by Anna Widzisz
There was no arguing with him, she knew better than that. Sighing, she perched in the booth as Elio slid his glass with whiskey toward her.
What’s with mobsters and their alcohol?
She shook her head. "Thank you. I don’t drink," she repeated. It was like deja vu since she had already told Elio this.
"Right, I forgot. Sorry, doll," he grinned. "It’s hard to get used to someone so different."
A frown flashed on her face. "I’m not that different."
Elio glanced at her as if she had three heads and laughed. "Yes, you are." He paused and took a sip of his drink, clearly thinking of something. "Tell me, have you ever been with a guy?" he asked, surprising the girl.
She got annoyed and seeing as Noah shifted in his seat, she wasn’t the only one. Discreetly, she found his legs under the table and intertwined them lightly for a second, to give him some kind of assurance. And also to calm herself down. It worked since the man moved to keep them together. But judging by where they were right now, it just took one person to see it somehow and it wouldn’t be good. She pulled back.
"That was inappropriate to ask."
The man smirked. "So that means no."
Amanda rolled her eyes. "Could you be any blunter?"
Inéz ignored the blonde’s comment and addressed the guy next to her. "I didn’t say that."
His eyebrows raised. "Then you’ve been with a man."
The girl started actually considering hitting him in the head with something just to knock some sense into him and make him realize what he was asking her. It was so out of place that she actually wondered whether Noah had put him up to this since he was usually the one asking before thinking.
"I didn’t say that either," she said, shrugging. The next words on her tongue might be too harsh so she swallowed the need to speak up.
"It was nice but we are going back to work now, boys." Amanda decided to step in. She could most likely see how uncomfortable Inéz was. Probably all of them did as she wasn’t one to talk about the most intimate parts of her life.
The dancer reached out to her and pulled her towards the dance floor before Elio could voice any disapproval.
"I owe you one," Inéz promised, receiving a nod from her friend.
CHAPTER 23
Admitting to being wrong or having done something wrong was never Noah’s forte. Even if he’d realized that at one point, it still didn’t matter. As long as it didn’t affect him personally, he let it continue. Whatever it may bring. But as the night was rolling, the Capo was cursing himself for coming up with the terrible idea of making Inéz his spy. Especially since it required her to be so close to Gastone. With the twins talking about her, he could live. It still got to him on more than one occasion through the night, but his anger didn’t even come close to the one he felt when Amanda had come over to their booth after Inéz’s performance, telling Elio that his father wanted to see the girl in his office. He didn’t have to be some kind of genius to figure out why exactly.
The promise he’d made to the girl rang in his head. She was to be safe, and leaving her to his Capodecina’s mercy was anything but. Jealousy overwhelmed him and he began thinking of his possibilities of stopping whatever was happening in the office at that time. When he saw Alberto return from backstage, the need to get Inéz out of that room went through the roof.
Flavio saw his brother’s behavior. Probably all of the men did. However, Drew and Isaac looked concerned about their friend while the twins merely annoyed that their father was moving so fast on the new girl, disgust easy to read on their faces. They had never been ones to hide their cold feelings towards Gastone. This was why Noah couldn’t be sure whether they knew anything about the Capodecina's deals.
Pulling out his phone, Noah considered calling Gastone with whatever task came to mind, but looking up at Flavio he saw a slight shake of his head, warning him not to do it. He didn’t give a fuck how it looked like as long as Inéz was untouched, and signaled this exact thought to his Underboss by going through his contact list.
"I hope Gastone’s done by now with the new girl because he screwed up big time yesterday and needs to fix it," said Flavio, getting up.
Noah frowned, not knowing what his younger brother was doing, other than clearly saving his plan and Inéz’s cover. "What do you mean?"
"He was supposed to take care of the fucking prosecutor who was sniffing around our new construction site. I got a message a few minutes ago, and unless him writing an impeachment is the prosecutor’s act of being fucking taken care of, then yes, he failed miserably at it." The Underboss growled and retreated, going towards Alberto. They exchanged a few sentences and soon the man disappeared off to Gastone’s office. All three of them walked out of the club not much later.
