Chapter 16

I decided I’d had enough and would look for him. Find out where he was and ask if I could go and see Jen for the day. I hadn’t spoken to her lately and I was feeling guilty about it. She’d tried to be in touch, but I’d spent most of the day eating, reading with Ricardo, and the rest of the time fantasizing about him. He knew I had no money, yet he’d given me a choice. I reflected back to dinner nearly a week ago and decided maybe there was a way to get to him. Part of me felt sorry for him. His dad was dead and maybe he was the only one he could relate to, and now he was alone trying to figure out his place in life. I didn’t even know how old he was, or anything about him apart from him being part of the mafia.

I wandered around the house like Alice wandering in Wonderland, wondering where he was or what he was doing. I must admit for a mafia king, I didn’t think he would be inside this much. I thought he would be out and about like he’d done the first moment I came to live here.

“Hey,” I said as I found him by the pond, the one where he’d agreed to pay me five million to help find his dad’s killer. I was shocked to see him tossing rocks into the pond.

“Stop!” I shouted at him. “You’ll kill the fish.”

He ignored me, and then I noticed there was an empty bottle of bourbon next to him on the bench.

“Ricardo, stop, you’ll kill the fish!”

He slurred, “Good. I kill everything. That’s all I’m good at, killing things.”

He started to sob. He was clearly upset about something, but I had no idea what. I should have turned back and left him, but instead, I moved closer.

“If you’re so good at killing everything, then how come you haven’t killed me.”

What the fuck was wrong with me?

Why the hell was I trying to make him feel better?

He didn’t deserve it, not one bit.

He laughed. “You remember I was going to kill you. I put you in the dungeon because you dressed up and cooked a meal for me.”

Then he shook his head as if he’d been woken from a bad dream. I left; I couldn’t help him. I could tell he was happy drinking his nearly empty bottle.

“Anyway, you need to get out of here. I’ll send you the money. You need to be as far away from me as possible, before it’s too late.” He stood and he waved the bottle to get me away from him, when he tripped and fell on the ground.

“Leave him. I’ll send one of the guys to pick him up,” Lourdes shouted from behind me. I didn’t even realize she was here; I’d thought she'd gone home. She had a bungalow at the back of the house, not too far, but I was sure yesterday she told me she wouldn’t be in the main house for a couple of days. I knew better then to ask her why. I wasn’t her employer, and I just assumed she had holidays. She couldn’t be here 24/7.

“He’s drunk. You can go in the house.”

I nodded, even though I couldn’t see her. I’d heard her voice and knew she wasn’t asking me to leave him but telling me. I needed to get back inside, then a man past me, no doubt to get Ricardo. I realized he had issues, real ones, and I wondered if helping him find his dad’s killer would be enough to fix them.

* * *

“So, are you coming out to play or am I going to have to report you missing to the police?” Jen said as I called her on FaceTime. I was back inside, and with nothing to do, I had checked to see if she was up. I needed to see a friendly face.

“Yes, yes, I’ll come and see you.”

“Good, what do you fancy doing? Movie? Theatre? Grab something to eat... Hey, Adrianna! Are you even listening to me?”

I nodded. “Sure, just a little distracted.”

My mind was racing back to seeing him in such a state and how he was nervous about asking me to stay. There was a side to him I liked, one I hadn’t seen in the beginning. It didn’t take away what he’d done to me, though.

“Earth-to-Adrianna, are you there?” she asked, waving her hands across the screen like a mad person dying for my attention.

“Look, if you don’t want to do anything with me, then fine. I’ll find another friend to keep me company while Ben’s on a business trip.”

She got my attention. She’d be home alone, which meant we didn’t need to go anywhere. Maybe I’d been in this house too long. Usually, I would be dying to go out, but tonight I wasn’t in the mood. I’d leave a message with Lourdes about going out, and then I’d come back in the morning. Ricardo said I wasn’t a prisoner, and I could come and go as I pleased. Let’s see if he was a man of his word.

“I’m getting ready, and I’ll be at your place in thirty minutes.”

She choked. “I thought maybe you changed your mind and didn’t want to leave your mafia hunk behind.”

I wished I could tell her, it was nothing to do with him. He was far from my mafia hunk, he was a man who was paying me a ton of money to find his dad’s killer and nothing else. I would tell her about the arrangement so she could stop thinking this was more than it actually was. It was a simple arrangement.

“Make sure you have enough wine and chocolate to keep us entertained.”

She said, “I’ll go to the store now. Don’t be too long.”

I smiled as I waved, and said, “Don’t worry, I won’t.”

I jumped off the bed, feeling glad to get out of the house and to see my friend again. It’d only been three weeks since we saw each other last, but it felt like a lifetime. I couldn’t wait to see her and get out of the house. I would be killing two birds with one stone, and I couldn’t fucking wait.

I grabbed my things and then headed down the stairs. Lourdes was there, waiting. Did she have a sixth sense or something? She always seemed to be at the right place, whenever I felt the urge to look for her.

“I was coming to see you. Could I get a car for an evening out?”

She said, “I can see.”

She was looking at my bag. I didn’t know why, but she was cold and reserved, not her normally bubbly self.

“Yeah, I’m going to a friend’s and I’ll be back tomorrow.”

She nodded. “Okay. So, you’ll need a car tonight and then a ride back in the morning. I’ll call Ferd to take you if you could come back for breakfast around ten, okay? I’ll set up for you and Ricardo.”

I agreed. “Sounds good. Thanks. How long will the car be?”

She answered, “Ferd will be outside the same time as you, I’ll send him a message now.”

“Okay. See you in the morning.”

She replied, “Have fun.”

I carried on walking to the door, Ricardo was right; I wasn’t a prisoner. I could come and go as I pleased, but I needed to come back to get five million dollars. I would stick to my end of the bargain. I was a woman of my word, and tonight I intended to have fun and put Ricardo’s worries behind me.