As Maria walked back towards the car, she could feel Tony's eyes on her. 'Good', she thought, 'make him want me.' She felt life would be much easier if Tony was trying to keep her happy for his own, driven reasons.
'Not that he's too displeasing to look at anyway', Maria smirked to herself as she looked over at him by the car. He wasn't a traditional, drop-dead gorgeous kind of guy. He was rough around the edges, tarnished with demons that Maria couldn't for the life of her imagine.From her younger years, Maria could vividly remember that excitement around someone new coming to town, or someone returning after years gone by. Everyone knew everyone in their local circles, so it had been no surprise to Maria when his eyes had lingered. She knew it was nothing more than an interest in the latest shiny visitor. That and she had learnt a lot more about hair and make-up since she left at 14. Whenever she had returned it had been a family-only gathering, or the family had all flown out to some more remote location.It was ironic really, by keeping her 'safe' her father had actually made her more of a person of interest on her return.Having learnt his lesson previously, Tony moved to open the door for Maria to get in, mindful not to look at her as she slid into her seat and rushing back around to the driver's seat.
****It wasn't too long before they were driving through the cast-iron gates of her family estate. The LeTale family had multiple security systems that Tony navigated with such an ease that you might have thought he lived there. He most certainly did not.As the jaguar rolled to a stop outside the main house, the unmistakable shrill noise of Mrs LeTale echoed around the courtyard."Maria, my baby!" Tony dutifully got out and opened the door for Maria, who gracefully moved from the car with a tight-lipped smile. "Mama," she said quietly, allowing herself to be tightly embraced by her mother. Her dark eyes slid over to meet Tony's light ones, he quirked an eyebrow in a slightly playful manner at the reunion. After a moment or two, he quietly cleared his throat before saying "Mrs LeTale, I've got some business to attend to but Maria should be quite safe under the home security management team" he assured her.Mrs LeTale finally dropped her daughter from their embrace and put a hand to Tony's cheek, "Tony, you are such a good man. We will be fine, thank you for agreeing to take care of our Maria for the next few weeks. I know it's a little below your paygrade" she offered, less in an apologetic manner as much as slightly patronising with the additional tap to his cheek she offered.'Ah, so Mrs LeTale knows I didn't want to...great', Tony thought to himself, smiling at her before he responded "I wouldn't trust anyone else to do it right," With a curt nod to Maria he lifted Maria's bag and gave it to a nearby staff member before hopping back into his car to driving away."He is your fathers favourite," Mrs LeTale said knowingly, looking to Maria sideways. "Handsome is he not?"Maria rolled her eyes, starting the trudge up the steps towards the house. "Maybe, in a strange beats people for a living way, mixed with low education and a passion for hookers" she scoffed, walking into the house and looking around wide-eyed. Mrs LeTale was always redecorating so it came as no surprise that the hall had changed. It seemed she'd gone to a more traditional oak arrangement in her last flurry.The house instantly seemed empty, as though her father had once occupied every room. It wasn't as though he spent an awful lot of time at home, to begin with, but just knowing he was in the hospital, fighting for life, meant the whole place seem strange and lonely. She was wistfully looking at some of the family portraits that adorned the wall near the stairs when the sound of thundering of feet began to get closer."Tommy LeTale, no running" his mother barked but the spritely 11-year-old didn't care, tackling his sister from the side. "Maria! You're back!" he grinned, glancing back at his mother "I told you she'd come home if you asked" he retorted, giving his sister an extra squeeze before bouncing back to look at her fully. His eyes were the same hazel colour but somehow brighter, his hair perfectly trimmed, still short in height as he hadn't yet had his growth spurt."Mama says Tony is looking after you, he's awesome" he gushed with childlike admiration. "Once he took me to the batting cages and on the way back he had to get something out of the glove compartment and he had a gun! An actual gun! Can you believe it?" he laughed.Maria's stomach dropped at the reminder that her brother was perfectly innocent to their world. That a gun was 'cool' and that someday in the not too distant future he'd wheel his first."I missed you, Tommy," she told him softly, as she tugged him back to her for an extra hug.
