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The passenger door of his car opened up, and Sebastian Marconi hopped in. “It has been ages, man!” he said in excitement.According to Sebastian, ages was two weeks ago. He had known him for a long time, and in all these years, they had become best friends. “It has been two weeks, Sebastian.” his tone was flat, but he was excited to see him.Sebastian cackled loudly. He was a member of the mafia. Despite being the heir and son of one of the founding families, he had kept his dealings with them at a minimum. He was merely an associate; he ran a few errands for them, and because of his affiliations with the high and mighty, both criminal and non-criminals, he was privy to certain information which he gave to the family.He began driving. “Where were you this time around?”“Seychelles,” he announced. “A country in East Africa,” he leaned backward. “It was superb; the white sand beaches were amazing, and the resort I stayed at…” He sighed in sOrlando appreciated the silence as he drove her down to the family house. She was pretty shook by him shouting at her, and the increase of security guarding her door. He couldn’t care about that, he loved that she was quiet. He parked his car, and got out before letting her out.She had forlorn expression on her face. He led her through the doors of the hotel, he waved at the receptionist and not long after they were in the elevator. He could have sworn the ride lasted longer than it should. He was acutely aware of her standing in front of him, the soft sound of her breathing, his eyes fixated on her nape. He looked away and adjusted his tie, it had been a busy week.The elevator doors opened and he waited a bit, trying to keep even the slightest distance between them. She stopped and turned around to look at him. Of course, she did not know where she was going. He extended a hand out to her but she did not budge. He did not react.He walked ahead of her, the s
Imani stared at her reflection in the mirror, her dark curls were hidden underneath a silk hair bonnet. She rubbed a white substance into her skin.Until a set of strong hands wrapped around her waist and lifted her up. “Shawn…” she called out to him in between giggles. “You startled me”He planted a soft kiss on her head. “I needed to get your attention somehow, you looked lost.”She smiled but it did not quite reach her eyes.He planted another kiss on her cheeks. “What’s on your mind?”"It’s Elena, I am worried about her” she answered.“Why is that?” he caressed her arm gently. “I haven’t heard from her, I know I have been so busy and…”“Hey, hey, Imani don’t blame yourself at all. None of this is your fault. You have been swamped with planning for your exhibition. If there is anyone who should be calling it is her…”“She used to, she was actively helping me plan for it, we went over the pieces I am going to
Camila clutched tightly to her small bag. “I need to go, I need to go now. I cannot take it anymore,” she said in a tired voice.“I don’t think that’s a great idea…”“It has been days without Elena. No one has heard a word from her, no one has seen her…” She wiped at her eyes frantically. “Mr. Richardson is nowhere to be found.”“They threatened to hurt her if you made any move.”“For all I know, they already did. I can’t sit tight any longer. I have to at least do something.”The man who had spoken up nodded in understanding. It was a small gathering of the domestic workers at home. Everyone had been thrown into a frenzy when they saw the security men at the entrance passed out cold and a hysterical Camila. They had spent the next couple of days trying to reach Mr. Richardson, they soon realized he was truly an island, with no living relatives or existing friends. It was hard to get to him with his phone being unreachable.They had e
Camila tossed around in her bed. She was unable to sleep, even the medications were of no help to her. Thoughts of Elena and Richardson filled her mind. Her eyes were sunken and tired. She exhaled deeply; earlier in the day, she had gone to the cops with information.She had met a young man at the entrance of the police station, when he was sure she was not lost and confused, he took her statement and said he would help but…“Can’t sleep, huh?”Her whole body jolted in fright. It felt like her heart would leap away from her chest. She scrambled in the darkness trying to reach for the bedside lamp, but instead, her hands brushed against another hand, and then the light was turned on. She scurried away as quickly as her tired body could.There was a man sitting on the chair beside her bed. He was leaning backward, his hand on the table, and his forefinger resting on the trigger of a handgun. He had on black clothes, and the mop of hair on his head h
