The Heiress

Zain and Ray led Grace downstairs to the basement. A chill crept up her arms as they entered, and she shivered.

"You're not going to freeze him to death, right?" Grace asked, rubbing the goosebumps on her arms.

"No, of course not." Ray glanced at Zain. "We're not used to keeping hostages, let alone keeping them comfortable. I suppose we could turn up the temperature down here, so long as things go well tomorrow."

Should've seen that coming.

Ray stopped in front of one of the doors with a slit in it to send food trays through. "He's in here. You have five minutes." Ray nudged his head towards the door, and Zain unlocked it for her. "But I'm keeping the door open."

"Why? It's not like Roger would hurt me." She glanced at Zain and headed in.

"Grace?" Roger practically lunged at her for a hug and then pulled away to check her for injuries. "Are you okay?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?"

"I'm a little cold, but otherwise, I'm fine. They feed me, and there's a bathroom." He pointed at the other door in the room with his thumb.

"I'm surprised they'd give you all that."

"We're not monsters," Ray said. "We use people, but we only want to destroy our enemies. Roger isn't on that list." And they didn't want to have to clean up any messes later.

"Cops aren't your enemy?" Grace glanced back at him.

"Only the ones that are after us are our enemies. You'd be surprised how many we're on good terms with. We tolerate each other's existence and even work together sometimes."

I've been a cop for years; how have I never noticed that? She shook off her thoughts and turned back to Roger. "I'm sorry about all of this."

"I'm just glad you're okay." Roger sighed.

"I don't think you have to worry too much about how they're going to treat me. I'm the boss's granddaughter; if someone gets out of line, I wouldn't be surprised if he deals with them."

"Noted."

She gave him another hug. "I don't know how long it'll take, but I'll get you out of here," Grace whispered.

"Don't do anything reckless, like you tend to. Dammit, I'm going to be worrying even more now since I can't be beside you."

"Who normally takes care of whom on the field?" Grace crossed her arms and pursed her lips.

"Uh... I can't help it! I'm a worrywart. Am I going to be able to see you regularly? I want to know you're okay after today as well."

"I don't know." If I agree to more of their terms, maybe. "Worry about yourself." She gave him a light shove. "You're the one being held hostage in a basement."

Roger paled. "What about work? I don't think I can vanish for too long without being fired. Kinda sad I'd probably get fired before someone would come looking for me." He pouted.

"That's only because I'm the one that would've gone looking for you, and I'm here, too."

"Shouldn't you have said 'no, that's not true', and consoled me?"

"Since when do I do that?"

"I have to ask..." Ray interrupted them. "You two aren't a couple, are you? I checked beforehand, and I know you're not married, but..."

"No, we're not a couple." Grace sighed. "We're friends; partners, which you know already."

"It's just you two seem closer than that."

"If I said we were, would it make a difference to trying to marry me off?''

Ray cringed and looked at Roger, wondering if he'd work as the next boss. "No, I don't think so. He wouldn't do well as part of the mafia."

"And I will?"

"You're my blood; of course, you'll be fine."

"Ha..."

"I think that's been long enough. As you can see, we didn't hurt him, and so long as both of you continue to behave well, no harm will come to him in the future either." Ray waved her over. "Come along now, Gracy."

Gracy? I'll probably have to let him get away with that.

"When can I see him again?" She stood tall and firm.

He smirked and nodded. "You already look like a mafia princess. Keep standing tall and confident, but remember, I'm the boss. I give you leeway because you're my granddaughter, whom I've missed dearly, but I expect you to respect me."

Grace swallowed hard. "You didn't answer my question."

"We'll see. Now come, or Zain will have to pull you out of there."

Roger gave her another quick hug. "Stay strong, Grace."

"You, too." She sighed and headed out of his room. At least it's a real bedroom, not a cell. Although, it wouldn't surprise me if they had real cells lower down or something.

They locked the door behind her and ushered her back upstairs.

"See, we kept him safe," Ray said. "We're not as horrible as you seem to think. People hear the word 'mafia' and automatically think 'bad guys', but that's not always the case. We're a tight-knit family who thrives together. Anyway, I'm tired. Goodnight, Gracy." Ray opened his arms and waited.

Knowing she didn't have a real choice, she relented and gave him a hug.

He squeezed her tight and sighed. "You have no idea how glad I am to finally have you in my life," he whispered and backed away.

"Goodnight." Grace went into her bedroom and closed the door. A foot stopped her door. "What are you doing?"

"I'm staying here, like I said before. Nothing has changed from earlier. I don't trust you not to run away." Zain pushed his way in.

"Whatever. I'm tired, and you're not sleeping on the bed with me." She glared at him.

He pointed at the couch. "I wouldn't mind the bed, but that'll be enough for me."

Isn't he kinda tall for that?

Zain laid down on the lush couch, his feet hanging over the armrest. "Such a busy, tiring day." He sighed and closed his eyes. "Goodnight, mafia princess."

"Goodnight." Grace turned off the light and crawled into bed. She expected to be awake for hours, but the bed was so comfortable that she passed out in a couple of minutes.

