5. A favour

ISLA

~•~

I had been running all day long. My feet were numb, but honestly, so was the rest of my body.

When Lorenzo had told me I could come back if I had nowhere to go, I was tempted to cuss him out. However, I knew that wouldn’t end well. I was in his house and I had no family left. Being on his bad side would get me nowhere. Also, I never thought I would actually come back, but it was hell the moment I left his house.

After stepping out, I realized I had nothing on me; no money, no phone, nothing. I couldn’t go back in to ask for anything. I still had my pride, which was why I walked all the way to my house, only to find out that it was burnt beyond repair.

I didn’t even get the opportunity to go inside before I saw some men coming outside and quickly hid. When I overheard them talking about how I wasn’t dead yet and they wanted to claim me before any other mafia did, I ran away. Unfortunately for me, they caught sight of me and I had to go through hell to evade them and run back to Lorenzo’s place.

I didn’t trust him but I also didn’t know what to do. The killers had mentioned Russo. I didn’t know if I was digging my grave by agreeing to live by his rules, but it was way better than dying on the streets. The men I ran into earlier weren’t just discussing how to get me, they were also happy my family had been murdered, claiming we were a thorn in everyone’s flesh. They wanted to teach me a lesson as I was the last living member of my family.

“Still crying?”

Lorenzo’s voice had me looking up from my plate. I hadn’t even realized it but my eyes were wet with tears. I rubbed the tears away and looked up at him.

“If you’re going to keep crying, do it in your room. Stop making everyone feel awkward.”

I sucked on my teeth, having a lot to say to him but holding the words back. How could a man be so cruel? Didn’t he have an iota of empathy in him? My family was just murdered!? I was at least allowed to cry, wasn’t I?

As though he could sense my thoughts, he let out a chuckle. “You look like you are having violent thoughts.” I stayed silent. “Rein it in.”

He stepped closer to me and I leaned away, wondering what was going through his head.

“You’re entertaining. I might enjoy keeping you around after all.”

I closed my eyes briefly, hating my reality. Just two days ago, I had a family who cared about me. If my family were alive, no man would dare to talk to me like this. My father was very protective of me. My brother would go off on anyone who disrespected me. My mother stayed out of the matters of the mafia but she would never let anyone who disrespected me go.

Two days ago, we were a family of four, but right now, I was the only one left. I didn’t know how to navigate life without my family. They didn’t leave me any instructions. I could feel my eyes start to tear up again so I bit down on my lip and looked away from him.

I took several deep breaths and by the time I turned around to face him again, he was already leaving the kitchen. His footsteps were light and I wouldn’t notice him leaving if I didn’t see it.

“Lo- Lorenzo,” I called out tentatively.

He paused for a second, then turned around and arched an eyebrow.

I cleared my throat. “Mr. Russo.” I corrected myself. He nodded at me to go on. “Can I ask for a favor?”

“I don’t do things for free.”

“You don’t know what I’m going to ask for.” I pointed out but he merely shrugged. He seemed carefree but I could tell he was not someone to be messed with. Someone who didn’t even feel bad for a mourning person definitely wasn’t carefree. “Can you accompany me to my house later?”

“Aren’t you tired? You’ve been out all day, haven’t you?”

I chewed the inside of my cheek, embarrassed. “I didn’t get to go in,” I admitted quietly. “I haven’t seen my family, their… corpses,” my voice broke at the end of the sentence.

“And you need me to go with you, why?”

“S-safety.”

He stared at me for a moment before speaking. “Like I said, a favour for a favour.”

I let out a breath. He wasn’t declining. “What do you want from me then?”

“You’ll owe me.” He concluded. “When the time comes, you’ll have to do whatever I ask.”

“As long as it’s not illegal or immoral.”

He laughed like I was being funny. “Oh, that’s for me to decide.”

I was playing with fire. I knew that. But I couldn’t help but risk it. Lorenzo was one of the most feared men in the underworld, if not the most. Going with him was my best shot. No one would dare to mess with him. Since I was with him, trying to hurt me would be disrespecting him and I doubted anyone wanted to cross him.

“I have work tonight. We’ll go tomorrow. As for you, go and freshen up and get some rest. Someone will take you to your room.” Without waiting for a response from me, he left the kitchen, leaving me alone.

A few minutes later, the boy who had given me food earlier came to lead me to my new room. It was just as big as my room back home but the new place was making my skin crawl. It was a constant reminder of my new life.

As soon as the boy left me, I locked the door, checked for cameras, got in the shower, and cried my eyes out.