The Italian

by T L Swan

  Lorenzo drags his shaky hand down his face. He knows I’m right.

  My phone vibrates on my desk and an unidentified number comes up. Lorenzo’s eyes meet mine.

  “Keep him on the line for three minutes,” he says.

  I nod. “Hello,” I answer.

  “Hand them over or pay consequences.”

  “Go to Hell,” I whisper. “What do you think you are doing?”

  “You were warned.”

  The phone clicks as he hangs up.

  Another threat from Lucky Lombardi. It’s the third this week.

  I stare straight ahead, and anger rages inside of me like a wildfire.

  This time in my life is supposed to be exciting. Announcing my marriage. Planning for a baby.

  What I am is stressed beyond belief.

  “We’ll find him. You have my word,” Lorenzo says from his seat beside me.

  “He’s in hiding.” He shakes his head in frustration. “But he can’t hide forever. When he shows his face, he’s a dead man.”

  My buzzer sounds. “Mr. Ferrara, I have Sophia here to see you.”

  I roll my eyes. Fuck, this is the last thing I need now. “Give me five minutes,” I say to Lorenzo. I push the intercom. “Send her in.”

  The door opens and the beautiful Sophia comes into view.

  “Hello.” I stand, smile, and I kiss her cheek.

  Lorenzo kisses her in a greeting, also.

  “What do I owe this pleasure?” I ask, trying to act calm.

  She clutches her handbag nervously. “I’m being followed.”

  I frown. “By who?”

  “There’s a man. He’s been following me for three days now.”

  “What man?”

  She looks around nervously. “I don’t know who he is. I saw him the other day when I came out of my apartment, and now I keep seeing him.”

  “Are you sure he’s following you?”

  “Positive.”

  “Lorenzo, organize some guards for Sophia, please.”

  “Of course.” He stands. “Can you describe him for me?”

  “He’s outside right now. He’s… he’s downstairs,” she stammers. “Blue suit. White shirt.”

  Lorenzo’s eyes meet mine. “Get Sergio and take care of it,” I order.

  Lorenzo rushes from the room as Sophia runs her fingers through her hair. She’s visibly upset. “I don’t know what to do. What if I’m next?”

  “You’re not.” I take her into my arms and hold her. “It’s all right,” I whisper into her hair. “You’re safe now.”

  “I haven’t felt safe since you left me,” she whispers against my neck. I feel her breath on my skin.

  She lifts her hand, and the gold bangles that she always wears rattle together.

  It’s a familiar sound—one that evokes memories. I feel an unwelcome wave of arousal seep into my body. I instantly release her from my grip and take a step back.

  When Sophia fucks, the sound of her bangles hitting together echoes throughout the room. The harder she fucks, the louder the sound.

  Fucking her is like a game a child would play to hear the sound—to make it louder. It’s the ultimate aphrodisiac. A goal that drives a man wild. Anytime I hear bangles clang together, I have a physical reaction. I clench my jaw as I try to chase away the memory.

  “I miss you,” she whispers.

  “Don’t.”

  She steps forward and takes my hand to place it over her heart. “How can you push me aside so easily?” Her eyes fill with tears.

  “Sophia.” I don’t like seeing her like this.

  “I love you, Enrico.”

  “Sophia,” I whisper. “You need to understand that I’m with Olivia now.”

  “Why do you think it has to be me or her?” Her eyes search mine. “You can have me, too, my darling.”

  Our eyes are locked as the air swirls between us.

  “You can be married to her and you can love me, too.”

  We stare at each other.

  “We need each other, Enrico. We need each other’s bodies.” She smiles softly despite her tears. “I can’t come without you. Nobody fucks me like you do.” She lowers my hand to her breast. “Nobody can get the job done. I need your body. No other will do. How could I go back to another man after having you?”

  Memories pass between us. Nothing is off the table with Sophia. There’s no denying the woman is on fire in bed.

  No.

