The Balotelli-Bale Series Book #3: The Italian Belle

Chapter 56: The Ghosts In The Dark

Nathan's POV
"Thank you for meeting me." I shook hands with the young man. "Walk with me."

I kept walking and he stayed close. I haven't had a wink of sleep after I lost my passport. I don't know who took it and why.

"How can I help you Signor? If Don Giovanni realizes I am here with you he will lose his mind. He's fond of losing his mind." The young boy chuckled. "He doesn't like you."

"I know. He demonstrated it. I'll get to the point son. I ran into a problem a few days ago. I lost my passport."

"I'm sorry about that but if it's a replacement you need, I can take you to the government offices."

"I don't want a replacement. I want the one they took." I stopped looking around me. I'm getting more and more paranoid by the day.

He held his hands at his waist his frown thicker than my own. "They? Who do you mean signor?"

"I was robbed Julio. I was walking home when these two men cornered me. They had knives. They took my bag searched through and all they wanted was my passport. They left an envelop full of cash."

"That's strange. It's not a robbery then." He rubbed his chin. "I would call them petty thieves but I don't think a thief would leave money and take a passport. Someone sent them specifically for that. Someone who wants to know who you are."

"Who would that be?" My initial thought was Giovanni wants to trap me here in Italy but he already knows who I am and he knows I can get another passport. Julio's eyes appeared shifty. He wants to tell me something but I sense conflict. "Whatever it is you can tell me son."

"I'll look into it Signor. I would advise you to stop walking the streets at night. Keep your head down, don't talk to strangers. Be careful."

"What am I dealing with? At least tell me that."

"I'm not supposed to say." He got really close. "But you're in the Mafia's back yard. You are a stranger and worse still a foreigner. It could be anyone but I have a strong feeling it's the Mafia. Stay safe."

As soon as he left, I felt deeply troubled. The mafia? What the hell? Is it Giovanni? It better be him because he won't kill me. He wants to hurt me but my death is not his goal. If it's not him, I'm as good as dead.

Fabian's POV
I am anxious.

For years I have plotted payback. I'm not one to be scorned and allow it to slide. Marianna Balotelli slipped right through my fingers after she was promised to me. She's supposed to be mine. She's supposed to be my wife. She's supposed to have my children. The Winery was supposed to be mine. Giovanni should be dead just like his wife. A lot of things should have happened but they did not thanks to Marianna.

Recently I was at the edge of my property where a river cuts through. That river separates my land from the Balotelli Vineyard. As long as we both stay out of each other's lands, there is no need for war. But recently, Marianna's son wandered into my property. He was alone.

Years ago I tracked her down to New York. I was surprised to see her with a child. I immediately realized it wasn't my child. Someone else tasted her sweetness. I was angry and I wanted the child taken by my men. I wanted to make the bastard disappear so that I can step in and be the hero. I wanted to cast a new light on myself, a brighter one than the dim one she sees me in. I would have been a good husband and a good father if only she would have given me a chance. But she chose to spread her legs for someone else, a foreigner not from our fold. Now that blond is the result of that union. She is tainting the Balotelli bloodline.

I want to know who his father is. I want to know the man who took Maria from me. It's not the one I nearly beat to death. It's not St Patrick. I have an idea but he's a stranger. I'm weary of strangers in my territory. Tuscany is mine. Strangers aren't welcome.