When The Sun Goes Down - A Midnight Mafia Novel

Eleven

I started crying. Like, really crying. Full on ugly cry. He released me immediately, God forbid I get my tears on that fancy tailored suit of his.

"Porca miseria!" He curse after he had jumped backwards. "Di-" He started and then shook his head. "I'm sorry. Italian is my maiden language, and often times it just...comes out." He tried explaining, as though that was my concern in this situation.

(This is an Italian curse. Where as we would say 'damn' or 'shit' they may say 'porca miseria' which translates to "misery pig")

I covered my face with both of my hands. Everything had just hit me at once it seemed. Nicolo was just too much now. All of this was just too much. I wasn't a journalist. It wasn't worth all of this.

After a few moments he took both of my wrists in his hands and pulled them away from my face gently. I was practically hyperventilating when he pulled the perfectly folded and pristine silk cloth from the breast pocket of his suit and handed it to me.

Under different circumstances I might have been confused, might have wondered if this was his way on consoling me, could the red imported silk have been some sort of peace offering? I might have thought twice about how expensive this shitty piece of cloth was under different circumstances. But under these circumstances, I pressed it right to my nose and blew. Hard.

He flinched and when I tried to offer it back to him declined.

When I finally calmed myself to mere sniffled and jumpy breaths I dared to speak again. "What does verme mean?"

He frowned and hesitated for only a moment before answering honestly. "Worm."

"You call him-"

"The worm." He said flatly.

"That's disgusting." I said and pushed past him. If the silk cloth was a peace offering I was refusing. He grabbed my wrist and spun me into his chest again.

"I will do my best. For your cousin." He said and immediately released me. I glared at him. That meant little towards his safety. I had watched Alessio shoot one of his best men without hesitation for what happened down here. I didn't want to see what he would do if my stupid cousin screwed up his actual business.

"That's not good enough." I said quickly. He raised a brow and I bit my lip. "Let him out of this. I know you can. You're the only one who can."

"It doesn't work that way, tesoro mia."

(my darling)

"It can, it does, you just won't let it!"

"We have a code, we have honor, our organization would be a joke if word got out that you could come and go as you pleased, word that we were careless in our hirings."

"Don't. Don't talk about this like it's some big special corporation. You're criminals. Nothing but criminals, you have no honor!" He blinked, unfazed. "I call genie."

"No."

"You said I could come to you three times! Three wishes!"

"And now I am saying no."

"Why the hell not!" I demanded. When he didn't answer I crossed my arms over my chest. "If you don't let him out then I'll tell everyone about this place. Every single person that will listen, I swear it."

He threw his head back and laughed for at least a full minute before dropping his head back into place with a grin. He stepped up to me again and I backed away until I bumped into his desk. He cupped my face in his hands. My instincts urged me to turn away but I wouldn't give him that satisfaction. "Ma, che sei grullo?"