CHAPTER FOURTEEN
RAFAELLE
Growing up, there’s not a lot of things that I wanted that I couldn’t have.
And yet it’s the things that were out of my reach that beckoned to me the most. Call it the insatiability of human nature. But most people always want what they can’t have. It makes it all the more desirable, having to fight to claim something, wanting something that’s bad for you.
It’s like poison in a cheesecake. I fucking love cheesecakes. I’d gobble that shit up before realizing that it would spell my doom.
Liliana’s like that sort of cheesecake to me.
And when I wake up the next morning after she sang me to sleep, I feel my doom impending.
It’s becoming pretty clear to me that this entire situation is a whirlpool that keeps sucking in me no matter how hard I try.
My eyes open and annoyance curls within me. Not relief that I just had the best sleep I’ve had in years. But annoyance because she was responsible for it. Her and her voice and just generally her presence.
I feel like she played me like a fiddle. Bewitched me with her voice and I was dumb enough to fall for it.
As I pull on a t-shirt and pants, I know that’s not exactly rational. Gratitude is another emotion that hits me because I really did need that. And now that I’ve had a taste, I want more. I want her in my bed and I want her to stay there until I wake up in the morning.
Disappointment at the fact that she left leaves my jaw clenching.
This attraction is starting to become a goddamn headache. A knock sounds at my bedroom door and I drag my hand down my face before sitting up.
It’s Raul, one of my enforcers and direct subordinate. He pokes his head in, his brown hair falling across his face in the process. I keep telling him to cut that shit. Hair long enough to be tied into a ponytail should do a terrible job of making him look masculine. But Raul makes it work though.
“Boss, the men are waiting in the office,” he informs me.
Right. We were meant to have a meeting.
I suck in a breath, trying to concentrate on the things that should matter more to me. Violence, enforcing the rules of our empire. I have a job to do and I can’t allow myself to be distracted by dark haired sirens.
An hour later, I’m seated behind a desk while three of my men stand across from me discussing shipment routes through Newark.
“Tightening security around the loading docks is our best option,” Raul says carefully. “There’ll always be rats, nothing we can do about that.”
“Sure there is. Traps are effective means of taking care of rats,” Kennedy counters swiftly He’s a squirrely looking short man with beefy arms that pack a mean punch. “If we kill a couple of the people trying to skim off our goods, the others will fall in.”
In the corner of the room, Cross’s lips twitch. He’s more of the silent, stabby type. My type of person. We bonded over our love of knives when I was in Mexico for business a couple years ago. I hired him to come work for me and we’ve been in business ever since.
Raul always the voice of reason, pinches the bridge of his nose.
He used to work for Matteo before my brother dumped him on my team.
Said he wanted to make sure there was someone sensible among us who would at least think through our actions before skipping straight to violence.
Safe to say, Raul does his job splendidly. Most of the time at least.
“There have been three public executions in the past three months. We sh-” Raul says in frustration.
“There can always be more,” I cut in calmly. “But that’s enough talk about the people stealing from us. Like Raul said, we run a business that draws in runts and people looking to make a quick buck. They’re not exactly known for their honesty. Change the topic of conversation.”
I lean back in my chair, twirling a knife between my fingers while Raul slides paperwork across the desk toward me. It’s a profile on two of our dock workers. One of whom I personally hired a couple weeks ago for security.
“They went missing this morning,” he informs me.
My eyes lift, “Missing?”
“No one’s seen them in 48 hours. They were meant to start their shifts yesterday but they didn’t show. I assumed they were taking the piss and skipping work but I’ve checked their homes and they’re not there.”
My jaw tightens. I fucking hate losing men. And these missing men are likely dead.
“Why are you giving me papers and telling me you can’t find them instead of finding them?
Retrace their steps, figure out where they went, who they met up with.
I don’t give a damn if you need to comb through the entire city.
If they’re in captivity, you get them out.
And then you bring whoever dared to mess with me here so I can show them the error of their ways. ”
The room falls quiet for a beat. Raul is about to speak again when the office door swings open. All four of us look up. Liliana freezes in the doorway instantly. For a couple of seconds, nobody speaks.
My gaze slides over her automatically. She’s wearing a short black skirt that clings to her thighs and an oversized cream sweater slipping off one shoulder. Her dark curls fall wildly around her face.
