L'Angelo della Morte | A Mafia Romance

♛07 ⥄ ❝ Cats & shots ❞

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When fear was never on my mind – take me there

~ Nathan Wagner

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A series of knocks on the door woke me up and I groaned. I slowly rolled out of bed and shuffled towards the door in a pair of fuzzy socks and a unicorn onesie. I yanked open the door and frowned even deeper at the sight of him. On the other hand, the purple bruise along his jaw almost cheered me up.

"What?"

He grinned. "We're going on a field trip."

I cocked an eyebrow and tilted my head. "A... field trip?"

He nodded. "Get dressed, love. We have a busy day ahead of us."

𓆩♛𓆪

As soon as I'd showered and gotten dressed, Vittorio escorted me to his beautiful Bugatti that someone had brought him. I let myself sink into the seat and leaned against the car door – as far from him as possible – as Vittorio pulled it out of the parking lot.

"Where are we going?"

"That's a surprise," he said.

"What are we doing?"

"A surprise."

I huffed and turned to look out of the window. The buildings went by in a blur along with pedestrians. I closed my eyes and imagined being back in Chicago. Imagined the weather. Although cold and windy, it warmed my heart to think about it. The rustle of the diner on a busy day. Selena's smile when I came in for work in the morning. Tears welled up in my eyes and I blinked frantically to banish them.

How does someone end up in a mess like this? What did I do to deserve it? My hands curled into fists. If only I'd never met Livio. The moment I'd looked the devil in the eyes, my future had been shredded into a million pieces, and no matter how hard I'd tried, I couldn't hold on to all of them. The loving husband had been replaced with a tyrant of a fiance. The picket fence house with a room with prison guards.

"I'm sorry about yesterday."

Vittorio's voice tore me out of my self-pity. I glanced at him and looked back at the window. I could hear him sigh before clearing his throat.

"You pack a pretty good punch." His voice seemed forced like he was trying to bring a cheerful mood.

I turned to look at him, prepared to give him a piece of my mind, but then I realized the car was parked. In front of a cat café.

"I figured petting cute animals could cheer you up," he explained. I noticed a slight blush creeping onto his cheeks and he seemed almost uncomfortable. "I don't know. Women like that stuff, right?"

I stared at him, eyes wide and almost gawking. I blinked. Multiple times. Has this big bad killer taken me to pet kittens? Undeniably, excitement built up inside me and I almost wanted to jump in my seat. I mean, come on. It's cats!

He got out of the car and quickly walked to my side, opening the door. I stepped out and reluctantly followed him inside the café. I was immediately greeted by the rustle of a lively crowd, combined with meows. Cats were roaming the place, lounging on cat trees, and playing with customers. The café was a hidden gem I would've never expected Vittorio to know of.