape from the mess that is my life. So with that thought in mind, I walked inside the bar.

  I went straight for the restroom as soon I step foot inside the bar since I was soaking wet. I took a look in the mirror and saw that I looked like a mess. There was nobody else inside the restroom so I took off my shirt and wrung as much water as I could out of it, then put it back on. I spotted a hand dryer on the wall beside the sink and decide to go crouch under it to try and get as dry as I could.

  Ten minutes later after being in that uncomfortable position for so long, I stretched my legs. I felt a little better with my clothes not clinging to me as much. I mean I wasn't completely dry, but I wasn't completely wet either so I'm wasn't complaining.

  I stepped out of the restroom and head straight for the bar. I took a seat and ordered six Kamikaze shots. The bartender gave me a questioning look, but served my shots anyway. I then downed all six shots in less than a minute.

  "Whoa, slow down there" I hear someone say beside me to my right. I turn to the side and saw the most beautiful man that I have ever laid eyes on. He had dark hair, striking blue eyes, a straight nose and full pink lips. He wore an all-black suit and had an aura around him that screamed danger.

  I don't know how long I was staring at him for. I heard him clear his throat and then his lips pulled into a smirk. I quickly looked away, blushing furiously. I had been caught checking out a complete stranger. I dared another glance at him, only to see him already staring at me and I quickly look away.

  "Umm... I-I-I" I stuttered out like a fool. He chuckled, which made my face heat up even more.

  "It's ok. I get that reaction from people all the time" he smirked cockily. I rolled my eyes at him and ordered a drink.

  "So what is a beautiful girl like you doing drinking all by yourself?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. I don't know if it were the drinks that got to me, but I started telling him about what happened earlier. He listened attentively and quietly while I ranted about my sad pathetic life.

  After my rant, I broke down in tears. It must be the alcohol why I am acting this way, I thought to myself. He looked panicked and uncomfortable as he stared at me with wide eyes. It was as if he had no idea what to do next, I mean it's not every day you run into an emotional woman at a bar.

  I quickly wiped my tears away to put him out of his misery and he let out a long sigh. I laughed to myself when I remembered his face from when he saw me burst into tears. It was hilarious and now I completely forgot what I was crying about in the first place.

  Weird. I guess the shots are working.

  I was just sitting there laughing my ass off, while he was giving me a weird look. When he scrunches his nose like that, it made him look funny. This made me laugh even harder than before. Omg, I think I am drunk, I thought to myself.

  "You think?" he asked with a raised brow.

  Did I just say that out loud, I thought to myself.

  "Yes, you did" He said with an amused look on his face.

  OMG! He can read my mind, I thought to myself again. He gave me a funny look before he let out a deep chuckle.

  Before he could say anything else, a man came over and whispered something to him. His face became hard as he got up suddenly and walked out of the bar. I frowned at his back, as he did not even bother to acknowledge me before he left.

  I paid my tab and got up from my seat. I felt sad that he didn't even say goodbye. Stumbling to the door, I tried to collect myself and shake off the alcohol as I stepped outside.

  I looked around not knowing where to go and just decided I would head down the road. As I began walking, I tripped over my two feet and landed on the ground. There was no one around so I just laid there and laugh to myself like a crazy person.

  I got back up on my feet after struggling for a minute to stand properly. I began walking again, this time trying to stay upright. After walking for what felt like an hour, but really was just a minute, I heard grunts coming from an alley a few steps ahead of me.

  I don't know if it was because I was drunk or stupid, but I decided that it would be a brilliant idea to sneak a peek of what was happening. I mean, people do this in the movies all the time. How hard could it be?

  I pushed myself up against the wall and smiled evilly. I started sliding against the wall until I was almost at the edge. I took a deep breath in, before I push my head past the edge to see around the corner.

  There were three men standing over a man bent on his knees as he begged for his life. The man was beaten badly and was covered in blood. One of his eyes was swollen shut; he had a busted lip and looked to be bleeding from his chest. I don't know what I was expecting to see but it was not that.

  One of the men standing pulled a gun and aims it at the man that was kneeling forehead, a scream of terror was heard and then all heads snap to my direction. They were all looking at me standing just a few feet from them in clear view; I don't even know when I moved from behind the wall.

  Lookin
g at the men standing, I recognized one of them. It was the same one from the bar. That beautiful face gave me a hard look before he started walking in my direction.

  I stood still like an idiot there for a second, before I convinced my legs to start moving. At that, I took off running as fast as my legs could go. I heard footsteps behind me and curses. I dared a glance over my shoulder and started panicking when I saw how close he was.

  As I refocus my attention to the front I ran into a brick wall and fell on my butt. Why was there a wall in the middle of the sidewalk, I thought to myself as I rubbed my forehead. Just then a pair of hands grabbed me from behind and forced me on my feet. I started panicking as I realized that he had caught me.

  I started kicking and thrashing wildly in his arms, as he holds me against him. I was screaming and shouting for help when a cloth was placed over my nose.

  I tried holding my breath for as long as I could, but the hand never moved away. I couldn't hold my breath any longer, so I inhaled whatever it was that was on the cloth. My eyes began to close slowly on their own accord before I finally passed out.

  Chapter 2

  I woke up on the ground in a dark empty room with a pounding headache. I started panicking as I scrambled to my feet scanning the room for a way out, my headache long forgotten. I saw light coming from under the door and quickly stumbled over to it. Looking for a way to open the door, I gave up when I realize that it can only be opened from the outside.

  Running my hand through my brown hair that stopped at my waist, I continue to look around, not ready to give up hope just yet. Walking around the room for a few minutes, I realize that the door was the only exit, since there were no windows.

