Chapter 2 Mysterious Savior

The men released Eloise immediately, gaping at the intruder as if they'd seen a ghost. Their hands fell away like they'd been burned.

One of them stumbled, nearly colliding with the wall behind him.

"Capo!" He breathed.

The word echoed through the narrow space like a gunshot. Eloise felt the shift immediately—they'd gone from arrogant to afraid. She saw it on their faces, the look of alarm making them nervous. They bowed their heads and dared not raise their eyes.

Her legs shook as the last hand left her arm.

Eloise felt a shudder rock through her entire body, she tried pulling herself back together before the terror could claim her fully. 

She'd come so close to being raped by a bunch of savages. Her heart was still racing, blood roaring in her ears. 

"I will make you pay for what you tried to do to me, you sons of bitches!"

Her voice cracked through the silence, raw and trembling, sharpened by her rage. She raked her gaze over them, equally mad and terrified, the image of their hands still burned into her skin. For one horrible moment, she had thought—

The men exchanged worried looks. Their confidence was deflated. The first one swallowed hard.

Then the man they called Capo stepped forward with authority. Without warning, he grabbed one of the men by the collar and slammed him back against the wall with brutal ease.

"I don't tolerate dogs working for me." He said coldly.

The man's bravado collapsed instantly. His knees buckled as he clutched the Capo's wrist. 

"Sorry, boss," he pleaded, words tumbling over each other..

"I didn't know who she was! I swear—"

"It shouldn't have mattered," the Capo interrupted, silencing the man.

His voice was controlled, terribly more terrifying than shouting. He turned his gaze on the others, his expression carved from stone. 

"You have smeared House Caputo with your actions," he said. "And you will be punished for it. All of you."

They shrank under his stare, lips trembling, faces pale with terror. They were mute like frightened rabbits. 

"Now get out from my sight." He commanded. 

They scattered in different directions, bodies scurrying away like rats chased out from the sewer. 

Eloise couldn't hold back a shaky exhale. She lifted her eyes to the man who saved her, almost straining her neck to do so. He was very tall and broad-shouldered. His presence filled the space without even doing much. 

His blue eyes locked onto hers. 

They were piercing, pinning her where she stood. She felt him assessing her like a piece of a puzzle he hadn't yet made up his mind about. And for the life of Eloise, she found herself unable to look away.

There was something heavy in that gaze, power, yes, but also danger lurking from the depths. This was a man who gave orders and expected the world to obey.

His presence alone had made those men tremble like leaves. 

All of it, him, unsettled her and all Eloise now wanted was distance and the warmth of her bed behind a closed door.

She cleared her throat awkwardly.

"I believe I owe you my gratitude, mister." She said stiffly.

Then, without bothering to wait for a response, she turned away, beginning to march back the way she came.

To her surprise and annoyance, another set of footsteps followed.

Her jaw tightened but she kept walking forward, and still, the footsteps did not fade. 

Eloise stopped abruptly and spun around, exasperation blazing through her weariness. 

"You need not follow me again, sir," she snapped. "I know my way back from here."

A beat of silence passed. Then a dry, gruff, voice responded.

"Really? I didn't think you could make it back safely on your own."

Heat flooded her face. Frustrated with herself and him, she whipped around again, stopping them both.

The man's face was half-hidden in shadow, yet Eloise felt his stare as surely as if his hands were on her skin. Making her suddenly, painfully aware of herself. Of her bare legs, of the thin nightdress doing nothing to shield her from him.

She resisted the urge to cross her arms over her chest, refusing to give the satisfaction of knowing he made her uncomfortable.

"Let me put it like this," she said through clenched teeth. "I do not want you following me again."

He shifted slightly, slipping his hands into his pocket, studying her with an expression she could not fully read. When he spoke again, his tone was calm, almost conversational but the words cut deep.

"I didn't know the Bernardino daughters were foolhardy," he said, "coming out of your house in nothing but a nightwear, at this hour, you could have been raped. He gave a pause. 

"Have you no care for your honor?"

The insult landed hard and Eloise bristled, heat flowing through her veins. 

"My honor?" She scoffed bitterly. "My honor is being debated over whom I should be sold to." She said acidly. "So tell me, mister. What honor are you speaking of?"

That shut him up, alright, Eloise thought with satisfaction. 

The man became silent for a whole minute. Eloise sensed he hadn't expected her to talk back at him, almost as if, against his will, she'd made him captivated.

She heard her mother's voice in her head. Girls should not speak like that. Girls should be quiet and agreeable. 

She straightened anyway. 

Then a sudden noise in the bushes made Eloise stiffen. The man's head turned sharply then he looked back at her.

"Go on now, Ferret," he said lightly, as though, nothing was amiss. "You'll catch a cold staying out too long." 

Then his lips pulled faintly with amusement. "I look forward to our next meeting."

Ferret! Eloise thought with a spark of irritation.

Next meeting? Like he was so sure as hell they would see again.

She defied his command, feet rooted, about to demand who he was. Then his voice changed in a flash, the same danger she glimpsed earlier was now stripped of patience.

"Go."

Eloise who so often rebelled against authority turned and ran. She darted through the darkness, heart hammering and scrambled up her window.

The moment she landed inside her room, she blurted out—

"Father!"