Love Condemned: Beginnings by Stephanie Brown

blood covered her face. Adrian was shocked at the sudden outburst by Miranda. He could not believe that she was so aggressive. He went to comfort the girl and see if she would become conscious again soon. He glanced over at Miranda and she just laid her head back against the wall and stared at the ceiling. Adrian focused his attention at making Sophie as comfortable as possible while she tried to recover. The cloth he pulled off the shelf quickly filled with blood as he tried to stop the bleeding coming from her nose. After a couple minutes, the blood seemed to stop flowing.
    “What?” Miranda asked as Adrian stared at her. “She had it coming from the moment she stole my seat on the bus.” Okay, perhaps I overreacted a little, Miranda thought.
    She scowled at Sophie's limp body while she rubbed her knuckles, and couldn't help but feel just a little guilty. She would not have let herself go like this at any other time. It was the fact that it was this blonde tramp who invaded their moment of peace in this hell hole just as she and Adrian were just getting intimate. Combined with her throbbing headache and the tension that had been on her mind all day, it was enough for her to explode at the slightest insult. Miranda muttered an apology in Adrian's direction before she leaned her head back against the wall and stared at the ceiling. 

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    When Giorgio returned from disposing of the third victim, Alice was leaning against the window post with a bored expression, eyeing the hustle of policemen ou tside. They hadn't seen her yet. They would probably have a hard time doing that anyway since the lights in the room were off and it was already dark outside. The night was clouded and hot, announcing thunder and rain. Alice was still pissed off that they had to "execute" a third victim today. They did not have a choice since the girl’s behavior had been impossible. After taking the American and his little English girlfriend, the French girl had been in raising her voice and acting crazy. Giorgio had appointed her his new caller, but she could hardly hold the phone let alone utter one proper word. 
    T here was something to Giorgio’s gaze that Alice could not place. She would not have given him a second glance, but his eyes beckoned her outside. He was followed by Vittorio, one of the other conspirators who were to replace her while she was absent. The prisoners in the room were calm now, but they were not about to take any risks. Alice followed Giorgio outside. A muscle in his jaw was flexing when he closed the door for her and held up an identity card. She recognized the man in the picture as their first bus driver. Her eyes shot back to Giorgio's. 
    "Tell me, Alice," he said through clenched teeth. "Tell me what happened to this man after he was replaced." 
    She stared at him, a mixture of fear and determination shooting through her heart. They couldn't do anything to her. She was the one that made this whole operation possible. If it hadn't been for her experience as a travel guide and her easy-to-love attitude, none of this would have been accomplished. She raised her chin in the air determinedly. "I had to get rid of him. He was a traitor. An infiltrator. We could not trust him." 
    Giorgio's eyes seemed to be spitting fire and he looked like a predator when every muscle in his body seemed to gain in tension. "A traitor," he hissed. "I think I would have known if my best friend was a traitor,  Alice." 
    Oops.  Alice swallowed. That was rather troublesome. She suddenly felt very vulnerable, with only an empty gun to defend herself. Unwillingly, she took a step back, betraying her guilt simultaneously with her fear for his revenge. Giorgio let out a loud roar and leapt towards her, his fist colliding with the socket of her right eye. There was no time to scream as Alice felt the bone crack and reached for her eye. One hard push in her back made her trip over her own feet and fall face first. She