ARELLA (A Mafia Story)

Twenty-Seven

We come to the industrial part of town, pulling into what looks like a dilapidated warehouse. I know much better than that. I bought the warehouse several years ago under a fake name and a bank account in the Cayman Islands.

I kept the exterior the same, only adding security cameras and motion sensors. Along with buying the two warehouses beside it, we added kennels under the floors.

The door that leads to the kennels is tightly guarded and is a solid metal. Only a select few men have access to the code and fingerprint scanner. The criminals that are down there will never see the light of day again.

Chain link fences with barbed wire on top wrap around the buildings. The chain link was already there when we bought the buildings. I added the barbed wire under the guise of keeping squatters out.

"Mama wasn't clear about when you can get out of the car. I'm thinking you should stay here while Andrea and I take care of the man." Davide states nonchalantly.

His tone holds an undercurrent of teasing. I don't know how I get a son like Davide. No matter the situation, he always brings levity. He's the comedian in this family. Without him, I'm pretty sure our whole family would be more grim than we already are.

"Don't make me smack you, boy. You don't have enough brain cells left in there to take another hit to the head."

Davide places his hand over his heart dramatically. "Ow, Dad. You wound me."

Rolling my eyes, I step out of the car once it's stopped. Freya specified I couldn't get out during the stakeout. She knew that if I found the man, we would take him to the kennels. She would've said something if she didn't want me getting out of the car here.

My two soldiers guarding the entrance to the door nod their heads in respect as I approach.

"We have a new man coming in. Help Andrea unload him from the car. He's a feisty one." I command.

My soldier rushes to follow my command and grabs the quickly awakening man by his collar. The bump to the head from Andrea's gun must have made his head foggy.

He walks like a drunk into the warehouse, not blinking an eye when he's pushed down the steps towards the kennels after I unlock the door.

"Feisty, huh?" The guard jokes, turning towards me with a smirk once the man is secured.

I'm not offended by his sarcasm. I make sure to treat my men like family. Instead of ruling by fear, I rule with respect. My soldiers are paid handsomely and know that they can come to me if they ever have a problem.

And while I do demand respect, I also know how to take a joke. Balance is what keeps my men from turning on me. I show them respect and expect it in return.

"Thomas, go guard that door." I wave him off with a lightheaded smile, turning back to watching Dimitri's man cuffed to a metal chair.

He's slowly coming to, the smell of his fear saturating the room. It's the same room Alessandro tortured his former therapist in, the man's blood still stained on the concrete floor.

Grabbing the second chair in the room, I swing it around and sit on it backwards in front of the man. His eyes widen and he bites down on his bottom lip.