The Mistress of the Mafia

Chapter Seven- Vitali

Selene awoke the next morning and rubbed her eyes, finding the tranquil quiet to finally make its way to her ears. She was kept up during the night due to the things that truly went bump in the night-this being Gia and Nico. There was a part of her that was incredibly happy for her best friend, but also annoyed that of all the places in New York they had to take advantage of the paper thin walls of their apartment. She would not allow the events of the previous night to ruin her days off, however, as she was incredibly deserving of them. She began her morning with her bowl of fruit topped with whipped cream and a bottle of water as she detested coffee and caffeine in general. She then turned on the news for half an hour to catch up on breaking news before preparing to go on her run. Selene finished lacing up her Nike’s as she heard the shower come on in the bathroom. Out of instinct, she walked in without knocking and saw both Nico and Gia in a sensual embrace as the shower curtain poorly hid their silhouettes.

“Oh my God, I am so sorry!” Selene spoke with a strong blush coming over her cheeks.

“I guess that teaches you to knock.” Nico called from inside the bathroom as Selene had now kept the door slightly ajar to speak to them.

“I just wanted you to know I was going on my run.”

“Okay, be careful.” She was warned by Gia who then got lost into her romantic tryst with her current s****l partner. Selene tried to shake the image of Nico from her mind but she couldn’t as she was desperate for his brother. It was going on four days since she last saw him and she was growing more and more impatient, feeling as though perhaps she wasn’t good enough for him or that he could have found someone else. It was thoughts such as these that circulated in her mind through her entire run. With her usual two mile run, she became distracted and lengthened her distance to strive for four, ending up in the more industrial part of town. It was the type of place that would be seen in a seedy crime movie filled with shady characters and lots of blood and backstabbing. But a familiar face caught her eye-that of Lyle who was standing near the edge of a dock wearing his signature coat that stopped just behind his knees. He appeared to be upset with someone who was standing on the opposite side of him as he was throwing his arms up to show frustration.

“I am done with you!” He yelled to the man across from him as Selene made her way closer to be in earshot of the conversation. There was then a sound of something coming into contact with the water such as a fish being thrown back after being caught, but as she rounded the corner to see the cause of it, she found Mariano to be standing there instead. When he saw her, he appeared as the Hulk with a huffing type breath and his hands clenched in front of him. At that same moment, she found herself blinded by a dark bag thrown over her eyes and her hands being tied behind her back as she was pulled from the street and into one of the warehouses upon the wharf. In a matter of seconds, Selene found herself tied down to a chair while a familiar voice echoed around her. She could not tell where the disembodied voice was coming from and even if she could, she was unable to see where he was coming from. The voice belonged to Lyle, as she dreamed of hearing it in the last four days, but she found how the way he spoke had been different than how he spoke to her.

“Were you followed by any elbows?” he asked as Selene felt as though perhaps she was having a stroke. She was deeply confused in his words as he was matched with a confusing response by another male voice.

“Who is she?” Lyle asked Mariano as he didn’t speak, just lifted the bag from her head to reveal her identity to Lyle. “Untie her, you oaf!” He scolded Mariano as he moved behind her while fumbling with his fingers, nervous to disappoint the boss. As he did that, Lyle pulled her from her seat before she pushed away from him. “Why the hell was I tied up?”

“Were you snooping around?”

“That gives you the right to hold people hostage?”

“I thought you were up for anything.” He tried to speak to her seductively as she was not falling into it this time. “What was the reason for it?”

“Why are you here?”

“I was just out on my run and….answer my question!” She snapped at him, surprising him with her ability to drag her nerves down and speak to him as she pleased.

“I was having to deal with some business.”

“With who?”

“Why don’t we go talk about this over lunch?”

“I don’t want to eat, I want answers…” She stopped herself. “That I am not entitled to..sometimes I forget that we aren’t anything.” He quickly grabbed her face, squeezing her face together in such a way that could be done if one was trying to force the other to spit out food. “You’re wrong. You’re mine.”

“Everything k?” Dino came around the corner upon seeing the exchange between Selene and Lyle.

“Yes. Drift, Dino.” He spoke in another code-type word as Selene looked to him curiously.

“It seemed heated...your…”business”...”

“I told you that I have enemies-”

“Yeah, is that like someone you cut off driving or someone who can possess the skills to take someone out without consequences?” He looked to her with a smirk as he found her nervous shifting in place to be somewhat cute.

“Like the mob?” He chuckled.

“I suppose you could call us that.”

She looked to him in complete shock. “What?”

“Are you gonna tell me that it scares you now? You told me you were up for anything.”

“Yeah as in going dancing or scuba diving..maybe even risque s*x but not the mafia!”

“There is a part of you that thought of it…”

“Why didn’t you say anything.”

“It’s not like I walk around with business cards saying, “hey, I’m a hitman.””

“You..you’re a...Oh my God….Gia was right…”

“Gia?”

“She told me you were part of the mafia.” She then came to a startling realization upon looking up to him. “Does this mean you have to “dispose” of me because I know?”

A smile came across his face. “No, you watch too many movies. If I would have thought that you couldn’t keep a secret, I never would have even talked to you.”

“So why trust me? How do you know that I won’t run to the cops?”

“You had the chance the night we met, you had two cops question you and you didn’t say a word.”

