Unknown Territory: Mafioso Series Book 3

by Serena Light

  She never noticed Salvatore lean down to pick up the paintbrush behind him, gasping in shock when he flicked it in her direction sending dollops of green paint all across her clothes and face.

  "You're too pink for my taste," He smirked at her, watching her narrow her eyes at him.

  "Oh, it's on!" Nicole announced, grabbing the bucket of orange paint beside her as Salvatore took hold of the red tin. Both of them stood opposite one another before flicking the paintbrushes at each other, sending the colors flying in all 4 directions and covering them.

  They ran around the interior of the greenhouse, Nicole having protected her paintings with sheets since she predicted such an end to their day. Laughter rung clear as Nicole shrieked, covered in various colors and dripping like a wet cat, slipping on the floor and landing with an unceremonious clatter, Salvatore standing a few feet away from her and laughing hysterically at her fall and how ridiculous she looked in pink, purple, blue, green, red, orange, and white.

  Giving her husband a half-hearted glare, she grabbed his leg and pulled, sending him slipping due to the paint and falling on his hands and knees in the puddle of colors, both of them hysterical. Nicole sat up on her knees, smearing the paint on her hands across his cheeks as he did the same to her, both of them laughing and giggling at their antics.

  "Enough, stop," She heaved through her laughter, both of them drenched and breathless, kneeling on the floor of her art studio. "Enough,"

  Salvatore chuckled beside her, exhausted as he lay down spread eagle on the floor, staring up at the glass ceiling and watching the sky embrace their colors as the sunset behind the mountains.

  "Oh, I haven't laughed so hard in ages," Salvatore chuckled, clutching his stomach as it ached and cramped.

  Nicole let out a short laugh at that, coming to lay down beside him with her hands rested behind her head, both of them slowly recovering from their hysteria.

  "Now the picture?" She grinned, tilting her head back to look at him as he gave her a grin in response and nodded. Picking up her phone, Nicole opened the front camera, both of them bursting with laughter once more at the sight of themselves, both drunk on adrenaline and joy, too happy to contain it all.

  They tried taking a picture numerous times, but whenever they did, it always moved due to them bursting in fits of laughter, sometimes Salvatore rolling away and sometimes Nicole's hand would shake at trying to suppress her mirth.

  Eventually, they managed to get a picture of themselves, both of them covered in paint, their clothes ruined and their hair in various hues of the rainbow with them lying on the floor of her art studio, much too exhausted to move.

  "Oh, this was a good day," Nicole exclaimed, lying with her head pressed against Salvatore's both of them watching the stars illuminate the night sky.

  "It was," He agreed. "Although, I'm a bit hungry,"

  "God, I'm starved," His wife groaned, both of them getting off the floor and making their way through the forest in their condition, the men never noticing how multi-colored their boss and his wife were given the dark of the exterior, but once inside, Tazio chocked on his air and Russo just about fainted to see them. Marco, on the other hand, collapsed in a heap of hysterical laughter as Salvatore and Nicole grinned and made their way to their bedroom.

  "I'm amazed at how easily it got off," Salvatore spoke in amusement as he scrubbed the loofa over Nicole's arm, both of them seated in the bathtub with bubbles surrounding them and their water turning a murky brown as they washed it all off, the excess colors disappearing from their skins.

  "I bought water-soluble paints for this," Nicole chuckled with her back to his chest, his legs on either side of her.

  "So you had planned this all along?"

  "Well, I had planned on smearing paint on your face, but I had no idea it would get so out of hand,"

  "And out of hand, it did get,"

  The two grinned at the memory, Salvatore allowing the water to drain as he ran clean water over them, washing off any of the soap that might have been left behind. Getting changed into their sleepwear, he had food brought upstairs as the two of them sat on the floor, watching a cartoon movie and eating away at the food placed before them, Nicole beside him and grinning at how happy he looked, her heart jumping in her chest to see the smile on his face or the way he threw back his head to laugh at the movie, his hair a disheveled mess, but his eyes so blue and rich that she couldn't help but stare.