The rest of the night went smoothly. Noah kept himself under control, watching Inéz dance out of the corner of his eye, pretending to give a shit about what they were talking about. He couldn’t forget her performance. Even with so little time to prepare herself for the job, she was simply wonderful on that stage. He caught himself wanting to come up there, grab her and have his way with Inéz, especially after the look they shared at the very beginning. Checking out her outfit was his pastime. She was a sight to behold. Not rail thin as the other dancers but toned and womanly. A perfect hourglass figure with outlines of her tiny waist and flat stomach that flowed into amazing, wide hips. With those sensual curves, no one could even compete with her for the most perfect body. Men loved that, and there was really no doubt as to why they watched her dance without even blinking. Her dusky complexion and long, dark hair added to the appeal.
And it made Noah want to go on the rampage all the goddamn time.
§ § §
"Did you talk to Francisco?" Drew asked Isaac when they came back to the penthouse. Isaac nodded, taking out cold pizza leftovers from the fridge for dinner. It was already three in the morning and they’d decided to call it a night.
Drew sighed, looking concerned, which didn’t escape Noah’s attention. "What is it about?" he joined in, hearing Inéz’s twin’s name coming up. The sad expression on the girl's face sneaking its way into his mind. She missed her brother without a doubt.
"Francisco just keeps reminding us every day that we have to look after Inéz. I think he is actually considering flying to Seattle."
Noah frowned. "Why?"
"He said that she called him the other night and sounded weird. As if something bad had happened, but she didn’t want to give him any details. We are to keep an eye on her. However, we all know what is wrong with her, but it’s not like we can say that it’s just mafia stuff," Drew ironized, biting into a slice of pizza.
The Capo glanced at him, surprised. "Since when is he acting like a brother of the year?"
"Since always. You didn’t meet the twins under the best of circumstances. Francisco can be a judgmental dick, but he loves his sister. They were always close and ever since he left, Inéz began to struggle a little bit more. They were never apart for long."
"Besides, her working in a nightclub might have been the worst idea ever," added Isaac, not worried at all that he had just criticized his boss’ plan. Each day he was becoming more daring along with his best friend. But right now, that wasn’t the most important thing. Noah felt like there was actually something wrong, and everyone knew it but him.
"Am I missing something here?"
Isaac nodded. "It’s really not our place to say anything. You’ll have to ask Inéz. Or better yet, let her tell you when she’s ready," he advised.
The topic was over. As best friends, they would stay loyal and not tell Noah anything no matter what. For them, friendship was stronger than the Famiglia. And as much as the Capo should smother such a thing, he actually admired it. To put someone above all was something he himself had done back in the day. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for his brother, and before also for his sister.
CHAPTER 24
Her birthday was never a day she
liked to celebrate. Rather the complete opposite. That particular day was another reminder of just how screwed up she really was. However, neither Isaac nor Drew would let it go just like that, and wanted to spend time with her. So, after Noah organized all the details for her to sneak into the penthouse, she felt bad to just ignore their efforts and stay in her apartment.
Francisco didn’t congratulate or wish her anything, as always. He just sent her a text saying that he loved her. It was easier this way. Neither of them treated this day as special and never celebrated. They didn’t have a reason to.
Thankfully, as she got to Noah’s place, she found out that her friends hadn’t organized anything but a movie night. Nothing out of the ordinary, so she could simply pretend it was a normal day. They spent a few hours just laughing and commenting on everything that was happening on the screen like they used to do. The movie itself wasn’t important, so it never even crossed their minds to watch it in complete silence. A night in like this was what she needed. You could never go wrong with junk food and soda.
"How are you holding up working in the club?" asked Drew when they finished the second movie.