  I was about to sit on the ground when the door suddenly opened. I quickly scrambled away until I was pressed up on the wall. I heard a grunt as the man walked over to me and grabbed me roughly by the hand. I began fighting against his strong hold, trying desperately to escape.

  Then an idea popped into my mind. I stood completely still in his hands and as he was about to put a cloth over my head, I kicked him as hard as I could where the sun doesn't shine. He quickly let go of me to cup his prized jewels.

  Smiling evilly I made quick work of getting out of the room. Oh my god. I did not think that was going to work. As I step out the room I look to my right and then left to make sure the coast was clear. Which way should I go? I did not plan this far ahead.

  I turned down the right hallway and was met with stairs at the end. I quickly and quietly made my way down, stopping at the last one. I heard voices around the corner and started panicking. What do I do now? Calm down Layla, you can do this. I peeked around the corner to see who was there, and saw four men. Ok so I was not going to escape that way.

  'That bitch' I heard someone shout from upstairs. Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck ,fuck, fuck. I kept cursing under my breath.

  "You" I heard from the top of the stairs. I dare to a look up there and the man that I had kicked in the balls was glaring angrily down at me. If he was a cartoon character, smoke would definitely be coming out of his ears.

  As he started making his way towards me, I quickly backed away and was about to run around the corner when I felt something blocking my way. Turning around, I was met with anger blue eyes. He grabbed me by the arm and began dragging me along. The other man had caught up to us now and was walking alongside us, all the time glaring daggers at me

  "How hard is it to take one girl to me?" he snapped at the man beside me. His grip tighten around my arm the angrier he got. Gone was the man that I had met at the bar.

  "She might have, probably, it's not like it happened or anything, but there is a possibility that she kicked me in the balls" He rambled on clearly embarrassed that I got away so easily, but even more embarrassed of how I managed to get away.

  "So, she kicked you in the balls" blue eyes smirked. The other man remained silent as I smirked in victory.

  We stopped in front of a door and blue eyes opened the door before walking in, dragging me along. The other man stepped in and closed the door. The room was completely covered in plastic. So this was where they killed their victims, I thought.

  "What are we going to do with her?" the other man questioned blue eyes.

  "Kill her obviously. She's a witness and we can't just let her go. She'll run straight to the cops and I don't want to be paying for something that can be prevented" blue eyes said as if they were having a normal everyday conversation.

  When what he had said finally sunk in I began thrashing wildly trying to escape all the time crying for help. Who am I kidding? No one here would help me.

  This probably was normal for them. I guess curiosity really did kill the cat.

  Blue eyes pulled out a gun and aimed it at my forehead and I completely froze. He then pushed me down to kneel in front of him. My eyes widened in fear as I stared up at him in completely and utter fear. I'm not going to die like this.

  "Please-please don't kill me, I won't tell anyone about what I saw" blue eyes rolled his eyes. By this time my vision was blurred with tears as I pleaded with him to let me go.

  "That's what they all say" he said with such venom before he clicked off the safety on the gun.

  At that the door burst open and two men walked in. Blue eyes turned away from me to hear what the men had to say. He turned in my direction with anger written on his face before he went over to the other man that was in the room.

  "Sweetheart, it's your lucky day. Take her back to the room. I have to deal with something, I'll deal with her later" blue eyes said before walking out.

  "Oh and this time, try to not get kicked in the balls" he chuckled leaving the room.

  When the guy grabbed me to take me back to the room, I didn't bother to put up a fight. What was the point anyway? I might as well save my strength for my escape. Instead I looked around trying to find a way to escape.

  When we got to the room he pushed me inside and stood by the door glaring at me. I could see that he was still mad at me from earlier. Crossing his muscular arms over his broad chest he narrowed his eyes at me.

  "If I were you I wouldn't do anything to upset Emilio" he said in a warning tone.

  "Who is Emilio?" I asked confused.

  "You're a slow one aren't you? He's the guy who was going to kill you and also my boss" he said with an amused expression on his face. My face reddens in embarrassment as I looked away. He chuckled clearly enjoying my embarrassment.

  "I'm not slow" I said looking down.

  "Why am I here? Why does he want to kill me? What is this place?" I fired question after question at the man.

  "To put it simple, Emilio runs the Italian mafia" he said nonchalantly. My eyes bulged at that.

  Holy shit. I was kidnapped by the Italian mafia. Well this is the most interesting thing that has ever happened to me, minus the part where I was almost killed. Then a thought crossed my mind.

  "Are you going to sell me into sex slavery?" I asked shivering in disgust.

  "We don't do that" he said clenching his jaws. Clearly this was a topic that he does not like to discuss, so I didn't ask anything more about it.

  "Then why am I here?" I snapped.

  "That is for Emilio to decide" he said turning away to leave.

  "Wait, what's your name? I would like to stop referring to you as 'the guy I kicked in the balls" in my head" I said smiling sheepishly.

  "Luca Russo and I already know you're Layla Smith" he said walking out the door and closing it behind him.

  I sat there for a while looking at the wall lost in my thoughts, when I saw the door open and a tray with food was placed on the floor. Looking at the food my belly started rumbling so I went over to it and look at what was on the tray.

  There were McDonalds and a cup of soda on the tray. I laughed silently to myself. How nice of them, I thought sarcastically.

  As I ate, I thought of all the possible ways I could escape. There were many different scenarios running through my mind, all of which ended with me getting caught and then killed.

  If I tried to escape there is no doubt in my mind that he wouldn't come after me. But if I stayed here I don't know what he'll do to me or better yet have me do.