The Mafia's Charming Mate

Palermo was quite cool and calm that Monday morning as everyone rushed to their workplace. The wet streets and roads added to its beauty and it smelled like goodness since it had been a while the gangs fought each other. Ever since Rocco Lorenzo took over the throne from his father, Bruno Lorenzo, all the gangs that caused trouble had been cleared off without a trace.

Rocco doesn't appear anyhow or anywhere and he was much respected because he is known for being a man of his word. Every other gangs outside Palermo knew their boundaries and would never trespass but there was one gang that shared Palermo with him, the Vamp Mafia group.

The group calls themselves the tiger of Italy and it was being head by Lord Marcello who was another psychopath. He had been on the other side of Palermo where he protected his territory until Rocco took over. Being the owner of the biggest vineyard, he had so much pride and abused so many people. Most of his workers were lying under the green grass as manure and no one dared to ask him about it.

He was that ruthless and terrible.

Talks about Rocco planning to buy the vineyard filled the town and everyone knew it only meant trouble because Marcello would never sell it out and Rocco would claim it with whatever means he can.

"The car is set" the voice informed Rocco as he cuffed the hand of his white shirt and threw the navy blue suit on

"Still no response for him?" he questioned and placed his dark shade on his face

"He only told us to do our worst" Bojana answered

"Well, he will see the worst" he said coldly and walked out of the room with the coldest demeanor.

****

The chirping of birds filled the air as the mellow sound of the violin played underneath while everyone got busy in the large villa. There was symmetrical arrangement of palm trees with a tuft of large leaves at the top lined up across the hundred meters distance of the main building and the huge white gate leading to the mansion. The surroundings were filled with champagne glass-like fountains that were brimming down crystal clear water endlessly, stone statues, monkey grottoes serving waters into the huge fountains, and water organs of different kinds.

There were several trays carrying different cups and plates, tables arranged with four chairs max around it and they were all carrying name tags for identification. The atmosphere was busy yet calm as everyone prepared for the sixtieth birthday of Lord Marcello, the tiger of Italy. He has been the head of the Vamp Mafia group for decades and everyone knew how terrifying he was. He never let anything or anyone get in his way and has been controlling his forte successfully.

"Today is surely a good day, even the birds can testify" one of his aides remarked as he dressed him up for the party

The guests were already seated and chattering. Some of them were catching up on old times while some were making new connections. He climbed the podium to give his short speech and told them to have fun to their fill since they were at his own party.

"It's not easy to be sixty. I am truly proud of myself and that is why I have gotten this Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime wristwatch as a gift for myself" he chuckled loudly, flaunting it for everyone to see and they all clapped as several comments flew around

"Isn't that the only kind in the world?"

"That is crazily expensive, how did he manage to get his hands on it?"

He was enjoying the show and comments when a Rolls Royce Phantom parked around the garden and everyone turned to see who came in with the grand entrance.

"Rocco Lorenzo! What is he doing here?" Marcello's aide muttered aloud and everyone paused altogether

His presence was enough to make them pause and gasp as he walked briskly to the mini garden where the party was being held.

"Ciao Marcello, buon compleanno (Hey Marcello, Happy birthday!)" Rocco shouted and a short laugh followed with a clap of his hands

"Non osare pronunciare il mio nome con quella tua bocca sporca (Don't you dare utter my name with that filthy mouth of yours)" he growled at him but Rocco only chuckled as he removed his dark shade

"You should be happy on your birthday, what's with the rabid dog-like tone?" Rocco slammed and that only made Marcello fume the more

"I am sure you are not here to wish me a happy birthday. What brought you here?" Marcello ignored his previous statement

"Sure, I don't care if your birthday is happy or not. How about some private conversation? We have something to finish up" he confirmed and silence swallowed the atmosphere

Suddenly, Marcello burst into a very loud laugh that grabbed the attention of everyone in the garden

"Bold of you to ask me for a private conversation Rocco. You should know by now that I don't deal with underdogs. That was one of the reasons why you were not invited to this party" Marcello mocked, flashing the ray of the sun that bounced on his wristwatch on Rocco's face mockingly

A sly smile appeared on Rocco's face as he removed his hands from his pockets and closed up the distance between them.

"You have thirty seconds to give up on the vineyard" he declared with a deadly voice coupled with a piercing look this time and Marcello's laugh could be heard even at the far side of the villa

"Sul mio cadaver (Over my dead body)" he stated firmly and spat on Rocco's face

Everyone gasped at the sight and scurried to the other side because they knew it wouldn't end well.

