Somehow she managed to elude his guards and traipse about without security and tonight he sought to bring this reckless behavior to an end.
His cell rung and he answered. “Sí.”
“Lei è qui capo.” The bodyguard informed him via phone.
“Buona.”
He waited. The rise and fall of his massive chest were the only movement in the stillness. The games of seduction were a separate matter than those of the family business. The daughter of the polizei did not understand her actions had become a matter of concern for the entire clan. If allowed to roam freely she may become abducted or worse. Enemies walked among friends and he trusted no one outside his family. The ambitions of Timpico were making men speak boldly of dissent. Just today, he sent a Tenente to remind Timpico to soften his rhetoric or his political career would end. This message was covertly delivered in a simple visit and a campaign donation of black roses which symbolized death.
Giuseppe leaned forward with a scowl usually reserved for his soldati or those who brought him displeasure and not women he’d shown affection. Gee lifted on his hind legs about to scurry to the door until Giuseppe snapped his fingers and said, “Sedersi!”
Gee sat immediately.
The front door clicked open, bringing moonlight with a shapely silhouette. She did not see him there in the black room, observing her movements as a panther would its prey. Her inability to discern danger showed her ignorance of what was truly at stake –her life and their son’s.
He flicked on the lamp and she jumped. “Oh my fucking God, you scared the shit out of me!”
Giuseppe rose slowly from the seat eyeing her from head to toe. She was dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry. Her lips were puckered as if she’d been hungrily kissed. It is not a man’s position to speak of a woman’s doings when she is unmarried; however, his interest afforded him the right to speak on Carlo’s and the family’s behalf. “Where were you?”
“Out,” she answered curtly.
“You traveled without protection.”
“Giuseppe, I’m not an inmate. I don’t need security everywhere I go.”
He stepped closer to discreetly sniff her scent. She did not smell of sex, but odors can be washed away with soap and water. “Who were you with; you are unfamiliar with my country?”
“I wasn’t with anyone.”
Another step closed the small gap between them. “Then what does one do until three in the morning?”
“Many things.” The truth is she’d gotten herself lost, her phone died and she was too stubborn to call home.
Giuseppe’s nose twitched like an irritable dog. He gripped her arm and she winced. The anger tinged with jealousy broke free. Two nights he arrived to his home, avoiding the club, forgoing the comfort of women to show his commitment to fatherhood and each time she concocted an excuse to slip out the door after dinner. When he was informed she shook the guards near the Politeama Girabaldi, he became livid and took a sleeping Carlo to his mama as his men searched the Piazza Verdi and the Piazza Castelnuovo, bistros and nightclubs. Shanda literally vanished into thin air. He would not tell her the dark fears during those hours, nor would he allow the mother of his son to believe freedom existed without consequences. “You are reckless and it must stop ora!”
“Let go of my arm,” Shanda hissed. He dropped her arm and glowered like a predatory animal. She crossed her arms over her breasts. “Don’t put your hands on me again Giuseppe. I’m not feeling that shit and I will cut you.”
His laugh was more of a dare. “With what, a scissor tongue?”
“I’m going to bed. Play that daddy bull-shit with someone else.”
Giuseppe heard what she did not say. A corner of his lip rose and he snarled. “I am not your babbo!”
“Exactly.”
She tried to slip past his body, but he closed the route of escape by pressing his arms to the wall to fence her inside a human pen.
His cell rung and he answered. “Sí.”
“Lei è qui capo.” The bodyguard informed him via phone.
“Buona.”
He waited. The rise and fall of his massive chest were the only movement in the stillness. The games of seduction were a separate matter than those of the family business. The daughter of the polizei did not understand her actions had become a matter of concern for the entire clan. If allowed to roam freely she may become abducted or worse. Enemies walked among friends and he trusted no one outside his family. The ambitions of Timpico were making men speak boldly of dissent. Just today, he sent a Tenente to remind Timpico to soften his rhetoric or his political career would end. This message was covertly delivered in a simple visit and a campaign donation of black roses which symbolized death.
Giuseppe leaned forward with a scowl usually reserved for his soldati or those who brought him displeasure and not women he’d shown affection. Gee lifted on his hind legs about to scurry to the door until Giuseppe snapped his fingers and said, “Sedersi!”
Gee sat immediately.
The front door clicked open, bringing moonlight with a shapely silhouette. She did not see him there in the black room, observing her movements as a panther would its prey. Her inability to discern danger showed her ignorance of what was truly at stake –her life and their son’s.
He flicked on the lamp and she jumped. “Oh my fucking God, you scared the shit out of me!”
Giuseppe rose slowly from the seat eyeing her from head to toe. She was dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry. Her lips were puckered as if she’d been hungrily kissed. It is not a man’s position to speak of a woman’s doings when she is unmarried; however, his interest afforded him the right to speak on Carlo’s and the family’s behalf. “Where were you?”
“Out,” she answered curtly.
“You traveled without protection.”
“Giuseppe, I’m not an inmate. I don’t need security everywhere I go.”
He stepped closer to discreetly sniff her scent. She did not smell of sex, but odors can be washed away with soap and water. “Who were you with; you are unfamiliar with my country?”
“I wasn’t with anyone.”
Another step closed the small gap between them. “Then what does one do until three in the morning?”
“Many things.” The truth is she’d gotten herself lost, her phone died and she was too stubborn to call home.
Giuseppe’s nose twitched like an irritable dog. He gripped her arm and she winced. The anger tinged with jealousy broke free. Two nights he arrived to his home, avoiding the club, forgoing the comfort of women to show his commitment to fatherhood and each time she concocted an excuse to slip out the door after dinner. When he was informed she shook the guards near the Politeama Girabaldi, he became livid and took a sleeping Carlo to his mama as his men searched the Piazza Verdi and the Piazza Castelnuovo, bistros and nightclubs. Shanda literally vanished into thin air. He would not tell her the dark fears during those hours, nor would he allow the mother of his son to believe freedom existed without consequences. “You are reckless and it must stop ora!”
“Let go of my arm,” Shanda hissed. He dropped her arm and glowered like a predatory animal. She crossed her arms over her breasts. “Don’t put your hands on me again Giuseppe. I’m not feeling that shit and I will cut you.”
His laugh was more of a dare. “With what, a scissor tongue?”
“I’m going to bed. Play that daddy bull-shit with someone else.”
Giuseppe heard what she did not say. A corner of his lip rose and he snarled. “I am not your babbo!”
“Exactly.”
She tried to slip past his body, but he closed the route of escape by pressing his arms to the wall to fence her inside a human pen.
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