La Cosa Nostra

Chapter 6

I'm gonna fucking kill him. That's the only thing that's running through my head as I read the text I just received. If you're wondering, it wasn't Luciano I wanted to kill for once. It was Thomas Winston. I get dressed for the day, irritated that I would have to deal with this shit. I bump into Angelo on my way to Luciano's office when he stops me, looking uncomfortable.
"Umm, do you have to see him now?"
I send him a confused look, "Uh, yeah. Is he busy or something?"
He scratches the back of his head, looking around nervously. "Or something"
Seriously, what was going on with him?
"Angelo, I don't have time for -"
That's when I hear them. Luciano was busy, busy fucking some chick in his office. I cringe at the moans and high pitched noises coming through his door. I look at Angelo and I would have laughed at the disgusted expression on his face if I wasn't currently having the same one.
"Just let him know that I need to go sort some things out when he's..umm..done"
Angelo nods and as another moan flows through the door, I book it.

Switching off the ignition, I lean my head back against the headrest. Thomas's words echoed through my head from our meeting earlier today and I couldn't stop replaying the entire conversation. Truth is, I couldn't explain to you why I did what I did. He had a point. Luciano and his men treated me well because they needed me. Right now, I was their greatest asset but once we finished this job, I would hold no value to them. So, why was I protecting them?

