Edenbridge

Chapter Ten

The attack had left both Dom and Morgana shaken. Ever since the man had broken in, Morgana had been looking over her shoulder every few seconds or would cling to Kell's arm when she heard a loud noise. Dom's orders were that at least three men escorted Morgana wherever she went, and that had made Morgana a lot more paranoid.

Kell walked down the hallway quickly, playing with the collar on her shirt that Morgana had flipped up before Kell had left. She lay it down flat against her neck and dropped her hands to the buttons up her shirt, undoing the ones that had been done up sloppily and flapping the shirt out behind her.

Kell was headed to a room on the opposite side of the villa, almost running down the hallways to get to the meeting that had been scheduled for her. Alongside ordering three men around Morgana, Dom had given Kell free reign over a group of men he'd put together for her.

Before the meeting, Kell had been given the profiles of all of the men and had weeded out those who were too weak, involved in the drug side of the business, had a history of violent crimes and were drunks. She was on her way to meet those that had made the cut, but was skeptical as to what she'd find waiting for her.

Pushing her way through the door, Kell stood up straight and narrowed her eyes, looking down her nose and glaring about the room. In front of her sat twenty-six men she'd never seen before, gathered around a table that had a chair empty at the very end of the room. They all looked up to her expectedly, some of them greeting her with a nod and others staring holes through her.

Kell pushed the door closed behind her and ran her tongue over her lips, pulling her eyes away from the men in front of her as she walked leisurely over to the empty chair.

"I suppose you've all been told why you're here already."

Kell said flatly, sinking into the chair and bringing her legs up over the armrests. Some of the men gave little grunts in response, turning their heads slowly to look up to where Kell sat.

"If you don't, then you are one of the few that have been weeded out of a bunch of career criminals and wife beaters."

Kell continued, swallowing heavily and sniffing in. She tipped her head to the side and watched in amusement as some of the men's faces rippled with confusion and others flinched and winced. They're confused as to why they're here, Kell thought.

With her smirk still placed high upon her face, Kell hunched her shoulders and groaned, running a hand through her hair and then pointing to the man that was closest to her right.

"Who are you?"

Kell asked, her words muffled. The man sat up straight and folded his hands in front of her, looking deep into her eyes with a smile working its way across his chiselled face.

"Flavio Tarantino."

He said. Kell nodded and looked to the next man, arching a brow as he began to stutter and bumble over his words. Her smile widened as the man wiped away sweat with the back of his hand, struggling to meet Kell's gaze.

"Cesare Zisa."

He stuttered, his voice shaking. Kell nodded at him and stared down the length of the table, bringing her legs down and slumping in the chair.

"I'd ask for the rest of your names but I'm sure if you impress me, I'll know your name soon enough."

Kell told them all. She pushed herself up to her feet and held out her arms, trying to give off as friendly an approach as possible. They'll warm to me if I'm friendly enough, Kell told herself. If I'm anything other than friendly, it'll all fall apart. Her smile faltered in the corners and her eye twitched, her mind whirring with the thoughts of the attack and the intruder.