The Mobster's Princess

Here to Stay

Rafael met up with his brothers and father at his family house. Pia was hovering but kept her words to herself which was a first. He was pacing the room, listening to all the suggestions his father and brothers were giving him. None of the suggestions sounded reasonable to him though. All he wanted was to have Rose back safe and sound. He didn't want to take any risks. Time was running out too, he was supposed to meet up with whoever dared to take Rose from him in thirty minutes. He needed to move out now. He stopped pacing and faced his father, the determined look in his eyes told his father what he planned to do. Nicola nodded, reaching for his phone and making the call.

"I need you to meet up with Rafael at the warehouse. We're paying the money."

"You are?" Sebastiano asked, "Rafe, you shouldn't give in to these demands, it will be a sign of weakness. If that guy can get away with taking what belongs to you and get paid for it, others will try to do the same thing."

"I can't risk Rose getting hurt, she's innocent." He told his annoyed looking brother, "Lessons are learned, brother. After this, we'll tighten security and make sure Rose never leaves the house without security. She needs to be protected at all times."

"I think you made the right decision," Max told him.

Sebastiano rolled his eyes at that, "Yeah, because you're also charmed by that woman."

Max raised an eyebrow at him, "And you can just throw Rose's life away?" Max asked, "It's Rose, she has been part of the family as long as I can remember. Also, Rafe is right, she's innocent. She doesn't deserve any of this."

Sebastiano didn't look happy, but he didn't protest either. His brother was angry because they were giving into the demands of that kidnapper, but he could tell by the hesitation that Sebastiano also knew it was the right call to make. Despite them taking a huge blow.

"The IT guy will meet you at the warehouse." Nicola informed him, "We'll be waiting at a distance, we don't want to spook the guy."

"Thanks." Rafael grabbed his phone and checked the address once more, "We should leave right away. " He walked past his mother, heading for the door.

"Be careful." Pia called after him, "Bring her home safely."

He glanced over his shoulder, "I will." He promised.

Taking his own car he drove up to the warehouse, glancing at his rearview mirror to see his brothers and father along with their subordinates following him at a safe distance. They were going to be around, if things were going south he had back-up.

***

Rafael entered the abandoned warehouse, greeted by the sight of men who were dressed in cheap suits. The place was falling apart, looking like a scene from a scary movie, he was half expecting a crazy ax murderer to show up. A blonde guy with perfectly gelled hair, wearing a suit which didn't look like he retrieved it from a dumpster approached him, a big grin spread across the man's face. This could possibly be the crazy ax murderer ready to start hacking away.

"Who's your friend?" The guy asked, the smile never leaving his face.

He recognized the voice, it was definitely the guy who he spoke to over the phone. Glancing at the man beside him carrying a laptop, shoving his glasses higher upon the bridge of his nose Rafael protectively stepped in front of him and eyed the blonde guy suspiciously.

"He'll transfer the money." Rafael told him, "But first I need to see her."

"Yeah, but of course!" The man almost sang, gesturing behind him, "Please bring over the lovely Rose." He trailed his eyes back to Rafael, "We had a blast drinking tea and talking about you. The poor girl had no idea what you were up to. I almost felt bad for bringing it up. It was something her husband should have told her after all."