Chapter Five

Raphael

I noticed how quiet and lost she seemed. She wasn't like that before; she had been tense yes but appeared like she wanted to talk like she was dying to have a conversation on our drive-in. But right now, she looked like a conversation was the last thing she wanted.

I stole a glance at her, but she was so lost in thought she didn't see it; I was glad she didn't, but a part of me wanted to see her gaze at me.

As we drove to their office parking lot, I decided to find out if she was okay. So I asked.

"Are you okay?"

She didn't answer; she was looking out through the window.

"Sophie, I called a bit louder. 

Immediately her gaze landed on me; she looked confused.

"I asked, are you okay?"

Her beautiful blue eyes stared at me, her pretty nose furrowed.

"What?" She asked

"Are you okay? You look disturbed."

"I'm okay" she said

"Really? Then why haven't you noticed we are back to your office parking lot?" I asked

"We are?" She asked as she looked around, "I guess we are." She whispered, her voice soft.

"I better go. Will you come now to fill in the papers or later?" She asked,

"Later, I have an appointment in a few minutes; I will call you to make the arrangements about it," I said, looking at her face. She was beautiful; I was glad I would see her again.

She nodded and got out of the car. As she closed the door, she said thank you, Still in a soft voice. I couldn't help but wonder what had happened between her lying on my bed and going down the stairs.

She was fine when I saw her in bed. She even gave that pretty blush when Bruno and Romano found her perched in bed, looking anywhere else but our faces. Bruno likes teasing her. I could tell it was going to be something he will enjoy doing.

"Drive," I snapped at Romano.

He did not question the command; he just drove. I could see Bruno looking at me on the rear mirror. 

"Do you have a reason for staring at me like my face has the map to a treasure hunt?" I asked angrily.

"What has your knickers so tight?" He asked, his eyes amusingly blinked. "Shut the hell up," I snapped at him too.

"Did you want us to drag her with us? We can still go back for her, although that will make us very late for the meeting,  but you're the boss, right?" He continued.

"I swear to god Bruno, if you say another word, I will shoot your hand off," I shouted at him.

"Hey," he said, raising his two arms in surrender. "I just can't help noticing your mood is crappy; it wasn't like that when she was around. You looked relaxed then; you didn't snap at us or look murderous at me" I could see his mouth twitching even though he sat at the front.

The fucker was mocking me. I sat. Still, I wanted to think about what was coming. Someone had betrayed me. Someone had orchestrated a meeting between my father and me.

Yes, it had appeared accidental, but it wasn't. Very few things happen accidentally in my line of work. I hate surprises, so I avoided them as much as I could.

Someone in my group had told the old man where I would be at the time. Someone I trusted had told the enemy my business.

You may think that's not a big deal, but it was huge. This world demanded loyalty and trust. In this case, I was betrayed, and someone had to pay for it.

Of course, the old man pretended to be surprised, but I wasn't fooled. I can read people pretty well, I knew when someone was lying when someone was filtering the truth, but above all, I was an expert at instilling fear in people.

Of course we went through the motions of talking. We were both mafia bosses, but we both knew I was most powerful and more lethal. He was cruel and a bully, of course, he hated the fact that he had to bow to me. I was a bastard to him; I was inferior; I loved seeing him humbled.

He had to probably pay someone to meet me because he knew I couldn't see him voluntarily must grid at his vanity.

"We are here, Raph," I heard Romano say. He and Bruno were the only two people in the entire universe who called me that and got away with it.

We all got out of the car at the same time, looking right and left, checking if anyone or anything was about to ambush us. It's funny how the world of crime gifted most of us with the 6th sense. Almost like God's protection, I thought. The irony!

A shot was fired straight at my side but missed. Somehow I knew where it came from. I lift my face and shot straight. I didn't miss it. I heard a groan. I was fast, and I never missed it.

I moved towards the noise,  followed closely by Bruno and Romano. We found the shooter holding on to his rib like it was about to come off, blood oozed all over, too much of it, yet I wasn't fazed. I felt nothing. I liked inflicting pain just as much as I loved instilling fear.

"Get him up and carry him to the vault. I have a meeting to go to, and I don't have time for this. Make him talk and let me know what you find out. This has the old man written all over it." I told Romano, 

He nodded as he lifted the shooter. I signaled Bruno with my head to walk with me.

We walked to one of my offices, which was located in the house we currently resided in at the far end of the vault, which most people thought was a basement. It was a good cover; it kept people from asking questions, nothing out the ordinary about having a basement. I found some of my men waiting for me, but the man I met with Enzo sat on the couch near my desk. He got up and bowed his head slightly as we shook hands. 