“That was before I knew…”

“You wanna go rat on me? You want to tell people that I...what?”

“I’m sure I could think of something.”

“But you won’t.” Before she could challenge him, he had her pinned against the nearby wall. “Because you enjoy the danger, the fact that any day I could protect you if you needed it-which you have and I have come through. Aside from that…” He took his hand up her leg, in such a way that sent shivers down her spine. “You love how wet you get just thinking of me...or am I wrong?” He violently pulled her face down towards him, making her bite her bottom lip. “Look at me and tell me I’m wrong.”

She couldn’t as she was both fearful and unable to lie to him. When he saw blood drip from her lip, he pressed his against hers. “Don’t you see? You’re a mafiosa girl now. My girl.”

“Were you in my apartment last night?” She asked as he went to kiss her again but retreated upon hearing her question. It was the type of question that worried him as his expression changed from arrogant to nervous. It was the first time she had ever seen something other than arrogance or lust for his expression.

“No...why?”

“I’m sure that my mind is just playing tricks on me…”

“Why?” He asked, now more serious and with a deeper tone. “Were you hurt?”

“No...I just-”

“God dammit!” He screamed out as he drew the attention of his other colleagues as he hit his hand hard on the wall next to her. Realizing he drew the attention, he pulled her further into the building so they could not be overheard or even seen.

“What?!”

“What happened? Tell me, please.”

“Will you kill them?”

“I don’t actually kill people...I mean...it’s not my primary position...I’m more of the kingpin...now tell me...what happened last night?”

“I’m sure it was nothing-”

“Selene-tell me.” He held tightly onto her arm as she looked to the ground before explaining it to him. “I thought I heard noises like someone trying to get into the apartment so I went to lock it, I realized I should get dressed and went to open the door when I heard Gia on the other side...with Nico…”

“Those two are insatiable…” He chuckled at the thought before finding his smile to fade upon her continuing her story.

“I returned to the bathroom to find the radio in the tub. I COULD have knocked it in, it’s possible…”

“But you don’t think you did?”

“I was so scared that I could have broken my toe and I wouldn’t have noticed...I even pushed up my dresser against my door…”

“s**t…”

“What? Should I BE worried?”

“I told you I had enemies...and I suppose they are thinking if they scare you...you’ll stay away from me.”

“Why would they care?”

“My father...he wasn’t a kind man...or a reasonable one-it’s why he’s dead...he was hard headed and never listened…” He stared off for a moment. “They think they can take what we care about and eradicate it to destroy us…”

“How can you be sure someone was there?”

“A radio in the bathtub, a hair dryer...even a television-it’s a warning...that they know who you are, where you live, and what will happen to you if you don’t stay away from me.”

“I still don’t understand what that has to do with me.”

“I suppose you would just be collateral damage...They want us to have no happiness, no life...only pain.”

“Who exactly are “they”?”

“The Vitalis. But I wouldn’t worry.”

“They just gave me a sign that I could die and you’re telling me to act as though it’s a flat tire. They know where I live, Lyle…”

“They won’t for long-”

“Are you gonna hurt someone?”

“No. It is actually the reason that I haven’t seen you in a few days.”

“Oh?”

He nodded. “I wanted to give you an apartment here...well closer to the diner...closer to me.” Lyle paused. “If I haven’t scared you off by now.”

“I don’t understand why you would tell me this, I’m sure people would kill you...right? For letting someone normal like me know all this?”

“There is not a single part of you that’s normal, you are special. Which is why I can’t stay away from you. I can’t even bring myself to try.” He pressed her back against the wall. “But if you want to go, I won’t come after you, I know this is a lot...I suppose it’s easy for me because it’s been my entire life, I forget that it’s not yours.” He looked at her as she found herself torn between her head and her heart-more like her loins.

“Why do you trust me now? I could be terrified and tell you I’m okay and then run to the police.”

“Because I trust you. I can tell that you want this...no matter the risk, no matter the danger.” He lifted up the key to her new apartment in his hand as he then met with her gaze once more. “Just say it, and you can be mine, Selene. Fully. If not, I will leave and you will never have to see me again or think of me again.”

“No harm would come to me?”

He seemed disappointed by her question, thinking she would want to leave. Nevertheless, he shook his head to her. “No. I wouldn’t let anything happen to you.”

Against everything in her mind, she reached out for the key and took it into her possession. “I feel like I’m being an idiot.” She spoke as she closed her eyes tight before feeling his lips against hers and pinning her up against the wall. He smiled between kisses as he lifted her legs around his waist until they touched behind his back. “You’re mine.” He said against her lips as she held the key behind his head as her fingers intertwined behind him. She liked the sound of being possessed by him and even being taken care of, but she couldn’t shake the fact of him being as dangerous as Gia warned.

“I have one condition.” She spoke as he looked to her with concern, fearing that it would be a request that he couldn’t fulfill. “Gia comes to live with me, I’m not leaving her behind.”

He breathed a sigh of relief. “Alright. You have my word.”

“And you have mine. I am yours. Your secrets are mine too.” He then moved back to kiss her as they were given a moment of intimate kisses without being interrupted-but it was not without thought. Selene came to think of all the possibilities of what could happen, but she also knew that she could not bring herself to tear away from Lyle.