Page 9 of Claimed By My Stalker

The one with the cap barely gets a chance to knock on the tinted windows as I speed off. The cursing intensifies as he chases our car for a bit, then stops with his hand on his knees, panting heavily. From the rear mirror, I can see the other man starting up the fiat ready to chase us down.

Enzo stares at me confused. “They’re going to call for backup, and it’s just us two.”

“These wimps don’t scare me,” I reply. These are the amateurs of Bruno's workers, the bottom of the employment chain.

I drive fast enough to get away from them but steady enough to let them catch up with us. The man behind the wheels, the bald one with the ridiculous pink bandana zooms in on us, trying to crash into my headlights but I swerve abruptly to the other lane.

The one with the cap pulls out a gun and points it at us. Enzo pulls one out too. “Watch your head,” he warns. A bullet hits a window in the backseat. I drive on lowering my head as Enzo shoots back at the duo.

Two more vehicles join us on the lane, the infamous backup is finally here.

“You’re wasting my bullets Enzo,” I yell. Perhaps his head isn’t in the right place but all he’s done since he pulled out his gun is shoot like he’s trying out a weapon for the first time. One of the backups corners us at the other side of the rather narrow lane, edging closer and bumping side mirrors. Impatient, I slam the door open making a dent in the car next to me and shoot at both visible tires. The vehicle swerves off the road into the forest, Enzo takes a cue from me and does the same.

“Be prepared to jump, ” I tell Enzo.

With one functional vehicle left behind us, I step on the accelerator letting the driver do the same, then I pull up sideways right into the middle of the road and jump out of the car. It’s too late for the incoming car to come to an effective halt, it rams into our car at full speed. The crash sends glass and scraps flying in several directions. Something sharp slashes me on the shoulder. I pull out my pistol and walk in the direction of the crash.

The man behind the wheel doesn’t look like he’s going to make it. The broken windscreen has done a number on him, anyone that bleeds that much and fast won’t survive the next couple of minutes, not without pressure.

I decide to save my bullets for the others. I find Enzo sitting by the side of the road panting hard. It doesn’t take long to spot the others, we find the man with the pink bandana dead and his partner struggling to free himself from the crumpled car. I’m not sure if he’s going to survive the ordeal but one thing I’m sure of is that he’ll never get to walk again. I catch a bone sticking out of his mangled leg and decide to put an end to his misery, one headshot is all it takes, fast and painless.

I hurry along the road with Enzo still far off behind me, slowing me down. It’s only a matter of time before the cops arrive and I don’t want to leave any stone unturned. I find the other two trying to flee, their car rammed into a tree after swerving into the forest. I aim at the one farther off and with one eye closed, I pull the trigger. The bullet hits my target in the back, and he goes somersaulting across the forest. The last man standing is hardly running, there's no way he can, not with that limp. I walk steadily toward him and succeed in catching up with him.

“Don’t shoot!” he screams. “Don’t shoot, I beg of you.” He raises his hands. “I surrender, what do you want? The drugs?” He takes out bags of product from his pocket. “Information? I’ll tell you anything you want.”

But I’m not buying anything he says, I aim the gun at him but then I hesitate. The trembling man opens an eye slowly, then the other.

"I need you to give Bruno a message," I say.

“Anything, I’ll tell him anything you want,” he cries hysterically and clutches at my feet.

"Bad idea Carlo," Enzo says behind me.

“Enzo, what took you so long?” I ask, but he ignores my question.

“You should finish him, no use sending him back to Bruno as a messenger.”

The man seems to strongly disagree with Enzo. His eyes flare up angrily and he points his index finger at Enzo but before he gets to say a word, Enzo shoots him right between the eyes.

I give Enzo a disapproving stare, Enzo never kills unless I tell him to, and only in exceptions like self-defense. This man wasn’t posing any harm and I needed him to give Bruno a message.

How dare he?

The sirens of several police cars ring in the air as they speed to the crashes, in the late afternoon sun Enzo appears different to me, it’s not because he disobeyed my instructions, there’s a certain air about him this time.

_ _ _

I wake up to a thunderstorm,followed by shouts. I peep out of the window and find Rosa and another maid trying to take shelter. The rain has been constant this week which is unusual. Italy has seen very low levels of rainfall in previous years, this year has been different in all ramifications. I close my eyes and inhale the rainy scent in the air.

My room leads to other parts of my suite which include a lounge, a monitor room, and a study which leads to my hidden chamber. The latter is off limits to everyone but me, not even Rosa dares take a peep in while she’s regulating the cleaning. My study is often cleaned by myself and being a busy man means it doesn’t get cleaned very often.

I stroll into the monitor room. The first thing I check amidst the ongoing chaos on the screen is Carrie, through the monitor, I find her in her room pacing back and forth and talking to herself. Clearly disturbed but physically fine.

I’ve always watched Carrie. I spent most of my days at her bedside after I brought her in unconscious. But I can’t always be there in person so I installed cameras in her bedroom, excluding the bathroom because a girl needs her privacy. The mobile phone I gave to her has a tracking device in it, again, for safety reasons. I can't bear to lose her for anything in the world.

_ _ _

I pull up in the driveway of a fast food restaurant. While Enzo gives our orders.

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