She looked at him, knowing exactly what he meant by that. This job could very easily be a trigger for her like she’d initially thought too. And the first night had been just that. But there was nothing she could do about it. Thus, she needed to be strong.
She shrugged. "So, where exactly is Noah?" She had no desire to talk about that. It wouldn’t change a goddamn thing so what was the point?
"He went to check up on one of his drug labs," Isaac explained.
"Is he ever at home?"
Drew shook his head. "No, but none of us is, really. We train each morning, then we try to catch up on the business the Famiglia has and Isaac also looks for Lyn. So, if we don’t have time, then he as the Capo has even less."
The mention of Lynette was clearly painful for Drew. He was still holding on to the thought that soon she would be found and returned to his arms. But the search wasn’t easy. With the death of the Capodecina, it seemed like a futile thing to do. However, Noah didn’t even want to hear his brother when he advised him to leave the girl alone. The hatred written all over his face. The Capo definitely had a reason for it but wasn’t straight-forward enough to explain it to them.
Also, Drew refused to give up. He loved the girl and Inéz wouldn’t put it past him to go to his father for help if Falcone decided to pull the plug on the operation. That could be a disaster just waiting to happen. And Noah surely wasn’t stupid to think that his soldier wouldn’t do it.
The elevator moved and the doors slid open, revealing Noah, in a dim light casting a glow showing what he was covered in. Blood. It was dripping from his face and stomach down to the floor. He could barely stand and as he raised his head there were bruises all over. He looked like a dead man walking.
Inéz’s eyes widened as he kept pressing his hand against his stomach. Blood kept running through his fingers, making him weaker, paler. He was covering a wound without a doubt. She immediately ran up to the man.
"What happened to you?" she asked, examining the damage that was done to his body. From the corner of her eyes, she saw Drew grabbing his phone. Probably to call Flavio and let him know.
He winced, coughing out some blood, but didn’t answer the question. The pain was there, however, Noah didn’t seem as bothered by it as any sane person would. He was surprisingly embracing it, trying to hold still. Even mustered enough strength to keep pushing down on his wound to stop the bleeding.
"Guys, help me get him to the couch," Inéz said.
"No, I just need to lie down. I’ll go upstairs to my bedroom."
The girl laughed seeing as the Capo tried to manage to hold his weight and to drag himself up the stairs. His legs denied him as soon as he was on the first step. Rolling her eyes at his immature, macho bravado, she glanced at her friends. "Then help him to the room. I’ll grab the kit and be right there," she said and left in search of all the necessary things. As a mobster, he surely had more than one first aid kit around.
It didn’t take long to locate everything she would need, and after a minute she was in front of Noah’s bedroom door. She hadn’t been there as it was strictly off-limits for any of them. The man liked his privacy, but he made it seem as if he had something to hide. When she stepped in the room she was proven otherwise. Everything looked the same as all the other rooms in the penthouse.
A set of swears sounded from the bathroom and both Drew and Isaac met her. Their clothes were covered in blood and their faces showed annoyance. "He’s even more unbearable when he’s injured," Drew murmured, heading for the door. "He’s all yours but maybe we should call a doctor."
"I’ll do my best to stop the bleeding. Haven’t seen the wound yet. Just send Flavio up here when he arrives. He’s probably more used to handling such things."
"He said no hospital over the phone. If Noah is still conscious and aware, everything is alright. But to keep him alive until he gets here," joked Drew and they heard a scowl slip their Capo’s lips. He must have heard them.
Inéz rolled her eyes.
"Well, happy birthday," Isaac mocked and they left.
Ignoring the wish, the girl went into the bathroom. Her eyes landed on Noah’s crumbled form against the bathtub’s side and cringed. She put the first aid kit down on the floor and kneeled in front of him to take a better look. As he let go of his stomach, she pulled his shirt up and saw a knife wound. It was a stab rather than a slash and went pretty deep. Because of all the blood, Inéz couldn’t even be sure that he didn’t also have internal bleeding. She wasn’t a doctor and only knew the basics of what she had to do. Breathing out, she glanced up at Capo.
