Cold Brew and Bullets (Part 1 of the Syndicate Series)

Chapter 12- A Bloody Boot

Alessio:

I had never found myself very distracted from work before, but my trip had taken longer than I thought, and all I could think about was getting home to see Eliana. I knew this type of distraction was bad, there were a lot of reasons that relationships between leaders of the mafia didn't work out with their wives and girlfriends. She was a weakness, a chink in my armor who pulled my mind away from things I needed to focus on, but I knew that I couldn't walk away. The pounding in my chest at the thought of her made that obvious.

The plane ride seemed to stretch on for hours, the whole time my foot was tapping impatiently against the floor of the jet. Leonardo and Angelo had accompanied me, but Angelo seemed to have fallen asleep about half an hour ago, still propped upright in his chair. That man was always on alert, he took the idea of sleeping with one eye open further than maybe even me. Leonardo poured himself a drink at the bar in the corner, as well as one for me, then placed it on the armrest.

"You look like hell. How's the shoulder?"

I raised an eyebrow. He was my best friend, but even for him it was bold to speak that way to me. "We found out that the Russians are actively targeting our shipments, flew to Greece, then Russia, then Italy all in the span of a week and a half. We were all shot at and almost killed, I'm pretty sure that the three of us have some unaddressed broken bones. I'd be concerned it we weren't a little exhausted."

Leonardo shook his head. "You look worried about her, so I'm assuming you're just anxious to get back."

"What are you talking about?"

"Eliana. There's no point in trying to hide it, at least not with me. I saw the look on your face that day before we left, when you had to kill that man and tell her that you were leaving for a while. You called her cara."

I glared, but I knew that Leonardo couldn't be easily lied to, even by me. We had grown up together, he and Angleo were probably the only two people that I trusted with my life. I didn't want to discuss her with anyone, I was still sorting out how I felt. "We'll be home soon, so it's no matter."

He quirked an eyebrow, "Have you texted her already? That your almost back in the states?"

"Yes, but she hasn't responded."

"Is that what's worrying you?"

"No," I shook my head tiredly. "It's the middle of the night back home, I'm sure it's just because she's asleep. Something isn't sitting right for some reason, I don't know what's bothering me."

"It's called missing someone, boss. That happens when you want to be around someone but you can't be."

I shot him another glare for his sarcasm, but he only responded with a smirk, bringing his drink to his lips. I did the same, ignoring the scorching feeling that ran down my throat and relishing in the feeling of warmth in my stomach. "I'll stop by her work tomorrow and see her. I think the Niklov situation is stable for a few more days."

"The fact that he's being quiet might be something we have to worry about. It's almost more suspicious than his attempts to attack us."

I nodded slightly, conceding that he might be right. "After the botched attack on the shop that put them in the hospital, I think he may have realized that we aren't laundering money. He's probably having to reevaluate his assumptions about money laundering."

"That whole thing never sat well with me," Leonardo mused. "The Russians don't pull punches, and they sure as hell aren't merciful. How did Eliana and her boss get out of that alive?"