Allure

Chapter Twenty-Three

Matteo

I sigh as I blow on my coffee, gazing out at the sunrise. Today is our last day in Italy, and it's bittersweet. Though the last two weeks have been indescribably great, I can't help but feel a pang in my chest as I realize the time I had allotted myself has run out. Tomorrow, when we return to the States, I'll finally tell Heather who I am. Who I really am. What my family is, what I've done at their bidding. It's been eight years since I broke ties with La mia famiglia. I paid my dues, washed my hands of the blood, and went off on my own. The ghosts of my past still try to haunt me, but I'm a different man than I once was.

I'm no longer the naive boy who allowed my so called family to force my hand time after time in the name of loyalty and justice. The only men I could trust were my Father, my Uncle, and my Brother. I scoff, my blood boiling as I remember how quickly they turned on us, my vision going red as I remember the sight of my uncle and father sprawled out on the blood soaked pavement. We were told that after we took down the Romanos, the Graziano family could peacefully walk away from the life of crime we had been roped into for decades. Instead, my father and uncle were murdered in cold blood, and my brother and I were supposed to be taken down with them, if we hadn't been 5 minutes late to the so-called emergency. A set up was what it truly was.

I'm jolted out of my thoughts as my phone begins to ring. I glance down to see my PI's name on the display, my brow furrowing as I recall my explicit orders to not disturb me with anything short of life-threatening news. As I press accept, Heather walks into the room, smiling shyly at me as she grabs a basket and some canvas bags from the closet. "Jeffries, hold just a second." I say into the phone before muting the call. "You look mozzafiato," I breathe into her ear as I sweep her up into my arms. "Breath taking, my love." She giggles as I pepper kisses all over her face, squirming out of my grasp. "I'm going to head down to the market to grab some things for our picnic," she says breathlessly, still fighting through giggles as she speaks. "Sounds good," I smile, "I just have a call to take and then I'll come find you, does that work?" She nods, stepping up onto her top toes to give me a quick kiss before she leaves the room.

I press unmute and hold the phone to my ear. "Better be good, man, you're holding me up from a very important picnic," I say, a smirk creeping onto my face. "Yea, uh... you're gonna want to cut the jokes, pal. I have some serious shit to tell you." My face drops at the tone of my usually easy going friend. "Fuck. What is it?" I ask, my mind racing to come up with all the horrific possibilities. "Earlier this week an extremely reputable source informed me that Enzo Graziano is alive." My heart stops. "That's impossible." I breathe. "I saw him die. I watched him collapse onto the asphalt. Those mother fuckers betrayed us, and they Killed him." I stumble backwards to collapse into a chair, unable to breathe. My uncle is alive. The man I've grieved every single day for years. "I know, Matteo. I know. But I assure you, he is."

"How can you be so sure? Just how reputable is your source?" I demand. "You're not just calling me because some random asshole thinks he might be alive right? You're smarter than that." He lets out a harsh laugh. "No, you're right. I'm smart enough to know not to waste your time with something of that nature. I'm calling you because... well..." He trails off, his voice shaking slightly. "Because I've seen him." My jaw drops. "You've seen him? But... but you're here, you're in Italy. You-you're saying not only is he alive, but he's here?" He exhales a deep sigh. "Yes. Yesterday." I blink rapidly, in full shock. "Well? Where is he? Can I... can I see him?" Silence meets my ears. "Hello?"

"Matteo... that's not all. I received some... information that suggests your uncle is not who you were under the impression he was." He says carefully. "What do you mean?" "I will explain everything in great detail once we're both back in the states, but I'll tell you the most important thing I know without a doubt is true. Enzo was responsible for your father's death. And he was plotting to kill you and your brother that night." I swear my blood runs cold. My ears are ringing, and I can faintly hear someone saying my name. "Matteo. Shit... Matteo!" I jolt, realizing my phone is still pressed to my ear. "I don't... I..." I choke out, my throat feeling as if it's closing in on itself.

"I know man. I know. I hate to cut your vacation short, but I really think you should head back ASAP. Like, now, if you can. I got back home a couple hours ago, as soon as I saw him last night I immediately booked my ass home so I could have all my equipment and my guys working on it to dig up all this shit. I would have called you sooner but I needed to be 100% sure this was all true before I dropped it on you like this. I don't know how he managed to lie low for this long, but I do know he is 100% a threat, and he's been watching you, man." My eyes widen at his words. "Fuck. Heather."

"What? Is she okay?" He questions. "Yea, yea she's fine. I have a guard assigned to her, I have since we met, to be honest. But still, I don't like this. I'm gonna go find her and we're getting the fuck out of here. Can you do me a favor, make the calls to get the Jet ready?" "Yea, man. Of course. Keep me posted." I quickly bid goodbye to my friend and end the call, rushing out the door and onto the busy sidewalk.

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Hey bitches. Been a minute ;)