Chapter 4 Echoes

"Go go go, drive faster Viktor! They are gaining on us" Germano said and you could feel the urgency and anxiety in his voice. Just as the words left his mouth the black SUV cornered and pulled up in front of them, they were trapped in the middle of two cars carrying heavily armed men, completely outnumbered and worse he and Viktor were outgunned.

Germano could hear as the doors to the cars were opened with footsteps heading towards their direction. The door to the Bentley brabus opened....

"Germano Macini any last words" Germano heard those words with guns pointed to his head and just as the men were about to pull the trigger he woke up sweating profusely.

Germano got up from the bed, poured scotch into a glass and emptied it in his mouth but the strong taste did little to help his troubled mind shake off the reality of the dream he just had because it seemed so rattling.

Germano walked to the end of his room where he punched in the combinations to the safe where Padrino's diary was hidden.

Padrino's diary held many secrets and Germano needed to smartly uncover those secrets whilst also trying to figure out how to keep the family business afloat, stay alive and of course how could he forget the amazingly beautiful Micaela.

Micaela's beauty isn't the only thing that attracted Germano to her but it was certainly the first thing.

Regardless of the severity of the situations Germano now finds himself in, his feelings for Micaela seem to give him hope and strength coupled with a willingness to do better.

Micaela called Germano two days after he gave her the card at the event. Though at this point they are still getting acquainted but they both yearn for something unique with deeper connections that are inexplicable stretching farther into love dynamics.

"Hello good morning, I hope I didn't wake you up," Germano said, speaking to Micaela over the phone.

"No I was already up....good morning you don't sound so good...are you okay?" Micaela's voice was laced with care and affection. Something Germano never had or experienced mostly because Germano, Lorenzo and Lucretia lost their mother at a very young age and their father wasn't always around due to his dubious dealings.

"Yes I'm fine. How are you?" Germano's voice was plain and stoic.

"I'm fine, I was about getting ready for work before your call came in. Can we talk later hopefully then you will tell me what exactly is eating you up because you don't sound so good" And with that Micaela hung up and got ready for work.

Germano spent the entire day locked up inside his room studying Padrino's diary. Germano was fixated on figuring out the entire message that his father was trying to pass across to him and he needed to figure it out sooner rather than later because a lot is at stake.

The sun was settling nicely and just then Germano's phone rang "Boss, the warehouse on the way to Mt. Etna has been sabotaged"

"What do you mean?!" Germano's response was sharp and brief. Germano couldn't wait for the reply before quickly grabbing his keys and storming out of the Manor house, luckily the warehouse was located in a dim and narrow alley just a couple of minutes drive from the house.

The acrid smell of burnt rubbers and oil was thick in the air, the iron doors that were meant to deter and intimidate swung ajar on twisted hinges. Inside, shafts of weak, dusty lights filtered through shattered skylights.

The warehouse, once a relic of secret operations, has been crippled by someone in Germano's organisation because this sort of operation can only be carried out successfully by having an inside man.

Germano stood arms in waist with his head lowered to the ground, a sight of a troubled man searching desperately for answers "Who could have done this?" Germano thought, nobody comes to mind because no-one seems to have an intent.

"I must find out who this traitor is and put an end to all these" Germano thought aloud.

Now more than ever Germano was resolved to do whatever it will take to ensure that Padrino's legacy and the family's business doesn't crumble, what's more that the family's name isn't ridiculed.

"Hey, how are you feeling now?" Micaela's voice could be heard over the phone just as Germano answered the call.

Germano hesitated before answering, choosing both his timing and words carefully in order not to give away anything.

"I never said anything was wrong with me. How did your day go?" Germano replied

"Why don't you want to let me in? You haven't been sounding fine all day". Micaela's voice would have melted even the meanest of men and Germano was different because he felt something deep inside something he can't explain but he instantly also felt the genuineness that came from her voice.

"There are a lot of things you don't know about me Micaela" Germano said

"Then tell me, all I ask is a chance to get to know you better. I don't want the wealthy billionaire in a designer suit wearing expensive perfume, I need you Germano!" Micaela hung up the phone with those words, She cuddled her teddy tightly and closed her eyes. The only man she has ever felt something for is an enigma, Germano was hiding a part of himself and Micaela could feel it and she was going to find out that part of him that he tries so hard to conceal and doesn't want to reveal.

Germano sat up from the bed he couldn't sleep his eyes scanned the room as though the room would miraculously give him the answers he needed because his mind drifted from Padrino's diary, if it held the answers he was searching and if there was any relation to the warehouse incident earlier......Micaela's last words before she hung up resounded in Germano's subconscious mind. He couldn't make peace with the thought of a sweet and innocent lady like Micaela knowing that he- Germano Macini is the head of a Mafia family because he felt a pull towards her but he wasn't entirely sure what it is but he knows something for sure and that is he- Germano Macini wasn't going to do anything that would risk Micaela finding out who he really is anI then leaving him because that would break him.

Germano got up from the bed, took his McLaren keys and was driving back to the sabotaged warehouse.

"There must be a clue in the midst of all that ruin" Germano thought.

The drive back to the warehouse took longer or so did Germano. With his torch in hand he meticulously searched the entire warehouse leaving no stone unturned. His search seemed futile as he couldn't place his hand on anything substantial.

Just as he Germano turned to leave, his shoe broke something like a glass....he casually bent down to see what it was but a closer look magnified the object- a vintage wristwatch. It became more familiar just as he picked it up. He could swear he has seen this particular wristwatch with someone close to him. It appears his coming here wasn't entirely fruitless.

As Germano drove back home, he kept thinking about who he'd seen within the organization with this same wrist watch.

Germano glanced at his wristwatch to check the time and it was then it was him who the owner of the was, there was no mistaking it. The owner of the vintage wristwatch he found at the warehouse was Viktor, his driver. Viktor had called to say he won't be available to drive Germano because he was sick with the flu but it all makes sense now ... .could it be Viktor that was behind the black SUV, the shooting at the cemetery and the sabotaged warehouse? Is Viktor the inside man in his organization? How deep does this go and how many more are involved in this?

"Lucretia please open up it's me Germano" Germano whispered knocking on the door to Lucretia's room

"Germano what's so important that it can't wait till morning" Lucretia quizzed

"I need you to leave town and go to the safe house, tell nobody of your location until I tell you to return and if you never hear from me again then you know what to do" Germano's eyes revealed the severity of his words.

Germano stood up and ready to leave "I know I am not the best brother in the world but I want you to know that I care about you and would never let anything happen to you"

"I know that and I appreciate you're looking out for me. I love you Brother"

This was the first time Lucreatia could be his brother and she meant it.

Germano left Lucretia's room and suddenly a thought crossed his mind and he was going to do it.

"knock knock" the sound made Micaela's heart skip a beat, who could be knocking at this hour and what could this person possibly want.

"knock knock" this time a little louder with the words "it's me". It was him- Germano Macini was standing in front of her door.

Micaela opened the door and the spark in his eyes as he looked at her made the dim light seem to glow.

Germano stepped inside the room shutting the door behind him with Micaela too dazed to speak or move.

There he was standing in front of her, he could hear her heartbeat. Micaela opened her mouth to speak but the words weren't coming out....Germano's gaze was as hot as the man himself......

Germano moved even closer, he placed his palms expertly on her waist, she felt a rush inside her...Micaela raised her head and her eyes were begging for something more, something more intimate.........