Bianchi: Dark Knight

1:13

I grab her hands that are pushing roughly into the couch. It's her own way of controlling her impulses.

"You don't have to be or do anything you don't want to." She squeezes my hand, for support, or maybe approval. "My mother wants me to marry off, be like her and have a family."

"You don't want that?"

"The problem is that I want both. What is so wrong with that?" Nothing. Lennox would be an amazing mom, whoever got to marry her would be the luckiest person alive. What I admire about her most is her drive, her passion for her work. Her drive is inspiring.

"You are not your mother. No matter how amazing she may be." I kiss her hand gently savoring the softness of her entirety.

A yawn passes her lips. It is later than I realized time passed quicker than it ever had before. I know it's because of being with her. I could stare at her for an entire day and it would only feel like a minute.

My Little Lennox does her best to keep her yawns to herself. It's adorable how her nose scrunches when she tries to hold them back. Her face wrinkles each time which is more entertaining than it should be.

"I think it's past your bedtime Lennox." Even in her fatigue she rolls her eyes to the back of her skull. "I'm an adult and I don't have a bedtime." Just then she yawns, proving my point without my interference.

I arch my brow, to which she ignores. Lennox has to be the most stubborn woman to ever grace the planet. I chase after her smile, a thousand suns couldn't compare to the beauty and brightness of it. It is a cruel thing of God to craft a woman such as Lennox, even now in her most tired state still she maintains her poise.

She's a woman who knows not only what she wants but who she is.

I stand knowing it is time for me to let her rest. In the morning reality will set in and I'm sure she will be pissed to have stayed up so late. It wouldn't be Lennox if she did not have something to complain about. Even if it is something she had done to herself.

"I guess this is goodnight," her voice lowers but her eyes speak of her resentment to our predicament. Trust me it is not what I want, quite the opposite actually. "I guess this is."

The air becomes stiff with angst. Bated breaths between the two of us are the only sounds. I step closer to the woman who doesn't know how much her being fills my mind. How much despite myself I have become concerned with everything about her.

My arms wrap around the crux of her back. Tightly I pull her into me, her forehead resting on my chest.

"Your heart is beating so fast." The words come out muffled but I can still decipher them. "It's all because of you."

"Aren't you the sweet talker?" The words come out muffled but I can understand them.

"I only say words that I mean Lennox," for the final time tonight I lift her chin up so that her eyes look at me into mine. It is my greatest honor to see her from this point of view. "When I say that my heart beats fast because of you, it is because it does. Your proximity, your touch, your scent, all of it." She clears her throat pulling away from me in the process.

I'm fine with that because if she hadn't I'm not sure what I could have or would have done. Being so close to Lennox made my sense disappear, in such close proximity logic leaps into the sea.

Lennox, like the great hostess that she is, opens the door for me. It feels wrong to walk through it but I do. All I want is to turn around and pull her through the doors with me, because that's where I wanted to be. Right by her side.

Even the car still smells of her, I hate that I know her scent so well. The heels from hell sit on my seat like a crown. I'm sure this will be another thing she will chew me out about and I can't wait for it.

  Fuck. This is not the way things were supposed to go, I wasn't supposed to want the woman.

My phone blares annoying me to no end.

Rico's name blares brightly. It must be something important if he is calling. Especially at this time.

"What."

"A new shipment has arrived." His gruff accent answers my question. Rico always did well with my attitude, and by that I mean he has always ignored my less than stellar attitude.

"I'll be at the warehouse soon."

Typically Zaviano would handle the unloading on his own. Recent events have me reevaluating my own camp. I doubted that my men were secretly plotting against me but stranger things have happened. If someone is working against me and helping the Synds with God knows what mission they are attempting, there would be absolute hell to pay.

Tonight's shipments consisted of guns, the quality kind. I had no idea where Atlas acquired his weapons but either way he is a godsend. The Russian always has the best weapons from our first meeting until now.

I smile thinking of all those years ago, at first I thought we would be fighting to death. Atlas had the biggest scowl known to man. First impressions rarely are the truth as I came to learn. After all he protected me, hell without him I'm not sure how far I ever would have come. It's not enough to have good product but also to have allies to help you.

"Grande fratello," Zaviano approaches me with the log in his hands. The log is our holy grail, it is our tracking system of what has been unpacked and sold, to who, by who, and when. It is important to keep record of all hands who have touched our weapons, drugs, and technology. "What's got you smiling?" Always the inquisitive one.

"Zaviano I'm sure you can find a different time to pester me." He mumbles something unintelligible under his breath. "No one has done anything out of sorts. I've triple checked the logs and follow ups. All the money, product, and correspondence adds up."

Shit.

This is an outside operation one hundred percent. What would be the point of coming to me if he is already screwing me over? What is his play here?

"If the Synds are already interfering, what could be the point of Milo coming to you?" Zaviano asks the question I have a million times already. "I can set a meeting with Niccolo. The Synds have seemed to mend their relationship with the Morino's."

"No, no meeting." Involving the Morino's is just messy, and it assumes they have informed them of their plans which I am doubtful about. I know there is only one way to get the answers I need. "Set a meeting with Milo."

"You're going to confront him?" Zaviano looks at me with scrunched eyebrows and disappointment.

"No, I'm going to give him exactly what he wants. I'll do business with him."

"Until you find out about his little game." I nod my head handing him back the logs.

Milo will never be the wiser on my plan. I needed to know what he was planning without his interference or attention. Once I do, I'll let the twins tear him apart, bit by bit.

"Keep your friends close," Zaviano tucks the logs and we both walk towards the exit."And your enemies closer."

That is what I intend to do.