Forbidden Attraction

Chapter 2

Evelyn

"So, your mom is going to do the surgery tomorrow?" My best friend Ava asks.

We have been friends since high school. We were 16 years old when we first met. The memory is still fresh in my mind. I was standing in the hall when a guy passed next to me and slapped my ass while saying, "nice ass." Before I had a chance to answer, Ava was already in front of him. Once he faced her, she slapped his face and smiled sweetly at him while adding, "nice dick". He glared at her in an intimidating way that can make some guys piss themselves, but it only made her smile grow wider. He glowered at her and retorted, "that's my face bitch". Ava just shrugged and added, "well, it's not my fault you have a dickhead." Everyone laughed which only made him angrier. I watched the whole scene in amusement and total awe. I'm not used to people defending me, I fight my own battles, but having Ava standing up for me felt nice. She started walking toward me with a welcoming smile. I gave her one of my own as she initiated the conversation.

Usually, I have troubles opening up to people, but with her it came naturally. She makes people feel at ease, which I like about her.

"Yeah, my brother borrowed money from some of his rich friends and made an appointment with the doctor."

"I'm happy for you. Don't worry, Dr Harper is a great surgeon. Everything will be alright. Sounds like life is smiling at you." She gives me that beaming smile of hers.

"Yeah, I think so." I feel like I'm in the spring of my life. Where good news is blossoming. Everything is better than what I expected, but somehow, I feel something is wrong.

...

My favorite part of working is going back home. No offense I like what I'm studying. Medicine have been something I was passionate about. I've always liked the idea of being able to save people's life, especially after my mom's disease. What's worse than losing someone you love, is watching them fading away, and you can do nothing about it. I don't want to be that helpless person anymore. I don't want to be incapable. I want to give people hope that I lacked, the life that they deserve, the time they need to spend with their beloved ones.

I prepared my meal for the day. A sandwich of course. Since it's the only delicious thing that doesn't need cooking skills.

I suck at cooking. My mom always pointed it out. She's so hopeless in me when it comes to the kitchen, at the point if you tell her I burned water, she would believe it.

The house is so calm. Since my mom is sleeping in the hospital today, and my brother is hanging out with his friends, I'm left alone. It's weekend, everybody is out enjoying their time. While my definition of fun is sleeping or watching in my bedroom. There is sloth, and there is me. I mean, after a whole week of waking up early at 6 am and the long night shifts, all I want to do is sleep my 12 hours.

As I sit down to turn on Netflix, my phone buzzes. It's a message from Ava.

AVA: Your brother is at the dinner alone he seems to be drunk. I think you might want to check on him.

I think I'm not going to have my lazy day after all.

I sent a quick thank you and wore my pants over my pajama, that way I won't waste time changing my clothes when I come back home. I told you, me and sloth are best friends.

I call a taxi, the dinner is close by, so it only took some few minutes to arrive. The doorbell rings above my head as I push it open. It's empty. Totally empty. I asked the girl working there if she saw a tall guy with dark brown hair. She said he had just left with two suspicious looking men on each side. Okey, this doesn't sound good. My brother is like a magnet for problems. And I think I smell one coming our way.

I exit the dinner and go to the parking lot. I hear some noises and go toward that direction. I hide behind a car.

The scene in front of me made me put my hand over my lips to avoid making any noises. Four men are towering over my brother who is holding his bleeding nose. From this distance I can only catch some of the discussion.

"You stole from our casino. Do you know what does that mean kid?" The guy with half tattooed face says.

"I promise I can explain." My brother replied with a muffled voice. He seems to be beaten pretty badly. I want to go help him, but I know that would be a stupid move.

"Leave your excuses to the capo." With that, they grab him and throw him in a black car with black tinted windows. The same one they use for kidnapping in movies.

They leave the parking lot, and my shaking knees hit the floor. My fingers are shaking in front of me. All of my body parts are shaking. But it's not time to panic, my brother's life depends on me. I notice his car key on the floor where he was laying, I grab them and search for his car. I follow them, but I keep a safe distance to not attract their attention. I try to calm down and clear my thoughts. I replay the conversation in my head. He said casino, I remember hearing my brother talking with his friends about the casino he works in. Yes! His friends, right. I can get information from one of them. I connect my phone to the car and dial Leo's number, his closest friend. He answers after the second ring.

"Evelyn, how are-" before he finishes his question, I interrupt him and ask, "I'm sorry for calling this late, but my brother is in trouble again. And this time it's pretty serious. Can you tell me anything about the casino he works in? Do you know who owns it, and what's his reputation?"

"He works in the casino fuoco, it's in the far east of the city. It's owned by Elio Berlusconi. He's not a person I would like to be close to, and I advise you to do the same."

Berlusconi sounds familiar, but I can't recall it. My panic is growing with each passing second, and the only reason I didn't explode or break down yet is the Adrenaline flowing in my body. The need to save my brother is overpowering my fears. Me and Angelo were more like ride or die. We fight as every normal sibling, but we always had each other's back. He's protective of me as I am of him. In problems we would call each other, hide secrets for each other, sacrifice for each other. He's like my other half and I'm not ready to lose him yet.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I'm not sure if I should tell you this."

"Leo, please." I have no time to waste. We had already arrived at the casino. The men took my brother inside. The building is guarded by two bodyguards. The place is empty. Big red and orange flashing letters stare at me. It says fuoco. The color choice reminds me of fire. Burning.

On the other side of the phone, Leo sighs heavily and says, "Berlusconi is the biggest Italian mafia."

Mafia.

He literally said mafia. The world started vanishing in front of me. Everything makes sense now. The bulky men who kidnapped my brother. The black tinted car's window. The casino. And finally, the capo.