The Don's Unexpected Princess.

Futile Escape

There is was . The opportunity that I was waiting for had finally presented itself . The millisecond I have been waiting for . I stood two steps away from the door so that I would not be hit when the doors where pushed opened . I held my breath as the rays of sunlight filled the spaces of the door as it was opened .

I caught a brief glimpse of the dark black hair of the man that lifted me from my feet yesterday . He swung the doors open and was taken by surprise when he spotted me as close to the door that I was .

This was it .

I took a step back , saw the black haired man frown in utter confusion , before placing every ounce of my energy that I regained from my last night' s rest and propelled myself like a lightning bolts out of those doors and past the man who I caught way of guard .

The place was massive but I remembered my way around from being brought through the penthouse last night . My heart was pounding in my throat but I did not care . I scanned the area for the exit and spotted it with ease . Much to my luck , the door was wide open. Swiftly , my bare feet rushed me towards the door and out of it .

I could hear the thudding of hard , strong footsteps move quickly behind me . The elevator was straight up ahead but that would not be wise . Stairs ! There had to be stairs.

Looking around while I was running , my eyes picked up the pictures of an emergency stair case to the right of the elevator . Making my way down the stairs that I took four at a time , I could no longer hear the men behind me. There was more than one . I could tell from the footsteps .

It felt like victory . This felt like I did it ! All I had to do now was get to the lobby of the this hotel and make a run for it . Once I was out of this building, they would have no hunch on me . I would be out and in the open .

Not knowing how many stairs I did, I stupidly looked up and spotted the the black haired man and his accomplice two flights of stairs up. I had to move faster ! My feet burner from how hard it hit the solid tiles but I would see to that later .

" Hey , you ! Stop . " I recognised the voice of the Black haired man from yesterday but then a not so familiar voice spoke but not to me . " Capo is going to castrate us ! You useless moron . You could not keep guard of one tiny little women ! " I held back a laugh and willed myself not to be overtaken by premature victory but it was hard not to feel a little giddy with success .

Especially since I could see the light eliminate from the opening that led to , what I hopefully assumed , is the lobby which would take me to my ultimate victory . The rectangular opening was a mere ten stairs away and I went faster, willing myself not to fall . I couldn' t screw up . Not when I was so close !

There it was right in my line of vision . The pathway that was illuminated with a soft yellow glow from the light . I had the last four steps to go and I would bolt to the door . Thankful , for my performance attire , the loose pants allowed me to move freely and without any restraint . I turned one last time to look at my chasers and couldn' t see them at all .

I finally let myself smile but I should not have done that . My face was still turned over my left shoulder when my body , in all of its repidity , crashed into a wall with great force that knocked the air out of me . I shut my eyes briefly to regain myself before making a move again but I when I opened my eyes, every single ounce of my premature triumph was shattered into a gazillion pieces .

The man that towered over me was not please in the slightest . His face was inscrutable but his smokey grey eyes were flaming with exasperation . I gulped audibly , feeling overcome with disappointment but even through it all , I could not help but notice that this man , whoever he goddamn was, was dangerously good looking .

I slyly darted my eyes to either side of the space this man occupied hoping there would be a gap for me to still escape but he was so broad in his built that I would only have a chance of redemption if I had the width of a piece of cardboard .

Without saying another word , this man bent down quickly , wrapped a strong arm that felt like steel around my legs and straining back up again . My body , going with the motion and helplessness , folded over his wide shoulder and he began to mount the stairs .

" You are wasting your time . I fail to understand what you could possibly want with a dancer of my kind . " I said bitterly, my upper lip curling upwards in annoyance . When the man said nothing , I let out a scoff . Was he mute ? I have not heard him speak a single work since .

He was not taking them one at a time but three and he was moving at a deadly speed. What even was this man ? Maybe he was supernatural . How else could someone be this strong to move up stairs while carrying someone at dead weight .

I let out a sigh . Well , so much for my effort at escaping . This woukd probably be my only worthy shot and to think that if this man didn' t appear in my way , I would have been free .

