For the Empire - Inganno

Chapter 67

"You don't know anything about us, Tony." I address him by his name; I no longer want to see him or view him as my father.

"She will be your destruction, and when she leaves you because you can't give her what she wants, you will be left with nothing and no one. You will regret this JP, lo prometto, figlio mio." He says before walking away. (I promise you, my son)

*End of flashback*

I had gone in search of her afterward, wanting to calm the storming rage that I felt from his words, but I stopped when I heard her laughter coming from the kitchen.

I stayed hidden near the doorway as I watched her before I had to say my goodbye. The pure happiness and love that radiated from her face as she talked with our family and friends and the way she would look at the ring I had given her with a certain tenderness is something I will never forget.

She had come to me the instant she saw me walk in. I had looked into her eyes, memorizing every spec of green and gold in her green-brown hazel eyes that were vibrant, telling me she had been crying but also shone as the sun reflected off of them in the kitchen that day.

The memory of her soft lips on mine when I pulled her in for a long kiss before I left is something that I've held onto during the long nights here in Miami, wishing I was with her, holding her.

When we pulled apart, she had looked back at me, her eyes searching mine, but I had looked away, knowing she can read me like no one else could, and I did not want her to worry.

My father's words have done nothing but fester in my mind the entire time while I've been here, seeping into my thoughts and even in my dreams, like poison.

But the things that have happened while I've been in Miami have only added to my father's warning. 

On the first week I was here, three of the construction crew members, including the foreman, were found hanging from the scaffolding, with their eyes gouged out.

The police chalked it up to some local gang turf war, considering some of the crew had affiliations and ties to some of the prominent gang families in the area, but I knew who was really behind it.

The message was clear, and they were getting bolder and bolder.

Timo increased the security after I had informed him of what had happened, but in all honesty, it did little to calm the uneasiness several of the crew members felt. And then last week, there was a shooting during the middle of the day.

I had been walking around the site with the new foreman, explaining some of the modifications we needed to add to the original plans when the loud, rapid popping of gunshots sent us all to the ground.

Several of the crew members didn't return after that. However, being short-handed allowed me to help out in a more hands-on way, which I didn't mind. It gave me the distraction I needed from all the thoughts that were running through my head.

And now this.

So much for having a fucking security detail.

I look down at the pink-colored water running down the drain as I wash my hands clean of the blood, covering them. My heart rate is still racing after what just happened.

I had come into the hotel room late, in a hurry to pack the rest of my things to leave, when some fucker came up behind me with a wire, trying to strangle me.

After wrestling around, to get him off of me, I was able to get away and pulled the knife I carry on the bastard. I stabbed him in the throat and chest repeatedly and probably overdid it once I saw how I was covered in his blood as well.