Chapter 34 Bang! Bang!
I settle into the leather seats as the driver pulls out of the driveway heading for the gates. Alex picks his phone and starts pressing some numbers, probably calculating something related to business. I have come to realise that he actually works a lot. He lives, eats and breaths his empire, always on the move. I turn around and look at his stong profile as his attention is engrossed in his phone. My mind flashed back to the earlier encounter with his ex. A surge of jealousy rising in me, I scowl. If that’s the kind of women he dates then what could he possibly want with me.
"Alex, how long were you with her? " I ask softly because I just can’t seem to let it go. I should drop it but I can’t. I wonder how many of his mothers friends he has been with. She touched him! She knows him intimately in a way I don’t. Jealousy raises its ugly head again as I try to squash it down and fail.
He turns to me, his eyes blank. “For a few weeks, it was a brief thing.”
I snort. A brief thing she can’t forget about. “Do you love her?” I squeeze my hands together to keep them from trembling, praying I won’t regret asking him.
He sighs. “Alessia, I don’t. I never did. She wanted to forget and I helped her for a while, that’s it.”
I nod my head at him not wanting to ask anything else. His words don’t soothe my worries in any way but I keep quiet. I turn to the window again, my sanctuary. I should probably be happy he wants me by his side, like his handbag or something. But I just feel so unsettled with everything. Soon enough we arrive at La Margerita and the car is parked at the curb. We walk into the club together. I have a brief flashback of the day we met and how far we have come in such a brief time. He cuts into my thoughts whispering into my ears.
“Alessia, stay with Joe, I won’t be long,” he whispers, not waiting for my response as he walks off. I huff in annoyance and walk off to the counter, settling on a stool at the bar and ordering a straight tequila from Joe. I sip my drink quietly, noticing the regular patrons sitting at their tables drinking and having conversations. The bellas walked around in their uniform carrying trays of drinks, the soft hum of jazz music wafting from the speakers. I turn to Alex’s private room again, noticing the door is still locked. I sigh as I face Joe.
I whisper loudly to Joe as he mixes a few drinks. “Joe, I want to step out for some air. I will be back.” He nods his head at me as he continues working. I slip out the back door quietly. I just need to get away somewhere quiet and think. A place that doesn’t reek of him and think. I can’t do that when I am near him. Before my treacherous heart embarrasses me and I beg him to never leave me like he left her. As I walk through the back alley I was so engrossed with my thoughts about Alex that I wasn’t really aware of my surroundings until I sensed something.
I felt eyes watching me and I shivered. Turning around I saw A masked man wearing a dark suit walking towards me quickly. Oh Merde. My heart is racing wildly in my chest. I really made a mistake! I should have found a quiet corner to sit. Instead I turn around and start running, my loafers making it easy to sprint, but two more men step out in front of me as they caught up. I am surrounded, screwed, all alone and in a darkened back alley. They crowd me silently, watching me keenly .
“May I help you?” I summon the courage to ask, facing them head on, my voice shaky.
They grin, their yellowed teeth on full display, and I shiver in disgust. “Aren’t you Alex Ferrini’s new object?” I freeze. So they know who I am? How do they know? Who sent them? The Sirranos?
I shake my head quickly. “No. I am a staff at La Magerita and I am just going to buy something from a nearby convenience store.”
The first one, their leader, chuckles. “Isn’t that sweet? She is trying to protect the Mafia kingpin.”
I ignore his taunts, trying to think of a way to get out of this mess with my head intact. What have I walked into! The second one, leaning against the back alley wall, straightens. “She is the one Marco mentioned.” My stomach drops like a stone. Who is Marco? And how does he know me?
“I don’t know anyone by that name,” I whisper, my heart beating loudly in my chest. Their leader steps closer.
“Well, he knows of you, and he asked us to pick you up for a friendly conversation.”
I freeze in shock as everything in me rejects the very idea of stepping into a car with these filthy men. I am certain without a doubt that if I go with them quietly I won’t make it out alive. I have to stalk them and hope Alex noticed I am missing soon enough. He is my only choice right now. Alex please, I need you! Dios lead him to me. I face them again, giving them a small smile. “I think you have me mistaken with some other woman.”
They chuckle as the leader smirks. “Aren’t you Alessia Molano? Don’t play smart with us lady. We have our orders. Bring you in alive or die trying.”
Fear sneaks up my spine as I wonder if I will make it out of this alive or dead. Will Alex discover that I am missing? Is this the end? As they move closer, crowding me further, I am running out of options and my fear is building. Three loud gunshots ring out in the air, startling us all.
Bang! Bang! Bang!