The Mafia's Maid

Chapter 48

Leah POV

I wasn't really sure what happened after that, but the last thing I remembered was Vlado picking me up and placing me in a bed.

When I woke up, I recognised that I  wasn't in my room. It was vaguely familiar, because I had been in there once before, and I had a hunch whose room it was because of the man laying beside me.

I pulled myself up against the headboard gently, careful not to wake Vlado up. It wasn't very effective though, because the bed shook slightly and his eyes opened groggily.

He stared up at me, stretching his arms above his head with a yawn, offering me a view of his naked, tattooed chest. "Buongiorno. Are you feeling any better?"

I offered him a smile. "A bit. Thanks."

He sat up next to me, lifting the blanket up with him.

"Sorry if I made you uncomfortable by bringing you to my room. Mary was asleep and I didn't want to wake her."

"It's ok." He smiled slightly, observing me carefully.

"About yesterday," he began, looking down at his hands, "I completely understand if you still want to leave. I'm aware you didn't sign up for all of this."

He was cautious with his words, as if he were scared I would get upset again. He nibbled at his fingernails, biting them to a stub as he tried to avoid my eyes.

"I might stay a little longer." It was my turn to look away. "I'd hate to leave Mary behind."

I saw Vlado smile from the corner of my eye. "Yeah, I don't think she would like that very much."

"But I'd appreciate some space. I'm not completely comfortable with all of this."

"Of course," he nodded immediately. "I'm going to assign someone to look after you though. Do you have any preference?"

I thought for a moment. "Theo."

Vlado smiled, a kind of smile that made me smile back. "Alright. I'll get Theo." He leaned in slowly and I froze. His lips touched my forehead gently, and then he pulled away. "I'll see you tonight, Leah."

"Yeah, bye." I mumbled in a daze when Vlado left, closing the door behind him. I felt heat rise to my cheeks, and I dove back under the covers of his bed, breathing in his vague scent.

I shouldn't be feeling this way. He's a murderer. He's hurt so many people. Who knew what kind of bad things he had done?

But he made me feel so safe, so comfortable. He made sure he didn't cross any of my boundaries again, which was more than I could ask for. Or were my standards just that low?

A knock. "Leah? Vlado sent me." I sighed, reluctantly rolling out of bed as Theo walked in. "What do you want to do today? We could watch some movies, there's this new one I've been wanting to see."

I stared at Theo silently, and the smile on his face faded slowly. "What's wrong?"

"Were you going to tell me?"

"You seemed happy to see me earlier."

"I've had more time to think, and it just hurts that you didn't tell me."

"I understand."

"No," I shook my head. "No, you don't understand. I told you about Lucas. You had the chance to tell me, but you didn't. Other than Mary, you were my closest friend here."

"That's not fair."

"How? How is that not fair?"

Theo gave me a sympathetic look. "You know I couldn't tell you."

I stared at him, and my shoulders deflated. "I know." He wraps his arms around me, hugging me gently. "It just hurts."

"I know, I know." He speaks softly. "I'm sorry."

He pulls away, grinning widely. "Now, let's go watch that movie."

* * * * * * * *

Mary and I were mopping the hallway, talking to each other when we saw Romero.

"Hey, guys," Romero came over, looking at me. "Are you alright with helping Amelia with dinner? Vlado wanted to have dinner a bit earlier tonight."

"Sure," I nodded, giving them a wave goodbye before heading over to the kitchen. Just as I was about to open the door, I heard a hushed voice.

"Hey, man, what the fuck? How is she here?" Amelia whispered angrily. "What do you mean she knocked you out, she's built like a toothpick."

A pause. "No, I can't do anything! There's always someone with her now, she's untouchable!"

Taking a few silent steps back, I walked back towards the kitchen door, making sure to walk loudly. "I've gotta go."

I opened the door, smiling at the redhead. "Hey, Amelia. Romero told me to help you out."

"She grinned. "Sure, come help me cut up the veggies."

My stomach twisted and my thoughts ran at super speed as I stood beside Amelia, who cut vegetables without a second thought.

Amelia was tense, cutting the food slowly and harshly. I needed to act quick.

Quickly, I grabbed a handful of her hair, and slammed her head against the table. She clawed at me, and my skin burned as her nails latched onto me.

"Get the fuck off of me!" She screamed, but I kept her away from me. I pulled her away from the table, sending her flying to the ground with a punch to her jaw.

I didn't waste a second, climbing on top of her and sent punch after punch at her face. I only got a few punches in before she started to block them and send them right back.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Thundering footsteps and then hands pulling us away from each other. "What the fuck is going on?"

I was panting heavily, but couldn't resist a smile when I saw Amelia's bruised and bloody face. I was sure she looked worse than I did.

"I was just making dinner, and then Leah came in and started attacking me!" Amelia sobbed, hiding herself behind Romero.

"That's not true," I said simply, looking up at Vlado, who held me into his chest. Mary and Clarke stood by the door, Theo standing in front of them, looking between Amelia and me carefully.

"What happened, Leah?"

I peered at Amelia, and an idea formed in my head. Standing on my toes and pushing on his shoulder, I whispered what I heard into Vlado's ear.

I got to watch Vlado's face morph into one of confusion to shock and then to finally, anger. Not someone-pushed-in-front-of-you-in-line angry. Not someone-ate-the-last-biscuit-angry. Vlado looked murderous.

I moved away slowly, and I smiled at seeing Amelia's face fall.

Karma's a bitch.