Chapter 55 Chapter 55

It was hard to think with the panic screaming inside my head. Thoughts

flooded into my mind in their thousands, charging aimlessly around,

blockading my reason, making it near impossible to think straight.

Andrea was right there and in his hand the weapon that could

potentially kill somebody I love. But I was frozen right beside him,

paralysed by the fear.

Pull yourself together Ella. A little voice in my head hissed. She sounded

a lot like me but a version of myself I had lost weeks ago. You're

stronger than this. Don't you dare let a man make you feel weak.

To hear the sharp, assured tone of her voice was refreshing.

Somewhere, although deep inside, she was still there.

And she was right. What had become of me?

At that moment I felt the powerful effect of my own persuasion or

maybe simply just a surge of adrenaline. Either way, it brought me to

my feet and to turning to the forest.

I wasn't weak but I couldn't beat Andrea. The fact was simple. But

distract him? I could certainly do that.

"Blanca," he growled. "Get your arse back here."

He grabbed my wrist but for once I didn't listen to his order and I didn't

let him drag me back.

"Get the hell off me," I growled in the darkest tone I'd ever heard my

self use.

Even Andrea seemed taken aback for a second. He stared at me

dumbstruck for half a second before his face hardened again.

He pulled my wrist down hard so that I slammed forwards into his chest

and was firmly in his grasp.

"Speak to me like that one more time, I dare you," he said, squeezing

my hands in an excruciating grip.

I hesitated and he smirked before turning back out to watch the

clearing and repositioning his gun

Distract him.

"Get. The. Hell. Off. Me," I repeated this time even more intensely deep

and clear.

The surprise in Andrea's eyes satisfied me. I didn't so much enjoy the

slap in the face a few seconds later but at least his hand was now on

me not the trigger.

My eyes began to water from the impact but I wasn't going to cry. I

held a straight face and glared up at him as he grabbed my cheeks in

his hand and glared at me with his dark eyes.

There was a sheer layer of sweat across his forehead and he squinted

his long eyelashes a little as the sun poured through the branches

above us but it didn't make him any more human. He was as cold and

psychotic as ever.

"I don't know what's given you this sudden burst of confidence but you

better get rid of it. I'm not gonna tolerate this," he replied, every word

slashing across his lips.

I slapped his hand off me and pushed his chest as hard as I could, "And

I'm not going to tolerate you treating me like shit anymore.”

He raised an eyebrow but I'm wasn't going to back down.

"You're challenging me, Blanca?" he asked. "Again? Do you not

remember what happened last time you tried this?"

Alessio was murdered. That's what happened.

"You plan to murder my people anyway," I hissed. "That's why we are

here. What difference does it make?"

He let out a short frustrated breath, "You're getting brave, huh?"

I didn't break the eye contact.

"Is it because you know Mr Alpha is near and you think he might

protect you?" he scorned. "Because he won't. All he's going to do is fall

to the ground with a bullet in his head, leaving you hopelessly with me

forever. So unless you want the rest of your life to be hellish, I suggest

you shut up and sit down.”

He then began pulling me back to the ground but I launched my knee

into his stomach. He didn't even flinch and bar the slight exhale of air,

was entirely unaffected.

He hit me again but I only hit him back across the face. I went to kick

him too but this time he caught my leg and pushed me to the ground,

straddling me in the process.

He brought his hand to his lip and dabbed it with his fingers. My slap

had somehow inflicted a cut across his bottom lip that oozed blood.

He stared down at his now bloody fingers and his eyes snapped down

to me. I was trapped underneath his weight, unable to move and my

heart beat fast. Not with fear or anticipation anymore though. But

instead with the pure fury that had unknowingly been building up in

me for weeks to which I had now opened the lid to and was now all

pouring out.

"You are so done for," he growled.

I didn't care. His hands were no longer on the gun and his eyes well

distracted from the clearing.

"What are you going to do?" I hissed, trying my best to provoke him

more. "What if I'm not scared of you anymore?"

"Then I'd be concerned that you've finally lost your mind," he replied.

"You should be scared because you know what I'm capable of."

"You certainly have a lot of confidence,” I stated. "You think that you

and your army of rogues can beat Alpha Loren? You've already lost to

him in a challenge once, what makes you think you stand a chance, you

arrogant twat!"

He suddenly grabbed hold of his gun again and held it straight to my

head, "Don't say another word," he snarled.

"Or what?" I spat in response.

His finger snapped onto the trigger. I don't know if he would have

pulled it. His anger was certainly high enough for murder and I wasn't

taking any chances so I reached my hand up and shoved the barrel off

my head, causing his finger to slip on the trigger in the process and to

shoot the ground. The shot sound alone was tremendous even without

the squawks of a million birds as they fled the forest.

A few seconds later, Luciano's voice came through on the walky talky,

"Andrea, they heard that shot. Looks like they're coming in prepared.

"You've blown our cover,” he hissed getting immediately to his feet and

hauling me with him.

He then shouted something out in Spanish and all the men fled their

stations and into the forest.

"Abort!" he shouted into his walky talky and a few minutes later the

trucks were back.

"Congratulations," Andrea said shoving me into one of the trucks. "You

won this time. But your Leonardo's time will come.”