Orlando’s hands were tucked in his trouser pockets as he navigated through the crowd in the night club, he narrowly missed colliding with people. Some of the ladies smiled suggestively at him or winked. Some of the others went as far as trying to touch him. The music was blaring loudly. He stopped at the VIP entrance, it was manned by two burly men, but as soon as they saw him, they opened the doors and let him through.The VIP room was dimly lit, as soon as he shut the doors the sound of the music from the main hall ceased. Soft tunes filled the room. It was almost impossible to spot Romano Russo, over the sea of women around him. They were scantily clad and swaying their hips seductively.“Orlando!” Romano drawled out as soon as he spotted him. He leaned backwards and let out puffs of smoke, and chugged down the remaining content of whisky in his glass. “What are you doing here?”“I have important information for you.” He answered.“Come on then…” Ro
When Orlando descended the stairs the next night, he met her at the foot of the stairs. He checked his watch; it was a few minutes past 11 pm. She had on a sky-blue sleeveless dress, her hair was tied up in a ponytail. She had a wide smile on her face as he approached her.Merrill rushed in at that moment, “Sir, she said she had to come with you. I tried to convince her.”“What is this about?” he inquired.“I would like to speak with my father,” she answered in an eager tone.“It is late…”“I need to speak with him,” she cut him off, “I know you plan to talk to him already, but my father wouldn’t speak with any of you if he does not hear my voice. If he truly has taken something from you, he wouldn’t give it back without speaking to me. I am sure it will be beneficial to all of you if I can talk to him earlier so we can come to some kind of agreement…”“Elena.”“Please...”***He let her come, the drive ther
“What did you do, father? What did you do?”“I am sorry, my princess. I am really sorry. I did not mean for any of this to happen. I never wanted you to get hurt. I wanted to protect you…”“I think it is a little bit too late for that, isn’t it?” She replied in a solemn voice and wiped a story tear from her eyes.“What did they do to you, princess? Please tell me, are you hurting? Did they hurt you?” With every question, there was an increasing urgency in his voice.Instinctively, her hand went to her head. When she looked at her hand, she saw that she was bleeding. “I am fine.” she answered in a bland tone.He broke down. “I am really sorry, Elena. I did not mean to put you in harm's way. I tried my best to protect you from this part of my life. I really tried…”“They are the mafia, Dad!” she yelled. “You’re a part of the mafia!”He began to sob.“How could you? Why would you?”Tears began to flow unab
Elena flipped through the pages of the book in her hand, a blank stare on her face. There was a knock on the door, and then Luca’s head popped in. He flashed her his warm smile. If it were a few weeks back, she would be stifling a blush, her mind conjuring racy images of him.A lot could change in a few weeks, she mused.“How are you, Elena?”She did not respond.He pulled out a chair and sat across from her. “How long are you going to keep ignoring me?Surely you blame your father for this, but this is not my fault.” He leaned forward, his face barely inches away from hers. “I wanted to tell you, I always did, but it was not my secret to share. Your father warned me to keep quiet, and there was no way I could tell you my part in this without mentioning your father. He is an important member of the family.”“What do you want, Luca?”He smiled and bowed his head, his finger tapping rhythmically on the table.“You, I want y
They walked around the store picking out a few items from the shelf; the basket was half full. When they got to the snack bar, he went wild. He threw in every snack he could lay his hand on, from sour to too sweet. She stopped protesting a long time ago because it was futile. He picked out a random jean short, two big t-shirts. Then he went to the underwear section; he stared at the underwear on display on the mannequin and then back at her. At that point, she was convinced there couldn’t be any day more embarrassing than today was. Her face was flushed; she avoided eye contact. He glanced at her and then back at the mannequin. He grabbed a few of them and then pulled her toward the bathroom. He whispered to Andre and handed him the rest of the other items. Andre nodded and walked away, and then they were finally alone.“Thank you,” she said to him as she extended a hand to take the items she needed from him, but he was still holding on. She glanced at the sign that said la
Elena jumped up in fright as the doors flung open. Orlando rushed in, worry etched on his features. His eyes scanned her body repeatedly.“Are you okay?” he asked as he closed the distance between them.She was taken aback, she merely nodded.He didn’t look convinced as he took in her appearance again. “What is the matter? The security guy at your door came to me…” He trailed off.“I…” She began playing with her fingers and avoided his gaze. “I…, I got my period,” she blurted out and averted her gaze. Her cheeks burned from embarrassment.It took him a moment to understand what she meant. He let out an inaudible sigh. The urgency with which the man had relayed the message, even interrupting a private meeting he was having with Don Russo, had caused him to panic. Well, he couldn’t blame him, he had put him in a chokehold over an open window, twenty stories high and threatened him to make sure Elena had what she needed at all times.
