Debt to the Mafia Prince

Chapter 21

—AMELIA—

It’s now 9:40pm and Ezio is still having meetings with loads of different clients. I can see them enter the premises when I went for a swim because the large glass windows looks out onto the side of the house. 

The driveway leads round from the side to the front door and so far I’ve counted three separate vehicles that have driven past. I have been in the pool for an hour and half so he’s clearly cutting his meetings to 30 minutes a time. It was worrying to see how many clients he had. I can’t help but wonder how many of them have their own little army hidden away somewhere in Sicily and whether they would come to Ezio’s aid if Michele decided to attack. I was worried for Michele’s men’s sake because I have grown to respect each and every one of them and as much as I am hurting over the picture, I still wouldn’t want him to get hurt or worse. 

I liked going for a swim late at night because it feels even more refreshing than taking a dip during the day. Luckily, Matteo has been keeping busy for most of the day which means I haven’t had to have him breathing down my neck whilst Ezio was occupied. He creeps me out even more than his brother does and his brother is the one who has a sick fetish for punishments.

I got out of the pool and squeezed my wet hair onto the stony tiles. I dressed myself into a pair of black baggy joggers and a black tank top that I had brought with me from my room. After ringing out my bikini, the one I was finally given after my unpleasant encounter with Matteo, I wrapped it into my towel. Throwing my hair up into a wet messy bun, I headed to the door. 

Before I could leave, I noticed another cars headlights flash past the window. I squinted my eyes to try and steady my vision. I recognised the car that was making its way round the building. It couldn’t be, could it? I rushed out to the main foyer and heard Ezio’s voice closing in. Noticing a store cupboard next to my bedroom hallway, I scurried inside and left it open slightly so I could see. Ezio casually strolled past and turned to one of his men that was just out of view.

“Make sure that Amelia doesn’t come anywhere near the study for the next hour” he instructed him. 

The man walked off towards pool room to look for me. Ezio opened the door and greeted a man dressed in a long black coat and a black hat. I couldn’t see his whole face but I recognised his voice. 

“Good evening Ezio” my father said. 

I gasped in shock, shaking my head and squinting my eyes to make sure I wasn’t imagining it. What the f**k is my dad doing here and how does he know Ezio? I had a toxic mixture of emotions as he shook Ezio’s hand. A part of me wanted to run out and hug him. It’s been a month since I last saw him and it was nice seeing a familiar face from when everything was simpler. 

On the hand, he’s the reason I’m in this mess in the first place. He sold me to Michele and now I’m a prisoner to a sicko because I developed feelings for the man who took me and wanted to keep everyone from being harmed. He has also ‘disowned’ me which makes everything worse. I left with Michele willingly so that I could protect them and he spits in my face by wanting nothing to do with me. I wanted to hurt him, I wanted to make him pay for his betrayal. 

Watching them stroll past me once again to head up the stairs, I could hear them speaking in Italian to one another. Since when did my dad know Italian? Lucky for me, I was pretty good at understanding the language now, I just needed to work on my reading and writing. 

“Thank you for coming. I know that I was little tetchy last time we met but I wasn’t having a very good day” Ezio excused. I lowered my brows at the fact that this wasn’t their first time meeting. 

“Don’t apologise, you’re a busy man and have a lot of companies to look after. I understand completely” he smiled. 

“We will discuss our deal in the study, I also have a few things I need to go over with you before we sign anything” Ezio explained as they passed the door I was hiding behind. Their voices sounded quieter and quieter as they made their way upstairs. 

I was left standing in a small storage room filled with questions. Why was my dad making a deal with Ezio when he has already been given a load from Michele in exchange for his only child? Was he in trouble again? This was beginning to get weird and I could now see that Ezio has been trying to keep me at a distance from his business side of things because he has clearly got a few secrets he’s been hiding. I wonder how long this has been going on for and whether that was how he knew about the debt my father was in.

Once the coast was clear, I exited the closet and made my way to my room holding my bundled up towel. Before I turned the corner to walk down the hallway, the man that was sent to look for me appeared and called out my name. I turned to him and tried to act as normal as I could.

“Yes?” I replied. 

The man had long brown hair with dark blue eyes. His face was covered with hair and he looked scruffier than the other guys I’ve seen around here. He was fairly tall and was regularly built, I could tell he was toned but not bulky. However, he didn’t have as many tattoos and the rest of Ezio’s men, he only had the one which was placed on the side of his abs. It was a snake tattoo which was obviously Ezio’s clan symbol, I saw it because I had whipped my wet hair in his face and he used his shirt to wipe it, flashing his stomach in the process. I was beginning to get a hang of the different symbols. The snake was Ezio’s, Michele’s men had a tattoo of a lion and Lorenzo’s was a wolf.  

“I was sent to make sure that you were okay” he lied. 

“Yep, all good” I bluntly replied, trying to act as normal as possible which only made the man more suspicious. 

“Are you sure?” He asked and I nodded.

“I’m just really tired, I’m going to have a quick shower and go to bed” I smiled, to which he returned. 

“Okay, if you need anything then just ask one of the guys in the kitchen” he said, clearly trying to prevent me from going upstairs. I nodded and then walked down the hall to the bathroom. 

I need to find out how my dad is connected to Ezio. I didn’t care about him, I was more worried about myself considering he knew everything about me. He could tell him anything and everything he wanted to know which could put me in even more danger than I’m already in. I have to get out of here!