  "You're not eating," He noted, swallowing the bite of rice he had in his mouth, looking at her in confusion. "I thought you were starving?"

  She just grinned, leaning forward and cupping his face into her hands as she placed a kiss on his lips, elated to know...to realize...

  She was in love with Salvatore Regnante.

  Chapter XXIII: Accusation

  "What do you mean it can't be returned?" Salvatore asked calmly, staring outside his window at the skylights before him, the Bluetooth device fixated into his ear. "You got the order wrong,"

  "No, you got it wrong," He repeated to the man on the other line. "I ordered 40,000 AR-15 magazines, I did not ask for 4000 AK-47s. Now you either get me the right delivery or I will burn down your warehouse."

  The chuckle the man gave on the other end had Salvatore inhale deeply before rubbing a hand over his forehead.

  "I am sending my men to you, if they do not get the AR-15s, you will be drowned in gasoline."

  Declining the call, he turned towards his desk, picking up the phone receiver and pressing the number 3, the line ringing twice before Piero's voice spoke up.

  "Yes, boss?" The man inquired on the other line.

  "Take 5 men with you to get the AR-15 mags from the warehouse, ensure you have all 40,000. If he does not have my delivery, wash it with gasoline and set it ablaze,"

  "Yes, sir," Piero acknowledged and ended the call, Salvatore sighing and settling behind his desk.

  Pulling a file towards him he began to go through the information before a knock sounded on his door.

  "Come," He permitted entrance and flipping the page before Alessio stepped in with a distraught expression.

  "Sir," He began, setting a thick pamphlet before him which showed various expenses. "My calculations aren't adding upright,"

  "What's wrong?" Salvatore pulled the pages towards him, looking at all the numbers of the month.

  "Well, according to this we spent 500,000 Euros this month, right?"

  "Okay," He nodded, looking at the expense list in confusion.

  "But according to last months' trends, we should have spent just 324,000 Euros,"

  "Then where did the 176,000 come from?"

  "That's the thing," Alessio threw his hands up in bewilderment. "I don't know. Every single expense has been noted here along with who made the transaction and with whom and what, but it is blank in regards to this 176,000." Pointing towards a blank space in the table.

  "Who compiles all this?"

  "There is a group of people who gather all the expenses from the different sectors and compiles it all together for me to oversee in regards to the month's expenditure."

  "We haven't sent any employees for foreign workshops this month, have we?"

  "No, sir, we haven't."

  "Then get to the bottom of who withdrew 176,000 euros and where did he use them, retrace every single layer of the hierarchy if you have to, but I want the money found."

  "Yes-" Alessio began to speak when the office door burst open, both men looking up to see Salvatore's head of weaponry, Marco, come puffing in with a laptop in hand.

  "You have got to see this," His younger brother told him, putting the laptop before the two as it was showing news headlines informing of one of his competitors has launched a new gun.

  "What about it?" Alessio questioned in confusion seeing nothing out of the ordinary.

  "Look at it!" Marco exclaimed, pointing to the screen.

  Looking back at the news playing, Alessio hissed sharply at the sight of the weapon's design.
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br />   "This is my gun," The boss spoke calmly. "Those are my designs. He didn't even fucking change the name," He closed the laptop lid, rubbing a hand over his forehead as he sat down in his chair.

  "We've got to let people know it's yours," Marco exclaimed.

  "And come off as pathetic and attention-seeking?" Salvatore retaliated. "No. We will first find out who sold my plans to him and then we'll come up with a weapon that would outshine-"

  His cell phone vibrated on the table, Salvatore looking down to see Nicole's contact name pop up on the screen.

  "Hey," He called into the phone, placing it against his ear.

  "Hi," His wife greeted on the other end as he could hear movement from her side. "Are we on for lunch?"

  "No, sorry, sweetheart," Salvatore sighed and stood up. "Some things have come up and I can't leave the office, why don't you go out with some friends. I'll meet you at home,"

  "You sure?"

  "Yeah, no worries,"

  "Okay," Nicole hung up the call first, her husband rubbing at his head and feeling a headache forming.

