The Italian Dons Bargain

Chapter 2

The loud sounds of cars drifting through the streets and a truck's horn woke Nadia up, rubbing her eyes to clear her vision she looked around to find Terri knocked out on the floor, Holly wasn't in the room.

Attempting to rise from her seat, Nadia felt a sharp pain on both her temples, resting her fingers on them she massaged them lightly in hopes the migraine would go away

"You didn't drink half as much as we did, why are you complaining and I'm fine?", Holly walked into the living room wet and in a towel

"You know I've never been the best with my liquor", Nadia sighed

"And yet you were the one who came up with the genius plan of drinking", Holly walked into the kitchen which was connected to the living room, "coffee?"

"Please"

Picking out a jar of coffee from a top cabinet, Holly filled the carafe with tap water, added 2 tablespoons of coffee, and turned on the coffee maker

"By the way", she joined Nadia in the living room, "aren't you supposed to be calling your father by now?"

Nadia looked at the digital clock on the wall, it was past 8, the usual time she would call Alex to check up on him

"Ugh...right", searching for her phone on the sofa, Nadia lazily tossed around pillows

"Don't mess up my house stupid, your phone is on the floor", Holly threw a pillow back at Nadia

"The floor?", Nadia looked down and saw her phone, "what's it doing down there?"

"For goodness sake, are you sure you were only tipsy?"

"Hmm...mmm...hm", Terri groaned from the floor, incoherently telling the girls to "shut up"

"Wake your ass up!", Holly proceeded to kick Terris butt

Nadia picked her phone up and unlocked it, the message from Alex was still open, she read through it again but this time with a clear mind

"What the hell?"

"What?", Holly continued to kick Terris butt

"Don't tell me", Nadia ran her fingers through her hair pushing back the strands covering her face, "he's in trouble again"

"Seriously? What is it now?"

"He hasn't said anything, he just said he needs me"

"Urgently?"

"I guess, it feels like an urgent message"

Nadia stood up and stretched her back, she walked into the kitchen and poured herself a cup of coffee, gagging at how it had no sugar.

"So? Are you going to see what's wrong with him?"

"I'll call him, if he doesn't answer I'll be forced to look for him", Nadia sipped on the coffee again and gagged once more, "come with me?"

"Can't, you know I have class on Tuesdays"

"Ugh, right"

Placing her mug down she went back into the living room, put on her jacket and shoes, and headed towards the door;

"If it's anything serious I'll let you guys know, although, knowing him it's just money issues"

"Take care babe"

"See yah"

***

Nadia left Holly's apartment building and walked down the street, her home was only ten minutes away from Holly's. While she walked she wondered what kind of trouble her father got himself into, the only times he ever texted her were if he needed money or food and that rarely happened because his gambling lifestyle allowed him to have enough money to afford a minimum of life's luxuries like a decent room to sleep in every night and drinks at exclusive bars.

Leaving his only daughter in an unsafe neighborhood was the reason Nadia and he never got along, that and the fact he only got with people for his own benefit, like her mother, and left her to do all the heavy lifting till the day her frail body gave out

Nadia wasn't even sure why she helped Alex or even looked out for him, he never did the same for her or her mother yet before she died, Amira begged Nadia to take care of him because he was hopeless. She wasn't wrong, Alex was hopeless on his own, it was a miracle he managed to survive 42 years on the earth.

Taking her keys out of her pocket, Nadia jammed them into the keyhole and opened the door. She turned on the lights and immediately began stripping off her clothes, it was a two-room apartment, the main room acted as a living room, a bedroom, and a kitchen, the second room was the bathroom.

Turning on the hot water, she got underneath the shower, steam filled the small room making it feel much like a sauna, scrubbing her body thoroughly and washing her hair, Nadia was done in a quick ten minutes.

Her clothes were always conveniently put on a coat rack right next to the bathroom, putting on her underwear she picked out an oversized white T-shirt with gray shorts, slid on a pair of sneakers, and tied her hair into a low ponytail, with one last look in the mirror she was out of the house again.

***

There were only three places Alex frequently visited, two were pubs, and the third a cheap imitation of an actual casino, Nadia knew her father too well, it was against her own free will. Crossing the street to her first destination, Nadia came to a stop at Rogues pub and diner, it was 20 minutes away from her house.

The pub was dingy, to say the least, it was built with red bricks from top to bottom and a wooden sign hang just above the green door with the owner's initials, "B.L", painted on it. Nadia took in a breath of fresh air and walked into the pub, the strong aromas of scotch, smoke, and burned meat immediately hit her nostrils causing her to cough

"Easy there, little lady", she heard one of the men say but couldn't make out his face as the room was packed like a can of sardines. The center of the room was lively with men drinking and dancing with women to the Irish music played by the band on the stage in the front, to the left, the bar stood with three female bartenders, all blonde serving drinks to large bearded men, Nadia felt like she was on the set of a movie with all that was going on.

