His Mystery

Three

Jacob

It took me three days to get my affairs in order. After seeing Angelica, I called the realtor and told her to place the house for sale. I didn’t want anything. They could even take the fūcking furniture. Then I called the Simpsons and offered them all the horses and animals for free. I just wanted to hightail it out of there, and the quicker I did that, the faster I could get the fūck out of here. The home that I thought I would finally have peace in was tinted by her.

Pulling out of the house that was once mine, I called Kevin.

“Took you long enough.” He said, answering the phone.

“I am ready to see Italy.” I replied with a heaviness in my heart. The United States was all I knew; although we traveled worldwide due to the military, my home was always The United States.

“Perfect. The jet will be ready in thirty minutes. I will send you the coordinates.” He replied, ending the call.

The ping of Kevin’s text message did not let me dwell on the past; I entered the coordinates in the GPS and drove the thirty minutes toward the private airstrip.

Arriving at the airstrip, I began wondering what Kevin had gotten into in the world. The jet waiting for me was nothing but a luxury; the men who were also waiting screamed d’on’t fūcking play with me’. I placed the car in park and got out of the vehicle. I walked toward the trunk, popping it open and taking the one thing that I had packed—my military duffle bag.

“Williams?” One of the men asked as he walked up to me. I nodded in response.

“Follow me. We will depart as soon as you get settled.” He said, motioning me toward the entrance to the jet.

“Thank you.” I replied, following him.

Once inside the jet, I looked around, thinking that Kevin had lots of explaining to do.

“Welcome aboard, Mr. Williams. Would you like anything to drink?” The flight attendant asked in almost a purr; two weeks ago, I might have taken her to the back and shoved my cöck down her throat. Now, not so much. I shook my head in response and sat on the seat, clicking my seatbelt on and throwing my head back.

Eighteen hours and six minutes later, we landed in the South of Italy. Standing at the top of the three-step ladder from the jet, I put my sunglasses on and walked down. Kevin was waiting for me with a stupid grin on his face.

“You have so much explaining to do, but please take me out of this sun.” I told him, walking toward the trunk and throwing my duffle bag there.

“I will explain everything once you get in the SUV.” He replied, holding the door open for me.

“Wow, how chivalrous.” I told him, laughing at his gesture. I sat at the far end of the backseat, waiting for him to get in and start the yapping.

“Go on.” I enticed.

“It is a security job. We are paid to protect the boss and his family.” He said, not wanting to look at me.

“Who is this ‘boss,’ Kevin?” I asked him, getting intrigued.

“He is in the mafia. His name is Mateo Lombardi. His head of security betrayed him, so he killed him, giving me the position. We needed more men on our side, and it so happens that you made the call.” He replied nonchalantly.

“You are telling me that you went from working side by the side with the government to make The United States safer to join the illegal side of the world?” I asked him in disbelief. He must be getting paid bank to be on this side of the business.

“That is what I am telling you. We don’t kill unless they come for the boss or us. There is a rival that is after the capo’s new woman. Not only do we protect him, but we protect her.” He said slowly, giving me information in the shīt that he just dragged me in.

“Just give it all to me, and don’t give me snippets here and there.” I told him.

“Okay, here it goes. Mateo Lombardi is the biggest capo on the south side of Italy. He is thirty years old. Aria Draghi. She is twenty-three years old. Their relationship was nothing like normal relationships. He kidnapped her first and slowly fell for her. Then we have his rival, Beau Tarantino. He is in charge of the north side of Italy. He is only two years older than our capo, but he acts as if he was twelve.” He said all in a breath as if telling me all of this any faster would make it any better.

“I hope that I am getting paid enough never to step foot in The United States.” I told him, making him grin.

“I knew you would be the right man for the job.” He replied, making me roll my eyes at his comment. “So, do you want to tell me what made you call me?” He asked as I closed my eyes, trying to reign in my feelings. I knew that sooner or later, he was going to ask. I rather get it out of the way now and never have to talk about it again.

“Angelica ended up being the great-grandaughter of the Simpsons, but she is also married to Brian and had a bouncy baby boy.” I told him as he looked like a deer caught in the headlights.

“Shut the fūck up! That is insane!” He replied, making me nod my head in agreement.

“Yup, chapter closed, and never want to talk about that again, or her.” I told him, letting him know that any other questions regarding this were falling on death’s ears.

“Good, because we just arrived at chapter one of your new book.” He replied, motioning me to look at the front of the SUV.