" How about you tell me your name , at the very least ? " I asked with no hope of a reply and that was a good thing too because he did not say anything .

It was futile trying to get him to corporate with me. I had so many questions . What did he even intend on doing to me ? That' s the main question I needed an answer for . I felt the exhaustion settle over me from my earlier exertions and remained quiet for a few moments . We were almost at the top now and I just wanted to be back onto the ground again .

I heard him inhale . " Marco . " My head shot up from its semi - relaxed state at the sound of the taut voice that had a pleasantly heavy accent . " Marco Moriotto . The leader of the Italian mafia . " I ignored the vibration that surged through my abdomen that was in contact with his shoulder while he spoke and took in the introduction this man just made of himself.

Marco. He didn' t look like a Marco. The name seemed too gentle for how rough this man appeared to be . The Italian mafia . Well , s**t . That isn' t really who I would want having a mark on my head . The Italian mafia was famous for being ruthless and utterly merciless . Fear , like I haven' t felt before, crept up within me but I tried not to show it .

I did not say anything else after that and soon enough, much to my great displeasure , we were back at the top and into the penthouse hallway . Marco did not place me down but continued to move with me over his shoulder as he headed towards the side where I escaped from . I never did have the time to take note of the interior of this place but I have to say , it was the best I have ever seen. Definitely a seven star hotel . The furnishing was a cross between modern day design blended with simplicity for a sleek finish .

I let out a huff . " I would like to be put down now . My stomach hurts . " It did but only mildly from being pressed against his firm shoulder .

He did not let me down until we were back in the room I was locked in last night . Once my feet touched the ground , I scurried away from the man and watched in horror as he locked the doors from the inside . He pocketed the key into his sweat pants . It was then that I had noticed that his attire was drastically different from yesterday . Especially that light weight grey top of his. It seemed far too casual for someone if his kind .

Marco turned to me , his grey eyes seemed to be pleased that I was clearly a little shaken at this point which I had never been up until now .

" Sit . " It was not a request or a suggestion . It was a hard command . I sat into one of the plush sofas and felt highly self conscious under his scrutinizing gaze .

" I am going to be patient with you this time . Granted, you do not know what is going on but after this , you pull any stunts and that would be it . " He stood a few paces away from me but his figure towered over me , intimidating me into compliance .

" You are the crowned princess of Esmond. Natalie Atonal , if I remember correctly . " An icy chill immediately coursed down my spine . Having him confirm that he knew hit me like a brick but I remained as expressionless as I could manage .

" You are terribly mistaken . I am no princess. What would a princess be doing belly dancing for men ? This is utterly absurd. I have said it before and I will say it again , I . . am . . no. . princess . My name is Rose and I - " my words fell away when he swiftly closes the space between us and leaned down so his chiseled face was mere inches from mine . I could smell his cologne that held a hint of spice with subtle notes of freshness .

His left hand reached to the back of his pockets and a second later , he revealed a pocket knife . I started to squirm away stupidly as if I could get far with his body blocking me . This was it . He was going to slit my throat !

Marco reached for my right hand and cut the sleeve of my costume to reveal my upper arm and I couldn' t help but flinch when the cold metal of the blade touched my skin . I felt his large hand grasp the underside of my flesh , sending the hair at the back of my nape shooting up . His hand was surprisingly smooth and no calloused as I would have assumed it would be . For a moment , I studied his face . His eyes were focused with this brows pulled together slightly . The tan skin of his cheeks were snug over high cheekbones and tucking under a chiseled jawline . The man was breathtakingly handsome .

I gasped when his thumb rubbed back and forward onto my upper arm a few times . Marco paused , turned my arm to catch the light before his lips pulled to one side in satisfaction . He removed his hand , letting my arm fall against the side rest of the couch .

" That - " his hard grey eyes darted at my arm , " is proof that you are princess Natalie Atonal of Esmond . You have the family birthmark and that is all I needed to see . " My eyes widened in shock and my left hand reach to cover the mark as if it would help .