ALANI
It was my first time at Valerio's warehouse.
I didn't know what to expect, but the building situated on a high hill in the middle of nowhere was not it.
The structure of it was a common warehouse, but it was surrounded by a fence and had surveillance cameras on every corner. I knew what Valerio did and seeing his men pace around with guns as long as their arms shouldn't have surprised me, but it did.
I sat alongside Valerio in his car, still wondering why he needed me to go with him.
I guess I could understand that Valerio didn't want me out of his sight, but I was stepping right into formidable territory where Alonzo was apparently tied up and waiting for him. I had no interest in seeing Alonzo again, but for the sake of Valerio's peace of mind—I let him take me with him.
I watched him drive underneath the rolled up garage door, finding a parking amongst the other cars that I assumed belonged to his men.
"I can wait in the car," I murmured, and Valerio turned his head to throw me a glare. Of course he did. The look on his face told me that my words were ridiculous and I shouldn't bother arguing with him.
"I know," I said when he opened his mouth to speak. "I know. I was just trying,"
Valerio killed the engine and reached over, clasping his hand underneath my ear as he made me look at him. "Stop trying, amore. We won't be long."
"I'll hold you to that," I whispered, inching closer to give him a kiss on his lips. Valerio smiled—a smile that reached his eyes and made his dimples show on his cheeks.
I softened at the perfection of it, unable to grasp how he could give me butterflies with a simple pull of his lips. Using the hold he had on me, Valerio kept me in place and gave me a deeper kiss. It was a confidence booster, one that I didn't know I needed until he gave it to me. I had a feeling that he needed it too when he held me there for a second longer than usual.
Valerio pulled away, his brown eyes softer than earlier but it changed the moment he looked away from me.
He clenched his jaw, pursing his lips as he gazed out the window and to the building. "Alonzo is in there and I'm starting to think this isn't a good idea. With the way I feel right now—"
"Valerio," I intervened. "You can't let your brother control you like this. Go in there and talk to him."
"Talk?" Valerio scoffed. "My hands are itching to squeeze the life from him, Alani. I don't have time for talking."
"You're going to make time," I deadpanned. "I know that you want all of this to end but killing your brother is only going to cause more problems between you and your family. They're going to hate you and I promise that you'll only feel worse when it's done."
What a fucked up situation.
I never thought I'd see the day where I'd be talking someone out of killing, but there I was—going against my better judgement and telling Valerio that he shouldn't kill Alonzo.
"Considering everything, I'm far past the point of giving a fuck if they hate me or not," Valerio muttered, unfastening my seatbelt for me.
"I get that, Rio. But I don't want you hating yourself afterwards because I know that you will. I'm just trying to help. " I let out a heavy exhale, not believing the words coming out of my mouth.
Alonzo was a pain in the ass and he needed to learn a lesson or two without murder being involved, but how? It seemed impossible to get through to him but Valerio was the rational one, and he knew what he needed to do.
I was just there for moral support.
"I'm so grateful to have you in my life," Valerio whispered. "Let's go before I drive myself insane sitting here."
Valerio stretched over the centre console, opening my door for me from the inside. I gave him a peck on his temple because I couldn't resist, and the faint grin on his face was worth it. He shook his head, undoing his own seatbelt while I stepped out of the car. Valerio took my hand, leading me down a spiral staircase and through a metal door that unlocked with his facial recognition. What the...
Judging the warehouse from the outside, I would have assumed that the interior was as rustic as the exterior but I was wrong. He pushed the door open, still holding my hand and we entered a room that resembled an empty basement. Except, it wasn't empty.
Alonzo sat on a fixed steel chair, his hands tied behind him and his legs constricted against the legs of the chair. My eyes widened—I had no business being there.
Valerio let go of me, rolling the sleeves of his shirt up to his elbows and revealing the tattoos on his strong forearms. My eyes darted between an unconscious Alonzo, and a tense Valerio. He walked up to Alonzo, lifting his slumped head by grabbing onto his hair. Alonzo's eyes were close, and a streak of blood ran out of his nose and onto his mouth, dripping onto his black t-shirt.