Holy fūck! This place looked like the ones you dream of having when you grow up but never actually accomplish unless you become a millionaire. I turned my head to look at Kevin, smiling at my reaction. “How many people live here?” I asked him in shock.

“A shīt ton. You will get used to it.” He replied as he pushed his door open.

Still in awe, I curled my hand on the car door handle and pushed it open, meeting him in the back of the SUV to grab my bag. With my bag on my shoulder and my other hand in my pocket, I walked toward the back of the ‘castle’ following Kevin. We stopped in front of a house that seemed pretty big. I just didn’t expect to see this when I got inside. It looked like a prison or a military-grade bunker where all you see are rows and rows of bunk beds.

“What is this place?” I asked him, looking around.

“This is where we live, fifty men fit here comfortable, and we rotate every twelve hours while fifty sleep fifty stay watching the house or go wherever the capo needs us to go.” Kevin replied.

“When do I get to meet this capo?” I asked him since he talked about him as if they were best friends. I might just get a bit jealous.“What are you to him?” I asked him, not giving him a chance to answer my previous question.

He threw his head back and laughed. “You will meet him eventually, and I am his head bodyguard.” He told me, making me nod.

“So, does that mean I get to call you boss?” I asked him, smiling at my comment.

“For once!” He replied, punching the air with his hand. I was a rank higher than him in the military, meaning I was technically his boss and it always got to him.

“It’s just like if we were in the military, that is why I have stuck around for so long and well, the money, of course.” Kevin told me, turning around and walking to an empty bunk.

“I mean, it may feel like we are in the military since we are working in groups, but I am sure it is no legal work. I am also sure that we don’t kill children for a living.” I told him while whispering the last part. Kevin was there when I had to make that decision, which made me make my choice of leaving the military for good.

He shook his head at my comment. “We don’t kill children. In reality, the last kill was not too long ago because the old bodyguard was a traitor, and they took the capo’s wife.” He replied, making my eyes go wide. I can’t believe I am going into this. My head cannot comprehend what he is saying. Is this even for real? Like I never in a million years thought this is what it is like.

I am sure it is until I get used to it, but I feel like a kid trying not to get caught with his hands in the cookie jar.

“The capo protects us just as we do to him.” Kevin stated as he noticed the storm brewing in my brain.

“I am sure I will get used to it.” I replied, looking past him. “This bunk mine?” I asked, dipping my chin toward the bunk.

“It is. Take the rest of today off, rest, and then tomorrow we can give you your first assignment.” He told me then turned around to leave me be.

I threw my duffle bag on the bed and then began taking my toiletries and a change of clothes out. If this shīt was like the military, you could kiss sleeping in basketball shorts goodbye! It meant you had to be ready if we had to move. I walked over to what I assumed was the bathroom since Kevin failed to give me a tour. I opened the door, and bingo, it was a huge bathroom. I never thought it would be that big, but it should if you are hosting fifty men or more.

Closing the door behind me, I stripped off my clothes and walked into the shower, turning on the shower head on and letting the stream of hot water calm my aching muscles. I have been so tense for the past week. I just needed to wash all this shīt away, and tomorrow it would be a brand new day. Out with the old and in with the new. The new where I was now affiliated with a mafia operation.

Once out of the shower, I walked back to my bunk, placing my duffle bag and the dirty clothes in a pile under the bed. I lay on the twin mattress and let sleep consume me.

“Jacob, we have a visual. From the heat cameras. Assess the situation before getting close to the suspect.” My Lieutenant said over the earpiece.

“Understood,” I replied as I crawled on the floor with my AK 47 hanging from my shoulder. Once I got to the intended location, I brought my AK 47 toward my shoulder, peering through the magnifying gun scope. I swept the area left and right before landing eyes on my ‘suspect’.

“Lieutenant, I have eyes on the suspect. It seems to be a pregnant female.” I reported back through the earpiece.

“Good, make sure that she is no threat. You can move and bring her to safety if she is no threat. If she is a threat, you know what to do.” He replied, making my hands sweat and my heart accelerate.

My eyes stayed on the target, and as if the female felt I was looking at her, her eyes locked with mine. She smiled as she opened the trench coat she was wearing in this damn desert. As soon as I saw her thumb moving over to the detonator, I pressed the trigger on my AK, killing her on the spot.

“Suspect immobilized.” I replied through my earpiece and sat back up to take a breather.

I sat up abruptly, hitting my forehead on the top bunk before cursing, ‘fūcking nightmares.’