“Hey, Babe?” Serenity uttered as she crawled onto the bed.
Under the low light of the bedside lamps she looked like a panther stalking its prey and Xander had to shake his head to rid himself of the lustful thoughts that invaded his mind.
“Yeah?” He cleared his throat, focussing all his attention on her frowny face.
“Enzo and I were speaking, he wants to tell my parents about Darrio and he wants me to tell them we’re engaged.” She rolled her eyes at the last part as she settled back on her heels.
“Babe, you’re not even on talking terms with your parents.” Xander flinched, the last thing he ever wanted was to come between Serenity and
“Hey, I thought Teo was with you?” Serenity frowned as she hugged Enzo.“Teo hasn’t been home all week actually, he leaves early in the morning and gets back after midnight.” Enzo revealed matter-of-factly.“Seriously, where is he going?” She looked at him with surprise painted on her face.“I think he got a job.” Enzo smirked, hobbling along beside his sister to her black Mercedes.“Woah, does Giovanni know?” Serenity’s eyes lit up with amusement. Of the three brothers Matteo was the most rebellious and the one who cared the least about what his father thought.&ldquo
The charcoal grey Jeep sat bathed in darkness on the moonless night. Inside the confines of the vehicle its owner sat tensely listening for any sound other than the low hum of the wind outside with his eyes darting across his surroundings without pause. The sudden crunch of gravel was the only giveaway that his associate had arrived, spotting the dark figure in the right wing mirror he squared his shoulders just as the back door clicked open. Xander listened closely as the man shuffled in the vehicle and settled into the seat and he caught himself holding his breath. “You shouldn’t have come here.” The man spoke, his voice holding an unfamiliar tone of indifference. “I shouldn’t have had to come here.” Xander responded strongly as his jaws clenched and his grip tightened on the steering wheel in front of him. “How did you find me?” The man asked, dropping the facade suddenly. “There’s nothing in this world that can’t be found if you know where to look.” Xander answered, he
“Thank you.” Xander smiled at the cashier and picked up his coffee and stepped out of the cafe when a voice calling his name stopped him dead in his tracks. “Mr Moretti.” Xander searched the area before his eyes landed on a man in a black polo shirt wearing a pair of dark aviators. “Who’s asking?” Xander eyed the man suspiciously, nothing about the man seemed familiar and a face was something Xander never forgot. Removing the glasses from his eyes, the man nodded to a nearby bench, “Arnold Ludwig. I have a message for you.” Normally Xander would have ignored the man and walked away, but he could shake the feeling that the stranger had something to do with Darrio, so against his better judgement he took a seat at the bench. “Speak.” Xander commanded. “You’ve been asking questions you don’t want the answers to, Don Moretti, I suggest you stop and carry on with your business as usual.” The man stated, keeping his eyes on the black car parked across the street where Alonso watched t
By the time they made it home the sun was already setting in the sky and somewhere in between Olympia running tests and putting Xander on a drip, Serenity realised she left her phone on her table at home.Xander still hadn’t said what made him angry enough to drive his fist through a glass door, nor had he said much else to her and Serenity only grew more worried as the hours ticked by.“I’m going to have a shower.” Xander grumbled when they entered the house through the new wooden door Alonso had installed.“Do you need help?” Serenity asked quickly, ready to follow him, but Xander was quick to dismiss her offer.“I’ll be fine.”&
Serenity hummed at Selena excitedly telling her a story, only half listening as she stared at a spot on the counter with far too much concentration. “Serenity? Are you okay?” Selena placed her hand on Serenity’s arm causing the latter to jump in surprise. “I’m fine, sorry, I’m sorry. My mind is just elsewhere today.” Serenity sighed, feeling guilty for not paying attention to the woman standing right in front of her. “What happened yesterday, Ser? You sounded unnerved over the phone.” Selena crossed her arms over her chest and gave Serenity a stern look, daring her to say it was nothing. “It’s Xander, this whole thing with Darrio has got him worked up so much so he put his fist through a glass door and had to get stitches.” Serenity said softly glancing at the entryway with cautious eyes. “Has Xander found out anything more about your brother or the league?” Selena wondered and as soon as the words were out for her mouth the man in question entered the kitchen with Miguel in tow.
Illuminating the night sky was a beautiful full moon accompanied by thousands of twinkling stars, but basking in its glow was a woman with far too many thoughts racing through her mind. The rooftop of the Moretti residence was the best place in the city to think, but all she wanted was to shut the voice in her head up and tear open the seal on the envelope in her lap. The sound of the door sliding open behind her notified her of Xander’s presence before he spoke and Serenity’s body tensed. “Hey, I thought as much I’d find you up here. What’s going on?” Xander spoke softly, taking a seat on the bench swing beside her. Seeing his surious eyes settle on the envelope, she sighed, “Selena gave this to me earlier this evening, from Peter.” She flipped it over to reveal the name written in black ink. “Are you afraid of what you might find inside?” He wondered, reading the tension on her face. Serenity nodded timidly, “I’ve been sitting here for three hours trying to guess what mig
The clock ticked loudly on the wall across from her, but no matter how hard Serenity tried to concentrate on the pictures of the winter collection displayed before her, she couldn’t. She hadn’t seen much of Xander all week and not only was it worrying her, it was pissing her off.Lifting the phone to her ear, she called his number for the fourth time, but like before all she got was voicemail and the messages she sent all had a blue tick beside it with no response.“Screw this.” Serenity shut her laptop and snatched the purse from the corner of her desk on her way out.If he wanted to stay out of the house all day and night to avoid her, she had no problem seeking him out to find out why.
The next morning Serenity woke with a killer headache, the sun was already high in the sky and the space beside her on the bed was empty, for the eighth morning in a row. Heaving a heavy sigh, she dragged herself out of bed to complete her morning routine. She could vaguely recall the night before, with the exception of how she made it to bed, but what she did remember answered the question of why she felt like she’;d been hit by a freight train. Not bothering to change or comb her hair, Serenity threw her black locks into a messy bun on her way down the stairs. She was on a mission to find a painkiller and a glass of water, but what she found when she entered the kitchen sparked concern in her. Talking softly amongst themselves while Caterina prepared breakfast were Xander and her brothers. The casual wear Xander donned told her he didn;t plan on going to the office today and she wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or angry. “Serenity! You’re awake.” Caterina dropped the spatul