You could have cut the tension with a knife after Tony spoke those words. Particularly the word babysitter spun around Maria's head.
"Babysitter?" Maria practically spat out, seeing red. Why did this man get under her skin so easily? Usually, she could brush off these kinds of remarks but every other time Tony opened his mouth, Maria ended up irked in some way."Look, Maria, I'm sorry you're in a pretty shitty situation, but I'm not your get out of jail free card when it comes to your mother" Tony sounded stern but was backtracking slightly, not wanting Maria to decide her father needed one less Capo on his team. "Maybe when you've been around the whole mafia situation a little longer--" he started before Maria interrupted."A little longer?" she asked quietly, letting out a fake laugh. "Oh please, Tony, tell me more about how hard it has been for you, volunteering to be part of the LeTale gang and all" she scoffed, glancing over and noticing his jaw was set in a way that told her he firmly believed in what he was saying. "A little longer? 21 years! I was in it before I even knew I was in it!" she muttered. "I am sent away from my friends, from my family, because my Daddy is involved in some war I knew nothing about. They literally sent me to the other side of the world" she shook her head as she spoke, her hands frantically moving about as they did when she truly felt enraged. "So don't come telling me I need to be in the situation longer. I am the situation, wherever I go, whatever I do, I am the situation" she told him incredulously, rolling her eyes before looking out the window, arms folded across her chest defensively. "I'm fed up of being forced to feel like I'm a child around here, babysitters, scheduled playdates. I feel like I need to make a public announcement so people notice I'm an adult now"Tony listened to her words, his eyebrow arched but his head engaged. He could see her point, he could appreciate that she had no choice in the matter, whereas he had jumped in with both feet as soon as he was able. He sighed a little, glancing at the car clock. It was a little before 5. Too early for their meeting - he certainly didn't want to be a sitting duck parked outside the meeting place. "You hungry?" he asked her, making a turn in the car.
Maria, feeling unheard, pursed her lips before saying "I am but I think I'm meant to be meeting with some man named...Ricardo? Maybe?" she muttered, she couldn't say she had been listening to the details particularly. Tony smirked and shrugged his shoulders, pulling up outside a restaurant. It wasn't very big at all, it was called "La Dolce" and clearly a cutesy, family-run business. As he turned off the engine, he hopped out of the car and went and opened the door for her, becoming accustomed to the routine quickly.Maria glanced at the restaurant as the car door was opened, stepping out slowly as she looked it over as though trying to work something out."This isn't run by 'the family'" he told her, "Believe it or not there are some businesses in town your father doesn't own" he teased her in a dry voice.His teasing left Maria with a small smirk of her own on her red, painted lips, beginning to walk towards the entrance when Tony grabbed her arm and, kind of roughly, pulled her into the alleyway beside the restaurant.Her back pressed against the cool brick wall of the alleyway, Tony's grip tight around her wrist still as he loomed in front of her."Tony!" Maria gasped at the suddenness of his movements, at the rough way he had handled her and demanded her attention in such a manner.Tony's other hand was flat against the brick, next to her head, supporting his weight as he leaned over her. Essentially trapping her slightly, though he hadn't quite realised this - he hadn't thought any of this through and it was definitely a spur of the moment, regret in five minutes, type of action. Maria's heart was hammering against her chest, looking up at his tense and firm posture. She hadn't quite appreciated how tall he was before, or how strong he seemed even when he was just wearing a shirt and not a particularly tight one at that. Trying to regain her authority (in theory) and composure in the situation she said his name again, failing in her attempt to cover up the way her body was reacting so fiercely to his behaviour."Tony" she breathed, her dark eyes lifting to meet his as her chest rose and fell with adrenaline.Tony arched his eyebrow as he looked over her face, her eyes catching the light as she looked up at him which made her appear to be more vulnerable."I just thought I would take this opportunity" he started, glancing over his shoulder suspiciously, "to reassure you thatno-one needs a reminder that you're all grown up now" he growled from deep within his chest, swallowing a little as he leaned down so he was inches away from her face, his eyes staring directly into hers, "I think I speak on behalf of the male community when I say: We have definitely noticed" he admitted. He spoke softly but firmly, giving him an air of confidence that was half charming and half arrogant.He went to move back, before his head dipped to near her ear, "But if you tell anyone I told you, they'll probably have me whacked, because someone is always watching, even when you're with me" he added, pulling back to standing and dropping her wrist.He gestured for
They made polite conversation as they ate dinner at a reasonable pace, once the bill arrived Tony took it and placed a couple of bills inside, including a rather generous tip."I will pay my own way, thank you," Maria told him, reaching into her purse and only pausing when Tony let out a deep chuckle. "What?" she asked."Nothing, if you so desperately want to pay for yourself you can do." he offered with a smirk to his lips, Maira eyed him warily before he added "Either way it's your family's money, technically" he pointed out, getting up and gesturing towards the door. "Shall we? Don't want to be late for your big meeting!"Narrowing her eyes slightly, Maria slipped a bill on top of Tony's and then lead the way out. Laughing and shaking his head, Tony followed her, enjoying the hypnotic movements of her behind for a few moments before jogging ahead to open the car door for her.As he slipped into the driver's side and started the engine he let out a small sigh. '
