Chapter Twenty-Five #2
“Aside from that, I planned this because I knew it could only get worse, and I knew my brother was involved—I knew you were involved alongside the people you both cared about. That was why I wanted it to happen on my terms. I did not want any more chaos that would endanger your lives. I do not want to live through that any more than I have to, Zahra.”
I softened my features. “I understand. But why would you include yourself to be assassinated?”
“We both know a threat to Kareem’s life would not go unnoticed by anyone.
I did not want any loose ends. So I took the liberty of taking myself off the suspect list,” he said.
“In a way, I am glad you had intervened because I would most likely be dead if you hadn’t.
Loyalty changed with the people my disguised-self had hired …
or maybe it was greed after they discovered what they could gain if they worked alone.
They would have killed anyone who got in their way, and I wouldn’t have seen it coming because I underestimated them. ”
“And Kareem? The men who are after him?”
“I was kind enough to tell him about it. His people will deal with them. But that chapter is closed with me, and the manor is now in Marino hands. No one would infiltrate the building even if the painting had been there.”
I breathed. “You really went to great lengths to stop Street from doing any work.”
“For your protection, Zahra. It would have been a bloodbath if I hadn’t intervened.
Dangerous people were after that painting, and now, we have to be more guarded because finding the painting is just a small part of this quest. Finding the gold from the map would be much worse.
Eyes are on us, and they are following. People with a lust for money, and dangerous people who hunger for the power those flash drives would give them. ”
I nodded. “I know … but why do you have Street working here?”
He relaxed his shoulders. “Like I reminded you earlier. You told me you all liked to hustle for what you want. Since I have the painting and decided to bring your team back on the hunt for the gold, this minor work they are doing should be able to cover up the ego talk about working hard to gain something. In other words, it covers the stress you would have endured to retrieve the painting.”
“My God.”
“I was merely working on the information you provided me. You should thank me because I told them I was in on the plan to get them to the penthouse as a surprise, and if they wanted to get the final piece of that surprise, they would have to work for it.”
“So now they are probably angry because they think I am making them work for the surprise.”
“Hm. Not if you grab a mop and a bucket to assist Milk in the toilet. A show of good friendship.”
I rolled my eyes. “You are impossible.”
He nodded as if I had given him a title he would never forget.
“Why this building, though?”
“I came across it in listings of several houses needing volunteers. This one was far worse and in dire need of refurbishment. And thanks to a Good Samaritan, I learned recently that there might be some children in need of a home and proper medical care.”
My heart stuttered. “What?”
The children Daiyu and I rescued with her team.
“I did not speak to her people,” he informed me. “I am hoping you will relay the information that you found a perfect home for them while they heal from the mental stress of what that organization put them through.”
I calmed instantly, not knowing exactly what to say to show how grateful his thoughtfulness made me feel, so I got up, went around the table, sat on his lap, and hugged him. “You don’t know how much this means to me.”
His arms came around me. “I am glad I can help in some way.”
“Thank you.” I pulled away, smiling at him, eyes searching his pretty, relaxed ones. “You’re giving them a home—it’s so generous.”
“It is not enough. I am still asking around, seeking information. Once I find out who the people doing this are, they will pay.”
“I have no doubt, as long as you include me in whatever you’re planning.”
He cupped my face in his hand. “I wouldn’t have anyone else fighting by my side, Zahra, trust me.”
I joined my lips with his to further show my appreciation. It wasn’t a kiss filled with hunger or lust, but it made me feel light. Safe.
When I broke away, I looked around. “Whose office is this?”
“The manager’s.”
“So not yours.”
“Not mine.”
I grinned. “We managed to christen a place that isn’t ours.”
He tilted his head. “Hm, not the way I would have liked, but yes, there is a point there.”
“Who knew you could be this naughty?”
“It’s all you. Your effect on me. You make me insatiable.”
“That is an honor.”
He nodded. “It is, I must admit. Wear it proudly.”
I laughed. “Where’s Cassie and Angie, anyway? I didn’t see them around.”
A frown dragged his brows down. “They have been dismissed from their duties.”
I blinked at him. “You cannot dismiss your underboss or your consigliere.”
“Says who?”
“That’s like the normal etiquette code thingy of the Mafia?”
“Mafia?” He frowned. “While some people use that term, I prefer to call my family an empire. Holds more weight.”
I dismissed that. “You know it’s not their fault. You should have told them your plans—they were worried about you.”
“I would have told them before it happened. I had plans to tell them—”
“And you wouldn’t have gotten the chance to either way.”
“That is correct.”
“So why punish them for a scheme that fell apart?”
His eyes narrowed, something cunning lingering in them.
“I suppose you’re right. But they still have to learn lessons from it.
If I were some other boss who found out their most trusted—even though he doesn’t show it—had kept something as grievous as that from him, they would be dead,” he said.
“But I know Angelo’s mother, and Casmiro’s family, and I swore to them that I would protect my own.
I will not go back on my word. Therefore, they have to accept a little punishment. ”
“Until when?”
“Until I am ready.”
“Ready for what?” I frowned. “To forgive them?”
He watched me but did not answer. A long minute passed until I understood what he was doing.
“Ignoring my question?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“I hate you sometimes.”
“Hm.” He shot me a knowing look, his hand rubbing up and down my back. “You don’t.”
“You did say it was okay to be delusional,” I said. “Now that I’m here, I might as well broach the topic. There’s something I wanted to discuss with you.”
His lips pressed against my chin as he pulled me closer to his body. “What is it?”
“I got a call from my friend … Vitale.”