  I take a step back from her. “Stop it.”

  She reaches for me. “I know you want me.”

  “You’re wrong. I want Olivia.”

  “No. You love Olivia. You want me. Your body wants me. You can have it. You don’t have to choose between us, Enrico. Why would you choose when you can have the best of both worlds?”

  I glare at her, my anger beginning to escalate. A vision of my pathetic father and grandfather with their mistresses comes to mind. “Just stop it.”

  “Give me two hours a week to please you. I’ll do anything you want, my darling,” she whispers seductively. “We could meet on your lunch breaks. I can satisfy you, keep you sated and happy. You can go home to her every night, and nobody will ever know. You have needs that I only I can meet. She won’t get hurt because she will never find out.” She takes my hand in hers again. “Enrico,” she whispers. “Baby, come back to me.”

  I get a vision of my Olivia at home with our child. “Sophia!” I snap.

  She rises up onto her toes and kisses me. I pull my face away as I lose control of my anger. “Get out.”

  Her face falls. “What?”

  “Get the fuck out,” I growl. “If you ask me for sex ever again, you’re fired. In fact, just get out now.” I grab her arm and drag her to the door. “Do you fucking understand me?” I open the door, push her out, and I slam it shut. My heart is racing, I’m so angry.

  Red is all I see.

  I go to the bar, and with a shaking hand, I pour myself a glass of scotch.

  I’m rattled that the sound of her bangles affected me physically.

  Weak.

  I take out my phone and text Olivia to try and calm myself—to remind me of who I am.

  How are you feeling, my love?

  A reply bounces back.

  Better now. Hurry home.

  I miss you.

  xo

  A gun shot rings out outside on the street.

  Another one, and then another.

  What the fuck?

  I run to the window and look down. I can see a commotion and people running out from the building, but I can’t see what’s happened.

  “Attack!” I hear Lorenzo’s voice cry out. “Downstairs. Go!”

  I run out to see our men running toward the stairwell on high alert.

  I grab my gun and follow them. I take the steps two at a time.

  Hurry, hurry.

  The door opens in the foyer, and my heart drops at the sheer horror before me.

  I see Sergio lying in a crumpled heap—a bullet hole in his head. His brains are scattered across the marble floor.

  Next to him lies Sophia, her lifeless eyes staring up at the ceiling. She’s still clutching her designer bag.

  I drop to the floor beside her. “Sophia,” I whisper as I pick up her hand. “Sophia, Sophia!” I cry.

  A puddle of dark blood pools around her, and I see that she’s been shot through the chest.

  I shake her. “Wake up, wake up.” I look up at the surrounding buildings around us.

  My blood runs cold. Dear God.

  I look back down as I watch the life slip away from her.

  She’s dead.

  31

  Enrico

  “This way, Mr. Ferrara.”

  I’m led into the police station by an officer for routine questioning over Sophia and Sergio’s deaths.

  I’m shaken to my very core.

  Devastated.

  They died because of me.

  Once in the interview room, I take
a seat. “The chief will be here in a moment, sir.”

  I force a smile. “Thank you.”

  I sit for five minutes in the silence, my mind going over and over the last hour.

  I keep hearing the gunshots—seeing their crumpled bodies. I hear the ambulance sirens in the distance as they arrived.

  I watch them being put onto stretchers as paparazzi cameras click and click and click without remorse.

  This is a dark day.

  I think back to how hard and cold I was to Sophia only moments before she died. Because of me.

  My chest constricts, and I inhale through a shaky breath.

  The door opens and Renaldo, my old friend, comes into view. He’s the Chief of Police here in Milan now. He walks in and immediately turns the tape recording off.

  “Enrico, my friend.” He smiles.

  I stand, relieved to see his face. We hug.

  “Are you okay?” He frowns as he holds me at arm’s length.

  “I can’t believe this,” I whisper.

  “My God, we need to talk. I have so much to tell you.” I fall into the seat opposite him at the interview desk.