  "Okay, Marco, have all managerial officers gather in Conference room 4, I want them to be made aware of the problems being faced." Salvatore picked up his blazer and began to put it on. "For all we know, one of them might be behind our troubles,"

  The meeting dragged on longer than he would have liked. Once he informed them of the situation, an uproar of confusion had ensued, and all Salvatore did was sit in his chair and wait for them to settle down. The moment his officials realized he wasn't panicking, they slowly quietened and retook their seats.

  "I already have men getting to the bottom of the situation and finding the one responsible," Salvatore informed, swiveling in his chair. "So hopefully all of this would have died down by the end of the week if not earlier."

  "Oh. That is so good to hear," The man in charge of his IT department exclaimed with an easy-going smile.

  "Yes, but if all this misfortune occurred due to any one of you here," He began, looking at every man in turn. "It is worth remembering that I am still Boss here,"

  "Yes, sir," They all spoke in sync.

  "Dismissed," He told them as he stood and left the conference room, Marco and Alessio on either side of him as Piero intercepted his way, giving him a nod that things had been taken care off an he had gotten the correct shipment.

  "Marco, look into Andrea, he looked unusually pale throughout the meeting and didn't say anything, he might as well have a link in this," Salvatore told him, stepping into his office, about to continue before closing his mouth at the sight of his wife standing by his window and looking out at the view.

  Dismissing them with a wave of his hand, he closed the door behind him silently, looking at how beautiful she looked in a blush pink blouse and a floral blue and pink pencil skirt, her hair flowing behind her shoulders with a silk scarf around her neck.

  "Hello there," He called out to her, watching her jump up in surprise at the suddenness of his voice.

  "Oh! Hi," She grinned, meeting him halfway and placing a kiss on his cheek. "I brought you lunch,"

  "What? Your friends refused to have lunch with you?" He teased and allowed her to lead him to his table, Nicole settling down in the leather chair opposite him as he chose to settle on the table beside her.

  "No, I just refused to have lunch with anyone other than my husband,"

  Salvatore couldn't help but chuckle as he placed the container on his lap and pulled open the lid, the smell of the delicious lasagna wafting around him as instantly his stomach grumbled in hunger. Grabbing the fork beside him he instantly dug in, never having realized how hungry he was. He stopped stuffing his face when Nicole giggled beside him; looking up with sauce dripping from the edge of his lips and his cheeks stuffed with pasta he took note of how Nicole smiled at him adoringly before grabbing a napkin to clean away at his mouth.

  "Slow down or you'll get a stomach ache," She chuckled.

  "I have so much to get done and so little time, Nicole," Salvatore sighed as he swallowed. "Issues have popped up at the company and I haven't even begun with the Mafia matters yet,"

  Nicole wanted to ask him what the matter was, but she knew he wouldn't tell her. He never told her anything about what might be troubling him, and she was his wife, he should be able to confide in her yet doesn't. Swallowing her thoughts, she gave him a soft smile before gathering the lasagna on her fork and taking a bite.

  "You're Salvatore Emilio Regnante," She began, her husband looking up at the use of his full name. "If there is anyone who can bring a chaotic situation under control, it's you,"

  Her husband looked at her with an incomprehensible look in his blue eyes, momentarily having forgotten his food as she felt her throat close up at the look he was giving her. Forcing herself to swallow, suddenly feeling nervous and squirmed in her seat, but let out an exhale when he looked away.

  "What are your plans for later?" He changed the topic, wiping his hands with the napkin and having finished his food.

  "Well, I have a meeting after lunch and then a few more things to oversee than I'd probably head home," She shrugged, wrapping up everything. "What about you?"

  "I'll have to ask Raffaele," He shrugged. "He's the one who tells me all that I have planned for the day,"

  Standing from her place, Nicole chuckled at her husband and stood between his legs, running her fingers through his smooth black tresses as he sighed and reveled in the way she massaged the back of his scalp.

  "You're so tense, baby," She murmured, noticing how coiled his muscles were.

  "It's a constant state with me,"

  "Did you know stress is one of the leading factors of heart attacks?"

