14 Days With The Mafia Lord

~ Collecting On The Debt ~

GIOVANNI

Elaine's house was even more pathetic than the description I'd received.

The paint on the outside was peeling, one part of the roof was tilting at an unnatural angle, and a good layer of dust covered the entire thing. And that was just the outside. I could only imagine what the inside looked like.

I wouldn't let my dog sleep here, let alone a grown woman with a young child.

I kept my disgust to myself as I took a drag from the cigarette in my hand, surveying the house through the tinted lenses of my sunglasses.

It'd been two weeks and a day since I'd given Elaine the ultimatum. She'd failed to produce my money, and now I was here to collect what was due to me, one way or another.

There was no avoiding me now. I knew she was at home. I also learned from my informants that she was barely scraping by, even though she'd taken up the weirdest and oddest jobs she could find in the past two weeks.

Different thoughts and questions swirled in my head as I continued smoking, watching as the sun descended into the horizon.

"Boss?" Stone's baritone voice from beside me managed to cut through the haze of my thoughts. "Are you ready to go in? We seem to be attracting attention, not necessarily the good kind."

I took in a puff of smoke and looked around. Sure enough, I found the wide-eyed gaze of some neighbors and passersby trained squarely at me and my entourage.

I couldn't blame them. We must've painted a shocking picture for such a quiet, desolate neighborhood. It wasn't every day armed guards arrived in sleek, expensive cars at dusk to this all-but-forgotten neck of the woods.

Taking one last glance around, I exhaled a puff of smoke before throwing the cigarette to the ground and crushing it under the heel of my black boots.

"Fanculo, facciamola finita." (Fuck it, let's get this over with.)

I walked up to the house and kicked the flimsy wooden door without knocking, and entered without permission.

The sound of it falling off one of its hinges startled the small woman sitting on the floor, surrounded by dollar bills and takeout containers.

Elaine's blue eyes widened as she attempted to clear the empty food containers from the floor. Her dark hair was everywhere, and she looked nothing short of disheveled.

"You fucking bastard," she cursed from her place at my feet. "Why the fuck couldn't you knock? I could've been naked, for all you know."

I smirked as the image popped into my head. "Oh, bella, I would've been more than glad to catch you in such a compromising situation. It would've been fitting, no?"

I received a glare before her eyes flicked behind me to where the door hung pathetically off the jam.

"You broke my door? What the hell is wrong with you, you fucking . . ."

"Never mind the stupid door," I growled, angry the useless thing held more of her attention than me. "If it's really bothering you, my men will handle it. Now, unto the reason for my being here. Where's my money? And I hope for your sake you're not planning on giving me those scraps," I said, pointing to the sad notes and coins scattered around her. "I'm not a fucking dog."

Her blue gaze dropped to the floor, and after a second, I heard her sniff like she was trying to hold back tears. She fell back onto her calves, dejected and hopeless. The sight was so sad, yet I was shocked when an unfamiliar feeling lodged in my chest. It was uncomfortable, and I very much disliked it.