Chapter 10
1477 Words
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~ STEFANO GRECO ~
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There was too much going back home and I felt so helpless, sitting here in New York, cooped up in an apartment, hiding from the world I had once ruled alongside, my father.
I have come to realize that fate is so much like the weather. You don't really know what happens in the next second.
I wish my father was still alive. He would have dealt with the situation and this certain someone I wanted to bludgeon to death.
I poked the inside of my cheek with my tongue as I read through the article that one of my insiders in the family had sent me. I hoped she was safe. I wanted her to be safe. Because she was very much important to me.
I looked up from my iPad and raised a brow when I saw my brother barge into my apartment.
"What is it?" I asked. He looked like he wanted to kill someone and I wondered if he needed my assistance with it.
"You killed someone?" He asked. Tomasso looked really mad right now and he was not one to get mad, especially not at me - his boss and elder brother.
But right now, I guess it was safe to say that the guy he wanted to kill was me.
"He wanted to kill me." I shrugged, keeping the gadget down on the coffee table. Seeing as how restless he was, I was sure that this discussion was going to go on for a long long time.
"He was in Ms. Gill's apartment. It is obvious that his target was her." Tomasso tossed his car keys on the coffee table and paced around the room, clutching his hair.
"He got into the wrong apartment, Tomasso." I rolled my eyes. "Why would someone want to kill a middle school English teacher?"
"And how are you so sure that you were his target?" Tomasso stopped for a moment to ask me that question and then continued with his pacing. The sight was almost comical to watch.
"He used to be one of my men." I dropped the bomb.
Tomasso paused when he heard that and turned to me. "What?"
"Luigi. His name is Luigi." I sighed. It was kind of hurtful to find that the man you used to entrust your own life with has turned against you. Luigi was just a kid and I used to be a little biased toward him. But not anymore.
I was proud of myself for not having hesitated to strangle him to the disgraceful death he deserved. You don't desert a brother in the Mafia. If you do, then you are not a man of honor.
"It means you need to move." Tomasso said, sounding more restless than he was when he came in. "Preferably to another country because they know you are here."
"No. There is a bounty on my head and every single one of them would be trying to be as secretive as possible because the reward is priceless." I rolled my eyes, thinking about what my step-brothers had offered their little lackeys if they managed to bring back my head to them.
Those lads really needed to get a reality check. I am Stefano Greco. I am not some sewer rat that will be hunted down by some fools.
"And how are you going to deal with the teacher? Isn't she going to call the police on you?" He asked. Of course, he needed to thoroughly go through everything.
"I may or may not have threatened her a little." I shrugged.
Tomasso raised a brow at me, this time looking annoyed and disappointed at the same time.
I know I know, threatening a woman was not something a man of honor was supposed to do. But there was no other way to deal with the situation at that point.
She was a regular woman, maybe a little braver than the average. But still, a regular woman. There was no way she was going to take the death of a man in her apartment well. And to have it illegally covered up must have been traumatizing as well. But I had to do what needed to be done.
"That's just a short-time solution. What do you plan to do to make sure she doesn't ever spit it out in front of someone?" He asked. Of course, having a loose mouth walk around was never a good idea. He was right. I needed to come up with a permanent solution. But today just wasn't the day.
"Tell me if you have any suggestions." I shrugged and got up from my seat. I gestured him to the door. He needed to go because I planned to get some good rest tonight.
Today had been a pretty busy day.
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My eyes were wide open when I heard some crashing noise outside. I was quick to jump off my bed and put on my robe over my boxers before grabbing my gun and hurrying toward the door.
I clicked on the security screen.
I closed my eyes, feeling a bit annoyed now.
Alanna Gill was stumbling on the floor, trying to get up amongst the broken vase next to her.
I opened the door and she gasped, looking about and looking at me like a deer caught in headlights.
"What are you doing?" I asked, my voice thick with sleep.
I grabbed her by the arm and pulled her up to her feet.
"I...I was just-"
"Taking a midnight stroll in the corridors with your favorite vase I presume?" I asked.
She looked at me, her eyes red and wide and her lips quivering. Not that it was the first time I was noticing it, but the woman had beautiful, plump, kissable lips. They were full and perfect and looked so soft and ready to be devoured.
Get your head out of the gutter, Stefano.
"I was just-"
"Yeah, you already said that."
She looked almost annoyed at me now. I raised a brow. Really? She was trembling in front of me but still had it in her to look annoyed. This woman really was above average.
She took a deep breath and said, "Excuse me Mr. neighbor, but I don't think I have to report every single one of my movements to you."
I had to agree, even I was taken aback by the way she masked her fear within a millisecond and spoke so strongly.
"Of course. You are right." I nodded.
I crossed my arms over my chest, holding my gun in one hand.
I smirked when I saw her eyes widen as she stared at the Glock 19 in my hand.
"Wanna hold it?" I offered it to her while she took a step back, or should I say, jumped back.
I let out a laugh when she did. It was funny watching this woman struggle.
"No thanks." She stuttered. "I will be on my way."
She turned towards the corridor to the elevator and took a step towards it before I threw my arm over her chest and turned her in the direction of her apartment.
"Go back inside."
I could feel her heart thump against my arm. It was going at a speed that could potentially stop it. "Calm down, will you?"
"I don't want to go in there." She said, her voice pleading.
I let out a sigh of exasperation.
"Where else are you going to go?" I asked. "That's your home."
"No, it's a crime scene." She gulped. "Someone was killed in there because of me."
My eyebrows knitted together when I heard that.
I turned her to face me.
"What did you just say?"
She was looking at her bare feet now. Damn it, this woman was going to get hurt at this rate.
"He was killed.... because I called you... instead of the cops."
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to calm myself down. Is this woman for real? Someone was in her apartment ready to blast her brain off, and she is blaming herself for it?
"He was killed because he was a killer. He killed people and then karma hit him." I stated.
"You don't know that." She looked up at me. "He could have been a homeless person-"
"In a suit?" I raised a brow at her.
She blinked. I gathered that between all the confusion and fear, she had not properly taken in the appearance of the assailant.
"He was a trained assassin." I said slowly. I wanted to make sure that she got it embedded in her head so that she doesn't go around blaming herself for it.
She gulped and then looked me in the eye and asked,
"Then what are you?"
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- Writer
