NICOLÀS

chapter 4

NIFEMI'S POV

"Where are we going?", I asked as we walked through the airport. Hope was fast asleep in my arms as I balanced the bag of her clothes necessities on my shoulder.

"Italy", the mean man replied. I didn't know his name and I was tired of calling him mean man. So, I named him Hulk. I named the other two, Man One and Man two.

We approached a black jet that had the letter 'F' engraved on it with gold. "Private jet?", I asked Man One and he nodded. I followed them up the stairs into the jet and they motioned for me to sit.

As we got seated, the pilot announced that we would soon take off.

I gently placed Hope on my lap and caressed her cheeks. "Why am I following you to Italy?", I asked Hulk. "Because you now know about our Mafia and we need some information from you", he replied. "I don't know anything about anything. All I know is that the guy that bumped into had a half shaven hair and he has a tattoo on his neck", I said making him raise a brow.

"What did it say?", he asked. "It was Russian", I said. "Fucking Russians", he cursed and stood up. He pulled out his phone and walked in through the doors.

"Sorry for his behavior". I looked up to see Man Two looking at me. He had fine tan skin with green eyes with black hair. "There's no need for apologies", I said. "I also apologize for the electrocution", Man One said. He had light brown hair than matched his tanned skin and blue eyes. "I'm fine", I waved them off.

"I'm Lucas", Man One introduced himself. "And I'm Marco", Man Two said and I nodded. "I'm Nifemi but you can call me Nife", I said.  They nodded.

"Is he the boss?", I asked referring to Hulk. They shook their head. "He's the underboss, Marcello", Marco replied and I nodded. Now, I know Hulk's name.

I was about to talk when Hope woke up. She kept mute as her doe eyes sleepily took in her surroundings. "Is she really your daughter? She looks like your sister instead", Lucas asked. "I got pregnant", I said as I gave Hope my index finger which she started to play with happily.

"She's cute", Marco commented making me laugh.

****
My muscles ached as we got down from the jet. The harsh cold breeze hit my skin causing me to shiver. Hope shifted in my arms and I wrapped my jacket around her so she wouldn't feel the cold.

The airport was lit up and I could see how dark the sky was. Marcello was still on a phone call mumbling things in Italian.

I followed Marco and Lucas out of the airport. "Take her to the mansion and show her to her room. I have business to do", Marcello told them as we approached a slick black SUV. They nodded and we got in while Marcello got in another car.

Lucas turned to me, "I advise you to sleep. The ride will be long". I shook my head, "I'm fine". No matter how tired I was, I wasn't going to let my guard down and sleep. They may kill me or Hope if I do. I'm not taking any risk.

Just as he said, the ride was long. I felt my butt getting stiff. It was almost unbearable. Hope stirred in my arms but she didn't wake up. "Do you live in the forest?", I asked annoyed as the car drove along the dirt path away from the large city.

"Something like that", Lucas chuckled. Marco turned to him. "Spero che Nico la tenga. lei mi piace", he said and Lucas laughed. (I hope Nico keeps her. I like her). I narrowed my eyes at them. "Speak English", I spat and they grinned. I hated it when I didn't understand other languages. I didn't even understand my mother's native language.

The car drove in through high cast iron gates and parked in front of an insanely large mansion. I gawked at the beauty and size. We got out of the car abd I took in my surroundings.

There was a large water fountain in the driveway. The water was already frozen but it's crystal beauty was entrancing. Snow was scattered like a blanket on the tarred driveway and on the mansion. She could still make out the trees and flower hedges that beautified the exterior of the mansion.

I quietly followed the two men into the mansion. If I thought the exterior was beautiful, I don't know how to describe the interior. Everywhere screamed money and power. I began to feel cautious of my worn out sneakers staining the lush red carpet and pristine white tiles. I felt dirty and ragged.

The owner of this mansion was insanely rich. Who am I kidding, we're talking about the Mafia Boss. "Follow us", Lucas said. "Ariana!", Marco yelled so loudly causing me to glare at him while Hope stirred in my arms. "Watch it!", I hissed causing his eyes to widened ad he realized his mistake.

As we approached the large set of stairs, a young lady came down. She was wearing a maid's dress. It was a black uniform that stopped above her knee with a white apron sewn from the waist down to the hem. The outfit was paired with a pair of white knee length socks and a pair of flat shoes.

She had bright honey brown eyes that matches her dark brown hair. She was obviously taller than me and her envied her tanned skin. "You're back. Where's Marcel?", she asked. Her accent was slightly American but you could notice that she wasn't American.

Her eyes landed on me and they widened. I think she's twenty two or three. "Dios mío", she said and I confirmed that she's Spanish. (Oh my God). "We'll explain later. We're taking her to her room", Lucas said and she nodded before scurrying off.

I followed the men down the hallway until we reached a door. Marco opened it and ushered me in. The room was large with a queen sized bed in the middle, a nightstand by its side with a lamp on it. The windows on both sides were big with windowsills. This room looked a lot like my childhood room but it was three times bigger.

"This is yours", Marco said as he went to drop my bag on the bed. I nodded and walked towards the bed. "When dinner is ready, we'll come to get you", Lucas said to me. I nodded and they left.