Chapter 18: Ava

Okay…

Focus and concentrate.

I needed to just focus on the restaurant and concentrate on what I was doing. I could take it one hour at a time, take a break, and call Claudius.

Or maybe he would call me. God, I hadn’t been like this since…

Well, not since we’d been together. Not since that time when my brain told me the sun revolved around him and all there was in my world was him.

I was acting like a love-sick teenager. Worse because I hadn’t seen him last night.

I’d worried, but he’d called, and we’d spoken for an hour before I fell asleep. It wasn’t the same as falling asleep in his arms and waking up during the course of the night to look at him asleep, holding me. Relishing the big, strong man holding me like I really belonged to him.

Oh my God. I was doing it again. Daydreaming.

I’d zoned out staring ahead of me at the Degas painting on the furthest corner of the restaurant where there were more dining tables than booths.

Focus and concentrate, Ava.

I moved from the cupboard and carried a box of menus over to the counter behind the bar.

Friday was the big day, and I had everything I needed in store. I just had to organize it. And I had three days.

I’d decided to set out the new menus starting tonight to give my regulars a warm-up. Some of the dishes on the menu were more expensive too, so I thought it would be nice to have the next few days including Friday at a discounted rate so they could try it before the prices went up next week.

I was excited, very excited, and I guess it showed from the permanent afterglow that lit up my face like a lightbulb. That’s what too much sex and things falling into place did to you. To me.

All the stuff had started to come in last week, but I was busy.

Busy with Claudius.

For two weeks. We’d been…

Okay… together. We’d been together for two weeks. If anyone were to ask me if I was with him, I would say yes. Although we were treading cautiously on any sort of discussion on the matter. Like when he’d mentioned what we’d be like in the next ten years. He seemed to have just said it without thinking, lost in the moment. As lost as I was in him.

I wished we could be more precise as to what we were doing, or just more. And, as for me, I still had a lot of issues to wade through.

There were hurdles I had to jump over myself. A person didn’t just wake up one day and forget all the pain they’d suffered. Pain and heartbreak. The truth gave me the understanding I needed to know what had happened, but it never actually healed my heart.

It didn’t make me suddenly forget all that happened, and it was so much worse when I thought of Marissa, and what she’d done. I couldn’t get past that part. The part where she’d wanted the guy who was mine. She might have changed, but no amount of change could eradicate what she’d done.

A foolish game to prove something, which had set about a chain reaction of hurt.

When I started thinking it, I felt bad because in her mind, I knew it had just been some game. She’d felt more entitled to Claudius than me. It was as simple as that. Growing up, she was the one who got everything, including her own way. Ma and Pa bent at her will and were a hundred percent stricter with me. Mainly because they saw my love for the restaurant.

I was Miss Goody Two Shoes, and Marissa was the wild child. The wild child who couldn’t be tamed and couldn’t understand why a badass mobster who ticked every box on her list took more of a shine to me than her.

It was thoughts like that that swirled through my mind, and then everything else after. It was raw. That was what it was, but I knew myself. It hurt but she was my sister.

It hurt like hell, just like she knew it would. It was just as Claudius said when she asked him not to tell me. Marissa knew I would be deeply hurt and hate her if I knew the truth. She wasn’t wrong. Only time could fix it. Time would lessen the pain, or so I hoped.

For now, I was happy. Claudius and I would see each other every day and spend the night at each other’s houses.

As for business, I agreed to him giving me the building and the money if he agreed to act as an investor and take a percentage of the profits.

He agreed, however, didn’t tell me what percentage he would take. My thoughts were that he wouldn’t take anything, but I’d cross that bridge when I got there.

The place was starting to fill out for lunch, and a lot of my regulars were already here. Ready to dive into my new treats.

This was what I’d hoped for years ago when I’d dreamed of running the restaurant. My parents were also going to be coming by on Friday before heading back to Italy. They’d come for the month. Spent a week with me here going over the place to be assured it was still in good hands, spent that day with me at the cemetery on Marissa’s anniversary, then they went to Florida. I was going to tell them in person about Claudius. I wasn’t sure how they’d take it. I knew they hadn’t outrightly blamed him for anything, but maybe that was for reasons I didn’t know. They’d been here when I wasn’t and had seen what I didn’t see. I knew for a fact that they would have found it strange that Claudius was suddenly with Marissa, but they’d never said anything. They also knew the dangers and darkness that lurked in the circles we travelled in. Asking too many questions or saying too much was never a good thing. They knew not to do that. So did I.

My parents were from Italy and knew the ways of the underworld. They knew the horrible things that could happen. It was what had brought them to Chicago permanently.

Ariel rushed up to me with a smile on her face.

“Ava, I just took a booking from the mayor’s office for Friday. He and his family want to eat here.” She squealed.

