THE MAFIA'S VENGEANCE

EPISODE 5

FRANCESCA'S POV

I crept into the house, grateful that it was still dark because I did not think I had the time to explain to my father where I had been all night. I was a grown up and so I could be wherever I wanted but I knew he wasn’t going to be happy if I told him I had gone to the club and I had had s*x with a stranger.

My breath caught in my throat as that thought filtered through my mind.

A stranger who had turned my world upside down and then flipped it right side up.

I did not want to think about how well he had handled me and how well I had responded to his touch, his everything as he took and took till there was nothing left for me to give.

It was better that I had left before anything because I did not think I wanted those green eyes to open and gaze at me the way he had the previous night.

I climbed the stairs, taking it one at a time and doing my best to not make a noise but I should not have bothered because the light came up and I was staring into the face of my father like I was some deer caught in a car headlights.

“Where the f**k have you been, Francesca?” My father inquired.

He was the only one who still insisted on calling me by my full name even when it was easier to just shorten it like every other person does.

“I went out for some air,” I answered vaguely.

“You went out for some air? What if something had happened to you or God forbid the Armani’s had decided to retaliate for…” His voice trailed off as he took in the state I was in.

I blushed deeply because I was sure he could see what I had been doing through the night and it was definitely not air I had been searching for. I raised defiant eyes to his, daring him to say a word about what he had just learned.

“You have to be careful… war is brewing” He said in a strangled voice.

It was then I noticed the gun strapped to his waist and that he wasn’t in his night clothes as he always would be at this time of the morning.

He was fully dressed and I could feel the tensed energy radiating from him in waves.

“What is going on?” I asked, taking a step forward.

It was then my brother showed up; he too was fully dressed and had a gun strapped to his waist. His eyes glittered with purpose and I could tell that this… whatever was happening directly involved us and by us… me.

“Look who decided to grace us with her presence” My brother’s voice rumbled.

I glared in his direction, not saying a word in retort like I would on a normal day because I could tell that there was nothing normal about today.

“We have to talk,” My father started.

“You don’t have to get her involved, father,” My brother interrupted.

“I want to be involved in whatever is going on” I retorted this time.

This was the reason I had gone on a bender the previous day. I had known they were planning something but when I tried to get information out of them, I had been shut down and it was the reason I had wanted to rebel.

“She has to know what is going on if she is going to protect herself. We cannot always be there for her and honestly with the stunt you pulled yesterday, I don’t know how you can still think this is a funny situation” My father snapped, shooting my brother a glare.

What he pulled? I thought to myself.

My father turned to me, his eyes softening as he neared.

“I love you, Francesca but we have a problem and I don’t think this is the time to keep you out of the loop when we could be in the greatest war we have ever been in as a family” He said.

“Talk to me, father. I want to know what is going on… I want to help”

My father sighed, pulling his phone out of his pocket and tapping it lightly.

“Yesterday, your brother and I and the rest of the clan organised an ambush on the Armani’s and the idea was to kidnap their son and demand for something in return for his release but it went all wrong and Antonio here… Antonio killed him and now we are at war.”

“Oh God” I stuttered, holding unto the railings for support.

The Armani’s were ruthless and they were the one set of individuals that we always tried to avoid in all of our business transactions and although I have never met with any one of them personally, I always had it at the back of my mind to steer clear of them.

“Whatever gave you the idea for an ambush?” I cried out.

“We received information about their whereabouts and it was the only chance we had” My brother answered.

“You are a fool; who sent you such information and how sure are you that it wasn’t a f*****g trap” I snapped at him.

“Hey, do not…”

“Not now” My father interrupted him.

He pointed the phone he was holding in my direction so I could see the picture of the man they had killed.

My breath hitched then as a loud gasp escaped my throat because there was no way he had killed that man when I had been in bed with almost at the same time.

“What is it? Do you recognize him?” My father asked

“I… I don’t but this isn’t possible” I muttered.

“What isn’t?” My brother inquired, his eyes clouding with suspicion as he watched me.

I shook my head but my eyes remained peeled on the face before me.

The stranger, the voice in my head whispered.