He paused his movements; even his breathing stopped momentarily as he raised his head to look at me—frowning. A deep, hard, menacing scowl blanketed his face and made me swallow down the nerves that had suddenly clawed up my throat.
“I don’t like it,” he said.
“You don’t like what?”
“His name on your lips; I do not like it. If you want to broach a topic about him, refer to him as something else. Not his name.”
I frowned. “Why shouldn’t I use his name?”
His eyes hardened, clearly hating that I chose to fight him on his request—no—demand.
“It gives him more meaning, and I am very uncomfortable with that.”
“Okay…” I blinked, needing him calm to even bring this up. “Okay … I’ll—uh—I don’t know what exactly to refer to him as—”
“That man. Just say ‘that man,’ don’t say his name.”
“Okay—”
“Make the conversation snappy because I do not want to be angry.”
I gave a sharp nod. “Right.” Then I frowned. “Did something else happen? Why—why do you hate him so much?”
“I don’t hate him. I would not spare a lesser man that kind of emotion. He irritates me. And he held you—roughly, unapologetically, and I promised myself I would kill him. And I will.”
“I mean—”
“He also left a scar on you a long time ago, and he’s still breathing.
I recall you saying no one leaves a scar on you and lives.
I understand in our case, it’s different due to recent developments, but you still talk to him.
I do not want to portray myself as possessive because you are your own woman, but I will not deny that your constant communication with him bothers me. ”
I sighed. “There is absolutely nothing for you to worry about with Vit—”
“Zahra,” he warned.
“That man—sorry—you have nothing to worry about; he’s just a part of my past—”
“That you still talk to.”
I smoothed my hand over his shoulder. “He … was not a bad part of my past, Elio; in fact, we were good friends, and he showed me what being a normal teenager felt like. He hated Manuel as much as I did.”
“Why?”
“Manuel and Vi—that man’s brother, Ignazio—made his life a living, breathing hell. Aside from being bullied to near death, they deprived him of everything good—just for fun. Ignazio is a terrible person and doesn’t deserve that seat you sponsored for him.”
Elio raised a brow. “So he asked you to talk to me? Get me to change my mind?”
“No. There’s nothing we can do now. But I know that move you pulled wasn’t your last—”
“Oh, it was not my last. That bruise lasted three days on your arm. I have barely started dealing with that man; when I am done, he will be too dead to be dead.”
I don’t even want to know what that means.
“He didn’t offend me, Elio. He doesn’t deserve that. Trust me, he just—The bruise didn’t even hurt me.”
“I am glad it didn’t. But that does not excuse the painful fact that seeing it on your arm for those three days hurt me. Do you know how much willpower it takes to ignore killing someone who is supposed to be dead? The mental stress it caused me, who will pay for that? Hm?”
“Come on, it’s not that deep.”
“His disgusting gloved hand gripped your arm deeply. Yes, it is that deep.”
I bit back a laugh, and he caught it.
“This is not funny,” he clarified. “I do not like that you are trying to vouch for that man.”
“I’m not vouching for him; I’m just letting you know he’s not worth the trouble. Trust me. Leave him be; you’ll have more peace of mind when you do.”
“Were you involved with him?”
The question caught me off guard. “What?”
“Before … were you and he … intimate?”
He watched me intently, and upon my silence, something dark crossed his eyes. “You were.”
“Only once,” I blurted, “and it didn’t mean anything to me.”
“What about him?”
I sucked in a breath from my parted lips, letting it out with a response. “Not anymore.”
“You do not sound sure.”
“Elio, it happened years ago—”
“But you still speak with him, knowing he might harbor feelings for you. You care about him—”
“Baby, the only person I care about romantically is you.”
That shut him up—in fact, his whole body froze beneath me. Was it from me using that term of endearment or from my declaration? I wasn’t sure, but it had the tips of his ears growing a shade redder as he cleared his throat and shifted on the seat as if he didn’t know what to do with himself.
“Well,” he started, looking everywhere but at me. “I already made my decision. I will make him suffer, and then I will kill him.”
“Jesus, Elio—what if it upsets me?”
His gaze snapped to mine. “Do not threaten me like that.”
“It’s not a threat. It will upset me because the only good thing in my present is killing the mildly good thing in my past.”
“What if the good thing in your present wants to be the only good thing in your life and in your future, and in order for him to be sane, he has to kill the mildly good thing in your past so that you can see and know him as the only solid good thing that ever happened to you?”
“Yeah, you lost me.”
“I will not change my mind. If I let him go, he will not learn his lesson.”
“He already learned his lesson, okay? He’s pretty fucked up right now and very angry.”
“Precisely what I wanted.”
“Let him go … please, for me—for little old me who you really care about and would hate to anger because she would not let it go and would most likely bug you till your ears bled and you had no other choice but to do her bidding when you could have just accepted when she asked nicely?”
He sighed, shaking his head as the frown slowly slipped off his face. “Promise me he won’t interfere with us because then I will not wait to make him suffer. I will just kill him. In cold blood; I would make sure I don’t use a gun so that I can feel his life slipping away with my bare hands.”
I swallowed. “I promise. Your pretty little heart is safe with me.”
“It is?” he asked, the hint of a different meaning passing between us.
“It is. Completely safe.”
He nodded. “Good. I will call off the hit on his mother.”
“Jesus—”
His lips covered the loudness of my voice as he hugged me to his body possessively. When he broke away, his eyes searched mine. “No more talk of that man. It upsets me.”
“Duly noted.”
He supplied me with a firm nod. “Would you like to see who the children you rescued will be staying with?”