Bred In Violence (A Mafia Romance Book One) #𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝟏

chapter five

Raphael

I noticed how quiet and lost she seemed. She wasn't like that before; she had been tense yes but appeared like she wanted to talk like she was dying to have a conversation on our drive-in. But right now, she looked like a conversation was the last thing she wanted.

I stole a glance at her, but she was so lost in thought she didn't see it; I was glad she didn't, but a part of me wanted to see her gaze at me.

As we drove to their office parking lot, I decided to find out if she was okay. So I asked.

"Are you okay?"
She didn't answer; she was looking out through the window.
"Sophie, I called a bit louder.
Immediately her gaze landed on me; she looked confused.
"I asked, are you okay?"
Her beautiful blue eyes stared at me, her pretty nose furrowed.

"What?" She asked
"Are you okay? You look disturbed."
"I'm okay" she said
"Really? Then why haven't you noticed we are back to your office parking lot?" I asked

"We are?" She asked as she looked around, "I guess we are." She whispered, her voice soft.

"I better go. Will you come now to fill in the papers or later?" She asked,
"Later, I have an appointment in a few minutes; I will call you to make the arrangements about it," I said, looking at her face. She was beautiful; I was glad I would see her again.

She nodded and got out of the car. As she closed the door, she said thank you, Still in a soft voice. I couldn't help but wonder what had happened between her lying on my bed and going down the stairs.

She was fine when I saw her in bed. She even gave that pretty blush when Bruno and Romano found her perched in bed, looking anywhere else but our faces. Bruno likes teasing her. I could tell it was going to be something he will enjoy doing.

"Drive," I snapped at Romano.
He did not question the command; he just drove. I could see Bruno looking at me on the rear mirror.
"Do you have a reason for staring at me like my face has the map to a treasure hunt?" I asked angrily.

"What has your knickers so tight?" He asked, his eyes amusingly blinked. "Shut the hell up," I snapped at him too.

"Did you want us to drag her with us? We can still go back for her, although that will make us very late for the meeting,  but you're the boss, right?" He continued.

"I swear to god Bruno, if you say another word, I will shoot your hand off," I shouted at him.

"Hey," he said, raising his two arms in surrender. "I just can't help noticing your mood is crappy; it wasn't like that when she was around. You looked relaxed then; you didn't snap at us or look murderous at me" I could see his mouth twitching even though he sat at the front.

The fucker was mocking me. I sat. Still, I wanted to think about what was coming. Someone had betrayed me. Someone had orchestrated a meeting between my father and me.

Yes, it had appeared accidental, but it wasn't. Very few things happen accidentally in my line of work. I hate surprises, so I avoided them as much as I could.

Someone in my group had told the old man where I would be at the time. Someone I trusted had told the enemy my business.

You may think that's not a big deal, but it was huge. This world demanded loyalty and trust. In this case, I was betrayed, and someone had to pay for it.

Of course, the old man pretended to be surprised, but I wasn't fooled. I can read people pretty well, I knew when someone was lying when someone was filtering the truth, but above all, I was an expert at instilling fear in people.