The Italian Dons Bargain

Chapter 3

For the first time in her life, Nadia was genuinely worried about her father. After connecting the dots with Monte and Cassie, Nadia was eager to find him in fear of the unknown.

"I need to go, if something has happened to him I need to find out what", Nadia stood up

"We'll take you there if you need transport", Cassie offered

"No, Alex is my problem, I'd rather he doesn't bother anyone else", Nadia walked to the door and opened it, "besides, weren't you two in the middle of something before I interrupted?"

Winking at the couple, Nadia closed the door behind her and ran out of the casino. Time had gone by so quickly, it was already 6, securing her phone in her pocket, she began to run all the way back home, not stopping for anyone or anything.

***

Nadia reached home out of breath and exhausted, the moment she stepped into her house she collapsed on the floor, at that moment the only thing she wanted to do was sleep and not leave her house, ever, she knew it couldn't happen but she couldn't help but dream.

"Alex...what the hell have you gotten yourself into?"

Nadia rolled onto her back and looked at the ceiling, her muscles throbbed.

"Of all the places to get into trouble, Manhattan? There are so many rich people out there"

After 5 minutes of laying on the floor, Nadia finally stood up. She was too tired to take a shower, she just marched to her bed and slumped on it. Walking from one pub to the next wore her out so much she closed her eyes and in seconds was fast asleep.

***

A loud crashing sound acted as Nadia's alarm, she jumped out of bed and looked around her apartment confused. Her heart was racing, the crash sounded like something large fells and broke, opening the curtain to search for the noise, Nadia saw a small commotion outside, two men had dropped a large glass window and a large man was yelling at them, he must have been the owner.

Taking in deep breaths to calm her racing heart, Nadia shrugged off the incident as 'typical new square behavior'. Before Nadia could do anything else her stomach rumbled alarming her that she had only eaten a piece of chicken the whole day yesterday.

Dragging her legs to the small green kitchen unit, Nadia opened the top cupboard and took out a box of cereal, using a bowl left on the counter she emptied the last flakes in. Everything was already conveniently left on the counter for breakfast, mainly because she never had time to clear the messes, several bottles of marmalade were scattered on the counter and floor, they were left there because she wasn't done scrapping the tiny bits left.

Nadia poured milk into her cereal and began eating, she took her time as she knew her day would be filled with chaos looking for Alex. It wasn't that she didn't know where to find him, from what she found out from Monte and Cassie he was at a top-notch casino in Manhattan, the problem was Alex could never keep his butt down, he was always on the move meaning she had to search the areas around the casino as well.

The time was 8 a.m, Nadia reluctantly finished her breakfast and headed to the shower. In record-breaking time she was clean and rushing to get dressed, she had to get a headstart in searching for her father. This time she wore something warmer than what she did the day before, in a black long sleeve t-shirt with "the beetles" written on it, navy blue sweats, and sneakers, Nadia was ready to leave.

Because she didn't know how long it would take to find Alex and because she didn't want to waste money on taxis going back and forth from Manhattan to New square, Nadia packed a day worth of clothing in a small backpack and some money she had been saving.

Making sure the windows were closed tightly, Nadia left her house in search of her father.

***

She booked a taxi and sat through the whole 47 minutes figuring out a solution for each problem she suspected Alex was in. Her hottest guess was money, considering he went to Manhattan for it it would be anyone's guess. Knowing Alex the way she did, she knew he tried to swindle someone and it obviously didn't work, if that were the situation she would have to help him pay back the money he swindled but how much and from who?

Her second guess was sleeping with another man's wife, Alex was no stranger to the life of promiscuity, he even did so when he was with Amira. Nadia had to bail him out of countless scandals back at home, it seemed like single women weren't his taste, he preferred women with wedding bands on their fingers.

Thinking about Alex and his wayward lifestyle made Nadia upset, it made her question even more why she was looking after him.

"Miss?", the cab driver called Nadia out of her line of toxic thoughts

"Hmm?...uh yes?"

"Where exactly am I supposed to drop you? Cause we're in Manhattan but you didn't say where"

"Oh, that's right"

Nadia had just remembered she didn't know the exact location of the casino

"Do you happen to know where the Dionysus casino is?"

"Everyone knows where that is, but I can't take you directly there"

"Why?"

"The place has been packed for days, even the motels surrounding it have been packed with foreigners, it's a nightmare of traffic"

"s**t"

Nadia looked out the window and thought for a moment;

"Okay, can you at least take me somewhere remotely close to it?"

"That I can"

The cab driver drove ahead, passing through different streets and buildings, one could tell he knew his way around, he must have lived around the area all his life to know all the curves he did.

***

Nadia admired the large buildings as they passed by, she had spent her whole life in New Square Village, nothing prompted her to visit other places the way Alex did, she preferred staying in her neighborhood causing trouble where she knew the cops wouldn't care.

A piece of her was also scared of what the world would do to her and her personality, for that reason she shut anything new out, but as she looked at the different buildings, parks, and malls she was taken away with all their beauty and wondered what it would be like to live in such an area.