"Bene, come desideri (Well, as you wish)" Rocco shrugged and wiped the spit off with his handkerchief

Marcello yelled for his men to protect him but nobody made a move. His second order got everyone of them running but not to his side, to his surprise. They all rushed to Rocco's back and aimed at him.

Not believing his eyes, he kept stuttering "What.. what the hell?"

Before anyone could blink, Lord Marcello had been apprehended by his own men while Rocco stood there with a smirk dancing on his lips.

With a snap of his finger, he was tied to a chair. Everyone ignored all his threats and shouts because no one could step in, it was Rocco Lorenzo and no one dared to breathe.

"Your thirty seconds is up. You just got a new wristwatch, how come you can't keep to time?" Rocco mocked and clacked his tongue

Lord Marcello kept screaming and threatening that he would pay for it but Rocco was not moved. He walked closer to him and roamed the gun around his cheeks and mouth while Lord Marcello trembled in the chair. He pointed the gun to his glabella but changed his mind for the generosity of his birthday.

"You piece of sh..." Lord Marcello was still speaking when two shots landed on his knee joints

His words were cut short with a long scream of pain. Blood splattered everywhere as his knees hung down, dismembered from his thigh.

"La tua vita è il tuo regalo di compleanno. Considerati fortunate (Your life is your birthday gift. Consider yourself lucky)" he completed his sentence and everywhere scattered with screams of horror while he cleaned off the blood on his face

All the guests scattered in different directions as they scrambled for safety.

"I know you are very cheeky and fearless but not with me Rocco Lorenzo. I will make sure to put the vineyard to a good use and who knows? You might be a good source of fertilizer some other time" He whispered to him

Lord Marcello groaned in pain as blood seeped out of his wound.

"You... bas... basttt.. bastaarrd" he managed to pull through but Rocco only lighted his cigarette and told him since it will only hurt more he should keep his gutter shut

As he turned and walked to his car, both his men and that of Lord Marcello's men rushed to follow him. He had managed to buy them over without the knowledge of Lord Marcello and that made his work easier.

They pulled over at his office where Bojana, his aide was waiting for him with the transfer of rights of the vineyard's documents.

"Well-done Rocco Lorenzo" she said to him with a smile and handed over the file

"I trust your competency any day and anytime" he commented and his mouth curved into a smile as they bumped fist

"The boys are out for dinner" she informed him

"Why didn't you go with them? This can wait" he questioned

She lit her cigarette and took a puff before answering "I don't feel like. Why bother when I can enjoy the scenery with you here"

He scoffed.

"You should focus on other things when we are not working. Don't let your life revolve around the gang alone" he advised and her eyes rolled tiredly

"Talk about describing yourself. You never see anything else except work" she slammed and he suddenly yanked her closer to his side with her waist

He leant closer for a kiss and her eyes gradually closed as his lips came closer to hers.

"Get me a bed warmer" he muttered to her face and removed her hand from his waist before walking away, making her stumble but she was quick to regain her balance

"Quello stupido bastardo (That corny bastard)" she cursed under her breath and threw the cigarette into the fountain before stomping away angrily.

****

|Rocco|

The turbulence of the water was so high that our ship fought for her life endlessly. Everyone panicked and scrambled around to safety but I couldn't move no matter how hard I tried. Nothing was working and my heart sank with every second as I watched people rush to safety while I lost all hope. My legs were perfectly fine but they wouldn't move. I struggled to get on my feet and just when it felt like there was a glimpse of hope, my legs buckled and I met myself on the floor.

Once again!

A hand stretched towards me finally and I happily grabbed it without thinking twice. A helper I prayed for was desperately in front of me and I didn't want to lose the chance. The hand helped me up and started leading me to the other part of the ship. I wouldn't know if that was safer than where majority of the boarders were running to but at least, I was not on a spot any longer and it was kind of refreshing.

"Do we stand a chance? Are we going to make it out of here alive? This storm is really raging hard" I blabbered to my helper but he just silently pulled me along.

Every single question I asked was not met with an answer. Perhaps, my helper was mute. I decided to keep shut before he would throw my hand off due to my curiosity and followed blindly. On getting to the other side, he shifted the veil on his face to the side and my eyes bulged in horror. It was him again.

That callous animal in human skin. The one whose resentment weighed on my mind more than my happiness. Never! Never will I ever forget him.

My eyes flickered with both fear and desperation. He was everywhere I went to, no matter what and now, he's was standing right in front of me.

"You think I wouldn't see you anywhere you go?" he cackled. His ugly brown teeth arranged in italics presented themselves disgustingly in front of me.