I sucked in a sharp breath. “Jesus, really?” I tried to tamp down the excitement in my voice.

“Yes. Not just that. We’re full for reservations for the next two weeks. I have people on a waiting list.”

My eyes bulged. That had never happened before.

“Oh my gosh. This is really happening.”

She rested a hand on my shoulder and smiled wide, nodding her auburn head. “Well done, absolutely well done.”

“Not just me. You too.” We’d all done well. My success was theirs. We were a team, and whatever good happened should be shared amongst us. I was thinking that I’d do a mid-year bonus as well as the Christmas one. My staff deserved it.

The main door opened, and a shiver ran down my spine.

Three guys in suits came in, looked about the place, and waited at the service desk to be seated.

There was… something about them that gave me an uncomfortable feeling. It almost, almost reminded me of when I’d first met Claudius and Luc. Not in the sense that I felt uncomfortable around them, but I knew they were important. Just like Pa said. They looked like mobsters. Old school in their crisp suits and stature.

I’d never seen these guys before though. Not many mobster types came here much after Pa had handed the restaurant to me. Not like the past. These guys screamed trouble, just from the look of them.

There were Italian. I could tell from the olive skin and their sharp features.

“I better go. These guys look like they mean business,” Ariel bubbled. Obviously not catching the trouble vibe.

I watched her go over to them and usher them to seats in one of the VIP lounges.

Seconds later, she came back to me with a cautious look on her face. “Hey, they’re asking to speak to the owner.” Her brows rose, and she pursed her lips together. “It was weird. That was the first thing they said.”

“Did they say why?” My pulse quickened.

“No, I handed them a menu, and they didn’t even take it. They just asked to speak to you.”

If that wasn’t weird, I didn’t know what was. Chances were, though, that I was just paranoid. Being kidnapped in the span of one’s life tended to do that to a person. No matter how much time passed. It wasn’t something I was likely to forget.

“It’s cool. I’ll go.” I gave her a little smile to mask my nerves.

With my head held high, I took my stride toward them.

The older man looked at me first when I approached the table.

“Hi, I’m Ava De Luca. I own Delizioso. My maître d’ said you wanted to see me.” Always gracious; that was me.

Being gracious diffused a situation if it got out of hand, it covered fear and nerves, but most importantly allowed me to assess the situation.

Like now.

“Ava De Luca. The name proceeds you,” the man said with a slow easy smile.

“Oh, thank you. Can I help you with something?”

“Just wanted to put a name to a face. That’s important, you know. It’s good to check things out, see what’s what, and… who belongs to whom.”

Who belongs to whom?

That was an odd thing to say.

I glanced at the other two guys and saw the cunning smiles.

“Sure, those things are important.” I tried to say that on an even breath to still my heart, which sped up as my nerves scattered.

“They sure are, Angel Doll.”

Oh God…

If there was one thing in this world that I trusted, it was my instincts. My instincts, which screamed at me. This wasn’t just trouble.

Angel Doll. Claudius was the only person who called me that.

I continued to stare at the man, but I wouldn’t let him see my fear.

“Nice place you have set up here. I’d bet you have some interesting clientele,” he continued.

“I’m proud to say that people seem to like the food. I try my best.”

“Sure, you do, Angel Doll.”

I wished like hell he would stop calling me that.

“I do.” I had to ball my fists at my sides to stop my hands from shaking.

“Bet you got a lot of secret recipes out back, right? Old secret recipes people shouldn’t ask about.”

“Not so much. My chefs and I are very creative. It’s more about how we cook. Our technique.”

He chuckled. “You’re real smooth. Sure, I know technique. Skill, right, but even those are secrets, and asking too many questions about something secret could get a person killed.” The smile in the center of his fat face widened, and his cheeks puffed out, highlighting his dark stubble. “Or the people they know.”

The other guys laughed too.

My stomach fluttered, and my thoughts froze. I didn’t know what the hell to say to that.

He was threatening me. He was actually threatening me.

“I just cook food and run my restaurant.” My mind raced, thinking of what the hell to do.

“You do that, Miss Angel Doll, but note this… You never can be too careful. It’s safe and prudent, especially when people know you belong to someone.”

Ignore him. That was what my mind screamed. Just ignore him and the comment.

This was bigger than me.

“I just got a shipment of wine from Spain.” That was me trying to distract from the tension that coursed through my body. “For my anniversary on Friday. It’s eighteenth century old. Would you like to try some?”

“Yes, we would. We sure would. We like fine things of the exquisite variety.” He chuckled, and I hated the way how his eyes scanned over my body.

“I’ll go get that.” I couldn’t walk away fast enough. I actually went all the way down to the cellar and called Ariel to give them the wine. Then I called Claudius.