  "Where did you read that?"

  "The newspaper,"

  "Did you know cuddles relieve stress?"

  "I know," She grinned at her husband's antics, stepping forward when he encircled her waist, their noses touching.

  "So, I think the more stressed I am the more cuddles I should get, don't you think so?"

  Nicole chuckled as she pressed her lips to his, knowing she should get going and head back to work, but she couldn't leave without having kissed him.

  A knock on the door had them pull back not even after a second their lips touched, Salvatore rolling his eyes as Nicole sighed and stepped away from his hold, her husband allowing her to move away.

  "Come," He called when she began gathering her things, Raffaele stepping halfway inside and looking uncertainly between his boss and wife.

  "Sir...your 1'O clock is here," He spoke in a quivering voice, Nicole taking pity on the scrawny boy. "He asks to meet now,"

  "Have him wait," Salvatore waved dismissively, Raffaele tensing in his spot. "I'll meet him when I want to,"

  "Yes, sir," He squeaked and left the office, closing the door behind him.

  "I'm going to go back now," Nicole informed, hoisting her bag onto her shoulder with her blazer in hand. "See you at home?"

  Salvatore nodded to her words as she placed a kiss on his forehead, gently patting his cheek and walking away.

  Later that day he received a message from Nicole in the middle of a confrontation, asking about his return plan. Sighing, he informed her he wouldn't be coming home anytime soon since he had matters to deal with.

  The man's chatter was giving him a headache, and Salvatore silenced him with a raised hand as he sent the message.

  "Get to the point," He commanded, the man taken aback by his bluntness. "I don't have time to listen to or care about what your daughter made for lunch,"

  "We were supposed to negotiate a partnership," The man spoke lowly, flushing with embarrassment.

  "Who sent you?"

  "Uh...well Hammer did, sir,"

  "I don't do partnerships," Salvatore stated and stood from his seat, leaving the man to sit there as he made his way back to the office, Raffaele joining him as he left the room. "Don't send me idiots who seek partnership with my company,"

  "Yes, s
ir,"

  "What else is left on my agenda for the day?"

  "Sir, Rolls Royce wants to schedule a meeting regarding an order, and Mercedes has been calling in regards to their jets. Then the military commander wanted to alter something in his order." The scrawny man read from a notepad. "Tazio is waiting in your office and Marco asked for the search to be narrowed down and there a few files that require your approval,"

  "What files?"

  "Project initiations, sir,"

  "Send them to the estate; I'll have a look at them when I'm home,"

  "Yes, sir,"

  "Anything else?" He asked, stepping out of the elevator and making his way across the hallway, opening his office door.

  "Oh! Your wife-" His assistant began to speak when Salvatore found Nicole and Tazio seated in his office with a cup of coffee between them and laughing. "Is here, sir,"

  Looking over his shoulder at the boy, he gave him one look as he went scurrying away. Stepping inside he closed the office door, the sound having the two look up from their place on the sofa, watching him march towards his table and remove his blazer, draping it over the standing hanger before rolling back his sleeves and running a hand through his hair.

  "That bad, huh?" His second-in-command cooed from the sofa, snapping his mouth shut at the dirty glance he directed his way.

  "Give it here," He ordered, the man standing with a few files in hand and making his way towards him, flipping them open and pointing to certain spots on the pages. "Are they worth my signatures?"

  "According to me, they are,"

  "According to me,"

  "Some are,"

  "Then give those," Salvatore stated, Tazio ruffling through the files and putting one open before him. "Why aren't you home?" He asked, his question directed to Nicole who sipped her coffee.

  "I thought I'd go home with you,"

  "I'm going to be here a while, I told you that,"

  "Yes, but I learned that after I sent my car home,"

  "Have Matteo drop Nicole to the Estate in the Bentley," He instructed Tazio who nodded; flipping open another file as Salvatore skimmed the text and scribbled at the bottom of the page.

  "That won't be necessary, Tazio," Nicole smiled from her place, the second-in-command tensing as Salvatore's pent faltered on the parchment. "I'm very content here,"