  “We’ve just had a call from the Carabinieri with strict instructions on what I am to say to you.” “What?”

  “Apparently they are working undercover to try and bring you down. They sent in a young Australian woman as a mole to befriend your fiancée.”

  I frown and drop my head. Jennifer.

  I knew it.

  “There’s nothing to get me on. I’m completely clean now. You know that.”

  “Why the hell would you have cocaine delivered to your yacht in Monte Carlo?” He shakes his head in disgust. “You’re getting sloppy, Enrico.”

  “What?” I snap in confusion. “I haven’t had cocaine delivered to my yacht.”

  “They watched Sergio meet with the dealer last week, and then they saw it arrive by ship at your yacht. They know.”

  I sit back, shocked. Fucking Sergio.

  “Sergio must have gone rogue.” I drag my head down my face. “What are they going to do?”

  “They are sitting and waiting for you to move it.” I close my eyes as horror dawns on me. “It’s not mine.”

  “Sergio’s dead, Enrico. Who do you think they are going to blame?”

  “Fuck.” I put my head into my hands. “How long until they move in?”

  “I don’t know, but I can’t contact you. I think your phones are bugged. Has this woman had access to your fiancée’s phone?”

  I stare at him as I think. “Maybe.”

  Fuck… I warned Olivia. Time and time again, I warned her.

  “I have to do the formal interview now.” He gestures to the tape recorder. “You good?”

  “Thank you for the warning.” I shake his hand.

  He turns the tape recorder on. “Mr. Ferrara, I’m Chief Inspector Paella. I’ll be interviewing you today.”

  “Hello,” I reply flatly, my mind anywhere but on this interview.

  “What happened today, sir?”

  “I’m not sure.” I get a vision of Sophia on the hard, cold concrete.

  Sophia.

  I walk through the front door of our Milan apartment just after 8:00 p.m.

  It’s been a long, horrendous day—one that I never want to repeat.

  “Hi.” Olivia smiles as she rushes to greet me. “Are you okay?”

  I wrap her in my arms and hold her tight. “I am now.”

  I get a vision of Sophia and Sergio on the concrete, and I bury my head into her neck.

  We stand in each other’s arms for an extended time. Olivia doesn’t move and she doesn’t speak. She just lets me hold her, which is what I need right now.

  I know that Lorenzo had called her to tell her what happened and where I was.

  “What did the police say?” she asks as she takes my hand and leads me into the kitchen.

  “They just wanted to know what happened.” I take my tie off and throw it to the side. “I made a witness statement.”

  She pours me a glass of wine as she listens.

  “Something else came to light at the police station.”

  “Oh?” She hands over my glass.

  “Your friend from the gym, Jennifer and her guy, are undercover federal police.”

  She frowns. “Huh?”

  “They’ve been sent in to try and get me on something.” “Who told you that?” “The Chief of Police, Olivia.” I sip my wine, unimpressed that she would doubt me, even for a second.

  “Oh my God,” she whispers.

  “It gets better,” I continue. “Sergio bought drugs under my name on credit. He was obviously going to sell them without me knowing. He had them delivered to our yacht in Monte Carlo. The police know all about it.”

  Her face falls. “What does that mean?”

  “It means they are waiting for me to pick them up so they can arrest me for drug possession.”

  Her eyes widen. “Fuck.”

  My phone rings. It’s Lorenzo. “I have to take this, Bella.”

  “Sure.”

  “Hello,” I answer as I walk up the hall to my office.

  Olivia

  After turning the faucet off, I lie back and squeeze the hot water from my sponge, watching as it falls over my chest. The bath is deep and hot, causing the room to fill with steam.

  Sophia. Poor Sophia.

  My mind is ticking over at a million miles per minute, taunting me of how naïve I really am. I keep going over and over the conversations I had with Jennifer over the last few weeks while at the gym, and the casual questions she’d been asking.

  How much did I unknowingly tell her?