"Good to see you again, Raphael," he said

"Good to see you too," I replied

I walked over to my desk with Bruno standing at my right side, covering half my body from the door; it appeared like he was protecting me, which he probably was after the shooting outside our own compound. I didn't say anything about it though I will need to tell him to stop acting like a bodyguard; I can protect myself always have though having him and Romano kept me safer.

One thing about my line of work is that none of us had time for small talk; we were too busy to indulge in such bullshit. We got straight to the point, and Enzo was no different. I sat down and waited for him to speak.

"It was Luigi," I heard him say. I felt nothing, not even rage.

"You don't seem surprised," he stated

"No, I'm not, neither am I disappointed; I suspected him he was impressed by money. If I remember correctly, he said he joined the mafia for money; he thought he would be rich quicker than doing any other job without formal education.

I chuckled softly; the bastard will die before he got paid for betraying me. I knew without the shadow of a doubt; my father hadn't paid him. He did it for nothing.

"Where is he now?" I asked Enzo

"He is in Chicago visiting his sister."

"At least that part was true," he asked for permission to go see his sister."

"He did mention that his sister had a child. Is that part true also? " I enquired

"Yes, it is..a daughter," Enzo volunteered the info.

"Get the jet ready B, we are flying to Chicago tonight," I sometimes called Bruno B, started when we lived on the streets. I haven't called him that in a long time. He turned and looked at me, questionably. "What?" I asked him. He said nothing as he started punching numbers on the phone; I figured he was calling the pilot.

"You're going too." I pointed to Enzo.

"Yes, boss," he said as he leaned his head on the couch, he must be tired, but we all were. We have been working nonstop. We owned a lot of businesses, hotels, car dealerships, clubs, and many more. There has been a problem. Lately, the government has been snooping around, nothing I can't handle, but I would be happy if they stopped poking their noses at my business.

I called Romano and updated him. I wanted him to go with us. He and Bruno always went with me. But this time, I wanted someone I trusted to remain behind to look after a few things.

We had two people to deal with. The shooter and the guy from Uberto gang who tried to kill me outside my own hotel would have succeeded if the bellboy hadn't shouted at me to the lookout.

I have a pretty good instinct, and people don't just shout at someone like me for no reason.

And 'lookout' is a word that was familiar to me, so I immediately got down and pulled my gun, I didn't know which direction the shooter was, but the boy had been to my right, which means the guy was either on my left or somewhere in front of me. I ruled out on my left because I couldn't see anyone.

It was dark, and my body had been hidden by a huge black car, which meant I couldn't see very clearly, and neither could the shooter. I waited in silence for any sign that would make me identify his direction; nothing happened until I heard the sound of a gun and painful mourn.

"Raph," I heard Romano call after a few minutes. I got up and walked in the direction of his voice.

"Who is he, do you know?" I asked him

"No, I don't, but he has the Uberto tattoo on his neck."

"How can you tell? Isn't it a bit too dark to see any detail?"

"It's not like it's hidden; it's right there for everybody to see."

"It's not everybody because I can't see anything at this time; you have the eyes of an owl."

"Let's get him to the car. We can drop him at the vault and deal with him tomorrow.

That was two weeks ago. I needed to put a few things in order before jetting out of the state to eliminate a traitor. First, I needed to call Sophie to make arrangements for the impending meeting, but I didn't have her number, and I did not want to call their office or her boss. I wanted to call her.

I called the only person I knew to get me her number, and within 15 minutes, I had the number. It was almost 4:30 pm when I made the call. As I waited for her to answer, I wondered what she was doing and who she was with, but I figured she must be at work until 5 pm.

"Hello," came her soft voice; that voice took my breath away.

"Sophie," I called

"Mr. Boselli, what can I do for you?" She asked.

I noticed she recognized my voice. She didn't ask who I was; I felt warm all over—a strange feeling.

"I'm calling to reschedule the signing on Friday if that's okay with you."

"Of course it is; I'm glad you're buying the house." 

"Okay, I will see you then." I did not have anything else to say to her though I would have wanted to continue; it felt good talking to her.

"Great, I heard her say.."Hmm, Mr. Boselli," she called and hesitated.

"Yes, Sophie," I loved saying her name.

"How did you get my number?" I chuckled and told her I was a resourceful man.

She laughed softly and said. "I bet. Goodbye, Mr. Boselli, see you on Friday," and she hangs up.

I looked at my phone and felt like calling her back. What was happening to me? Why does she affect me so? And why her?