14. Stefano
Amelia is jittery and fidgety, and I can easily tell that despite her assurance, she has absolutely no intention of arriving at my house later this evening.
She's run before and she will run again. She would be stupid not to at least try and I know she isn't a stupid girl.
But at the same time, I don't want to let her know that I can see straight through her. I'd rather let her think she still has a chance here because for some reason it gives me satisfaction to know that I am about to crush her spirits. That is, after all, my entire plan. To make her suffer. To take away her joy. To bring her crying to her knees, day after day after day. I want her to hurt. I want to see the life drain from her eyes until there is nothing left but an empty shell of the person she used to be.
Once I've settled the bill I walk calmly out of the hospital, feeling her eyes on my back.
I climb into the back of the car where my head of security is waiting for me.
James tilts his chin towards me.
"How did it go?"
"She is on her way home to pack and promises me that she will be arriving at my place this evening," I say with a smirk.
"You don't actually believe her, do you? Obviously, she's going to try and run."
"Of course, she is." I chuckle.
"Then why did you let her go?"
"False hope." I shrug. "Call your team and have them waiting inside her apartment when she gets there. A little surprise welcome party."
"Yes, sir."
He picks up his phone and arranges for his top three guys to be waiting for her when she gets home. A fourth one is going to follow her from the hospital to her house to make sure she doesn't make any detours. I am not taking any chances here. It took me a long time to find her, and I won't lose her now.
"All set, sir," James confirms as he slides his phone back into his jacket pocket.
"Good. Let's head to the warehouse. I have some things I need to attend to there."
James turns around and knocks on the window between the driver and us. It slides open.
"The warehouse." He says.
The window slides closed and the car revs to a start. Then we are on the road.
My thoughts are chaos but in a good way.
I feel like everything I've waited for these past six years is finally happening.
I have her.
I've found her and I have her in my grasp.
I am going to keep such a tight leash on her, watch her every move, and control every aspect of her life. She is going to feel suffocated and claustrophobic. She is going to beg for mercy as every day becomes more and more miserable for her. There won't be a single aspect of her life where I will allow her to feel joy.
She will belong to me as she promised all those years ago.
Her life is mine to do with it as I please.
The scenery rushes past the car window as we come closer to the docks.
The driver pulls into the parking lot, and I push my door open. James climbs out of the car behind me and heads into another section of the warehouse to deal with other things.
I make my way to my office and find Matteo sitting at my desk.
"What the fuck are you doing here? I told you to keep an eye on the casinos?" I snarl angrily. Why the fuck can't he listen to simple orders?
"I came here to tell you I am done with that shit. My own business is falling behind because I am doing your job." He snaps, standing up and glaring at me.
"My job? You think the casino is my responsibility and you don't have to do anything to help there? Who do you think pays for your house, your car, your luxuries? Do you think that's all free?"
"I'll pay for my own shit."
"You are a fucking child. What business do you have that can cover the cost of the place you are staying in? Are you fucking stupid?" I am quickly losing control.
"You stay out of my business, and I'll stay out of yours. I'm not interested in helping at the casino. It's small change compared to what I can achieve." Matteo's narrowed eyes pierce into me with hatred. His fist clenches and unclenches as he stands challenging me.
He picked the wrong day to try and push his luck with me.
I may have acted calm in front of Amelia, but the emotions raged in me when I saw her again - they were wild and untamed. They were brutal. They started to rip at my insides again because she is still the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, and no matter what I told myself, I still wanted her. I wanted her to marry me, and I want her now.
I push the thoughts aside, shooting death glares at my half brother.
"You arrogant little prick," I say as I rush at him, all of my frustration coming out in one raging moment. I grab his collar and lift him up, slamming him back down onto the desk.
"Get the fuck off me." He shouts as my fist slams into his jaw, then his left eye, then his jaw again. His words fade away to a gurgled sound.
A wet choking sob erupts from his mouth when I release him and he rolls off my desk, landing hard on the office floor and spitting blood all over the tile.
"Get up," I demand. "Clean yourself up."
"Fuck you." He spits again and more blood splats across the tile.
I go around my desk and sit down in front of my computer to do what I came here to do. I have to email some clients and check on the shipment schedule for tomorrow.
I ignore Matteo as he rolls onto his back and groans loudly, pressing his hand against his mouth which is swelling blue.
When I am done with the email and documents I stand up and nudge Matteo with my foot. "Get the fuck up." He opens his eyes.
"I have a fucking headache."
Walking over to my desk again I grab a bottle of pills and throw them at him.
He pops the cap and swallows a handful.
"Now get up."
He pushes himself to his feet and dusts his blood-stained shirt off.
"There's a fresh shirt in the cupboard there."
"No thanks."
I grab his collar and pull his face close to mine.
"Put the fucking shirt on because you aren't going to the casino looking like shit."
He rolls his eyes and pulls his mouth tight, but he does as he's told.
I wait impatiently as he slowly buttons the shirt, knowing he is annoying me.
When he's done, I push him out of the office. "Let's go. I have other things to do."