  The fact that she pretended to be someone else has shaken me to my very core.

  A planned operation?

  How long were they watching me before they sent her in?

  Enrico warned me, too. He’s warned me on several occasions not to trust anyone, but like a fool, I thought he was being over the top.

  There’s a reason he is the way he is. Trust; it’s one of the purest forms of emotion.

  The bathroom door opens and Enrico strides in.

  “Hey.” He smiles softly.

  I fake a smile back. “Hi.”

  He carefully sits on the side of the bath, as if unsure what to say.

  “You getting in with me?” I ask.

  He stands, takes his clothes off, and he climbs in at the opposite end of the tub. We sit in silence for a while.

  I squeeze the water onto my chest again. There are so many emotions between us, but the one that’s clogging up my throat is fear.

  “What’s going to happen?” I ask him quietly.

  He stares at the water, unable to answer my question.

  “Sergio had these drugs delivered to your boat, which technically makes them yours now that he’s dead.”

  “I know.”

  “What’s the jail term for this much cocaine possession?”

  He inhales deeply, steeling himself. “Thirty years to life.”

  My eyes fill with tears as I watch him. “You can’t go to jail, Rici,” I whisper.

  He slides down farther and puts his head back against the edge of the bathtub.

  I try to get a grasp of what Sergio was planning.

  “What was he doing? Why?” I shake my head, words escaping me. “Why did he have those drugs delivered to your boat?”

  “Because he knew the dealers wouldn’t give him that much credit. I’m guessing his plan was to sell the drugs on his own and then pay the dealers back immediately. He was using my name as a line of credit. The dealers thought they were selling to me, and because they always have sold to Ferrara, there was no hesitation at all.”

  “But… but they aren’t yours,” I splutter. “You need to explain the whole thing. Make them understand that you knew nothing about this.”

  His eyes hold mine. “Possession is nine tenths of the law, Olivia. I have no proof that they aren’t my drugs. Do you t
hink a drug dealer is going to come and testify on my behalf?”

  “So… what?” I shrug. “Are they just sitting there on the dock waiting for you to go to the boat so they can arrest you?”

  “Yes.” He nods slowly. “That’s exactly what they’re doing.”

  “Then don’t go to the boat. Simple.”

  “They’ll only wait a few more days before they move in. If I go to the boat to remove the drugs, I’ll be arrested. If I don’t go to the boat, they will arrest me anyway.”

  I put my head into my hands as tears fill my eyes. “This is too much, Enrico,” I whisper. “This isn’t even your fight. This is Stefano’s fight. He wanted this, and then he died and left you in this big fucking mess. And poor Sophia and Sergio.” I angrily wipe the tears from my eyes. “If you don’t get murdered by that madman, you’re going to jail for a crime that you didn’t commit.” He doesn’t try and comfort me. I don’t think he can.

  Because he knows I’m right.

  I stare into space as I search for options. Everything seems so dark and dismal. What are we supposed to do? Rico's eyes are focused on the water, hardened by sadness and anger. “What we need to do is disappear for a while,” I say

  “And how do we do that? It’s a lot easier said than done,” he replies.

  I think for a moment. “It’s not actually a bad idea, to be honest. Why don't we go off the grid for a while? Hide until everything is over with.” I smile to myself as I imagine a life on the run.

  “I’m not taking the cowards way out and running. I’ll handle Lombardi myself.” He watches me for a moment. I can see his brain ticking over before he raises an eyebrow.

  “What? What are you thinking?” I ask.

  “If I were dead…” His voice trails off.

  “What?”

  “He wouldn’t be expecting me.”

  My eyes widen as I stare at him. “Stop, Enrico. Whatever the hell you are thinking? Just stop it.”

  He stares into space; his mind miles away.

  “This is one big nightmare. I don't know what to do. I don't know what to say, I don't know who to trust. I mean, what in the hell are we supposed to do now? Just wait here until you get arrested?” I huff.