Pushing her way through the crowd of men and women smelling of alcohol and other ungodly smells, Nadia managed to find the owner, Luis, in a corner drinking from a large beer mug and bobbing his head to the music.

"Lui!", Nadia yelled, announcing her arrival

Luis, the tall Irish man looked away from the band and smiled when he saw Nadia approaching.

"Nadia, just in time for a drink", he offered his mug

"Isn't it a little too early for that?"

"Just one drink, come now"

"No, no, I'm fine, thanks"

"Then something to eat?"

Nadias stomach rumbled in response

"Okay, you've got me"

Luis ushered Nadia to a seat and they both sat down across each other, whistling for service, a brunette waitress attended to Luis who ordered a whole roasted chicken

"So, what brings you here so early in the morning? Not even the devil can bring you out at this time, especially to this place"

"Maybe not the devil but one of his advocates", Nadia played with a silver salt shaker in front of her

"What's Alex done this time?"

"I was hoping you could tell me, I received a strange text now I'm trying to look for him"

"Strange text? When was that?"

"I think he sent it yesterday, anyway, have you seen him?"

The brunette waitress returned with a finely roasted chicken, placing it in front of Nadia she dismissed herself and scurried off.

"Ah, the last time I saw ole Alex was...three days ago, I think"

"And what was he doing?"

"The same thing he does every time he comes here, trying to get a free meal", Luis scoffed, "he then promised he'd pay me back for all the free meals soon"

"Doesn't he always do that?", Nadia cut a piece of the chicken and ate it, it was heavily seasoned with lemon and herbs but aside from that it was delicious

"Yeah, but this time he seemed sure, almost determined...can't say much about Alex but one thing I can praise him for is his determination, maybe he will pay me for the free meals", Luis chuckled

Nadia suddenly felt an uneasy feeling in her chest, she wasn't so hungry anymore

"Thanks for the food Lui, I'll see you later"

"Okay doll, be safe now, and make sure Alex pays me that money he's promising"

"No promises"

Nadia waved and pushed her way out of the pub.

***

Looking for Alex in every pub, diner and brothel was not how Nadia wanted to spend her day, she was sure to find him in the second pub but the owner, Kris, hadn't seen him in a week. Her last resort was the 'casino' del monte, New squares very own gambling hotspot, a cold breeze swept over Nadia's shoulder and she cursed why she didn't carry a hoodie.

Montes casino was a little further from her place, it would take an hour to reach it by walking, which was exactly what Nadia was doing, the soles of her feet hurt, she had been walking the whole day.

The bright billboard light shined over Nadia's head as she entered the casino, a dusty red carpet led the way into the main gambling hall where boys and men gambled their small change.

Nadia was too tired to focus on the activities going on, she headed straight for the back where Monte and his wife had their office. Banging on the door several times to warn she was coming in, Nadia pushed the door open and let herself in.

"For goodness sake, Nads, can't we get a little privacy", Monte complained

"That's why you have a room upstairs for those things", Nadia rolled her eyes

Cassie, Montes wife, pulled a chair for Nadia to sit on.

"Alex?", she asked, her short curly hair covering her eyes, Cassie was a beautiful Canadian woman with bright green eyes, her personality only added to her beauty.

"Who else if not him?", Nadia sighed

"What happened this time?", Monte asked

"I don't know, I was hoping you guys could tell me the last time you saw him and what he was doing?"

"The last time we saw him...hmm", Cassie looked at Monte, "wasn't it four days ago?"

"Yeah, yeah...he was on a winning streak"

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, he won like...200 dollars the last time I checked on him, might have won more before he left"

"Did he tell you guys anything about his plans, or about winning something?"

"Not that I can remem-", Cassie rose from her seat and looked through the desk in front of her, "now that I think about it, he did mention something"

She scavenged through the drawers until she found what she was looking for, it was a flyer announcing the grand opening of the Dionysus casino in Manhattan, Nadia took the flyer and read through it

"This place looks so damn expensive, why would he have this, and what was his plan?"

"Now I remember, when he came in he said he wanted to win transport and lodging money", Monte spoke

"Transport and lod-", Nadia felt a chill down her spine, "oh God, don't tell me he actually went to this casino"

"It would seem so, he gave us the flyer telling us by the time he'd be done the place wouldn't have any more money", Cassie replied

Nadia rubbed her face with both her hands, when she started looking for Alex she didn't know what she was expecting, after learning where he might be she was surprisingly mortified remembering the text.

"Is something wrong?", Cassie sat next to Nadia and stroked her back

"Something is always wrong with Alex...ugh...I'm just so tired"

"What happened? Is he in trouble?"

"I think so, I received a strange message from him, and now that I know where he could be I'm worried"

"What did the message say?"

"He said he needed my help and he was in trouble"

"Oh God, what do you think he's gotten himself into now?"

"I don't know, and for the first time...I'm too scared to find out"