Deal • REWRITE • BOOK 1

2; Dusk till Dawn

"Take him with you. You'll be spending a lot of time together so get to know each other."

L U C I E N

There were many things that I liked in life. Blood, sex and money seemed to top the list, most if not all being the reason I was still alive to this day.

I enjoyed them all, did so on a daily basis however today wasn't one of those days. Instead I was stuck picking up daughters all the way from fücking Sicily which left me in sourer mood than usual.

I sighed as I held my jacket over my shoulder, the small bag I'd stuffed overnight clothes in held tight in my hand whilst the orange glow of the sun setting blanketed the outskirts of the airport I was exiting.

Even with the time being seven in the evening the temperature was still in the late twenties, leaving a subtle sticky heat lingering in the air which had me a little more irritable than I would've liked.

I would've put it down to it solely being the heat but I'd be lying considering how much shít I had to do since Salvatore had been on my áss constantly for the past week, wondering where I was with pulling together a security team for Aria. So far I was at a number of four men, most of them working under and indirectly for me now whilst I balanced the plans I had formed in my head and carried out meaningless tasks for Alex since he was keeping an eye on our dad.

It was safe to say I was royally fücked if I didn't do anything in time, especially bearing in mind the fact that my dad's life now had a ticking deadline courtesy of Alex informing me just before I'd boarded the plane here.

The thought made me swear under my breath in Italian, the old lady standing next to me going unnoticed until she scowled and gave me a disapproving look.

"Bada a come parli, ragazzo," she muttered, a dim apology leaving my lips when she told me to watch my mouth before I altered my focus when my name was called from behind me.

I turned on my feet, setting eyes on the short man in a suit who was smiling widely at me, his mood only making me draw out a low breath as he stepped towards me.

Instinctively I kept my senses alert for any changes in the environment around me, my fingers gripping tighter onto the bag in my hand just as he stopped in front of me and looked up.

"Giovanni Moretti mi ha mandato qui," he spoke, letting me know that Salvatore's retired mafia kingpin father had sent him for me.

I narrowed my eyes, letting my eyes scan over him before I found myself automatically reaching for my gun when he moved his hand to his inside pocket.

"Giovanni mi ha detto di farti vedere questo."

I stilled at his words, my thumb pressed against the safety of my gun as he brought out a tiny satin drawstring bag, my senses still on alert until he showed me what was hidden inside it.

With a puffed breath I pulled back on the safety of my gun, knowing I could trust the man in front of me as I looked at the gold circle that vaguely resembled a compacted stopwatch.

He pulled open the lid, showcasing the fingerprint of blood stained on the inside before closing it and placing it back in the bag, all the while smiling up at me like I was a ray of fücking sunshine.

Internally I wanted to get this entire fücking thing over with and skip the small talk I knew was going to follow, however I had to represent Salvatore, my actions reflecting his which meant I had to nod and smile and abide to rules that bent me out of shape.

Despite my frustration I kept up appearances, seeming interested in the history I was being told by who I now knew as Nick, Giovanni's personal driver. I felt like I was on a fücking tourist's bus tour by the time we reached the private estate Giovanni lived in, tall leafy trees bunched together around the perimeter of the land he owned in a makeshift wall from the outside.