Hush (Another Mafia Story)

Chapter 2

"Wow." Damien said, leaning on the door frame as Elena sat at her vanity. She held her hair atop her head with one hand and used the other to adjust a necklace around her neck.

"What do you think?" She asked without turning to look at him. It was a stunning necklace and the diamonds sparkled against her skin. Damien sighed.

"Where in the world did you get those?" He asked. She smiled.

"Roberta loaned them to me." She said, glancing at him and then turning so he could help her with the clasp. Damien carefully slid the necklace off and placed it in the velvet case that sat in front of her.

"Absolutely not, you're going to give them back to her and thank her but tell her you've decided to wear mom's pearls instead." He said sternly.

"No, I'm not. She insisted and I have no reason to say no to her." Elena said, turning to him and letting her hair fall over her shoulders. "You know I don't."

Damien let out a sigh of frustration as he moved out of the room, prompting Elena to follow him.

"I hate this." He said and she rolled her eyes.

"And you think I don't?" She said, her voice low. They'd grown used to speaking softly when they were upset, a habit they'd picked up when they'd first been forced to move to this district. "Having to accept their charity was one thing but now I have to live here and pretend like I don't want to throw up any time I see them."

"And how do you think I feel? You got to go away to school. I work for them." Damien sneered. Elena's face softened. Her brother had been through so much to convince them that he and Elena were no threat. She walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder and their eyes locked. They breathed in deep and then out.

"This is going to work, Damien. We just have to be clever." She said, moving towards the kitchen.

"They trust me, I'm sure of it. Davide keeps me close." he said.

"Good, that's real good. Now, All I have to do is get Roberta to take me under her wing." Elena said, reaching for the fridge door. She looked around the small kitchen and adjoining dining room. In another life, this may have been enough. This house may have made any other person more than happy but not Damien and Elena. They'd known greater comfort. They knew the large mansion they'd grown up in, the elegant parties and beautiful clothes. Sure, Elena had been quite young when they lost it all, but she'd never forgotten the rags they'd been dumped in. The misery, the hunger. They'd watched their mother waste away in that hell hole of a house.

It had taken them years to decide how to do it, years to figure out how they would make this happen, but they'd known almost instantly that they had to keep as close to the Nikoli family as possible.

"Exactly, I'll take care of the business and you... deal with them." He said and Elena nodded. They'd known long ago that there was no way for them to walk out of the family unless they were protected by someone else.

"All we need is the right information." He said to Elena, "And then we go. Just you and me, we go, we get our money and we let them take care of the Nikoli for us."

Elena nodded, determined that this would work. After all, she could already tell that Roberta liked her, how much harder would it be to get her to open up and spill the right details? She'd already loaned her a diamond necklace worth a king's ransom! It was a simple deal, they got the information and another family would bring them down. When it was all settled, Damien and the Conti family would be free to rebuild back in their own district.

"Tomorrow, you need to shine at that party. Charm her, make her invite you to her house for lunch." Damien said and Elena rolled her eyes.

"I know, I know. Okay? I've got it." Elena said. "I promised and I always go through with my promises."