The Storm Before the Calm

Chapter 14

Dominico Vicious Vitale
I stayed up nearly all night, my mind racing as I tried to piece together a version story that made the most sense. But so far, I've got nothing. Nothing that tells me why the fuck I was never told that Aurora Salvatore is married to Nico Russo. The man I've been hunting for years, who her own father has been helping me hunt down, for killing my baby sister.

Also, nothing makes sense about the enigma that is Aurora Salvatore, or Russo, or whatever her fucking name is.

Back then, she seemed to lively, so kind, so...soft. It was the glint in her eyes, and her dazzling smile, even her skin seemed glowing in the old photographs. Her eyes seemed a lighter blue, almost. And her smile was so big, God dared to gift her dimples. As if she wasn't already perfect enough.

But seeing her now - she could pass for an evil twin of the Aurora in these photographs. She was so quiet, so sharp, so calculating. Like she trusted no one, and would rather cut throats first and ask questions never.

So, what the fuck happened in the last few years?

What happened to her?

I needed to talk to Frankie. He had told me she'd been through a lot, and I needed to know what it was, because nothing that hinted at trauma popped up in her information searches I did last night.

As I laid back in my office chair, my dress shirt wrinkled from a night of no sleep, bags under my eyes, and my hair that pointed a million different ways from running my hands through it, my phone began ringing, bringing my attention to the screen.

Zio Giovanni.

"Zio." I answered the phone, trying to mask my rage and feeling of betrayal.

"Vicious. I hope I didn't wake you, but I need you guys all over here in the next hour. It's about last night." He said, and my eyes glanced over to the clock on my computer. 7:39. Fuck me.

"I'll be there." I said, and hung up. It wasn't unusual for me to my short with everyone, but I couldn't listen to his voice much longer without wanting to tie him to a chair and torture him for information about his fucking son in law.

I groaned, getting up, and deciding I needed a good shower and new suit before I started my sleepless day.

After a shower and a shave, I was putting my belt on when my phone rang again, and an Italian curse left my mouth with an eye roll. Why can't people just leave me the fuck alone?

It was Zack. My head of security.

He was the only one allowed to call right now.

"Zack." I answered as I always did.

"Boss. She left her house 2 hours ago. I would've called sooner, but she's just been at a boxing gym with her brother. I didn't think it was very pertinent." He rambled, and I pinched the bridge of my nose in frustration, although I was a bit curious. Why was she at a boxing gym with Tony? And not at a Pilates class with her loud, spoiled sister?

"So why are you calling now?" I asked, putting the phone on speaker as I grabbed a clean white button up to put on before finishing my belt.

"Because, when she left the gym, she went over to Frankie's club. She was inside for not a half an hour before she came back out. While she was in there, I was able to put a tracker on her car that hooks up to her Bluetooth system, so I can hear inside her car. She's on her way to meet up with Pablo Silva at the abandoned docks outside the city."

There they are again. Pablo Silva and Aurora fucking Salvatore.

Why did they know each other? And why the fuck were they meeting up?