Fucking hell.
Every inch of me comes alive at the sight of her.
My men notice too. Irritation flares at the look of appreciation in Raul’s eyes. I’d really like not to have to gouge them out. He’s been a loyal subordinate since I took up my role as enforcer.
Liliana blinks slowly before looking around the room, her eyes growing wide.
“Did you need something, little siren?”
She shakes her head frantically, “I thought this was the library. Ira told me to come up and make a left when I see a black brass door. But I got lost. This house is annoyingly large.”
“A little further up,” I say, my lips tugging up at the blush on her cheeks. “There’s a small hallway to the side. The entrance to the library is at the end of it.”
“I could take her there,” Raul offers.
Liliana offers him a grateful smile that has my gaze hardening.
“I’m sure you can find it on your own,” I say, my eyes still fixed on her. “We were in the middle of something.”
When she looks back at me, a single sculpted eyebrow lifts at the expression on my face. I have no clue how I look right now, but anger churns in the depths of my stomach.
“Point taken. I’ll leave,” she murmurs. “Sorry I disturbed you.”
I rise to my feet slowly, walking to the door just as she takes a step back from it. She inhales gently once I’m close enough.
“You’re very cranky for someone who should be well rested after a good night’s sleep,” she says, her voice low enough that my men can’t hear.
“Are you fishing for a thank you?”
“At the very least, I was hoping you wouldn’t be a dick.”
“And I was hoping you wouldn’t waltz into a room where I’m meeting with my men with your legs on display,” I shoot back.
She makes a face, “Don’t be a caveman, Rafaelle. Also, you have no authority over how I dress.”
Something primal crosses my chest at those words. I want nothing more than to hide her forever or lock her in a room where she would be the subject of my eyes and my eyes only.
Her amber eyes are fiery at the end of the statement, and I know she thinks she looks tough. But all it’s doing is making me hard.
“Don’t look at my men,” I say gruffly.
She scoffs, “You’re joking, right?”
“Head over to the library, Liliana. I’ll come find you after the meeting since it’s clear you can’t seem to stay away from me.”
“Get over yourself. And don’t come looking for me. I have a ton of work to do.”
She turns around with those words. I stand there, watching her go, the sway of her hips entrancing. Once she’s out of sight, I take a second to compose myself before turning around. Before heading over to the desk, I stand in front of Raul and place a hand on his shoulder.
His gaze is wary, and the question in it is answered with a fist to his stomach. The punch has him doubling over, air escaping his mouth in a wheeze.
“Talk to her again, and it’ll be a knife in your gut next time,” I tell him, patting his back gently before taking my seat once again. “Now, where were we?”
The rest of the meeting passes by in a blur of threats to be made and money to be spent on hiring more men. By the end of it, it’s pretty late in the morning and I’m starving.
“Has Liliana eaten yet?” I ask Ira, frowning at her empty seat, when I arrive at the dining hall.
He shakes his head, “She mentioned that she would be busy writing essays and doing homework for most of the day and asked not to be disturbed.”
I roll my eyes, “Get me a tray.”
The door to the library is wide open when I step through it.
I find her seated at the table in the room, three books opened in front of her as she types away on a laptop.
Her face is screwed in concentration as she works.
Her hair has been piled into a ponytail on top of her head, although tendrils fall loose, framing the edges of her face.
Sensing my stare, she looks up, her eyes narrowing at the sight of me.
“I asked you to leave me alone,” she states.
“Pity,” I murmur, stepping towards the desk.
She eyes the two plates on the tray, filled with pancakes, maple syrup and some eggs, there’s also two cups of orange juice. “I’m not hungry.”
“I don’t care. Eat.”
She makes a small noise of discontent in the back of her throat. I take a seat across from her, waiting for the inevitable argument.
“We can’t eat in here. This is a library,” she grits out. “There are books everywhere.”
“My books. My library,” I remind her, crossing my arms over my chest.
“You’re so annoying, Rafaelle,” she groans.
I run a hand over my jaw, my eyes never leaving hers, “Have I mentioned I like it when you say my name? I’d prefer it if you were screaming it though.”
She doesn’t even bother saying anything in reply, an eyeroll is all I get before she turns her attention back to the laptop.