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

Chapter 15

"The strength of a family, like the strength of an army, lies in its loyalty to each."
                        ~Mario Puzo~

                                Romano.

It was minutes past 8 am, and there was no traffic. Damn it! Where the hell was traffic when you needed it. I didn't want to reach my destination. I wasn't ready to explain to a woman who I had never met that she needed to come with me because her best friend was raising hell and making it impossible for Raphael to stay in his house in peace until she got to see and talk to her. How the mighty had fallen. I thought amusingly.

And to be honest, I was afraid she might start some waterworks. If she was anything like Soph, I might have a situation I didn't bargain for. As I maneuvered the vehicle to my destination following the GPS, I realized Sophie has to be the most directional challenged person I ever met. If I were to follow the directions she had outlined for me, I would probably end up in Italy.

At exactly fifteen minutes to nine, I was at the gate, waiting for the security guy to open up for me. After a few pleasantries, which included filling in my details and showing my id, I pulled up the car and parked. How the hell did I end up here and not Bruno? He would have been perfect for this. I thought as I got out and headed to the entrance directly to the elevator and pressed number five. I hope Sophie was right about that because she hadn't been right on how to get here so far.

I came into a huge reception area with a blonde at the desk. How cliche. I thought. Why do offices insist on having blondes in the front office? Was it for their vanity or the clients?

I walked towards her, and she had this practiced social smile, which I guessed was what she reserved for customers.

"Hi," I greeted with a smile of my own. I have been told on a few occasions that my smile can be charming. " Can I speak to Gabriella, please?"

"May I ask who is asking," she replied, giving me a flirty smile. Damn it! The damn smile worked.

"A mutual friend is asking for him.." I paused a bit, debating on what more I should say. "Just tell her Sophie needs to see her," I managed. I knew that would bring her running down here. If she loved Sophie the same way Soph loved her, she'd be here in no time. And I was right.

Damn! Do women still have this much hair? I thought as I stared at the beautiful creature running two stairs at a time. She looked agitated and afraid. I realized she probably thought Sophie was in danger, sick, or something along those lines.

"Don't look so worried; she is fine," I told her immediately she reached me. Her eyes looked troubled and tired like she hadn't slept for a while, which probably was the case.

My mind had formulated what I had to tell her to make her come with me, but that immediately Changed when some tall corporate-looking guy condescendingly told her to get back to her office and do what she is paid to do.

I have never been diplomatic, the only time the mafia becomes diplomatic is when they're trying to call a truce with the other families to avoid bloodshed, and even that wasn't my job; it was Raphael's. It comes with being the boss.

Gabriella looked fragile and miserable as she told her boss she needed a day off on a personal emergency. The fucker just looked down on her and told her a straight-up no! Who the hell tells a woman looking the way she looked NO and expected her to be productive? Which means he said it just because he could. He was the boss, after all. And he wanted everyone to know it. Well, let's see about that.

I took a protective stance in front of her and extended my hand to him, my eyes daring him to ignore it.

"Hi, my name is Romano, and I hate to be an inconvenience, but I must leave with Gabriella. When she said she is having an emergency, she failed to mention that it's a family emergency. " I said to him as I squeezed his tiny smooth, manicured hands with a smile on my face.