"I will clean it, but to be honest it doesn’t look good, Noah. We might have to drive you to the hospital if the bleeding doesn’t stop," she said, grabbing a towel. She pushed it against the wound harder. Pain flashed on his face.
Once blood didn’t entirely obstruct her line of sight, she heartily sprayed disinfectant as whatever weapon had made its way in might have been dirty. And most likely had been. Somehow, Inéz couldn’t imagine mobsters caring about sanitation. Because this attack had certainly been connected to the business. Noah would have been able to fight back without a problem if it had been a mugging.
She laughed uncontrollably just thinking about it. Noah looked at her weirdly, his eyebrow shooting up. "Care to share, cara?"
"Do you? You still haven’t said what happened. Who stabbed you?"
The man regarded her as she was still trying to stop blood from coming out with wipes. She looked entirely focused on the task as she’d never done anything similar. She had no experience with such situations. It was her first time trying to handle something mafia-wise.
"I went to the place that was said to be filled with Bratva fuckers. My Capodecina got the word that they would make a move to get control over Las Vegas soon. I wanted to check it out and see what we were actually dealing with. They spotted me," he explained.
"And it didn’t occur to you to get some backup? They could’ve killed you. You’re the Capo, Noah. If you die, the whole Famiglia is left without a boss and out in the open for the taking. Not just the organization but the city along with it," she reprimanded him. "For someone so intelligent, you sure like doing stupid things."
Noah smirked. It seemed as if the girl cared about him. And she actually did. For some odd reason, she was not only attracted to him appearance-wise but also as much as she didn’t want to admit it, she liked spending time with him. When he wasn’t being his annoying self. There was someone much more interesting underneath those layers of monstrous behavior and unsettling words.
"Don’t worry, cara. Flavio is more than capable of staying in power and keeping everyone safe."
"Your dearest brother is a notorious psycho," she murmured.
"And I’m not?"
Inéz nodded in agreement. "You are, but what you are also is alive, so n
ext time use that little thing called a phone and ask for reinforcement."
The blood wasn’t the problem anymore. Somehow, she’d stopped the bleeding, which hopefully meant that the internal organs were alright. However, the wound was still deep and required stitches to heal properly. The girl took the needle out, sterilizing it. The memory of Lynette’s cuts flashed through her mind. She had carefully watched Noah take care of them and she now intended to do the exact same thing.
"Do you even know what you’re doing?" he asked curiously. His lips pulled into a smirk.
"Believe it or not, I have been present in a certain situation when this guy, a total idiot, by the way, stitched up the cuts on a girl’s legs," she drawled, winking at the man, making him laugh. He took off the shirt completely.
She followed the steps, remembering them vividly like the entire ordeal had been yesterday. And everything was going alright. Noah didn’t whine once, showing that he had really been through it quite a few times. After all, his life was anything but safe. But today’s action was beyond stupid. With so many people working for the Capo, he decided to fight off the Bratva on his own. God only knew how he had managed to simply get stabbed and not killed. The Russians weren’t the most gentle, but rather notorious for their cruelty. Taking into account that he was a boss, he should be dead by now.
"It’s done. Try not to tear them open and take it slowly," she advised, standing up, and showing Noah her work in a small mirror.
"You did too many stitches. A few less would’ve been enough. And it’s not that precise."
Inéz glanced at him. "Was that some sort of critique? If so, feel free to choke on it."
Amusement filled his eyes. He reached out and pulled her closer, standing up from the bath's side at the same time. He took the mirror from her hand and set it aside. A smile creeped out onto his face. "I might have a better idea, cara," he whispered and leaned in.
His lips pressed firmly to hers before she had the chance to react to it. Not that she would have pushed him away. But it took a minute for her brain to start working again and keep up with the man. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pulled him closer. Adrenaline rushed through her veins, igniting her every need like Christmas lights.