A/N: hola, peeps!
So I wanted to address the situation about the book's plot being changed. Yes, it's changed. Arranged marriage trope doesn't really attract readers, so I decided to change it. Tbh, I didn't like it either. I'm truly sorry that the people who enjoyed the unedited book won't be able to find it anymore.
And before any of you say anything, I'm not changing the plot again, lol. I'm pretty confident with this one. I'm literally working my ass off for it. I think I have an amazing plot and well-thought-up characters now. If you don't like it, feel free to stop reading. And I'm not saying this in a rude way.
Thank you, have a good day!
****
Adrian's POV
Precisely as I predicted, it didn't take me longer than forty-eight hours to find Giovanni.
"I'm definitely going to enjoy killing the shit out of him!" Marquise hopped inside the backseat of the car. He was grinning like it was the best day of his life. And it was. "I saved my best suit for today. Don't you just love life?"
"You're late," I said, ignoring his previous statement.
"I'm always late. You should be used to it by now."
Before I could reply, