I tap my fingers lightly on the steering wheel as my car rumbles on. My evening had been the least to say, quite interesting. After paying Bruni Santos a visit, I can finally relax. I can forgive him now, because now he won't dare lay a hand on my siren ever in his life. If he did, then he would just pay with his life. I don't give repetitive warnings.
He passed out at sixty lashes and so that cut short our little date. He was still breathing at the time. I did make sure to call an ambulance for him. I was being kind. Nicole Salvatore seems like the kind of woman that could be traumatized if she knows that someone she knew was killed because of her. Not like it would have been her fault in any way. It would have been my decision, yet I know she's the type.
It's past midnight when I leave her house, and the darkness is beautiful. Coupled with watching my baby sleep, I am less anxious than I was earlier this morning. She had a very peaceful expression on her face, that is until she woke up, scared. I grin. She's fucking entertaining.
The engine of my Jaguar hums in the quiet and my mind drifts.
Her eyes. They are so full of life. So descriptive. They're like a window to her mind. And I want to swim in it. Fucking beautiful. Did beauty like that exist?
It must, because I was staring right at it a couple of minutes ago.
She had come looking for me. She had noticed that I was in her house. She'd known when the men were there the other day. How she notices even when I was very stealthy still baffles me. The men had been very clumsy. They didn't need stealth. The plan had been to hurl José Salvatore out of the house and bring him to me. They didn't need stealth. But I have been told that I can sneak into a snail's shell and out without the damn gastropod knowing, yet Nicole knows every single time.
I won't hear anything else. I have to keep her.
It had been fun, the little hide and seek we'd had. Only she was slow. She couldn't catch me. Not like I would have let her. This is not the time to present myself, yet nothing will stop me from seeing her, from moving her hair from her face while she slept so I could get a better view of her face.
She hadn't noticed that.
Before she began to stir in sleep, I had watched her lie on her bed, gracelessly slumped over the bed in tiredness, yet she was the most gorgeous thing I had ever set my eyes on. Her face had the calmest expression and it took all my willpower to not go over to her bed, pull her up and coax her eyes open so I could stare into those sapphire blue pools of hers. I only stopped at moving feathery light tendrils of her hair from her face. Because I had to see that face.
I turn the corner on the next intersection and soon, I am driving on the open highway. I crank up the speed. My windows are down and the air whips at my face. I pull the rubber from my hair and curly locks fall to my face. The loose curls bounce with the breeze.
I massage my neck to reduce the tension in it. Stress. And on top of that I know I'll only get a couple of hours of sleep tonight. There's more to be done today.
Nicole has finally contacted her brother. The coward has finally responded to her calls. I heard the conversation between them earlier and I know that José Salvatore got a whiff of our plans and ran away deliberately. But now that he has contacted his sister, it is time to act. Our men already surround her house. Her house has our bugs placed in the most inconspicuous places to avoid detection. If she sneezes, we will know. But I'm not willing to act just yet. I feel like I should watch her some more. Have her to myself some more, before I concentrate on her brother and dealing squarely with him; before doing my job as the Underboss of the Mazza and doing what is right. Before taking retribution on the enemies of my family.
I blow out a breath as I step on the gas.
I'll give Nicole Salvatore one more day.
One more day of respite. She has no idea that what she's currently going through is just a tip of the iceberg. If we will use her to get her brother, forget her privacy at her house which she is currently annoyed about, her movement would be restricted. She would be in our custody, because the only other person José Salvatore cares about apart from his fucking self is his sister.
And now I care about her too.
One more day...
I have been waiting for José Salvatore to contact her and now he has. Yet, I will give her one more day before we act.
I drive for another nine minutes down the road and turn to a strip of asphalt on the right and soon I'm in an estate with green spreading on both sides of me. It's private, reserved property, acres of land being owned by the wealthy few who desire the privacy for some reason or the other. Neighbors here are separated by plots and plots of green and not concrete walls. No one gives a damn about the next person.
I found the solitude much appreciated. Our family has always preferred to maintain its privacy, not to talk of the fact that our home is not just a residential area, but also has other sub structures and buildings, training halls and weaponry structures, wide fields for sport and a majestic building with several wings. My wing of the house alone has ten bedrooms more than I would ever need.
I usually jog the stretch of land that leads into the estate every morning. It's about a mile. I usually stick to the road, but have run through the woods on several occasions. I don't do it because I like the sound of morning creatures being naturally noisy as I zip past. I do it because the woods surrounding the area seem to give me a semblance of peace. And now, Nicole Salvatore does that for me. I don't know exactly how or why, but the sound of her name seems to make my inner demons go on a break. Give me peace for the meantime.
***
I make my way past the front door of the overpriced strip club. There are bouncers on both sides of the door, but after one look at me, they let me through without question. Inside, the floors are black marble and the walls are gold. Men dressed in suits are seated around tables, drinking and talking loudly.
The lights are muted and smoke fills the air. I breeze past the main floor. A woman dances against a pole, dressed scantily. So are the women who move about in strips for clothing, carrying a tray of some edible or the other. Drinks pour into crystal glasses and the steady bass of the music continues. My ears are sharp to every sound I can catch.
I move to one corner of the hall and take the steps up. I'm at the VIP lounge and I wait there until I am joined by another man with a briefcase, minutes later. I watch him as I sip my Zinfandel.
He's barrel-chested and burly, a shaggy beard on his face and an stupid smirk on his lips. I've hated doing business with him for the longest time. But desperate times call for desperate measures.
Two other men join him. They're dressed in three-piece suits and deep frowns. Like I'm not the one that is supposed to be annoyed at their boss for keeping me waiting.
Pepi Filipepi finally turns to me and he grins.
I still don't know what's so funny.
"You're twenty minutes late." I loosen the tie on my neck and fold the sleeves of my shirt up to my elbows, gaze on him.
Pepi just shrugs, that Godforsaken smile still tugging his lips. "Traffic."
I'm not even in the mood to be annoyed. I just ask, "Do you have what I need?"
He nods once.
A second passes. Another grin. "But you see, the price has gone up."
So that's what's so funny.
"How much higher?"
"A million dollars higher."
"That's fair," I say. "Seeing as you will have to invest in your security soon after leaving here."
Pepi doesn't find this funny and I'm glad that we're now sharing the same mood.
"Are you fucking threatening me?" He demands.
"I thought you would have caught on faster. I'll go slow next time." I readjust in my seat. "Add some drawings too. With bright crayons."
Pepi is just stewing in his anger and finally, I can relax. The good cheer was just suffocating me.
"Listen to me D'Angeli," Pepi grits out of his teeth. "You might think you're a fucking king just because your family runs this city, but I hope you know that this here is my business and you cannot just do what you want. My men surround you, for one."
"They cannot protect you from me, and I want you to know that first of all, before we start," I state matter-of-factly.