"No! Don't do this! Just let me go!" I trembled, my legs shifting back in fear but he was faster than me

Before I could pick up the pace, his huge hands like the tiger's paws were already on my slim and small shoulder. My tiny frame was nothing hard for him to lift, and there I was, dangling at his mercy.

"Please... just llllee....eeet me gggo..ooo" I pleaded with my last breath as the collar of my shirt hugged my neck tightly

His monstrous laugh echoed in my ears and before I could blink, his grip on me loosened and within few seconds, my back kissed the cold and dark water.

"Welcome to your grave!" the sea echoed to me as I sank deeper before I heard a cough from afar.

My eyes flew open at the sound of a loud cough and it was met with the slight darkness of the room. Every windows and doors were shut at my command and the only light illuminating the room was a red light coming from the far end of the room.

I turned to see someone on my bed coughing and adjusting herself before diving into another round of heaving snoring. She was sounding like an over-packed truck and that got me mad big time. My hand connected to the mini apple shaped table beside my bed and it produced a bang loud enough to shake the building.

The lady flew up fearfully as she scanned her environment to make sure a war had not broken out.

"What are you?" I growled deeply and she sat there looking at me with the blanket around her heaving chest

"Did I just ask a statue a question? Am I not talking to a human? Cat got your tongue!?" questions flew out of my mouth endlessly while she shook at my voice

She managed to find her voice but couldn't respond audibly. "You... I... got here... last night... we.. slept... don't you remember?"

A short silence followed before I thundered again. "So? If you are the bed warmer, what are you still doing here? Did you not have enough fun last night? Do you want me to go another round?" and yanked her hair, pulling her neck to the back

Her voice suddenly came back and she was able to make a coherent statement.

"No sir! I had enough fun!" she responded and slapped my hand off

That pissed me to the bone. How dare she? How dare she touch me without my permission? I didn't know when my hands wrapped around her neck and pressed down on it in annoyance.

She struggled for her life as she tried to remove my hand from her neck but I wasn't done with her. She had no manners and I had to teach her some. Getting cheeky with me was one of the things I hated most, especially not now that I was coming back from the land of the dead.

I finally released my hold when a loud bang landed on my door. She didn't even bother to cover herself before she flew out of my bed naked and rushed to Bojana's side, crying and breathing heavily.

"You didn't have to make her see the door of heaven when you could chase her out politely after she warmed your bed" she stated, walking closer to pick up the blanket for her so she could cover her body

"Did I not tell you that I never want to see them beside me when I wake up?" I yelled at her and the lady jumped in fear.

Bojana was used to me so nothing I did fazed her. She just calmly told the lady to follow her.

"Don't forget your meeting by ten. You look like you had some fun and she served you well. Only if you were not an asshole with a nasty temper" she clacked her tongue and went out of the room with the lady

Bojana was right. My temper is very nasty. I don't hold back when I am livid and I hate getting dared. I love my rules being kept and I give no room for second chances, I am not that generous.

She is my aide and the only person who understands me. She knows what I wanted each time and doesn't pry into what I didn't tell her because she knew either I was not ready to tell her or wouldn't tell her at all.

She's also a longtime friend. She was the first person that warmed up to me when I got to Italy and thankfully, our goals aligned. We are still not where we aimed but we are slowly moving up the ladder and the goal is right in front of us.

The dream I had played over and over in my head as I showered and dressed for the meeting at the company. My mood was already at zero from the early morning and when I thought about the report I also received the previous night, I knew the day wouldn't be a smiling one and yes, I was always prepared.

I marched outside the house to Bojana already dressed in her knee length black skirt that had a tiny silt along the thigh, her purple shirt was neatly tucked in and her transparent white glasses was sitting on her nose.

"One would think you are my secretary. What's with this outfit?" I scoffed

"I play different roles in your life every day and I think the secretary one is the next today. You didn't forget about the visit to the Orange hub later in the day right?" she responded and pointed to the car for me to get in

"I see..."

"Taken care of.. No charges will be pressed but please could you be a little gentler with them? You made a great mess" she snapped at me

"They wanted money, I wanted their body. It's a win-win. Money is not easy to make, they have to prove their worth" I spat out unapologetically

"Why bother saying anything? It's just like talking to a stone" she sighed and gave up as the car pulled up in front of the company

"Everyone is in right? I hate to gather people twice for the same cause" I asked as we ascended the little stairs that leads to the company's building

"You should trust me on that. I also do not like wasting any second of my time" she sneered as her heels kissed the tiled floor as we walked in deeper into the building

My plan for the meeting was a terrible one and just as usual, no going back. After all, I don't go back on my words.

"I am Rocco Lorenzo" I muttered as the elevator's door closed on my cold face