Sunlight shone in through the window, waking Grace from her slumber. She wiggled around a little, too comfortable to want to get up, and then remembered where she was.

Right... the Bertolottis estate.

She sighed and sat up, running a hand through her bed-head until she noticed Zain still on the couch.

He looks cold. I shouldn't care about that! Ugh...

Grace quietly slid out of bed and grabbed the light blanket folded up on the dresser. Should I? He's a bad guy, isn't he? She got near him with the blanket and couldn't decide what she wanted to do.

If I was a worse person, I could just use this blanket to snuff him out, but I'm not, and for some reason, I still don't hate him. He's annoying, yes, but I don't hate him.

A hand shot out and grabbed her wrist, pulling her down onto him. He rolled off the couch with her and straddled her on the floor.

"What do you think you're doing?" Pinning her wrists to the floor, he glared at her.

"Putting a blanket on you?" Grace didn't try to resist yet, still baffled that she was caught off guard.

He looked at the blanket she was still clutching. "Oh, sorry." He got off of her and helped her to her feet. "Automatic reaction." He rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed. Everything went dark as the blanket landed on his head.

"Geez." She rubbed her wrists. He's pretty strong. "Might want to work on that reaction."

"Considering the number of people that have tried to kill me, I think it's better this way." He pulled the blanket off and looked at the clock on the wall by the dresser. "Early riser?"

"Always. Not that there's anything for me to be up early for now."

"What would you usually do?"

"Go for a morning run, before grabbing a shower and eating breakfast. And then I'd head to work."

"A run?" He nodded. "Been a while, but we can do that."

"I'm allowed outside? Wait, you said we?"

"Yes, we; I'll run with you. And have you seen the size of this estate? It's big enough to not leave and still get an average morning run in. Even if it wasn't, we could do laps."

"But I like the change in scenery."

"There should be clothes the housemaid chose for you in the closet. I'll go change out of this suit, too," Zain said as he looked at his suit and left.

Does this mean I won't get to choose my clothes either?

Grace opened the closet doors, and her eyes widened. It was a large walk-in closet. On one side were her own clothes, on the other side were brand new clothes they bought for her.

Holy crap; they totally robbed me! When'd they have time for that? Oh, right, I didn't go home that night.

She went through her things and found her jogging gear to change into.

Knock, knock. "You ready yet?" Zain asked. "And you better answer, or I'm going to assume you're up to no good and come in, anyway."

"Yeah, I'm still here and ready." Grace opened the door.

"Went with the old stuff? I'm certain we ordered—"

"Of course, I went with my old stuff that you all looted from my house; it's mine, so I'm comfortable in them." She pulled out her mp3 player she found on a shelf and waved it around. "I hope you don't mind, but I always listen to music on my run."

"As long as you don't run away, I don't care what you listen to."

She pulled out ear buds. "I suppose that's good, but it's not like you'll hear it, anyway."

Zain rolled his eyes. "Whatever, missy. Let's go before breakfast is served."

"Do you guys eat breakfast together or something?"

"We have a grand dining room that many use, but no, not everyone shows up for the meal. Not everyone in our family lives on the estate."

"Does that mean I can move out of here eventually?"

"No. This is the Bertolottis estate; of course, you'll live here." Not wanting to hear her complain about it, he headed out with her not far behind.

There were a few people up and about, all of which greeted the two of them as they passed by.

"Did you guys announce who I am with a picture or something?" Grace asked.

"You don't need to know about any of that." Zain held the front door open to her.

This could be a good opportunity to get a look at how everything is built. Might see another entrance or something.

She put her ear buds in and waved her hand. "Lead the way."

"Nice try; we're sticking closer than that." He grabbed her hand and took off running. "How's the pace?" He glanced back at her to see her staring at the building and checking out the fence in the distance. "Of course, you're not paying attention at all."

Kinda knew they were loaded, but I didn't think the place would be this big.

He sped up a little bit, but she didn't seem to notice, still holding the same pace as him.

"I guess you're back in cop mode, taking in every little thing about the estate. Not a bad thing, even as a mobster, but it feels like you lose sight of other things around you. Like me talking, for instance." Zain sighed, wondering why he bothered to say anything at all.

He noticed a glint in the distance near a few of the trees. Without delay, Zain pulled Grace to him and dove off to the side. They rolled behind a nearby wall.

Bang!

"What the hell?!" Grace yelled and struggled in his arms. "Wait... what was that?"

"You're a cop; I'm sure you recognize that sound."

"But..." Grace paled, realizing it was gunfire. Were they aiming at me or Zain? Wait, he saved me?

Zain pulled out his phone and called the family for help. "Stay here," Zain said and pulled out the gun he always carried. He leant against the nearby wall and looked around, careful not to put himself into their sightline.

"As if I'd stay put," Grace muttered and reached for her gun. It wasn't there. She forgot they had taken it from her. Dammit... I can't just stand around letting him protect me!

Zain took a deep breath and peeked around the corner.

Bang!

He retreated right before a shot landed a bit around the corner. "So they stayed. That's bold. I guess they're serious."

"Any idea who it is?"

"Could be quite a few people. More than likely, it's a rival family."

"Are they after you or me?"

