Chapter 24

*Angel*

The limousine had stopped before the doors as it had rounded the curved driveway of the two-story luxury home we were assigned to. Everyone grew with even more excitement once the limousine came to a halt, they began to urge me, hurry me out of the limousine quickly so they could go find, and pick their rooms. "Hurry girl, I need to find me and my husband a room," My mother expressed with a boisterous giggle. Soon everyone was out of the limousine with their luggage. Though, I did notice that Smiley and Josh were nowhere to be found.

I was too distracted by my thoughts of Gray to notice that they hadn't joined us in the Limousine and had vanished without a trace after we gathered off of the plane. "Hey Kareem, did you happen to see where the big bulky guy, and the basketball player-looking woman ran off to?" I crept over to my second eldest brother who was just about to head inside the vacation home before I stopped him. "Nah, I mean I did happen to see them break off and get into a black SUV. But it wasn't my business, so I didn't stick my black ass nose into it." Kareem said, shrugging his shoulders.

A suitcase in each hand, and then he walked off. I just sucked my lip for a moment before taking my own luggage inside as well, I always had time to go looking for them later. Once I got inside, the interior looked stunning. It wasn't too flashy, luxurious or too modern. It had a calm and relaxing atmosphere about it.

Inside the main room, there was black furnishing. If you had to ask me; I'd assume that black was Gray's favorite color by now. There were tall lamps in each corner of the main room with golden stands, and black covers, there were also small plants decorating the walls along with very expensive-looking paintings. There was one large painting of what looked to be of Gray high on the wall behind the large flat-screen tv that sat on the black marble fireplace. On the other side of the main room, just opposite of the entrance really was the hallway that led into the kitchen accompanied by a set of stairs that led to the second floor where I assumed all of the rooms were. Just as I was about to take a step, and head for the stairs, the door I stood in front of opened again.

This caused me to turn around, I was met with Smiley and Josh. "Hey Hermosa, we need to talk to you for a quick second, ya got the time?" I nodded, curious as to what they needed from me. I set my luggage down near the door and followed them outside. We stopped at the end of the driveway, so we were a ways away from the house.

"What's up, guys?" I asked, tilting my head to the side just slightly as my arms came up in a fold under my breast. "Hermosa, you know why you are on this vacation right? The boss told you I'd assume." I nodded in response to their question. Then Josh began to speak again. "Alright, well, just so you know there are a lot of boss's men here keeping watch over the house. Just like back in New York, we are tasked with protecting you, and making sure no harm comes to you." As Josh was speaking, informing on everything that apparently Gray had left out, Smiley let out a little huff. What was his problem? "Don't have any men or women here either, just because you are on vacation, doesn't mean that boss is giving you permission to give up what's theirs."

He suddenly blurted in the coldest tone that I thought anyone could muster. This caused my face to scrunch up as if to bundle up on itself. "I am not their property. I can do whatever I want. We aren't in a relationship, so I can have whoever I wish in my bed, hell if I wanted to, I'd invite Josh. If Gray is really that worried about me giving up 'what's theirs' I'm sure they'd be here to watch over it. Now, is that all?" Josh began to chuckle for a moment, "Hermosa, if I were you, I'd want to be more careful. You could get me, and you killed talking like that." I just shrugged, then turned on one heel and started back for the vacation house. "Speaking of the devil, the boss is calling. I'm going to have to tell them what you said!" Josh called out to me, for me only to wave them off.

*Josh*

I answered my phone which had begun to ring after Angel decided to make her leave. A smile still played on my lips as I watched the young lady, who was supposed to be the boss's woman make her way to the house. "Aye boss? Angel just went back inside." I answered, not giving Gray the first chance to speak. It was something I usually did when they called my private lined phone.

"Why hasn't she been answering her phone? I've been calling it for the last ten minutes."

As I was listening to the boss on the other line, I could hear the irritation in their voice. I was getting slightly annoyed at how every time the boss called, it was always to complain about Angel. Though, I didn't mind it too much since it was quite an amusement. Seeing how much Angel had boss wrapped around her little fingers and she hadn't the slightest idea made me chuckle. "Boss, you do know little Miss Innocent is upset with you right? This is the longest I've witnessed you let your woman stay with an attitude you know."

