THE FOLLOWING WEEK passed in a blur. The family was occupied. Some strange Italians had been found scouting a company owned by the Salvatore family, so Marcus had been sent to deal with the issue. The Giovannis, who were a big mafia family in Italy had found out that Marcus Salvatore was behind the death of one of the sons, for that, Marcus had been protected heavily wherever he went for the past 2 weeks. It was overwhelming for him, but he knew that it was necessary. He had been at one of their offices in the commercial district of town, going over the numbers and amount of money in and going out of the company. He wanted to be sure they were not being ripped off by any employee. That was an offense punishable by death. He sighed as he looked at the papers on the desk. "I should not be doing this," he muttered to himself. He was cranky. After the incident with Olivia, his wife has been giving him a tough time and silent treatment. And he ached for Olivia. His phone rang, cutt
I THOUGHT I had seen the last of Marcus Salvatore after that wedding event, but it seemed like I saw him everywhere and in everything in my daily life. I saw his cold, blue eyes in the eyes of the mailman. I saw his bold confident gait in the walk of my next-door neighbor, and I thought I was running mad when I looked for my son in the park and saw him talking with Marcus. I restrained the urge to walk ahead briskly and snatch my son from Marcus's hold, instead, I stood back and watched them. They looked like how an ideal father and son should look like. On close inspection, one could see the similarities between the two of them, I felt bad for withholding the information that Jake was Marcus's son, but I felt justified because, after all, it was Marcus's family that threw me out and refused me a chance to break the news. After their meeting at the park, Jake had become even happier. I did not want to ask him what they had spoken about, because I preferred not to know. It's the w
MARCUS PRESSED THE gas pedal and weaved through the traffic. He could feel the pressure building in his head as he drove in. He was blinded with anger and a strange streak of jealousy at Joe. He considered sending Àngel Mario, one of his most trusted men, to "take care" of Joe. By "take care" He meant to kill and make the body vanish. He smiled at the thought but turned to look at the bright happy look on Jake and he calmed down. He did not know what it was about this kid that always calmed him down and was very familiar, and with his wife gone for some impromptu visit to her family house, Marcus knew there was no better time to spend some good time with the kid than now. He knew his wife would notaproe of their outing. "Where do you want to go?" Marcus asked as Jake pressed his face out the window to watch the buildings wheeze past with speed. The little kid seemed to be having the time of his life just being in such a fancy car and feeling the air-conditioner blast his face. Mar
MELISSA SAT ALONE at a table in the restaurant underneath her hotel. She had told her husband's family that she was going to visit with her family for a while, but that was a lie. She was feeling choked up, staying in the Salvatore's estate like that, and Marcus had started acting up but seeing him with Olivia Bennett had been the last straw that broke the camel's back. She knew she had to take a break and stay away for a while or else she would bring out the Mafia part of her blood and that might result in a family war. "A cup of coffee, please," She told a passing waitress. Mellissa continued to mull over her situation as she waited for the waitress. Melissa had first heard the name "Olivia Bennet" after the family meeting where she was told that she was going to marry a guy she had never seen before, and although she had prepared herself for it, it still came as a shock.All her life, she had been trained in the art of ruthless killing, martial arts, and tactical planning. Her
I SAT BACK on the park bench, watching Jake ride his bike in circles. He would fall, and stand back up with a wide smile on his face. I quelled my motherly instinct to stop him from hurting himself but he is a boy, and he was as energetic as his father, even though he was just 6 years old. I did not like the budding relationship between Jake and his unknowing father, and to make matters worse, Marcus introduced Jake to his grandfather, and they had taken a liking to each other. According to Jake, the last visit was very interesting. Old Nonno had taught him many things while Marcus went to buy him a bike. He was even learning Italian now, and he calls Vittorio by the Italian term of grandfather. It was like the Salvatores knew that Jake was Marcus's child and they were just bidding their time before she snatched him away, but that was not possible. He waved at me to catch my attention and flashed me a toothy grin before pedaling the bike, weaving through other playing children. H
"DO NOT DIE in Italy, you hear me?" Vittorio said as he and Marcus walked out of the mansion. It was the day of traveling already. "If I do, my blood would be on your head," Marcus muttered. Vittorio chuckled and said, "I know you won't die. You are a full blooded Salvatore, and you have Julian with you." Marcus scoffed. He watched their servants stuff his luggage into the back of the waiting limousine. "Don't call me when you get to Italy," Vittorio said. "I won't pick." "I wasn't going to call you," Marcus snorted. "I would rather spend my time hanging out with that kid you brought around last week. What was his name and who are his parents?" Marcus chuckled and got into the limousine. Before he closed the door, he looked up at his father and said, "If I die in Italy, I guess you would never know the child." The car pulled away from the driveway, leaving Vittorio standing at the front of his mansion. "You are giving your father a hard time," Julian said, handing Marcus a flut
MARCUS STOOD UP and stretched from the hammock. The waiting was wearing him out. He put on his sunshades and sauntered to the edge of the porch. "Enjoying the view, hm?" Julian called from behind. Marcus turned and flashed him a fake smile. Julian was on a chaise lounge chair with two young half-naked models by his side. "It's been two days, Julian," Marcus said. "Two days and still not a word from Giovanni. Not what he wants. No attempts in our lives. Nothing. It's almost like we are on vacation!" "Hmm…" Julian blew out on his cigar. "What are we still doing here?" Marcus snarled. "I don't know about you, but I am enjoying myself here," He cupped the ass of the model on his left side. "And hey, look at you. Looking tan as ever. You look like a Greek god," Marcus scoffed. But Julian was right. He was also enjoying himself here, and his tan looked great. The wind blew on his open t-shirt, ruffling it as he stood on the balcony overlooking the beach. He glanced at his phone, he
Marcus's hand reflexively went to his hip where his gun was supposed to be, but it was empty. He remembered that the doorman had requested for their "tools". Giovanni noticed the movement and scoffed. "You would not be needing that," He said. "Come. Walk with me, eh?" Marcus and Julian fell into step along with Giovanni who led them into a small room. The room was dark save for a buzzing light bulb that hung low. Some moths fluttered around it. "Is this where you are going to kill us?" Marcus asked. Giovanni laughed. "You are so…" He did not complete the sentence, instead he said, "Oi, Pianté, give them their things," A large man stepped out from the shadows and placed a briefcase on the table.Marcus took out his gun and checked it. He kept his eyes on Giovanni as he snapped the gun into his belt and the bronze knuckles into his pocket. "So you do not want to kill us?" He asked. "Not yet," Giovanni waved them to the seats around the table. "In a way, you did me a favor. Pianté, b