Chapter 3: We meet again

Luca's men opened the door to reveal a small, barely lit room with a man strapped to a seat in the corner. The flimsy underpant he wore did nothing to cover his dignity. His face and body was covered in horrible bruises of different colors. Luca walked into the room, taking the seat opposite of the man. He stared at the man with menacing eyes as he spoke in a dark,low voice, "I must say you're really tough but too bad I'm not here for games, I hope you're ready to talk"

The man threw his head back as he laughed hysterically before looking straight into Luca's eyes with defiance crossing his face. " I don't care what you do to me but I'm not saying a fucking word" he shouted in a hoarse voice. He tried to spit on Luca's face but due to the distance between them the saliva landed on the floor.

Luca stood up, circling his seat before coming to stand in front of him. "I've heard that line so many times from people like you but do you want to know what's funny?" He asked in a low, dangerous voice. "I always ensure that they crack and you'll be no exception"

Luca stepped closer to the shivering man,his footsteps echoing off the concrete walls. " There's a limit of pain one can take, and you're getting to your limit" He studied the man's face, pinning him down with his menacing glare.

The man's face paled even though he tried to act like he was unaffected by Luca's words. "Just kill me, fucking do it" He managed to say,his voice cracking slightly.

"Don't worry about that, I will" Luca said before signaling for his men. He instructed them on what to do before leaving the room. On his way to his study,he saw Marcus,his best friend and right hand man waiting for him at the entrance. Marcus has been his friend since they were teenagers. Marcus was slightly more muscular than Lucas but he was more calm and one barely knows what goes on in his head.

"Were you able to get anything out of him?" Marcus asked, closing the door behind him.

"Not yet but soon" Luca replied, rolling his shoulders. "He's persistent on keeping it to himself even if he dies"

"I'm sure we will get something from him before that happens " Marcus chuckled, before taking a seat.

"So how's the number looking? Better than last week I hope" Luca asked, changing the topic to business talk. His company is a cover for his mafia underground business to get the press from trying to know how he gets his money.

Marcus unlocked his phone, scrolling through the record of this week's account as he spoke. "It's better than last week, I can say that but it's not up to this week's expectancy. The profit looks good but they're few new competitors that are trying to gain access into our territory"

" Those pesky rats, always trying to ruin someone's mood" Luca muttered, his annoyance evident in his voice.

"That's how all business is,some small dogs trying to take on the big dogs but that should be the least of our worries because we have a bigger problem" Marcus replied, putting his phone into his pocket.

Marcus stood up from his seat as he spoke. "I think we need to eat, I'm starving. There's this new diner I visited last week. It's a little different from the fancy restaurant you frequent but the food there is killer and the atmosphere is cozy"

" And how different is this diner?" Luca asked Marcus, raising an eyebrow.

"Chill Luca, it's a 15-minutes drive from here and it's worth it, Daria made me go there saying it's the best and I agree" Marcus said,a sly smile on his face. Daria is Marcus' younger sister.

— — —

The past few months have been very busy for Alexandra but sometimes she couldn't help but let her mind drift to the strange man she had led to her house two months ago. After that night, she had hoped to come across the man again but she didn't. With the money he had left,she was able to get a cheap phone and sort her bills.

Today was an exceptionally slow day at the diner and there weren't many customers today. Alexandra was taking the order of an old couple when the bell of the door jingled indicating that a customer walked in.

She looked up to see two men standing in the doorway, their presence getting everyone's attention. Her eyes widened as she recognized one of them as the stranger she took to her house. He walked into the diner in a confident stride, occupying the booth closer to the window.

His friend who was more muscular and taller followed behind taking a seat in front of him. They were both dressed in suits that looked like it cost an arm and a leg. She watched as his friend picked the menu looking at it before saying something to him.

Alexandra felt jittery and she didn't know why. She was too busy staring at the two men that she didn't remember the elderly couple she was serving. The old lady clicked her fingers in Alexandra's face, getting her attention.

"Back to earth, can we get the check now please?" The old man said politely but Alexandra noticed the hint of irritation in his voice.

She laughed awkwardly trying to lighten the air and forget that she was staring at them like an idiot. She offered an apologetical smile to the couple before grabbing the checkbook from her apron. "I'm so sorry, hope you enjoyed our service and I'd really appreciate it if you gave me a high rating" She said as she handed them the check. She took a quick glance towards their booth to see him already staring at her.

Once the couple were out of the diner,she checked the time and noticed that her shift was almost over. She cleaned the dirty tables and refilled the salt shakers stealing glances at the two men. They were discussing something that looked important, noting the stoic expression on their faces.

They made no effort to order anything, like they came here to enjoy the environment. She wanted to tell them that they have to order something if they spend more than five minutes inside the diner but they looked like people that shouldn't be messed with.

She continued with serving other customers while also packing her bag. She noticed that they still didn't order anything. She wanted to thank the stranger for the money but decided against it. "I'll take that as a payment for saving his life" She said to herself before turning to go to the back to get her bag but stopped when she heard a voice calling out.

"Miss, excuse me."

She noticed that she was the only waiter around. She walked over to their booth. The stranger stared at her without a hint of recognition in his eyes.

"Maybe he doesn't recognize me," Alexandra thought.

The slightly bulkier man picked the menu before placing his order." We'll have the medium steak and fries"

She scribbled their order down on her notepad before tucking the pen back into her pocket. "Okay sir, I'll get your order right away"

The larger man nodded in response before continuing their conversation. Her thoughts had been drifting to the stranger she helped for the last few months only to discover that he didn't even recognize her.

When she returned their order,they turned to her for a split second before continuing their conversation. She set their order down on the table and then the stranger from that night leaned closer to her before whispering in her ears,low enough for only her to hear,

"We meet again Alex"

She froze for a second as she stared at him in surprise.