"Here"

"Huh? So soon"

"Traffic is light around these parts"

"I see...how much do I owe you?"

"About a hundred, that's just because you're a newbie"

"How could you tell?"

"One, I'm pretty sure I would have seen your face at least once or twice around here and two, the way you've been looking at every building tells that you've never seen them before"

Reaching for her bag, Nadia handed the cab driver a hundred dollar bill and opened her door

"Well Sherlock, if I'm ever in need I'll be sure to look for you"

"Not if I find you first"

Nadia was about to exit the taxi

"Oh...exactly how many newbies have you driven to the casino these past couple of days?"

"Way too many to count, looking for someone?"

Nadia took out her phone and showed the diver a picture of Alex

"Did you by any chance drive this man there?"

The driver analyzed the picture for a moment

"If I did I can't remember, sorry"

"It's okay, thanks anyway"

Nadia exited the cab and started walking forward, she didn't know where to start or even where to go, she felt uneasy not knowing what she was doing because she always knew what she was doing.

"What now Nadia?", she spoke to herself as she walked

Her phone started vibrating, it was a call from Holly, she sat on a bench and answered it;

"Hey Holls"

"Dude, where are you? We've been looking for you everywhere"

"Um...well, I'm in Manhattan"

"What the-? What are you doing all the way there?"

"Apparently Alex is here"

"Your dad is in Manhattan...okay, start explaining"

"I searched the entire neighborhood yesterday and he wasn't there, my last stop was at Montes casino, he and Cassie told me he ventured to a fancy-ass casino and now I'm here looking for him"

"That doesn't sound good at all, if he's in trouble in one of those fancy places then-"

"Fingers crossed he's not, I don't even want to think about it"

"Just in case, we'll prepare bail money"

"Don't even joke about it, I wouldn't want you spending your college funds on my troublesome father, anyway, I need to go"

"Okay, but please be careful"

"I will see yah"

Nadia put her phone back in her bag and began exploring. Different smells from different stores attracted her attention, she knew she was supposed to be looking for Alex but she couldn't help but window shop and admire the things she would never have.

One store, in particular, grabbed her attention, it was a pretty pink shade, it looked like only barbie dolls shopped there. Nadia looked through the window and confirmed her thoughts, every customer seemed to have a certain look, size, and style.

As Nadia looked through the large window exposing the contents of the store she couldn't help but envy the girls shopping, it had never bothered her till then about how minimal her own wardrobe was, seeing all the girls picking out what they liked had her thinking what their lifestyle would be like, all the clothes looked expensive.

She shook her head and stepped away from the window, she remembered what she was supposed to be doing, it hurt to accept it but she knew she would never be able to shop in that store so there was no use in looking.

***

Her day was filled with walking and asking random cab drivers if they had seen Alex anywhere. As the night was settling in she finally reached Tribeca, the location of the Dionysus casino, after asking around she managed to find her way there.

The dazzling lights from bars, motels, and shopping malls astounded Nadia as she walked by. The cab driver from earlier wasn't kidding when he stated how packed the place was, it was a miracle she even managed to find a motel to rest it.

It wasn't big and was far from luxurious but it beat half the houses back at home, Nadia was at the front desk checking in when she found the same flyer Cassie gave her on the desk in stacks. The receptionist appeared in front of Nadia, she was a tall fair-skinned lady with black hair and purple highlights;

"A room?"

"Yes please, the cheapest you've got"

"Don't worry, they're all pretty affordable"

The receptionist typed a few words in the computer then turned back to Nadia

"Room 24, enjoy your stay", she handed Nadia the keys

"Thanks...um, could I ask you a question?"

"Yes of course"

"Have you seen this man by any chance? I'm not a detective", Nadia showed the receptionist the picture of Alex

"I'm sorry but I can't disclose that information"

"I know, I know but look...he's my father and I've been looking for him everywhere, I just want to know where he is", Nadia pleaded

The receptionist looked at Nadia then at the picture of Alex

"Yes, I have seen him"

"You have?", Nadia sighed in relief

"Yes, he came in some nights back looking for a room, he was awfully flirty"

"I apologize for his behavior"

"He took all the flyers on my desk and told some of the foreigners not to bother playing any games because he'd be winning big time, a little too ambitious"

"You can say that again, did he come back since then?"

"No, the day he left for the casino he didn't come back...my guess is he's still there"

"Why would he still be there?"

"If he won big like he was bragging he's probably enjoying the hotel as well, there's a hotel just behind the casino, they're both under the same name"

"I see"

"I'm sorry but that's all I know"

"You've done so much for me, thank you so much"

Nadia clenched her room keys in hand and walked to her room hopeful, she was breathing easy knowing Alex was close enough to touch.

Her room was quite spacious, it had beige walls, the covers on the bed were the same color as the walls. The bed in the center of the room was inviting after a long day of searching, Nadia took off her shoes and rested on it, a sigh of exhaustion escaped her lips.

"Okay Alex, let's see what you've gotten yourself into this time"