Exotic Hearts: The Veterinarian and the Gangster

Her life was falling apart, she felt, as the hot tequila poured into her lungs. Olivia Petsch wasn't an alcoholic nor someone who enters a nightclub during a work night. She was sweet and innocent and loves animals more than anything. Her father was a veterinarian and she too wanted to follow in his footsteps. And so she did.

It was a cold summer night for her, 2 hours ago she got home to her fiancee Allan, leading her out of the home they shared for 5 years because he apparently got her ex-best friend Jona, pregnant. An hour before that she got kicked out of her job for righteously accusing her superiors of overdoing patients' treatments for an extra payment.

She was homeless, jobless, and loveless all at the same time.

The club was hot as the people danced along to the loud music being blasted from the DJ booth. Bartenders serve alcohol after alcohol. Strippers were dancing inside the private rooms, VIPs had booked.

She looked around and saw everyone happy but her. With so much alcohol in her system, she decided to give in to the music and danced in the middle of the dance floor. Unlike everyone else, she went here out of impulse and was only in her baggy jeans and a simple crop top, yet her beauty stood out among the rest, catching the eyes of a certain someone.

Guissepi Morretti had victoriously finished another business deal in one of the private rooms, with a group of men wanting to do business with him. He was a lion out to catch any prey he chooses.

"You know, young women are like youth elixirs to us men. They keep us youthful as well," one of the men whispered in his ears.

"I told you, I will not have my hands on the innocent. There are many women willing to work. Why corrupt a child?" He sneered while smoking his cigarette and looking down the dancefloor from up above the balcony.

"These are barely 12-year-olds. I'll gift you a few tonight if you'd like. All virgins," Guissepi may have a hand in drugs or illegal firearms but never human trafficking. He believes it is beyond limits.

Guissepi had enough and had a hold of the man's collar. "Take one more child and I'll fucking cut your balls off and feed it to my pets. Then I'll have all my men fuck you till you learned your lesson!"

"Mr. Moretti this is only business! Don't act like a fucking innocen---"

Before the man could finish Guissepi had already shot his thighs with his gun. The room was muffled and his gun had a silencer and so no one heard.

"Next time, I'll shoot what's between your legs, do you understand?" The guy winced through the pain and only nodded his head. Guissepi looked at his men and had him cleaned up. It's a dark and twisted world he lives in.

He'd never chosen this life if it were up to him. He'd rather be someone living a day job with a wife and coming home to his kids. Maybe marry someone who's innocent and someone who gives the light in his eyes. Someone like the girl sexily dancing with the crowd. Her black wavy hair reached her exposed waist. She was only in a t-shirt but her beauty stood out among the crowd. He could only imagine what she'd look like up close. What could be the color of her eyes? He asked himself.

He didn't focus on the strippers dancing in the room or the smoke that infiltrated the air. He needs to get out of the room and see this beauty for himself. Be able to breathe in her beauty and maybe ask for her name.

Without wasting a second, Guissepi stepped out of the room and walked down to the dance floor. It was packed and he hated the skin-to-skin contact he was having. Women were ditching their partners just for his glance, some clinging onto him but he'd brushed them off. After a few minutes of looking, he couldn't find the girl and it made him frustrated.

He shouldn't go after her anyways and corrupt her innocence. It would be better if he went back home and call Nathalia, Stacey, or Bettina. Those girls always knew how he likes it.

Feeling a little dejected, he went out for another smoke. "Guissepi, you must be crazy," he chuckled in Italian while smoking in the parking lot of his club.

He had given up on hitting on this girl and was ready to call it a night. After butting his second cigarette out, a tall statuesque blonde girl walked past him. She was slouching and wasn't walking steadily.

"Hey, baby do you need help?" A random guy asked. Guissepi was only watching their exchanges.

"No, I'm okay," Olive replied before retching on the ground. "How about I take you home, so we can have fun?" The guy then walked towards her and held her by her waist.

"Hey! No, I'm okay," she said trying to push him away. She was struggling, her body was feeling nauseous and the guy was forcing himself on her making her even dizzier.

"She said no," Guissepi coldly said. His eyes were skinning the man alive.

"Dude, leave us alone," the man arrogantly said as he turned around and stare at the tall man towering over him. His presence alone was enough to cause shivers down his spine, so he bowed his head and left.

Olive didn't even spare him a glance and walked towards his car. She struggled to open the door.

"Excuse me but this is my car," Guissepi said as he watched her adorable drunken state, her eyes were both closed, rejecting him of the chance to see her eyes clearly.

