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
Ricci Russo, swiped the key card on the door, he smoothed his dark hair. When the door opened up, he walked in. He took in the luxurious room, the pristine white sheets. There was a table and chair on the other end. Every accessory was plated in gold. There was a large glass door with the balcony on the other side. Then he turned to the tall blond man who was standing with his head bowed in front of him. “Good day sir.”“Why did you pick a hotel room for our meeting?”“I figured you needed privacy. I signed the register under a fake name.”Ricci did not respond. He crossed the length of the room and walked up to the glass doors. Just beyond the hotel was green vegetation, there was no building within sight. It was indeed private. He loosened his tie, “Tell me you have some good news at least…”The man walked up to the table, opened up the briefcase and pulled out his laptop, “It was almost impossible at first, we were able to pin down his location
“You’re tensed” Celio observed.Ricci opened his eyes. “Now is not the time, Celio. I need you to get back to work. This is important to me.”Celio scooted closer to him, his lean fingers moved Ricci’s unruly curls away from his face.Ricci’s whole body tensed from the small contact. His touch was light as a feather.“Definitely, not as important as how you feel right now.” His voice was barely above a whisper.Ricci shuddered as his soft breath caressed his neck, goosebumps spread across his skin. “I…I...I need to find the Doc, I need to do it for my father…” He stuttered.“Shh” Celio placed a finger on Ricci’s lips. Then proceeded to unbutton his shirt. “Did it turn you on when I called you sir?”Ricci swallowed but he did not answer. His whole body felt lax, he couldn’t protest.“Did it turn you on when you lost your temper and shouted at me?” he unbuckled his belt, “Did it? Did it make you excited to bark orders
“Can I ask you something?”Orlando looked up at her. He did not hear her walk in.She was barefoot, dressed in a cotton floral nightgown that was much bigger than her. She was fresh-faced, like she had just gotten out of the shower, her long dark hair tucked behind her ears, her deep blue eyes evading his gaze, and she was biting her lower lip…Orlando willed himself to look away from her and back to his laptop. “Yes.”“I want to know how Camila, my nana, is doing.”He drummed his fingers on the table, contemplating whether to tell her the truth or not.Elena stared at him. He had not answered. “Luca told me she was in really bad shape,” she blurted out. “I just want to know how her health is, how she is faring. Is she okay?” She rushed the words.Orlando had been itching to know what Luca had discussed with her a couple of days ago. “Your nanny is in good health, she has been cooperative.”“Can I speak with her
Her chest was heaving, her thoughts were running wild.“Your father is yet to make contact.”“It has been two days,” she interjected. She took a while to steady her breath. “I just, can we call him?”“With how your father arranged it, it would be impossible to reach him.”She closed the distance between them without giving it a thought. She grabbed his hand.He was surprised, but he did not let it show on his face. He looked down at their entwined hands.“Please…”He swallowed. He had never been more tense about anything in a long time. “There are rumors that your father, well, that he is dead.”Elena stilled. It was like time stopped, everything halted, she stopped breathing. When she caught her breath, she was exhausted. She doubled over and fell to the ground, gasping for air. Her world was crashing before her, everything she had held dear, every dream she had, every hope she had felt. Her eyes welled up in tears,