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**This chapter is really not edited**
**Rafael's POV**
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Rafael.
"Boys." Fabio grinned with his freakishly white teeth when we entered the back of his Black Rolls Royce. Pretty sure he got veneers..
Marco looked a bit shaky, deciding to cross his arms and look out the window. I knew Fabio wasn't going to take too kindly to his body language. I was still mad at Marco but it is incredibly hard to talk the truth when Fabio had people listening to every word we said.
"Fabio." I said blankly, resting back into the seat in front of him as his body guards shut the door. I wonder what it would be like to have body guards? Fuçk that shit would get annoying.
"My favorite son." Fabio sighed, his fingers entangled together.
I almost snorted. "Your favorite son? I'm not your son, your real son is a fuçked up Figlio di Troia, or however you Italians say it. He's sitting in a mental home when I should have fuçking skinned him for doing that shįt to me and-" I cleared my throat, trying to relax the tightness in my shoulders. I was seconds from taking Stefan's last breath but Marco had to just push me back. I know I was an idiot for breaking into the mental hospital but shįt I don't even remember getting there.
"You're always full of anger Rafael and you may not be my biological son but I'm still your step father." He sighed, holding the bridge of his nose for a second. "You two boys are young, you still don't know the real world of a Mafia man. You're merely my hitmen." Fabio looked between me and Marco, Marco didn't look like he wanted to listen.
I wanted to laugh, we don't know the real world of a Mafia man? bullshit. "While I had gone to Sicily I made you acting underboss, that is a big fuçking deal in this family Rafael. I'm trying to prep you to become a true man of the underworld."
Translation; does he want me to wear more suits? Be more vicious and heartless? Become old and alone?
Okay look, having to deal with everyone in this organization as an underboss was hard, so many people asking questions, so much paperwork, money counting, making sure everyone was in check. There's a reason why there's an underboss and then the real boss.
Fabio leaned over slowly before his face changed into anger his hand came up slapping Marco across the face with the back of his hand.
Marcos jaw tightened, not flinching but turning his face to give Fabio his attention, before Fabio decided to beat him. "I made you boys, including you Marco, I found you when you were beaten up on the side of the road from a pack of dirty thugs and took you into my home. You should show me nothing but respect and loyalty."
He didn't make me, apparently he wishes I was his sperm.
But.. Yes, Fabio, our Don, our abusive father.
"Will we ever get respect from you?" Marco spat back. SLAP. Across the other cheek.. I wasn't surprised, of course that was coming.
"Where are the photos of the girl?" Fabio flicked his hand in the air, not bothering to go on with Marcos questions. He was growing irritated.
I answered before Marco did. "I broke his phone, I didn't think it was a very smart idea." I clenched my jaw.
Fabio chuckled to himself, resting his arm on the arm rest before looking at me with all his attention. "I see you're upset that Marco fuçked your girl? What's so good about this ragazza? Does she have a golden Vagina I don't know about? Because if she does, I wouldn't mind having a go, Sí?"
I bit my tongue. If he puts one hand on her I'll bury is stupid Italian face and leave his body in a bears cave. "No, but I'd much appreciate it, Don-- If you wouldn't involve her into this. Her father is stupid, let me deal with it, since it's my mess."
He stared at me. "Don't tell me you're in fuçking love?" He looked disgusted.
Fuçking? Yes. My body on her body, in between her soft tanned legs.
Definitely not appropriate to think about right now.
"I'm not in love." I scowled at him. "Mierda. Give me a break, And trust us with how we deal with things. We learnt from the best didn't we?" I gave him a wry smile.
"The best indeed. Now tell Marco to stop crying and go recover my twenty thousand dollar protection money from the Harris brothers- oh and cut one of their fingers? They're trying to put up a fight." Fabio said with a disgusted look. Marco still decided to ignore Fabio. "Come on Marco, your brother is safe, going to school at an elite school because of you. I only needed to use him to make you do the one thing you couldn't do. Since I trust Rafael to clean his mess, I'm not angry."
Fabio not angry? He must of got his diçk sucked just before he came here.
"Alright. Well is that all here?" Marco asked him, getting ready to get out.
"I need you boys to come to the mansion tonight and discuss the mess with Stefan and the rival Mafia family he tried to betray me with." Fabio said just as the door opened for me and Marco to get out. "I'll see you there."
We nodded before getting out and getting into my Maserati. I badly wanted to go back into the farm house and grab Christina. But knew that wouldn't be a good look for Fabio to see, me and Marco had to work.
"Hurry up. I want to get all this done so I can do other things. Valentina wants more help with moving into her new condo." Marco muttered, grabbing his kit to make a blunt. "She promised to make me those Lebanese pastries."
"Yeah and I want to go back to Christina." I shook my head, driving away from the property. I sounded like such a soft coçk. I was bracing myself for a snarky remark from Marco but nothing came.
He was silence before he took a look drag, muttering. "You know what day it is today?"
I frowned for a moment, about to state that it was Sunday.
"The day Zarah was murdered in front of me. It's been two years." Marco exhaled the smoke, leaning back in his seat like it was a normal thing to talk about. In fact, It was a normal conversation for me an Marco, to talk about the murders we have witnessed, the murders with both been a part of. It used to be fuçked up but not now when you lose every emotion towards it and block it out to make it normal.