"Oh, huh?" She said, seeming to have woken up. She looked at her hands forcefully trying to open the door of his black Pagani. "Oops, sorry," she whispered and then turned to the next car which was a simple-looking car. She was stumbling left to right with her eyes close and it wasn't sitting well with the man who was carefully watching her.

"I don't think it's safe for you to drive little girl," he said concernedly with his deep Italian accent.

"I'm fine, I just need to find my keys," she said smiling at the man as she fumbled with her bag, trying to find her car keys.

If she ever gets in trouble what's in it for him anyway? It's not like he knows the girl. He questioned himself, but seeing her trying to act sober and the thought that this rare beauty might get wiped out from the face of the Earth didn't sit well with him. And when she stared up to see who this hot masculine voice was, he completely lost it staring at her ocean blue eyes. So different from his dark brown orbs that holds his deep darkest thoughts.

Her face was doll-like. She looked like an angel who fell from Heaven for him to corrupt with his darkness.

Olive was about to pass out when Guissepi carried her over his shoulders and went straight to the hotel where the nightclub was. "Ready my suite," he ordered his subordinates.

He owns the place and this is where he'd usually take his conquest and fuck them like there's no tomorrow.

Olive reeked of alcohol and vomit, putting her down on the bed wouldn't be hygienic, so he brought him to the bathroom and straight to the shower where the hot water blasted from above like little raindrops, immediately getting them both wet.

"I'm going to leave you to shower," he said but the moment he took off her support she stumbled behind only to be caught by his huge strong arms again.

"Mia Cara," he whispered in her ear.

"It's so cold," she shivered while taking her clothes off. Seeing that she could stand on her own, Guissepi took the initiative to leave and shower in the other bathroom.

Once finished, he got out with only a towel wrapped around his waist, and a smaller one on his neck, to check on Olive, she was sleeping in the tub with only a towel wrapped around her tiny figure. Her nipples were almost exposing and her thighs looked smooth, he wondered what it would feel like pressed on his cheeks. "Cazzo."

This woman was like a little trojan horse sent to poke all his weak spots. A temptress and she didn't even know how her innocence was charming him in a way he never thought was possible. He wanted to take her, feel her and taste her but not like this, not when she's vulnerable. If he were to fuck a woman, he wants them conscious to feel him, pounding into them.

He then took the woman out of the bath and into his huge round bed. He turned off all the lights in fear of getting tempted upon seeing what could be under her damp towel. "Put this on," he ordered as he handed her a shirt from his closet. Olive would jump in and out of her conscious state. In the dark, she obediently put on white button-down long sleeves that went just below her underwear.

There was something about this voice that attracted her and turned her own, stammering in the dark, she fell on the bed just right in front of Guissepi. "Get on the bed and rest. I don't think I'd be able to control myself further if you keep this up," Guissepi said, trying to suppress the lust that she was steering within him. Being with this girl was too dangerous, the attraction was too much even for him.

But what she did next surprised him. She placed her lips on his and instantly got engaged in a hot steamy make-out session with him. Her inexperience made her lose the fight for dominance. The kiss awakened the heated desire, but before it was too late.

"No!" He sneered pushing her away. "You don't know who I am," he reasoned, oh and how he hated himself for pushing her away.

She wanted more of his mouth on hers and she hated the distance he put up. "What's your name then?" Olive asked. Her soft drunken voice sounded like an angel to his ears.

"Moretti. Guissepi Moretti," he answered but poor Olive was feeling nauseous and restless already, that the name didn't register in her earring. She fell on her back. She was just worrying about where to sleep for tonight and didn't expect to be sleeping on the softest mattress in the world, with a tall muscular man beside her. Too bad she was too drunk to appreciate.

Guiseppi went to occupy the space beside her. He can't make love to her, so he might as well just cuddle her.

She felt so soft and looked like a little girl in his arms.

Unfortunately, the sun rose and the room was lit by its radiance. Guissepi hasn't had a good sleep in ages, ever since his brother was killed. And he'd give up anything just to stay for a few minutes, but his right-hand man Flavio came in to wake him up.

"Boss, we need to go now," Flavio coolly said. Guissepi never oversleeps and was always awake, but this time he looked like a sleeping wolf, hugging his mate. Guissepi wanted to strangle him to death for disturbing him, but he knows Flavio only meant well. They have a few stuff they need to do for the day.

Guissepi, untangled his arms from the woman and sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing his eyes awake. It was better anyways for him to wake up before her and startle her, "Tell Mauro to stay behind and wait for her to wake up. Buy her breakfast and tell him to bring her wherever she wants," he ordered in Italian.

Flavio was curious but didn't dare intrude. On a normal day, he would've asked someone to take out the woman on his bed even before dawn breaks.