His face was soiled with dirt and Valerio paused, frowning down at his brother. For a second I thought that he was questioning where the bruises came from, but Valerio lifted his hand and gave Alonzo's unconscious face the hardest—most violent and loudest slap I've ever seen in my fucking life. God damn.
Alonzo's eyes shot open as his head whipped to the side, immediately wincing and groaning in pain and Valerio stepped back.
"Wake the fuck up," Valerio snapped, irritatingly and repeatedly giving his brother small slaps. If it wasn't for the situation, I would have laughed.
"I'm awake," Alonzo gasped, a massive and red handprint starting to form on his cheek. "Fuck, stop, stop. Why did you have to hit me so hard, fratello? You don't know what water is? Shit, man. My cheek is on fire—"
"Good," Valerio stated, finally dropping his hands.
Alonzo lifted his head to look at Valerio, and that's when he saw me and the glare changed into a smile. It gave me the fucking creeps and my nose scrunched up as I remembered how he looked at me for the first time.
"Alani," he breathed, grinning at me. "I'm so happy you came. I really need to talk to you."
"Don't look at her. Don't talk to her," Valerio said lowly, leaning down to his height. Alonzo was younger and smaller than Valerio, and it suddenly showed in the way I could see Alonzo nearly backing down in the face of his older brother.
"Why not?" Alonzo asked, but he wasn't looking at me anymore. "It's not like she'll believe me."
"I should kill you for all the trouble you've caused me," Valerio whispered, leaning on the armrests as he looked Alonzo dead in the eye. His words weren't forced, or hard with emotion and that was the scary part. He looked like he meant it.
"Kill me? The way you killed my—" Alonzo was cut off by Valerio's fist slamming into his face, a lot harder than the slap and Alonzo screamed out at the pain. I grimaced, but I was unable to look away from the scene unfolding in front of me.
"Why do you keep saying that?" Valerio asked, and he seemed genuinely interested in his answer. "Why are you convinced that I killed Naomi? I had nothing to do with her death, but you have your mind set on the fact that I killed her. Why?"
"Because," Alonzo whispered, licking away the blood on his lips. "You were meant to keep her alive. I trusted you to keep her safe, and you failed."
"It wasn't my job to keep her safe," Valerio sneered. "You were a piece of shit boyfriend and that's why she's fucking dead. Not because I couldn't protect her. I did everything I could, but you don't see that. Do you?"
Alonzo's face changed, an eerie and pissed off expression taking place. "Watch your fucking mouth, Valerio."
"Why?" Valerio asked, straightening up as he towered over Alonzo. "What are you going to do?"
Alonzo didn't say anything, but he averted his gaze to me and smirked. "I like that chain, Alani. Beautiful, isn't it?"
My hand subconsciously went to the thin silver chain tucked underneath my hoodie. Alonzo couldn't see it, but his eyes lowered to my collarbones as if he could imagine it around my neck. I looked at Valerio, not expecting the blank look on his face. I frowned—what was going on?
"Alonzo—"
Alonzo paid no mind to Valerio.
"Suits you." Alonzo grinned, chuckling as he kept his eyes on me. "It's just fucked up that you think he gave that to you out the goodness of his heart."
I looked at Valerio, feeling utterly confused. What did he mean by that? If I wasn't mistaken, the blood drained from Valerio's face—only solidifying the confusion I felt. His lips parted, and he looked at me with softness that I couldn't focus on.
"Alonzo, shut the fuck up," Valerio said through gritted teeth, and I scowled at him.
"What do you mean?" I addressed Alonzo for the first time since I arrived.
"Alonzo—" Valerio started, but I raised my hand and indirectly told him to shut up. I wanted to hear what Alonzo had to say, not because I'll believe him but I was curious. Plus, Valerio's reaction had scepticism rushing through me.
"I'm glad you asked," Alonzo said cheery. "Take it off. Have a closer look, darling."
"Alani," Valerio murmured, reaching out to me. Why was he acting so weird? I narrowed my eyes at him, switching to look at Alonzo.
"Nothing. Nothing—" he emphasised. "Valerio does nothing out of the goodness of his heart. He didn't give that to you because he wanted you to have it. He has his own fucking agenda and you should know about the type of person he is. He acts all innocent for nothing. Look closer, Alani."