As Tony's jaguar pulled up in front of the sleek-chrome fronted building with the neon sign blaring "Brown's" he let out a sigh, switching off the engine and wiping a hand down his face.'Another day, another pair of balls to burst',he thought to himself, reaching into the glove compartment and removing his trusted knuckle dusters. One swift punch with these should be enough to teach any fool a lesson.He caught sight of himself in his rearview mirror and arched his eyebrow, slowly turning his face from side to side as he examined himself as though for the first time in a long time. "You old dirty dog" he muttered to himself, shaking his head "Getting flustered over a 21-year-old crime princess" he scoffed, "You should be ashamed of yourself," he told his reflection with a laugh, opening the car door and climbing out.Girls like Maria LeTale didn't want guys like Tony Calcolo, not to mention he was over 10 years her senior. It was pathetic t
"What do you mean he isn't answering? Call him again" Maria sighed to the boy who was probably around her age she had found to be in charge of this security shift.They were in the entrance hall to the main house, Maria was dressed ready for tonight's meeting in a burgundy wrapped top over some figure-hugging black dress trousers. Killer heels, curled hair and red lipstick to exaggerate her Italian-American heritage were a must as well.It had been very easy for Maria to get frustrated with being back home. She felt like she'd been placed into a time machine the moment she'd gotten settled with a coffee in the lounge with her mother. Her mother had arranged for a date for her tonight - a date! Maria had flown in to help out with her comatose father and their family business not be matched up with a suitor like this was the 1950's."Maria, you are 21 years old and if this past week has taught us nothing, it is surely that you may have to step into you
You could have cut the tension with a knife after Tony spoke those words. Particularly the wordbabysitter spun around Maria's head."Babysitter?" Maria practically spat out, seeing red. Why did this man get under her skin so easily? Usually, she could brush off these kinds of remarks but every other time Tony opened his mouth, Maria ended up irked in some way."Look, Maria, I'm sorry you're in a pretty shitty situation, but I'm not your get out of jail free card when it comes to your mother" Tony sounded stern but was backtracking slightly, not wanting Maria to decide her father needed one less Capo on his team. "Maybe when you've been around the whole mafia situation a little longer--" he started before Maria interrupted."A little longer?" she asked quietly, letting out a fake laugh. "Oh please, Tony, tell me more about how hard it has been for you, volunteering to be part of the LeTale gang and all" she scoffed, glancing over and noticing
Tony arched his eyebrow as he looked over her face, her eyes catching the light as she looked up at him which made her appear to be more vulnerable."I just thought I would take this opportunity" he started, glancing over his shoulder suspiciously, "to reassure you thatno-one needs a reminder that you're all grown up now" he growled from deep within his chest, swallowing a little as he leaned down so he was inches away from her face, his eyes staring directly into hers, "I think I speak on behalf of the male community when I say: We have definitely noticed" he admitted. He spoke softly but firmly, giving him an air of confidence that was half charming and half arrogant.He went to move back, before his head dipped to near her ear, "But if you tell anyone I told you, they'll probably have me whacked, because someone is always watching, even when you're with me" he added, pulling back to standing and dropping her wrist.He gestured for
They made polite conversation as they ate dinner at a reasonable pace, once the bill arrived Tony took it and placed a couple of bills inside, including a rather generous tip."I will pay my own way, thank you," Maria told him, reaching into her purse and only pausing when Tony let out a deep chuckle. "What?" she asked."Nothing, if you so desperately want to pay for yourself you can do." he offered with a smirk to his lips, Maira eyed him warily before he added "Either way it's your family's money, technically" he pointed out, getting up and gesturing towards the door. "Shall we? Don't want to be late for your big meeting!"Narrowing her eyes slightly, Maria slipped a bill on top of Tony's and then lead the way out. Laughing and shaking his head, Tony followed her, enjoying the hypnotic movements of her behind for a few moments before jogging ahead to open the car door for her.As he slipped into the driver's side and started the engine he let out a small sigh. '
Outside Maria struggled against Trig’s rough hands as he practically had to force her into the car, his hand pushing her head into the car. As the sound of another gunshot sounded there was a brief freeze in the air, Trig glanced quickly back to the warehouse they had come from before seemingly remembering his current task and pushing Maria fully into the backseat of Tony’s Jaguar, sitting next to her and pulling the door shut quietly, hitting the lock button.“Excuse my language, Miss LeTale, but keep your damn head down if you want to live” he growled at her, seemingly fierce but his eyes kept flickering towards the warehouse as a worried look danced on his face.“He got shot and you just left him, what kind of person can do that?” Maria sobbed slightly, tear-stained streaks running down her cheeks. Trig’s brows knitted together as he looked over at Maria in disbelief. ‘This is who has been placed in charge of the family business, she is meant to be our ruthless lead
As they sped away from the warehouse, Tony could feel Maria’s tension surrounding the vehicle. He knew he had to take some control here, her Daddy would absolutely freak out if he had seen the way she had reacted to the gunshots in front of the men. Tony was so confident about Don Damon’s reaction he actually felt himself getting annoyed at the Don. He felt sorry for the beautiful brunette in the car next to him. She was barely 21 and had been thrown headfirst into a world she didn’t belong in or want to be a part of. He actually blamed the Don’s wife but the blame game would get him nowhere. There was no reason for Maria to be involved, she could have handled it but she felt above the situation. Tony rolled his eyes as he cleared his throat to break the silence.“Maria,” he started, drawing in a breath because he knew how well this was going to go down, “I know that what happened back there must have shocked you – and I completel
Maria followed behind Tony, her eyes darting around as she took in her surroundings. She waited patiently as he spoke in hushed tones to the bulky doorman. His eyes slid over Maria greedily, and it made her feel a little uneasy.“Keep your eyes to yourself, my friend” Tony growled, placing his hand on the other man's shoulder and patting him as he ushered Maria inside the door he held open for her. Immediately, the world seemed to darken with only a dim glow from various red lamps around the room and the lights at the bar. This was one of her father’s more respectable places but was certainly still not the bright lights she was used to back home. An attractive waitress came over to show them to their table, seating them at the back of the club. “I’ll take a whiskey on the rocks and… what will you have?” he asked Maria, whose attention had been on looking around the room.“Hm? Oh, I’ll have a gin and tonic pleas