"I would have handled it by now, but I don't want to cross any lines with her. She's a virgin, so I feel like if I were to do anything about it my way, it would be crossing a line."

I held back a laugh that desperately wanted to leave me. Sometimes, I even made myself wonder if I was really as scary as my reputation perceived me. I laughed and joked around so much, that it was hard for myself to believe I could be so stoic when I was working. "Did you ever consider that little miss might actually want you to do those things though? Maybe she acts out so much because she really craves for you to put her in her place. Show her who's boss, boss."

"Have you ever dealt with a, how can I put this...rebellious virgin before?"

"Well boss, not exactly. I mean, I've dealt with my fair share of virgins, but none were exactly like Angel. They were all innocent, yes, but never rebellious. They weren't fun. Which is why now I stray away from them, of course."

On the other line, the boss only hummed for a silent moment. Then I heard them take a deep breath, then exhale and inhale again. "Get back to the other house and deal with the business there ASAP. I'm still prepping the plans to take Cayla's family hostage. The money is already prepped, so I want to say, that in a month's time, we should have everything ready to go once you get back here. When you finish the job, give me a callback and let me know. I'll tell you what to do from there."

Then the phone hung up, I shoved it into one of the pockets of my silky slacks and turned to face Smiley who forever wore a stoic expression. "Let's go clean up our mess big guy." I gave a few heavy-handed pats to his shoulder which was covered by a plain black shirt that was tucked into his pants at the waist. Then, I climbed into the passenger seat of the black SUV we came in before. Quickly Smiley joined me, and we were off.

We pulled into the driveway of the second house, the four-bedroom house that had been an option for Angel to take for a living province for her and her family for this vacation. But now, the place is being used as a headquarters for the mafia. Here, everything is to be handled. Meetings, money deals, keeping the other mafia of Sedona in line that wish to take over the boss's territory, and last but not least my favorite bit, the killings of groveling fools. I climbed out of the passenger seat of the SUV , unbuttoning a few of the top buttons of my black silk fabric button-down, I placed a pair of sunglasses over my eyes.

"I hope they didn't have too much with the coño, I still haven't had my turn yet," I chuckled to myself, leading into the house through the front door. A hand in the pocket of my pants. There, on my waist was a gun visible on my hip. It wasn't there before when I spoke to Angel, since it was the boss's orders to keep our weapons out of sight from Angel. An order boss never gave up until this woman came into their life.

"Where is she?"

I questioned one of the men who had joined me and Smiley as we came inside, "In the back." He said plainly, then he took the lead. My playful demeanor had diminished once we entered the house. It was time for everything business, and no games. "Josh, don't get too carried away, no need to kill anyone tonight."

"Tonight, like every night we do this shit, I make that damn decision. comprende?" Smiley didn't utter another word. Under the mafia ranks, I am the second most powerful in the ranks after the boss. So, what I say goes, and when I see fit to kill someone, I get to kill them without any complaints. Smiley though, he seems to think he has to put a leash on me when it comes to killing, I won't allow it though.

I am my own woman with my own brain, I can control myself and I sure as hell don't need a man to control me. As we enter the back room, the farthest in the house. A stench of blood and sweat tossed itself into the holes of my nose. It wasn't the slightest savory scent, but it was something you grow used to over time, that was for sure.

"Underboss, the woman is a bit beaten but she can still speak."

One of the men, a soldier stated. I simply nodded and he took a step back. I strode over to the table where our prisoner was seated, her hands tied behind the chair in case she tried to escape. I took the empty seat across the table, meanwhile Smiley stayed near the door. His hands together in front of him. I placed my pistol on the surface of the table, allowing myself to slump in my seat so that I could get comfortable. "What language does the cunt speak?"

"Italian, ma'am."

"Gotcha, I'll handle it from here."

I looked at the woman, her eyes slowly began to open as she regained consciousness. My eyes searched her bruised face for a moment.

"Chi ti ha mandata?"