Letters To The Mafia Don

VII

This chapter is dedicated to pixie_girl007. I just want to say thank you for your meaningful words, they make me incredibly happy and I can't even express it into words in how much your comments make my day. So this chapter is dedicated to you, I really hope you are enjoying the book so far. 

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"Hello Margaret." I greeted my neighbour. Margaret was a small, stumpy woman in her late seventies, all of the people on this floor like her only because she is too sweet to dislike. She never has visitors and I always try to talk to her when I can between work at the café, the prison and visiting mum and Isabella. 

"Oh hello, dear. You look tired, you should be sleeping not sitting on the stairs especially in this building." She scolds. 

"Sorry, I couldn't sleep. Too much thinking."

"I'm guessing that has to do with that prison you are working at." My lips lifted into a smile I nodded. She hobbled over to me and slowly sat down next to me on the step, bones cracking from the movement. "What's wrong?"

"Well, there is this one guy there."

"Prisoner or guard."

"Prisoner." My cheeks flushed at the thought of him and I fought the urge to fan myself.

"Ah, you know I met my Jim in prison. He had been caught dealing drugs. Dear everyone is attracted to the bad boys."

"I am not attracted to him." She gave me a pointed glare. "Okay, he is attractive but I can't do anything about it, it's against my morals and against the rules. He is a criminal."

"Crime doesn't stop people from falling in love."

"Love? No one said anything about love."

"But that is what it's about, isn't it?" I shrugged.

"I don't even know him, we have to send letters and we have been for the past five and a half weeks, I have only met him once and I fear that that one time changed everything professional in the relationship forming between us."

"What is he in for?"

"Running an entire Mafia Empire."

"Oh, wow. Well then, I suppose you should steer clear from him." I nodded. 

"I should, I really should. But I don't know what it is, it's like he has a pull on me. Like an invisible rope and every word spoken between us I am inched closer and closer towards him."

"Maybe you should leave the prison."

"I can't." I shake my head. "It's the final part of my grade. I need it to get my degree." I sighed. 

"Don't do anything too rash. Think before you act." She grasped onto the railing and pushed herself up. "Stay safe Lottie."

"You too, Margaret." I heard her door close gently and sat at the stairs for a few more moments before pulling myself up and into my flat. 

****

"One mega English breakfast, one bacon, sausage and egg baguette with ketchup, and another bacon, sausage and egg baguette with brown sauce." I placed the food in front of the family. "And I mustn't  forget your strawberry milkshake." I smiled down to the little girl that looked around the age of six or seven. She beamed a toothy smile and I informed the parents that their teas were just brewing. The chime of the bell pulled me away from the family of three and I looked up to see a group of five men in black suits enter the café. 

I pulled out a pad and a pen and wandered over to the men. "Good Afternoon, welcome to Charlie's Café, may I get you any drinks?" They all instantly looked up at me and if they didn't have different coloured hair and slightly different coloured skin tones I would have assumed they were all family. They had the same razor-sharp cheekbones and the same jaw that had a three o'clock shadow brewing over. After about thirty seconds of awkward silence, the one with mousy brown hair and charcoal grey eyes finally spoke up, clearing the undeniable tension. 

"I'll have a Diet Coke." The man next to him looked at him with disgust when he said 'diet'.

"He'll have a fully fat coke and so will I. These three will all have coffee's two black one with milk, please Boss." His blond hair was ruffled in an I-just-woke-up style, his emerald green eyes shone in the lighting of the afternoon sunlight beaming through the window next to them. Boss? Where have I heard someone call me that before?

"Are you ready to order your food or shall I come back with your drinks first?"

"Can you come back?" I tucked my notepad and pen away in my apron and nodded. 

"I'll be back in five." 

The coffee machine was loud, blocking out the noise from the busy afternoon crowd. I couldn't keep my eyes off of the group of model looking men, there was something about them that reminded me of someone but I couldn't work out who. Clara tapped my shoulder and told me that the coffee was done, I hadn't even realised that it was finished until she had pulled me away from my thoughts. On my way over I heard their whispered voices, they weren't speaking in English, it sounded familiar. 

"Here are your drinks." My voice made them still for a few seconds until they realised that I probably couldn't have understood a word they were saying. I placed my tray down onto the table and set the cans of coke and a glass in front of the blond and brunette. "Which is the one with milk?" The young red, haired man held his hand up, I smiled and put the cup down in front of him before putting the cups down in front of the other two men. "Are you guys ready to order?" They all gave me their orders and in two minutes I was giving the order to the chef and clearing used tables. 

I was stacking the plates from the family of three that had already left and paid at the counter, and I couldn't help but overhear the men's conversation. The only words I could point out was 'Julian' and 'prison'. Surely they aren't talking about my Julian? My brows creased at the thought, I was deluding myself if I thought I was making any sense from that. Pushing it aside I collected their order once the bell dinged and took it to them, telling them to "enjoy their meal" and leaving them alone for the rest of my shift. 

Signing off at the end of my shift, I bid farewell to my fellow co-workers and grabbed my coat, sliding it over my slender arms and leaving the building through the back exit to the alley where I had parked my car. I could hear muffled yelling through the back alley but chose to ignore it because it was normal in this part of town. It wasn't until I heard a loud bang that I took interest in the yelling. 

"Lance calm down. Alright, we need him to tell us information on where to find the evidence."

"Fuck the evidence, he's made me mad." 

"Don't let him get into your head. Think about the Boss, if we get this information he will be free and everything can go back to normal."

"Fine, fine we'll do it your way. But if he says one more fucking thing about-"

"I know. I will let you kill him if he does, okay?"

"Okay."

"Good. Let's get him in the trunk and take him to the warehouse."

The voices grew distant and I almost wanted to laugh. The fucked up things that go on in this town. What has the world come to?