Deadly Love

Chapter 5

"Why did you call me here?" I asked as I walked towards him.

He was standing with his back to me, looking out to the horizon. I got a call from him yesterday at eight at night and he demanded for me to meet him at the Tampa Harbour, a marina located to the open waters of the Old Tampa Bay. I was surprised he called and didn't use the old-fashioned way to summon me as he had done before, by a greeting card. The wind was strong with a cluster of clouds on the sky. The place was almost empty right now with a few yachts and a handful of people minding their own business. A large storage barn of orange, blue and yellow color was behind me, the smell of saltwater fresh in the air, along with a hint of diesel.

I had to go to great lengths explaining to Evelyn why I would be late to work without mentioning Emanuele's name. But of course she was having none of my excuses and demanded for me to tell her the truth. I finally shut her up by telling her that my delay had something to do with the article I was working on. That was enough to brighten her mood and earn me her consent to take as long as I wanted.

I had the urge to, yet again, roll my eyes.

I stopped next to him but he still didn't turn to face me.

"The weather is good!" he stated after a while.

"You didn't call me to talk about the weather, right?"

He turned to me and scowled.

I rolled my eyes and glanced at the waters. "Yeah it is. A thunderstorm is predicted."

We were quiet for a while. He observed the surroundings while I observed him. He was in one of his suits again, his back straight and rigid, his hands in his pockets.

"What are you staring at?" he smirked when he caught me. I looked away instantly.

"How did you get my number?"

"You should really stop doubting my information and methods of acquiring it Amore." He faced me. He looked handsome, his eyes taunting and amusing but at the same time, intense and passionate. The wind that was touching his dark locks, I was jealous of it.

I crossed my arms at my chest, looking at him expectantly. It was time to stop the trivial conversation.

He chuckled at me. "This place." He gestured around with his hands. "This is one of our bases Jade!"

"What do you mean?"

"Trafficking." He stated and I frowned. "Drugs, weapons, arms, this is where some of our dealings happen, within Hillsborough and the surrounding counties of course." He continued.

I gasped and looked around in shock. "But this is such a public area."

He smirked. "That is the fun and thrill of doing it here, so openly. We take and give what we want from right under their noses and they were never able to catch us or even suspect us, considering the fact that most our thing happens at night." There was such a shine and excitement in his eyes as he told me all this. It made me scared for a second. It was like a cold bucket of water had been emptied over my head. Spending time with him, basking in his presence and the way he was with me, like totally out of character, sometimes makes me forget who he really is and the purpose of me getting close to him. He is a mafia underboss, powerful, dangerous, murderers, and killers were a few words that only began to describe his crime family.

"How does that happen?" I gulped, looking around to find anyone even remotely suspicious. They must have some of their men working here who carry out and look after their "trade" or whatever they call it.

He smiled mockingly. "Fun is not in the details Jade. They are irrelevant."

I resisted my body's urge to shiver. "What do you mean this is one of the bases? There are others?"