Once he was ready, wearing trousers and a black shirt, the two left elegantly.

Olive woke up in an unfamiliar place but the scent on the bed still lingered on her nose. Where is she? She asked as she slowly woke herself up from her deep slumber. Guissepi left almost 6 hours ago and it was already afternoon.

She sat up, having a hard time trying to recall what happened the night before. 'Where am I?' she muttered as her eyes trailed the luxurious interior of the room. She knows she could never afford a night here.

Just then Mauro came in with a few hotel staff who was wheeling in a cart of breakfast. "Who are you?" She stood up surprised at their gesture. She was wearing a man's shirt and she was suspecting that this young man who looked like he just turned 20 was the one he slept with last night.

"Did we? uh..." She couldn't form the sentences and Mauro watched her dumbly. "Eat." He ordered her.

The man's thick accent registered in the words he spewed. Obediently, Olive ate her "breakfast in silence," her head was pounding and the macchiato on the cart helped ease her hangover. She couldn't much about the night before, and only remembered a glimpse of the man who took her here. She assumed it was Mauro, the guy standing by the door watching her eat.

Once she was done, she showered and wore the clothes Mauro got her, "Uhm, thanks for the night. Do you know how can I get back to the club?"

"I'll take you where you want," he then led her downstairs to the lobby, Olive noticed that the club they were at was just in the same building as the hotel. She just needs to find her car now.

"Sir, it's okay. I can take it from here. I just need to get my car. Thank you very much for last night," she said before walking deeper into the parking lot. Alas, she found her black sedan. It was packed since all her stuff was basically there.

She didn't have any place to go. Allan has always been a part of her whole life. They met each other when she was 12 and he was 14 and started dating 3 years after. She no longer had her parents by her side since she was 17, she had no siblings and her relatives were distant. She started living in with Allan who was working as a policeman, while she was in vet school.

She always thought about marrying him and building a family with him but she was always busy working with animals, while he was left alone at home. What she never would've expected was that the next-door neighbor and her best friend Jona, would stop by and fill the blank space she left at home.

Yesterday was the worst day of her life and the only solution she could think of was rebel. Rebel against her parents for not taking care of themselves and dying at a prime age. Rebel on the body she had kept for Allan. Rebel against herself for always choosing what she thought was right.

But today, after leaving the hotel, she couldn't do anything but get her life back into pieces. But she doesn't know where to start.

Meanwhile, Guissepi was in the middle of cleaning up the mess they just made. There was blood on the floor and on the walls. Dead bodies scattered all over the place. A month ago, an American man named Michael Seymour scammed him with a million-dollar worth of substance. The reason why he had to come to the States from Sicily. And nobody dares make a fool out of the Moretti family.

They're the biggest most powerful crime family in all of Italy dating since the 1900s. People feared that name alone and some are a clod for trying to defy them. The crypto guy named Seymour was one of them and 10 minutes ago they've engaged in a gunfight easily won by Guissepi.

He always hated the smell of blood, and always revolted against the sound of guns. But he didn't have a choice, since he was made for this ever since he was young.

"Boss, we've found the crates," one of the brusque men said. "Load them on the jet."

They've captured Seymour in his rest house in California. He was a businessman and family guy in front of his loved ones, but in this place, he hides his secrets. Down the basement were about 5 smuggled reptiles who were living in unsanitary cages that were cramped and had poor ventilation.

"What do you want to do with the animals?"

Guissepi looked through the tiny enclosures. There were 3 snakes and 2 tortoises. "Get someone to treat them, then we'll take them back home," deciding to take the animals as collateral. It is extremely illegal to smuggle exotic animals to Italy, but he doesn't care the rules can always be bent if you have money.

"Boss, these are smuggled animals though, and this America. It might be hard to find a doctor," Flavio's voice got smaller as Guissepi intensified his stare. He doesn't tolerate excuses and disobedience. "I'll find one right away!"

Guissepi then exited his house and got in the back of his Rolls Royce phantom, "Where to now boss?" his chauffered asked.

"Go find a flower shop, I'm going to my mother," he ordered. He's never visited his mother, not since his father ordered him to never see her again. But he loved his mom so much and hated his father for drying his mother away.

"Guissepi, Mauro just called. The woman last night woke up at 4 pm and had left the hotel in her car," Flavio announced.

He almost forgot about that girl, he wished Flavio didn't have to bring her up. Guissepi pretended not to care and closed his eyes. The more he stops thinking about this stupid crush the better he can move on.

The car ride was pure silence. They were all tired after spending the whole afternoon at Seymour's.