For the Empire - Inganno

Chapter 46

Twenty minutes later, I pull into the parking lot of a strip mall and park my car. As I walk into a phone service store, a friendly sales rep greets me.

She asks how she can help me, and I pull my broken phone out, and her eyes widen a little while I laugh lightly, explaining I had dropped it rather than having to explain; it was thrown across my room by someone with anger issues.

I upgraded my phone a little while later, and they transferred my things over to my new phone, including my contacts. I had to change my number, which I was okay with, considering I didn't want to be reached by anyone at the moment.

Scrolling through my contacts, I hit the contact for "Friend."

"Pronto? Who is this? How did you get this number?" His voice sounds cold and threatening.

"It's me, Stella. My old phone broke, so I had to get a new one, and now you have my new number."

"Where are you?"

"Um, I don't know exactly, but I'm at the strip mall near an Applebees and Officemax; it took me about twenty minutes to get here from my Uncle's house."

I look around, trying to see if I can see any street signs from where I am, but I can't find any.

I explain I used the navigation system in the car to find the phone service store, and I'm not familiar with part of town. 

"Tell me what else is around you, Stella." I hear him sigh frustratingly into the phone, followed by some rustling, and then the engine of a motorcycle roars to life.

Then I get an idea. "Do you know the cafe, Dolce Vita?"

"Yeah, I know it."

"Can you meet me there, please?" I ask him.

"I'll be there as soon as I can; if you run into trouble, head back to Timo's, and you better call me." He hangs up.

I shake my head at the fact that he's ordering me just like my Uncle and even JP. But I hurry and get in my car and type the quaint cafe's name in the navigation system.

I walk in, and familiar aromas instantly welcome me. I ask for a small table near the back. I text Annalisa while I wait, letting her know I have a new phone and number. She responds with a surprised emoji face and then a thinking face emoji, making me laugh.

I ask if I can stop by her house later, taking a moment to look out the window and watch as cars drive past. My phone chimes to Annalisa's response coming in, and I read her message when I see out of the corner of my eye someone walk by and sit across from me; it's him.

I look up at him and take in his appearance.

He's wearing a hat and dark aviator shades. He's clean-shaven and dressed in black jeans and a black leather jacket. 

"Thanks for coming." I give him a small smile.

He smiles in return, "I told you, I'll always come." He looks out the window. "So, where's your usual entourage?"

I look down at my hands. "Um, they're not here. I left and didn't give them a chance to follow." His head snaps back in my direction, and his eyebrows come together behind the glasses.

"It's not safe for you to be alone, Stella."

"I'm not alone; you're here." I smile brightly. A waitress comes by and asks us what we would like to order, and I order tea, and he orders a cup of coffee.

"What happened, then? Why would you leave without your security detail?" He sets his glass of water down, after taking a drink, and leans towards me. I sigh and look at my hands.