"Careful, I scratch and bite." Her face inches from his, patiently waiting for him to give in.
But, he doesn't give in, not yet. He takes one step closer and bends down to whisper in her ear, "you'll beg and crawl too.... I promise."
______________...
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Jisoo returns to Italy in part because everything in Korea is sorted out nicely, and in part because she's been away long enough now that it makes going deep undercover much, much easier. She accepts the first reasonable offer three days before her flight back to Italy.
It's Rome this time, not Milan.
The Bianchi family is gaining notoriety, a little more power. The Lorenzo's aren't happy about it at all. Nothing major has happened as of yet.
No word or rumblings from the Moretti's.
The Milan office has been given anonymous information about the Lorenzo's activities in Rome. Namely drug dealing, money laundering, and all the things that come with those crimes. Violence, of course, but loan sharking and sports betting, as well. There's a grainy video of Mark Lorenzo pressing his hands around a man's throat outside a bar. Another allegation from an anonymous source that Mark's calling card is to leave the teeth of his previous victim in the house of his next kill. It's...incredibly gross and psychopathic.
She's got experience with people like him recently. She's just dealt with a few of them in Korea. Jung Haein and his Hera snakes.
She's nervous as she meets Mark Lorenzo. Because even though they've followed all the correct protocol and the name on her identification is now Sooya Lee, she's never done any work like this before and there's a ton of risk involved.
If they find out who she is, they'll kill her without question. She knows this about them. They've done it before.
Still she braids her hair prettily, wears a white crop top with high waisted jeans and a cross pendant on a gold chain around her neck, and she takes the opportunity to bump into him on the street near his place when she's holding a coffee.
She apologizes, and he turns on the charm immediately. She tries not to be repulsed. This was the plan. He's an easy target - distracted by pretty women and always up for a challenge.
Look, she's not going to sleep with him. She refuses. She's studied Catholicism for the sole purpose of relying on that as a reason not to. But she thinks she can get him to date her. And she figures she'll have to kiss him. That seems a safe enough bet.
Their first date, he takes her to a restaurant it's clear he's a big shot at. The food is mediocre compared to what she had in Milan. This feels like a tourist trap. But she smiles and flirts and sips her wine and tries not to be mortified at the giggle she lets out when she's overacting.
It only takes four dates for him to slip up and say something about being in the mafia. What a moron. She was right to pick him. To fight for him to be the target. Because even though he's lower ranking than his older brothers and one of his cousin, he's dumb enough to let things slip. The others likely wouldn't, plus she's already familiar with his older brother Jay so choosing a target away from him in Rome seems like a better option. Also they don't seem that close to share their dating life with each other, she's safe from that side too.