"No clue."

"Do you have a spare gun?" She held her hand out, hoping he'd give her one.

"Not on me, no, not that'd I'd want to trust you with a gun yet."

"So you will eventually?"

Zain shrugged. "Now's not really the time to talk about this. We're sitting ducks here, and unless you have a mirror I can use, I need a different spot."

"No, sorry."

"Boss!" A younger man with dark hair hopped out from the window above, landing softly beside them. "We've got people on both sides of the shooter."

"Both? Ran, there're four directions. Split the teams more; we have to catch them."

"Yes, sir," Ran said, his phone out, and sending out mass texts to the family that was out in the field searching.

Grace's eyes went to Ran's belt, where she saw a gun.

Time to hunt. Grace snatched his gun and dove behind a tree across from the path before anyone could reach for her.

"Dammit, Ran; you let her get your gun!" Zain yelled at him.

"Sorry, sir."

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Grace? Get back here where it's safer!"

"Good luck with that." Grace had her back to a tree and held onto Ran's gun, ready to shoot. She looked over at the bullet hole in the wall. So, the shooter is in that direction. She rushed to the next tree.

Bang! Another shot went off and tree bark went flying.

Frig... She flinched and took another breath to steady herself.

Thump. A dark shadow loomed over her. Zain had followed her over and thumped his fist on the tree above her head.

"Crazy woman, what are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking I need to catch the culprit, and I probably have more experience with a gun than the kid."

"Oh?" He raised an eyebrow. "How much of that was field experience, though? Ever shot to kill?"

Grace ignored him and dashed to the next tree, slowly getting closer to the shooter. A couple of their members were getting closer on the sides.

No shot went off.

They might be on the move now that we're closing in on them.

Grace took a chance and ran a couple of trees closer to where they were.

Still no more attacks.

The bush near her tree shook, and someone came jumping out.

Bang! Grace shot the gun out of their hands, and they screamed out in pain. Another shot went off, shooting past her. Blood splattered, and the assailant dropped to the ground, clutching their thigh as they cried out in pain.

"Have to make sure they can't run away," Zain said from behind her. "Bring him in," he instructed their nearby men.

Grace turned around to face him. "Was that necessary? I already disarmed him." Now who knows how much damage is done?

"Are you seriously sympathizing with someone who tried to kill you?"

"I'm a cop; we're taught a certain way."

"And we know better. We don't have the luxury of trying to keep people alive and as unharmed as possible. He's probably just the start of whoever is after us. We need to find out who he works for so we can prepare ourselves."

"What are you going to do to him?" Grace cringed as she thought about it.

"You're a smart girl; I'm sure you can figure it out without me explaining everything to you."

"I... I can't condone this type of behaviour." How am I supposed to come to terms with this? The drug trafficking was bad enough.

"Does it matter? You'll be knee-deep in all of this soon enough. You've been here a day and already shot someone."

"In case you didn't notice, they only got nicked by me compared to what you did."

"It's a start," he chuckled. "The Bertolottis family goes back quite a few generations, and we have our hands in all sorts of things."

"What if I try to stop you from the inside?" What kind of idiot asks that?! Grace berated herself.

He burst out laughing. "Good luck with that. There's a reason we've been around so long. No one can pin stuff on us; we have people in high places, and most upper staffing know not to mess with us. Besides, would you have it in you to send your old grandfather to jail? Would you have it in you to stop all the good we do as well?"

"You keep acting like you're not all bad—"

"We're not. Maybe you should look into our charity work. We're the ones that helped the southern part of the city when that flood displaced so many people. We're the ones fixing up the parks, and keeping the orphanages up and running."

"With dirty money."

"I don't think you should care about where the money comes from when it comes to certain things. The number of businesses that would go under and the number of people that would be on the streets without us is probably unimaginable to you, miss copper, so think before you do something stupid. Now, let's go. I don't know if there's anyone else out here." He nudged her along.

They're into charity? Don't be swayed by them!

"The cops don't actually have good control of the area, so we end up picking up their slack," Zain continued.

Can't trust anything this man says. I am a cop; I know we struggle, but we do a lot of good here.

"Stop ignoring all the bad you do," Grace huffed and headed inside.

"Do you really think the bad outweighs the good?" Zain followed her.

"Grace!" Ray came rushing up to her. "Are you okay? I heard what was going on and came home as fast as I could. Don't worry." He rested his hands on her shoulders. "I'll make sure that man, and whoever sent him, will never have the chance to hurt you again."

The dark glint in his eyes made her shudder.

"Uh... I'm not all that worried about it." Grace swallowed hard.

"I was also informed of your bravery, which I commend, but I don't want you in harm's way."

"R— Er... Grandpa, I'm the best marksman in the division; you can't expect me to hide away."

"You're at the top of our chain; you don't need to get your hands dirty—"

"This has no chance of working if you're going to keep treating me like some defenceless little girl. I'm an adult who can take care of herself."

"So it seems, but you should at least hold back until you're used to this world. Zain, deal with the man while I have breakfast with my granddaughter," Ray said and led Grace into the dining room.

"Gladly." Zain cracked his knuckles and headed to the holding area.