Outside Maria struggled against Trig’s rough hands as he practically had to force her into the car, his hand pushing her head into the car. As the sound of another gunshot sounded there was a brief freeze in the air, Trig glanced quickly back to the warehouse they had come from before seemingly remembering his current task and pushing Maria fully into the backseat of Tony’s Jaguar, sitting next to her and pulling the door shut quietly, hitting the lock button.“Excuse my language, Miss LeTale, but keep your damn head down if you want to live” he growled at her, seemingly fierce but his eyes kept flickering towards the warehouse as a worried look danced on his face.“He got shot and you just left him, what kind of person can do that?” Maria sobbed slightly, tear-stained streaks running down her cheeks. Trig’s brows knitted together as he looked over at Maria in disbelief. ‘This is who has been placed in charge of the family business, she is meant to be our ruthless lead
As they sped away from the warehouse, Tony could feel Maria’s tension surrounding the vehicle. He knew he had to take some control here, her Daddy would absolutely freak out if he had seen the way she had reacted to the gunshots in front of the men. Tony was so confident about Don Damon’s reaction he actually felt himself getting annoyed at the Don. He felt sorry for the beautiful brunette in the car next to him. She was barely 21 and had been thrown headfirst into a world she didn’t belong in or want to be a part of. He actually blamed the Don’s wife but the blame game would get him nowhere. There was no reason for Maria to be involved, she could have handled it but she felt above the situation. Tony rolled his eyes as he cleared his throat to break the silence.“Maria,” he started, drawing in a breath because he knew how well this was going to go down, “I know that what happened back there must have shocked you – and I completel
Maria followed behind Tony, her eyes darting around as she took in her surroundings. She waited patiently as he spoke in hushed tones to the bulky doorman. His eyes slid over Maria greedily, and it made her feel a little uneasy.“Keep your eyes to yourself, my friend” Tony growled, placing his hand on the other man's shoulder and patting him as he ushered Maria inside the door he held open for her. Immediately, the world seemed to darken with only a dim glow from various red lamps around the room and the lights at the bar. This was one of her father’s more respectable places but was certainly still not the bright lights she was used to back home. An attractive waitress came over to show them to their table, seating them at the back of the club. “I’ll take a whiskey on the rocks and… what will you have?” he asked Maria, whose attention had been on looking around the room.“Hm? Oh, I’ll have a gin and tonic pleas
As the pair sat quietly in Tony’s car, Maria fiddled with the hem of her blouse as she bit her bottom lip. She felt very much like she had been ‘told off’ by Tony and wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to spend the night at his place. However, she also didn’t want to spend the night jumping at every little noise because she would be lying if she said the shooter hadn’t scared her.Tony was a very relaxed driver, once you’d driven with enemies trying to put bullets through your windows everything else felt like a breeze. He could feel the tension radiating from Maria, she was nervous and he couldn’t think of a single thing to say that would make her feel better. ‘Don’t worry, I’m not going to touch you, just sounds suspicious’, Tony reminded himself, driving to the outskirts of the city. He needed to live in a very precise location. It was close enough to the LeTale’s estate that he could b
Tony chuckled; she was taunting him he was almost sure of it. “You are sleeping in my bed, I am sleeping on the sofa” he confirmed, his fingers lazily scratching across his chest as he watched her laugh to herself whilst she sipped at her drink. Shaking his head, he headed into the bathroom to begin his nighttime routine. Maria sipped at her tea as her eyes roamed his apartment. There weren’t many photographs at all, as she bent down towards one on a shelf in the corner, she saw him with an elderly woman. Tony must easily be in his 20s in the photo and had his arm proudly around this woman. The woman was smiling but Maria’s expression softened as she examined it closely. The woman was smiling but there seemed to be a sadness behind her eyes.“That’s my Grammy” Tony’s voice startled Maria as he spoke behind her, she had been caught snooping and had the good grace to at least look embarrassed. “She looks…” Maria started, not finishing her sentence because if he was disp
The LeTale family had never been witness to so much unease around their future. Coming from generations of fierce, fearless leaders they had long dominated their city and didn't often come up against the competition in any of their excursions.That was until recently. The Luca family were a young but fast-growing community that were beginning to become more than a nuisance to the LeTales. Not only were they interrupting their areas of business, but they were also intruding onto the LeTale turf, trying to scare LeTale associates and, most aggravatingly, seemed to be out to cause trouble with family members. Damon Letale had a simple no-hassle policy on his turf and his response was always the same. One Strike.You got one strike, he forgave once and then he washed his hands of you and the responsibility of what happened to you. Mercy had no place in a busines- like theirs, family was everything and if you worked for Don Damon then his family had better top yours in yo