I reached for the clasp at the back of my neck, unhooking it and I dragged the chain off me. Valerio took a step closer to me but I shook my head, holding the chain at eye level. "What am I looking for, Alonzo?" I knew what it was but I wanted to see it.
"Alani," Valerio breathed. "You don't have to—"
"Valerio, stop," I blurted. "Alonzo, tell me what I'm looking for."
Alonzo laughed. "He's so smart that you won't see it unless you're really looking for it."
I held the chain with both hands, examining it but nothing looked out of the ordinary.
"In the clasp there should be a tiny black dot," Alonzo said, and I frowned as I looked down at the hook. I pulled it closer to my face, squinting my eyes and that's when I saw it.
Like Alonzo said, there was a black dot situated between the clasp and chain. My face fell and I lowered my hands, gazing up to see Valerio staring at me with a solemn expression.
"Is this what I think it is?" I asked slowly.
"Amore—"
"You put a fucking tracker on me?" My question came out a lot harsher than I intended, and Valerio walked closer to me but I stopped him with a swift raise of my hand. He gave me a look, and I didn't see him reach out until he caught the inside of my elbow and dragged me out of the room.
He let go of me, shutting the door and shielding Alonzo's grinning face.
"My love—"
"Don't 'my love' me," I said, not even meaning it and I regret it the second the words left my lips. "Valerio. I could have dealt with living with you while this is sorted out but giving me your chain and making me think you wanted me to have it because of some sweet, sentimental reason? Phones exist. You couldn't have tracked my location or something?" Alonzo had managed to fuck with my head and I didn't like it at all. I shouldn't have spoken to Valerio that way—not after he showed me how kind he was.
I wasn't even mad about the tracker—I was mad that I convinced myself he did it because he wanted to.
"Phones are not reliable," he said casually, and my glare hardened.
"And the chain is? I barely wear it. What's on this anklet?" I asked, about to reach down when Valerio grabbed my wrist and stopped me. I paused, swallowing hard when I realised how bitchy that was.
"Leave it on, Alani. There's no fucking tracker on it," he snapped, letting go of my wrist and I scowled at him.
Valerio pinched the bridge of his nose, letting out a sigh. "I can't deal with this right now."
He dug into his pants pocket, pulling out his car keys and he handed it to me.
"I know this is overwhelming. Take my car. I'm not done with Alonzo," he said and when I stared at the keys as if it was the most foreign thing—he took my hand and set it down on my open palm.
My mouth fell open. I didn't want to leave. I wanted to talk to him and figure this out, but Valerio continued to stare at me and I could tell that he wasn't going to change his mind.
"You brought me here and now you're telling me to leave? On my own?" I asked slowly, not being able to understand his fucking logic.
He didn't say anything.
I scoffed a laugh, pushing past him and through the staircase that we came through. If he wanted me to leave, I was going to leave.
The guards must have recognised me because they opened the door with no hesitation. As I walked away from Valerio and towards his car, the hurt of it all finally sunk in. I might have overreacted, but I was pushed into a situation that I didn't want to be involved in in the first place and suddenly I had someone tracking my whereabouts without my knowledge.
The entire day was one thing after the other and I was already tired of it.
Perhaps Valerio was right and I needed to take myself away from the situation.
I unlocked his car door, sitting in the driver's seat while I switched the car on. If it wasn't for the few lessons Valerio had given me, I wouldn't have been able to drive myself. I drove through the gates, still thinking about Valerio.
Why couldn't have just asked me? If he explained, I wouldn't have had an issue with it. But going behind my back? It made me angry, but the logical side of me knew that I didn't have a reason to be angry.
Valerio was just trying to protect me, but it didn't change how I felt. I needed to compose myself and I drove off to a nearby park to clear my thoughts.
I parked underneath a tree, slumping against the seat as I leaned my head back.
I didn't know how long I stayed there but the sun disappeared before my eyes. I picked up my phone, seeing no messages and no calls from Valerio.
I groaned, resting my hands on the steering wheel of Valerio's Ferrari. I had a sinking feeling that he was done with me, and I couldn't take it anymore.
I was about to start the car when headlights flashed in the mirror and I turned around to see a blacked out van approaching.
• • •