The Mafiosa's Thorn

Orchidea's Home

Miguel's body wants to drift off to sleep, but he taps his feet to keep him awake. If given the choice, he would rather stay awake than sleep forever. Being swallowed by a bed would sound nice without the nightmares behind it.

He notices the others are uneasy from his tapping, thinking he's itching to kill again. He stops himself.

"So....Miguel's your name?" Luis asks.

"It is."

"Is it true? The stuff they said about you?"

"Not phasing through bullets, but the rest are true," he jokes which makes the others chuckle. Miguel decides to engage more, anything to keep his mind awake. "Something that's not known of me is this," he pauses on purpose.

Some lean in at the edge of their seats.

"I can make a lasagna that will make you question your heritage."

Amused scowls are written on their faces. "Blasphemy! No fuckin' way!"

"Don't underestimate a Dominican. Cooking is in our blood," he riles them up further.

"I bet you use sauce from the jar!" Luis accuses.

"I prefer homemade. It's relaxing in a way. Seeing what spices work and how your tastebuds dance when it's just right."

"Interesting," their boss utters aloud. She turns her head away to keep silent.

Miguel and Luis debate over food with the others joining in. The more he talked, the more the boss clutched her arms around herself. She wants to prevent her heart from leaping out. Seeing and hearing the duality of Miguel only adds to her urges.

Fortunately, the truck stops with her underling telling them they arrived. She peeks her head through the side and exhales with relief.

"Take the truck back in the morning with Alejandro."

"Yes, ma'am."

Miguel shifts his hand to his mud brown pistol in his pants. He won't let his guard down as the rat can be anyone.

Alejandro opens the door. He takes in the trimmed orange bushes surrounding a white fountain with an arched crane sitting on top. To his relief, there's an electric gate to keep people out.

Nearby trees greet him at the red door with orange and brown leaves. The two-story mansion has a matching red roof with white shutters for each glass door and window. He grins that the windows have blackout curtains to prevent a sniper from picking out their targets.

He helps Luis inside with Alejandro.

"Take him to the guest room past the stairs and to the left," Bianca instructs.

He opens the door and gently lays Luis on his side. He winces from the pain.

"I will watch over him," Miguel tells her. He glances at the bottle of meds. "What time did you last take it?"

"I think 2," he exhales.

Miguel sets a timer on his phone. "Next one is at 6."

"I can do it myself," he assures.

"They're highly addictive if you're not careful," he speaks from experience while putting it into his jean pocket.

Luis doesn't argue after catching a glance of his boss' eyes.

"At least you earned your wounds," Alejandro jokes. "Took you a while."

"Don't. Don't make me laugh."

"The Triad will regret what they did to you and the others."

"But first, freshen up for lunch. Air spray is in the bathroom close by," she commands them before leaving the room. Her heels click on the wooden floor as she calls someone. She leans against the wall until the phone picks up.

"Jessie speaking from Boca Recovery Center. How can I direct your call?"

She gives info and a man picks up. "Boss, I was just about to call. Someone tried, but she's safe."

She sighs with relief. "May I speak with her?"

"She's asleep right now."

"I understand. Let her know that I called."

She hangs up, knowing that excuse had been used before. Her daughter was always asleep whenever she called to check on her. At first, she thought it was part of the recovery for rest, but it's been a few months now.

Hearing her men spray air freshener on themselves brings her back. She makes a few more calls before lunch. One is about arranging funeral services for Tomasso's family and the others. The next one is a business transaction.

"Lt. Pescali, have you heard about.....?"

One of the lieutenants in her back pocket relays that the duffel bags are long gone. Footage from CCTV confirmed the Triad took it.

"Okay. Keep working as usual."

A slight disappointment leaves her lips. She wanted Alejandro to receive it to compensate for terminating his operations.

She hears talking in the kitchen and heads towards it. 

"Signora Orchidea makes the best lasagna in all of New York."

"Can't wait to try it," Miguel's voice echos. They turn to her clicking heels. Her men are waiting patiently on checkerboard black and white tiles in the almost white kitchen save for the steel fridge, oven, and dishwasher.

She takes out the covered lasagna that makes her men pat their stomachs in anticipation. After heating it up in the oven, she unwraps it for Miguel to see before making a plate for Luis.

"You will have a taste of the real thing. Yours will be blown out of the water."

"We shall see. Pick a day and I'll prove it to you."

A small smile cracks on her face from his competitive nature. During the first bite, Miguel slips out a foodgasm from the fresh cheese, sauce, spices, and meat. Bianca covers her mouth to hide the wide smile on her face.

After eating well, he takes up their plates and washes them despite her refusal. "The chef shouldn't clean."

He rolls up sleeves and gets started. The suds on his hands makes her think of them having a bubble bath together. Tenderly kissing those bicep peaks-

She stomps her foot to interrupt her thoughts.

"Are you okay?"

"I am. Let's talk about the plan."

She overheads the meeting. "Because we lost all the money, we will take action against the Triad."

"A war?" Alejandro asks. 

She shakes her head. "Not a physical action. Just a reminder while introducing our new asset. The news will spread like wildfire and subjugate the rival gangs. They can try and send their best, but we have control. Let's demonstrate that to Xianmao tomorrow."

Her rousing plan makes Miguel lean in. The way she directs everyone while her dress hugged her hips. He keeps his eyes up to avoid staring at her caramel legs, but her eyes cursed him as well. He's looking forward to being useful again.