I get out of the car, wanting nothing more than a cold beer. Heading into the living room, I throw the keys on the table and walk towards the kitchen.
"You must be Alexa." I whirl towards the direction of the voice. Spotting a blonde leaning against the stair railing, I stop in my tracks.
"It's Alessa. And you are?"
She looks slightly miffed that I didn't know who she was but sends me a smirk.
"I'm Brianna. I'm sure Luciano has mentioned me."
"He hasn't actually."
She narrows her eyes at me but quickly pastes a fake smile on her face.
"He's such a private guy. I'm his girlfriend. It's nice to finally meet you."
"Same here." I send her a quick smile that's as fake as the one she's giving me and turn to go when she stops me again.
"Actually, I was hoping we could talk about Luciano."
I close my eyes briefly, already knowing where this conversation was going.
"What about him?"
She walks over languidly towards me, probably hoping to intimidate me but all I wanted to do was laugh. She was a beautiful girl if she didn't cake on so much makeup or wear clothes that were a size too small. I remain rooted to my spot, meeting her gaze with a blank stare of mine.
I see her confidence falter a little when she realises that I'm not nervous or intimidated.
"I'm sure you know how powerful a man like Luciano is and in my experience, power can be quite attractive. I know the both of you will be working closely together so I hope you don't forget who he belongs to."
"I have no intention of making Luciano mine in any way. I'm honoured though that you see me as a threat."
She scoffs, "Where did you get that idea from?"
"If you don't see me as one, why are you warning me?"
She opens her mouth and closes it again, not knowing what to say but I can see the anger in her eyes. Wanting this conversation to be over, I say "Look, Luciano and I aren't even friends. If you're that insecure about your relationship, you're talking to the wrong person."
Her eyes flare with anger and she takes a step closer to me.
"Listen here you little bitch. I don't care if you're an assassin. Luciano Moretti is mine and it would do you good to remember that."
"And it would do you good to remember that Luciano isn't yours. He's made that perfectly clear."
Luca steps out from one of the rooms, his face hard. Brianna pales at the sight of him and I have a feeling she wasn't telling the complete truth about her and Luciano.
"I-I was just warning.."
"Warning? You were warning Alessa?"
She glances at me and straightens her spine.
"I was telling her not to mess with what's mine."
Luca chuckles humourlessly, raising an eyebrow at her.
"With what's yours? Luciano has never been yours, Brianna. You know that. And i don't think he would be too happy to hear about this"
That seems to really scare her and I can't help but smirk.
"N-no. Please don't tell Don."
Luca nods, satisfied with her answer.
"Don't ever come near Alessa again. Now, get out."
She leaves immediately, her high heels clicking against the marble floor. Luca sighs beside me
"Sorry about that. She seems to have it in her head that she's the future Donna."
"I'm assuming that's who was keeping Luciano busy this morning."
Luca cringes at my words.
"You heard that huh?"
Rolling my eyes, "Who didn't? She's got a voice that can shatter glass."
He laughs and follows me to the kitchen. Grabbing two beers from the fridge, he hands me one. I take a sip, enjoying the way the cold liquid trickles down my throat.
"I heard the whole conversation. I would have interrupted sooner but you seemed to be handling it."
I smirk, meeting his amused face.
"Not the first time I've had to deal with a bitch."
"What bitch?"
Luca and I turn to the doorway of the kitchen, where Luciano and Angelo are walking in.
"Oh, Brianna here was staking her claim on you a little while back."
Luciano curses under his breath, accepting the beer that Angelo hands him. He takes a seat across from me and sends me an amused smirk.
"I have a feeling she got her ass handed to her."
Luca chuckles, agreeing with his statement. I frown at him though.
"You shouldn't string her along like that."
Luciano raises his eyebrows at me, taking a sip of his beer.
"Don't make me the bad guy here, dolchezzo. I made it clear from the very beginning that she's nothing more than a fuck buddy. It's not my fault she thinks she's the next Donna although I can't blame her for falling for me. I am quite the catch."
I roll my eyes at his arrogance, not bothering to reply.
We sit in silence for a while when Luciano speaks again.
"I hear Thomas isn't too pleased with you."
Was this guy psychic or something? I maintain a poker face, not giving anything away.
"Really?"
Luciano fixes me with an intense gaze, studying me.
"Apparently, you denied an assignment."
"He'll get over it."
"And if he doesn't?"
I meet his gaze, understanding the hidden meaning.
"I'll handle it. It's none of your business anyways."
Luciano chuckles darkly.
"It is my business when said assignment concerns my mafia."
I send him a flat look. "I told you, I said no."
"Why?" His tone suddenly changes and he looks genuinely confused.
"Why what?"
"Why did you say no? You're already here, it would be so easy to get intel on us, find out more about our dealings."
"I don't do a job inside a job."
"And?"
I look at him in frustration, hating that even I didn't fully comprehend my actions.
"And that's it. Stop psychoanalysing me."
Plink.
A sound from my tablet ends our conversation and I grab it.
"What the hell?" I mutter to myself, confused and bewildered.
"What's wrong?" Angelo asks, leaning over to see my screen. I place my screen flat on the counter so that all of them could see it. Typing away, I answer him.
"Someone just entered my apartment."
"Can you see who it is?" Luciano asks and I nod.
"Yeah, I'm accessing the hidden cameras right now."
I pull up the camera feed and my eyes widen in shock. Connor and a few of his men are in my apartment, looking completely at ease.
"What the fuck?" Angelo says beside me and all of us watch him walk around the place like he owned it.
"Connor is an idiot if he thinks you wouldn't find out about this. He's breaking into an assassins apartment for gods sake." Luca says
"I don't know. Even we found it tricky when we broke in. Maybe Liam missed out on the cameras." Angelo says but I find that hard to believe.
"There's no way Liam forgot to deactivate her cameras and silent alarms." Luciano says, seeming to have the same train of thought as me.
"He wants me to see this. He wants me to know that he's there." I say, watching Connor's movements. He walks into my room and opens my wardrobe. I had packed most of my clothes but there were still a few left hanging in there. He grabs what looks like a T-shirt and brings it to his nose, inhaling its scent. My scent. I stiffen, swallowing the bile that's threatening to come up my throat. The boys curse angrily and Luciano says softly. "You don't have to watch this, cara."
I shake my head at him, too disgusted and angry to answer. I knew that I should turn the feed off but my eyes were glued to the screen, unable to look anywhere else. Connor places the T-shirt on my bed and I make a mental note to burn it when I get home. Hell, I'm moving to a new apartment when this is over. He walks out to my kitchen and starts opening my cabinets. I furrow my brows. What was he looking for?
To my utter bewilderment, he pulls out a mug and switches on my coffee machine. He then grabs the wooden cutting board and a knife from the knife block. One of his men hands him a brown bag and Connor takes out a bagel.
"Is he making coffee?" Angelo asks in shock.
"What the hell are you doing?" I mutter to myself. What was he trying to say? That he found me? That he knew I was working with the Italians?
My question is answered with his next move. He takes a sip of his freshly brewed coffee followed by a bite of his bagel, a sick smirk on his face. I connect the dots and my hands grip the edges of the counter, my knuckles white. The boys notice the change in my demeanour and look at me worriedly.
"Alessa, what is it?"
"That fucker. When I get my hands on him, I'm
Gonna fucking rip his throat out."
"Dolchezzo, what is he trying to tell you?" Luciano asks,his time soft but firm.
I glare icily at Connor through my screen. In a low voice I answer "the last thing Isabelle served me was coffee and a bagel."
I hear a sharp inhale from Luciano and Angelo mutters something but I don't care because what Connor does next has me seeing red. He twirls the knife in his hand, placing the half eaten bagel on the board. With a smirk, he swiftly impales the bagel right in the centre, the knife going into the board. Death. He was warning me. Giving me a chance to come to him before he killed one of the Italians.

A murderous expression on my face, I turn to Luciano who looks just as mad.
"Luciano, could you promise me something? When we get this fucker and you've had your fun with him, I want to be the one that puts a bullet in his skull."
Without missing a beat, Luciano nods, his eyes dark and sincere.
"You will be the last face he ever sees, Alessandra."