Her chest was heaving, her thoughts were running wild.
“Your father is yet to make contact.”“It has been two days,” she interjected. She took a while to steady her breath. “I just, can we call him?”“With how your father arranged it, it would be impossible to reach him.”She closed the distance between them without giving it a thought. She grabbed his hand.He was surprised, but he did not let it show on his face. He looked down at their entwined hands.“Please…”He swallowed. He had never been more tense about anything in a long time. “There are rumors that your father, well, that he is dead.”Elena stilled. It was like time stopped, everything halted, she stopped breathing. When she caught her breath, she was exhausted. She doubled over and fell to the ground, gasping for air. Her world was crashing before her, everything she had held dear, every dream she had, every hope she had felt. Her eyes welled up in tears,Orlando tapped his feet rhythmically against the marble floors. “The Doc is dead,” he announced in a flat tone. The words hung in the air as his eyes moved from one face to another. There was no distinct expression on their faces that he could pick up on. Silence filled the room for a moment until Colombano broke it.“Have you at least recovered the briefcase?”At first, when he had met them, he had been taken aback by their lack of sympathy, but not anymore. He was used to it.“Sadly, no, Colombano…” Romano answered. “I fear my briefcase is still out somewhere in the world, or worse, in the hands of some lowlife thief.” The distaste was clear in his voice.“How are we to recover it?” Luca questioned. “Do we know Doc’s last location?”“I am on it.”“It is taking longer than expected,” Luca’s tone was curt.Orlando’s piercing gaze was met with the same from Luca.Romano looked between the both of them. “Finding the briefcase is primary, see to it that it is done…”“Or we put an end to t
Orlando peered at the house across from where his car was parked; the blinds were open, so he had a clear view into the house. It was a small house in a nice suburban neighborhood. The people in this neighborhood were nice and friendly, and the police actually cared about checking crime.A woman in her sixties came into view. Her dark curly hair was tied atop her head in a messy bun, with streaks of silver on the side. Her eyes crinkled as she smiled at something someone said. Her eyes were tired, but they still managed to gleam when she smiled. She moved away from the window and emerged again, this time her laughter was a little loud. He could hear the faint sounds of her laughter, and although he did not hear what was said, his lips cracked into a smile of his own.All his life, he had never seen her carefree; he did not remember what she looked like when she smiled. Although she still bore the telltale signs of what she had been through in the past, he could tel
“Ricci Russo!” Orlando called out as he casually strolled into the master bedroom. The man ducked behind Ricci. “What the fuck?” Ricci yelled. “What in the actual fuck!” he cussed.Orlando walked up to the large sofa facing the big bed and plopped down on the chair. “I knew I would find you here…” He leaned backward and exhaled. “It has been a somewhat stressful week for me...” He looked up at their terrified expressions, then he began to remove his gloves, “Don’t fret, I don’t think there would be a need for this…”The sigh of relief from Ricci’s companion was audible.“Unless, well unless you give me a reason to…” his grey eyes bored into Ricci’s.“What are you doing here and how did you get here?”“I have a few questions to ask and I got here in my car. Anything else?” he answered.“How did you get past the guards…” Ricci walked towards the door to take a peek, the man clung to him tightly, his head bowed. Orlando recognized him.
“Ricci Russo!” Orlando called out as he casually strolled into the master bedroom. The man ducked behind Ricci. “What the fuck?” Ricci yelled. “What in the actual fuck!” he cussed.Orlando walked up to the large sofa facing the big bed and plopped down on the chair. “I knew I would find you here…” He leaned backward and exhaled. “It has been a somewhat stressful week for me...” He looked up at their terrified expressions, then he began to remove his gloves, “Don’t fret, I don’t think there would be a need for this…”The sigh of relief from Ricci’s companion was audible.“Unless, well unless you give me a reason to…” his grey eyes bored into Ricci’s.“What are you doing here and how did you get here?”“I have a few questions to ask and I got here in my car. Anything else?” he answered.“How did you get past the guards…” Ricci walked towards the door to take a peek, the man clung to him tightly, his head bowed. Orlando recognized him, He interjected, “Now you have asked a few question
Elena knocked on the door. She kept peering behind her, unable to ignore the irrational fear that Orlando would show up behind her and whisk her away again. The fear wasn't irrational; he had done it before, so what was stopping him this time? The door opened, and Imani's head popped out, her eyes widening like saucers as soon as she saw Elena."Okay, I want to be pissed and cuss you for abandoning me, but you look really tired and scared, and..." her high-pitched tone decreased with every word she said. "Are those tears?" She asked, with concern etched on her features. "Honey..."Elena was tongue-tied, feeling the bile rise in her throat. When she ran away from Orlando's house, the first place she thought to go was home, but she knew it would be the first place he would look, so she opted for Imani's house. On her way there, she had crafted a nice explanation of everything that had gone down and what needed to be done, but as soon as she laid eyes on Imani, the look of concern on her
Orlando knocked the miniature carving of a horse off his table. “You had just one job to do, track a young girl and know where she is at all times and wait for new orders. One job!” his unwavering glare held the man whose head was bowed in place.The man’s palm was sweaty, the sound of his heartbeat was almost deafening.Orlando was pacing about his large study room, his muscles flicked angrily in his jaw. He slammed his hands on the table, rattling everything on it. The man standing by the doorway shuddered involuntarily. “How did it happen?” He asked, spacing his words evenly, the spite dropping from every word he uttered.The man opened his mouth to speak but hesitated.Orlando banged the table and spun around. “I asked a question! Goddammit!”“She was quick on her feet, she weaved into the crowd effortlessly. I was going to do the same, but I stuck out like a sore thumb…” He gestured towards himself. He was a very tall man, with a large build dressed in black. “I was already attrac
The cop stared at the two jittery women sitting across from him. One of them had just given her statement and was filing paperwork. It was the early hours of the morning, so the station was almost cleared out.It wouldn’t be the first time someone would come to the station with a story or a report about the mafia. He had suggested that they keep their dealings under wraps as best as they possibly could. He was quite infuriated that he had to handle yet another of their matters, this time an escaped captive who knew so much about them, including their names. Normally, he would have picked up his phone and begun mouthing off to the guy he usually spoke to in the family, but this matter concerned Orlando, and he knew better than to lose his temper.The mafia already had the police in their palm long before he joined the police force or rose to his rank, but Orlando made certain the police allegiance to the family was sealed. He dug up dirt on whoever had dirt, danglin
Orlando was about to open the car door when Sebastian grabbed his hand. “I agreed to follow you here instead of having a quiet stay at home, which of course was what I planned to do. I don’t plan on dying here, what is the plan?”“Kill them…” he answered like it was obvious. “If they are Romano’s men then they are amateurs, he wouldn’t want to get his main guys involved…”“And if they are not?”He thought for a moment. “Surely, they are no match for the two of us.”Sebastian knew it but he also knew Orlando was not being rational, he was walking with a blinding anger. All he saw was red, he wanted the girl and he would do anything including endanger himself to find her. He had tagged along to look out for him.They were parked behind a rundown, derelict warehouse building. Sebastian scanned the area. “There are no tall buildings around, that eliminates the possibility of snipers. We have an edge because they only just arrived, they would