"Aria, you had me hooked the moment you stood in front of me in the VIP booth back at Volt. Then you had me whipped when you were sprawled across my desk a panting mess." His lips brush mine and I want nothing more than to lean forward and close the...
Domenico's eyes just about fall out of his head. Just about as much expression, I'll get out of him for the rest of the year. I sit back in my chair and take a drag of my cigarette with a bored expression on my face. I don't think I've smoked this much in my life. And I only smoke when I'm stressed.
"I killed Paolo Morales."
"Yeah, I heard you the first time." I resist the urge to roll my eyes and blow out a cloud of smoke. "I mean if you have a logical reason for killing him, I'll support you, you know that. But did you have to do it in front of Daniella and Mother?"
Domenico's jaw is clenched as well as his fist that sits on the armrest of one of the chairs in my office.
"It wasn't how I wanted the night to go."
Domenico gives me a pointed look.
"Remember how I was late getting to the table." He grunts in response and I continue. "I received a call from one of my men saying that the shipment of weapons we got last Sunday was full of faulty cargo. They did a test run on them and every single thing we received was faulty."
There's a beat of silence.
"What's José got to say about your little... outburst of emotion?"
José was the leader of the Morales clan and Paolo happened to be his brother.
"I spoke to José beforehand, told him I wasn't happy, and maybe threw in a threat or two. He told me that he had nothing to do with the weapons being faulty and that because Paolo handles all shipments, it must have been him. He asked me to give him a second chance and that when his brother was to return home from Milan, he would be dealt with. I simply gave him an option. Either Paolo died that night or I go after his whole mafia."
Domenico frowns. After a few minutes, he returns back to his usual cold self. "So what are you going to do about Daniella?" Now Domenico may not show it but his voice says a lot. He cares about Daniella. Just like the rest of us.
"We help her. Like I said before it wasn't my plan to shoot Paolo in front of her. However, José gave me a deadline. If I didn't kill him before 11 pm that night with photo proof, the whole deal was off."
As Domenico goes to open his mouth there is a faint knock at the door and Kayla walks in holding two coffees.
"Sorry to disturb you, sir. I noticed that you had company so I thought it was best to grab you two some coffee. I hope that's okay."
Kayla is only young. She was 18 when I hired her and that was 2 years ago. She's quiet and polite, unlike Brittany. I still don't know why I hired her.
The best thing about Kayla is that she doesn't throw herself at you or your brothers and she actually gets work done. I give Kayla a nod as she hands Domenico one of the takeaway cups and then sets one down in front of me.
