The New Boss (MXM)

Chapter 25

Warning: Violence and gore ahead read with discretion!

Strangely, time passed on. The days seemed to drag on, yet at the same time, they blurred together.

As expected, it started raining the next morning.

Jace and Giovanni remained in the cave taking shelter, and eating their meager meal while the fire crackled merrily in the corner. The sound of the rain beating against the ground and splashing against puddles and the ocean filled the air. It would almost be cozy if Jace weren't so acutely aware of Giovanni's body beside his.

The shelter was small, barely big enough for them to sit comfortably. The dining area with the improvised fireplace took up a good part of it, leaving very little space for them to sleep. They had searched the forest more before the rain but this cave was their best bet even when it was barely big enough for two grown men. As a result, they had to put their bedding side by side with next to no space between them.

After extinguishing the fire, Jace lay down on his side at the very edge of his blanket, as far from Giovanni as possible, which wasn't very far. Above them, the rain was hammering down onto the roof, making the space feel more intimate and closed in, as though they were being held together in a warm, careful hand.

"Goddammit. I hope it won't rain for days again," Jace thought to himself.

He could feel Giovanni behind him. Jace had always thought it was ridiculous when people said they could sense someone's presence without looking, but now he knew it wasn't an exaggeration. He could sense it with his own skin.

Giovanni always seemed to run hot, his large body like a furnace. It was annoying. It was uncomfortable. The heat was unbearable as it was. Jace would never get used to the forest's microclimate: it was too hot despite raining half of the time, the moisture preserving the heat and making it hard to breathe sometimes.

"Are you asleep?" Giovanni asked.

Jace remained silent stubbornly not wanting to give in.

"Jace?"

Hearing Giovanni says his name did crazy things to his mind. Why crazy? Because it made no sense and he wouldn't be able to explain it even if he wanted to.

"What do you want?" Jace replied finally giving in.

"You're giving me too much credit." Giovanni finally said. The bastard knew he had Jace's attention now.

"I don't follow."

"I arranged for you to come with me only because I wanted Diego's cooperation while making the deal. I knew that once I would come back and visit my family with you there was a possibility of an attack I had discussed it with Ian already."

"Wait, Ian, as in Ian Wang? Doesn't he work for Fred?"

"No, he's actually the head of my security working undercover with Frederick's company for a few months."

Jace was flabbergasted.

"But why?"

Giovanni let out a long-suffering sigh, "For business."

"I think I'll need you to elaborate," Jace said through gritted teeth. he wasn't interested in playing a fill-in-the-blanks game with Giovanni.

"For our safety, before Frederick even confronted you I had my doubts about the invite. I knew Diego's company was trying to become legal and if my family would've refused to cooperate with their negotiations which I'm sure they would've, they wouldn't have hesitated a second to use us as leverage to get the deal done."