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

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

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

"THE CAR IS here," Julian muttered. They were seated in their hotel room, waiting for Pianté to come pick them up for the operation. Marcus was still worried that it might be a trap – an easy way to cover up both his and Julian's death. He stood up and zipped up his jacket. "And the men?" "They are ready and waiting," Julian replied. "Well, what are we waiting for?" Marcus asked, walking out of the room with Julian closely at his heels. His men were hanging around in the lobby. They all stood up when he walked in. He nodded at them and said, "Non morire là fuori. è il mio debito da pagare." They all nodded in understanding. He had just told them not to risk their lives out there because it was not their debt to pay, but he knew they would put their lives down to save him. It was little things like this that made them respect him so much. "Let's go," He said. And they walked out together as a group. Pianté was in a large black jeep, "You two are riding with me. Your men will be i

"CALMA, CALMA," MARCUS said into the phone as he walked away from the room where he and Mellsia had just finished having sex. He wondered what that was all about, it had been a while since Mellisa was that responsive to his touch, and now, she still lay wasted on the couch. He was surprised to see that Olivia was calling him too.What other surprises does life have for me? He asked himself as he picked up the call and got even more surprised at Olivia's shaky voice. "What do you mean by your child has been taken?" He asked. "By whom?" He could not begin to fathom why. "You don't know? You could not get a good look at his face?" Marcus bent his neck to hold his phone in place as he rubbed his eye socket. "Just stay put, alright. I will be there in 5 minutes." He snapped off his phone. And walked back into the room. Why would anybody target Jake? Had one of his rivals seen him with the boy and concluded that they were father and son and wanted to rake some sort of twisted revenge