"Dios mio, two years already." I didn't know what to say. Zarah was Marcos girlfriend until one messed up night when she was kidnapped by men that had it out for me and Marco. We stuffed up that night, it was a trap. They tied us up and made us watch them torture her. Out of all the things I have seen and done, that had to be the worst, I still felt sick to my stomach. Marco had become detached ever since.
That night was one of the reasons why I felt so paranoid having Christina around, fuçk the same thing could happen to her. I'm stupid and selfish for wanting her.
"I'm sorry for fuçking up today. I'm always fuçking up." Marco screwed up his face before taking another drag.
"Marco we both know if you could jump into bed with Christina, you would." I clenched my jaw, I don't have to say 'I'm not dumb', he knows that. He finds her attractive but he can't care about her the same way I do.
"You're right but I honestly don't feel any other way towards her. Shįt, me and Christina wouldn't last. I'm like a teasing brother to her and now I've fuçked that up. Her forgiveness wasn't convincing." Marco pointed out, she had to be feeling hurt. I hope she wasn't lying and that everything would be fine.
It was agonizing. The day was going slow, I hadn't talked to Christina all day. I couldn't stop thinking about what she could be doing and whether she was safe. Why did it feel like I hadn't seen her for over a month? This was getting ridiculously. What the hell was wrong with me?
"Drop me off at the cemetery." Marco said, before getting into the passengers seat. I didn't say a word, I just started the car and drove to where he wanted to be.
It was silent until we got there, he wordlessly got out of the car and walked to where her grave was. I wasn't going to drive off, I was going to stay for him. Marco was my brother.. because in the end to me, family isn't who you're born with, it's who you would do anything for, it's where your loyalty lies. Yes Marco did betray me but why should one bad thing overcome the millions of good things he's done.
It was dark now, I kept my headlights on so could keep an eye on Marco, not just for enemies but so he wouldn't do anything stupid. He did what he usually does, slumped himself in front of her grave, grabbing himself the bottle of vodka he hid in the pot, and drank all the thoughts of blame away.
It made me depressed just watching him. I hadn't even noticed I had unlocked my phone with my finger hovering over Christina's name to call her.
I had to know she was okay.
I blinked at my phone in confusion when her name sprung to life and my phone began to ring. But a smile formed immediately on my face.
"Diosa." I greeted her lazily with the nickname I had decided to call her from the beginning I met her.
"Rafael, are you okay?" She asked me, her voice so soft that I wouldn't get sick of hearing it.
"I'm good, is everything fine?" I asked her back, straightening in my seat, preparing myself if she wasn't fine.
"Yeah everything's good, I just needed to let you know something- well I needed to tell you-" I didn't like how uneasy her voice was sounding.
"What's wrong?" I frowned, looking over at Marco to make sure he was still fine.
"N-nothing's wrong. I just-" She sighed, I could almost with how her voice was that her eyes were tightly shut. "Rafael-- I need some time a part.. Just to think for myself, everything is getting overwhelming. Only for a week." She whispered softly like it was hard for her to say.
I frowned at her words. "You want a week of not seeing me?" I gulped down dryness in my throat.
"Only so I can think about us and other things, I mean out situation hasn't been normal for anyone." Christina mumbled, she was definitely fidgeting with the hem of whatever outfit she was wearing.
"Okay if that's what you want." My voice drifted when I saw Marco smashing the empty bottle of vodka next to him on the concrete floor. "I have to go." I told her, jumping out of the car.
"Oh- I guess I'll text you or call you next week or something." She quickly said.
"Whatever." I quickly said back before I hung up phone and threw it in my pocket. Lifting Marco up so I could put him in the car.
I avoided the tightness around my chest from the call with Christina. She needed time to get away from me. She was probably going to stay with Amber and go on with her life until she wanted to talk to me again, I was okay with that.
I probably shouldn't of said 'whatever.' And hung up though..
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Christina.
"He hung up on me, I think he's busy with something." I bit my lip before returning my gaze to Amber. I had the urge to tell him I love him, but I didn't dare say it. I would be crazy if I did.
She just shrugged continuing to drive us wherever we were going. We had been driving for over nine hours now with a few pit stops at gas stations. As soon as Rafael and Marco left, Amber decided we were going to leave too.
"Ryan and I came to the conclusion that we're not good for each other! So let's get away." Amber shrugged, I couldn't tell if her smile was fake or not.
"Where on earth are you taking me?" I asked her for the millionth time. The only light was from the headlights of the car, the moon and the stars.
"Look! This trip is about me, you're my best friend so you have no choice but to come with me. I'm sorry if Rafael gets upset but whatever." Amber muttered. "I'll bring you back in one piece, our planes about to leave."
My eyes widened when I noticed we pulled up to what looked like a private air runway.
Amber is not loaded enough to have money for this kind of stuff!
"It's a friends." She shrugged a little, looking guilty as ever.
Before I knew it, we were on a private jet in the air.
I really wasn't expecting to leave the state, should I tell Rafael? Would he care?
One week was nothing..
Crap, Amber is always putting me up to no good.
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Rafael's looking after his best friend and Christina's just looking after her best friend..
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