I had been working on my English essay for the last two hours at home, and after stretching a little, I smiled to myself, feeling like I had earned a break.
Deciding to hit Michaela up to see if she wanted to go grab some frozen yogurt, I scrunched my eyebrows together in frustration, realizing I didn't have my phone.
After a few minutes of searching around the house, I smacked my forehead and groaned, remembering that I left it in Teo's Range Rover earlier this morning.
We went out for breakfast, and after dropping me back off at home, he had a meeting with his brothers.
Using the 'Find My' app on my iPad, I was able to track my phone. Teo's car was parked a little outside of the city and after hopping in his blue Lambo, I was on my way.
The drive was unsurprisingly a quick one in Teo's speedy sports car and as I parked next to his SUV in the parking lot, I looked around a bit in confusion.
The old brick building was sort of isolated, in the middle of nowhere, and didn't seem like a good spot for another restaurant.
Peeking into the locked Range Rover, I could see my phone in the passenger seat, mocking me from such a close yet unattainable reach.
Groaning to myself, I bit my lip as I approached the building, being slightly intimidated by the weird feeling I was getting and the fact that I was going to have to interrupt Teo's meeting.
He took his family's business very seriously, and at such a young age, I couldn't help but admire his ambition.
The front door creaked open slowly and the dimly-lit catwalk hallway with the single door at the end made me gulp in nervousness.
My sneakers made a small squeaking noise with each step down the long, concrete hallway, and with each step I took, a little voice inside kept telling me to turn back.
"Oh, God! Please, no!!!"
The voice in my head was now screaming, but I couldn't stop myself from walking over to the door that was cracked open. After pushing on it, I really wish I had just turned around.
My stomach dropped and it felt like my heart stopped as I watched the man I thought I loved walk over to the battered man handcuffed and hanging from the ceiling by a long rusty chain.
The knife in Teo's hand seemed to slice through the man's torso over and over in intricate slashes and his screams of agony were embedded in my mind.
"Please! I told you everything!!!"
"Brucia all'inferno, bastardo."
(Burn in hell, you bastard.)
The Italian phrases that fell from Matteo's lips that usually made me swoon now just filled me with terror as I watched the blade slice across the man's neck, ripping his throat open and as the blood sprayed out, staining Teo's skin, a frightened gasp left my lips.
Andre, Tommy, and a few other guys all looked over at me, but I could only focus on the blood that Teo was covered in.
Teo was at a loss for words for a moment and I took one final glance at the dead man dangling behind him, before shaking my head and turning to run out, ignoring Matteo's voice calling out for me.
✨
Fear and adrenaline, mixed with the Lambo's insane horsepower got me home in fifteen minutes, and when I finally pulled into the driveway, the tears finally sprang from my eyes.
All that I was holding in from that moment I saw Teo holding that knife finally came out, and I was at a loss, realizing I knew nothing about this person that I had fallen so deeply in love with.
After dragging my body inside, I plopped down on the couch, using my iPad to google the DeLucas.
They were part of a major crime syndicate on three continents, with major implications to involvement in over 30 unsolved murders in the last twenty years.
I couldn't help but let out an exhausted, slightly hysterical laugh, realizing how big of an idiot I had been.
After thinking about the lavish lifestyle he and his family seemed to live-- the massive parties, fancy cars, and luxurious gifts-- it all started to make sense.
Teo never really seemed to be working, but was always 'working on something'.
He didn't have to work; he was in the fucking mob.
I shot up from the couch, suddenly feeling nauseous and as I ran to the orange and blue bathroom Teo initially hated, I emptied the contents of my stomach from our lunch date into the marble toilet.
I sat on my knees for a few minutes, puking my guts out, until it was just stomach bile. After flushing the toilet and rinsing my mouth, I looked up at my puffy face and tear-streaked eyes in the mirror, and I could only think one thing.
What the hell did I get myself into?
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