I walk with him out to the parking lot where the car is parked, and he doesn't say a word. He's furious. His ego is wounded. I don't give a fuck. He needs to learn his place. He needs to learn how to respect the hand that feeds him.
The gravel of the parking lot, crunching beneath our shoes, is the only sound we hear. We are about halfway between the warehouse door and our vehicles, walking through the parking lot, when the first gunshot splits the air with a deafening snap.
I immediately drop to my knees behind one of the worker's old Camaro and cover my head, grabbing Matteo on the way. He might drive me crazy, but I definitely don't want him getting shot.
The shooting continues as bullets slam into the cars around us. Each one hits with a loud, threatening thud. I hear men shouting at each other from around us.
Matteo pulls his gun from the back of his belt and snarls angrily. He stands up and fires a few shots blindly, not knowing where the men are hiding.
I pull my gun out, but I don't fire blindly. I wait for one of them to show themselves.
Bullets shoot past my ear, inches from my skull.
"Fuck." I swear loudly, realizing they are all around us and we are in a very fucking bad situation.
Just when I think we are going to die, men come running out of the warehouse, armed to the hilt, firing wildly at whoever is shooting at us.
It doesn't take long for the attackers to flee.
When the shooting stops, I stand up, dragging Matteo to his feet. I turn to James. "What the fuck took you so long?"
"I was in the back of the warehouse when I heard the commotion break out."
I nod. James is good at his job. I have to be grateful he was on it enough to chase those guys away in time.
Matteo is dusting his suit off again and swearing under his breath.
"I need you to find out who that was," I say to him.
"How the fuck should I know?" he says defensively.
I raise my brows at him. "I didn't say you knew who it was. I told you to find out who the fuck it was."
He lifts his lips in a snarl of anger and marches away from me, straight to his car.
He gets in and revs the car aggressively, causing the wheels spin out of the parking lot, spitting gravel and stones out from behind him.
"What the hell happened?" James asks, observing the wreck of cars that took the brunt of most of the bullets.
"I have a feeling I know who it was, but even for him, it was a quick response."
"Who? Who has it in for you this bad? I mean apart from half the planet."
"Amelia's father. Diego Ricardi. I'm sure she called Daddy on the way home, and he would have been pretty pissed off. He nearly did a good job of this too. Almost killed Matteo and me in one go."
"Not even close. I wouldn't have let that happen." James shakes his head.
"A few minutes later and it would have happened."
"Shit, sir, your leg's bleeding," James says suddenly.
Sure enough, there is a thick stream of blood oozing through the fabric of my pants.
"I didn't even know. I can't feel anything."
"Yes, it's called adrenalin and shock. Come back into the warehouse and I'll have the doc take a look."
"No! I don't have time. I want to get home before Amelia does."
"For fuck sakes, sir. It doesn't help if you bleed to death on the way."
I touch my leg where most of the blood appears to be and find a tear in the fabric of my pants. I rip it open further and pull the fabric apart to examine the wound.
"It was a graze," I say. "The bullet just skimmed my leg. I'll clean up at home."
James shakes his head. "I'm driving with you. I have to keep an eye on you in case you bleed to death."
"Fine, whatever. Don't take the Mustang though. I don't want blood on the seats."
We get into the back of the car we arrived in. I had planned to take the Mustang home, but I guess my plans changed. While we are driving James rips the bottom of his shirt off and insists on tying it around my leg to try and stop some of the bleeding. I don't even argue. He's pretty forceful when it comes to his job and his main job is to keep me alive.
We arrive at the house before Amelia which is good because I want some time to clean up and maybe get the doc to give me some stitches. The doc is already waiting inside when we walk in.
"I've set up in the spare room." He comments, so I follow him straight through.
"Pants off. Let me inject some painkiller directly in there and then I can start working."
"Just make it quick. I'm expecting an important guest."
"Ten minutes tops." He confirms.
And he sticks to his word because ten minutes later he's done and I'm heading over to the shower. I have a bandage to wrap around afterward and an antiseptic cream to use over the next few days until the wound is closed.
Hey, it could have been worse. I've been shot before, and it was worse. We got lucky this time.
It pisses me off that whoever it was got the jump on Matteo and I like that - in my own territory. Right outside my own warehouse. I won't let it happen again. As soon as I have confirmation that it was Diego Ricardi I will come down on him harder than he has ever witnessed in his life. He will be begging for mercy.
I can't think of anyone else who it might have been. I have enemies, yes, and some of them have been bold enough to come after me - but the truth is they know not to fuck with me because the consequences of it are too dark for them to imagine.
Warm steam fills the bathroom and I strip out of the rest of my clothes.
I don't even feel the sting of the hot water against my fresh stitches because the numbing injection is working wonders.
I shower, dry off, and all the while I think of Amelia. She should be arriving soon and I'm rather looking forward to it.
Then I get dressed in a fresh black suit and head downstairs to wait for her.
I pour a glass of whisky and sit in the living room.
Waiting patiently for six years' worth of planning to finally begin.