“I heard the tale of your epic failure…” Romano poured two glasses of whisky. “I am surprised you got out of that situation without Orlando having your head.” Sebastian took the glass from him. “I hope it stays that way,” his tone was threatening. Romano raised his hands in surrender. “I won’t say a word. What happened with the men you sent?” “I took care of it,” he exhaled and leaned backward on his chair. “I regret sending out the men to his home.” Romano took a sip from his glass. “You couldn’t help it, Sebastian. You need the art as much as I do, maybe even more. You have never been the type to overlook things like this…” “It wasn’t about the art.” Romano chuckled. “Pray tell then, what was it about?” His jaw ticked as he glared at him. “I wanted to show him he was reckless…” Romano shook his head. “Don’t sweat it, Sebastian. You’re not convincing anybody.” He
When she walked into her room that morning, she did not know what she was expecting to see, but she definitely was not expecting her room to be redecorated into a mini art station. The space near the tall glass windows overlooking the garden had a lot of items. There were canvas pieces of different sizes, arranged side by side. In a large cup holder, there were a variety of different brushes, including small detail brushes and flat brushes. There was a stool and a chair. A small apron was neatly folded and laid out on the stool. There were different buckets and palettes of paint; it was hard to identify which was which in one glance. There was a stack of sketchbooks and pencils on the tables and lots of other things she did not even realize she needed.Her hands went over her mouth as her lips curved into a wide smile. She chuckled lightly. It reminded her of old times. The first time her father went shopping for art supplies on her behalf. He had gotten all these random th
Orlando rubbed his eyes as he descended the stairs. Sebastian was in the living room, talking to two men. They tipped their heads at him and walked away carrying large duffel bags. “Sebastian, I told you I was going to handle this.”“The same way you handled the threat on Elena’s family,” Sebastian scoffed. “I don’t consider it handling when you divert all the troubles to your direction.”“What else would you have me do? They wouldn’t relent.”Sebastian shrugged. “I don’t know, anything else that’s not suicidal!” he snapped.Orlando sighed and plopped down on the chair.“Why do you even care so much?” Sebastian asked as he walked up to him. “Walk me through your thought process with this? What is your end game? What are you hoping to get out of this? What does this get you in the end?”He genuinely thought hard about those questions but he had no ready sensible answer to give Sebastian. “I don’t know…”“You’re going to g
Elena leaned back and burst into loud laughter. It didn't matter that they had been talking for hours, they never ran out of things to say. Camilla sat with them for a while until she began to doze off on the couch.She watched with a big smile on her face as Imani tried to help her to her room. She had protested, and after so much back and forth, Imani agreed to let her rest on the couch as long as she was comfortable. At first, Camilla was actively contributing to their conversation, then it turned to one-word replies, and later on, she was just staring at them. It didn't matter that she had assured her that it was okay to fall asleep.Camilla battled with sleep, it was like she wanted to watch over her, with a fear that as soon as she shut her eyes, she would go away. Elena had given up on trying to convince her to sleep. It didn't take long afterward she fell asleep on the couch. Imani moved away a bit but not too far away from Camilla. They were catc
Orlando opened his drawer and pulled out his burner. He dialed a number and put the phone in between his ear and shoulders as it rang. He continued rummaging through the drawers and pulled out a black latex gloves, putting them on.As soon as the line clicked. He spoke into the receiver. “Sebastian…”“What is it Orlando?” Sebastian asked, his voice tinged with seriousness. He knew Orlando wouldn’t call him on this line unless there was an emergency. “So I might need you to speed up the delivery of my shipment.”Sebastian was on alert. “Why is that?”Orlando exhaled and massaged his temples. “I don’t have much time. Can you just..."“If you’re not going to divulge, I will enlist the help of the family.”“Okay fine” Orlando cut him off. “My house was attacked and I just need…”“Wait…what?”Orlando resumed massaging his temples. “Yes. I will be needing a lot of the shipment.”
He rushed into the house, brandishing a gun in front of him, and pulled her behind him. He inputted the security code at the entrance. As the door opened up, he saw Merrill at the entrance. She rushed towards him, tears gushing out of her eyes. “They attacked the security men at the entrance, there was a lot of gunfire…” He pulled her into a hug. Merrill buried her head in his chest and began sobbing. They stayed that way for a while. Elena was terrified. She was with him when the call came in. The house had been shot up. The thought terrified her; those gunshots had been for her. They had come after her. One of the security guards walked in. He was a tall, burly man with bloodstains on his face and clothes. “What happened?” “They somehow managed to breach through the gates unnoticed,” the large man explained. “They came in a black van with no license plates. They took the men at the gates unaware…” “Any casualties?” Orlando cut in. “Three of our men were shot, Blake, Gun
Orlando was anything but calm as soon as he walked out of the door. He paced from one end to the other, then halted. He loosened his tie. Despite the strong air conditioning, he felt sweaty. He hated this feeling, the vulnerability he felt, why did he care so much. It was just a light interrogation, nothing could go wrong, nothing could go wrong, he chanted in his head, yet his fears wouldn’t go away. He decided to occupy himself.He went down to the lounge, soft sultry music playing in the background. The place reeked of booze and sex.The light was dim, but he could make out the few people dancing on the dance floor. He walked up to the bartender, who left the other guests he was attending to and handed him a drink. He murmured his thanks, took a sip of his drink as he took in the length and breadth of the room. There were silhouettes of people in the background going at it. It was wild, maybe this was what he needed. One wild night to purge himself of whatever it was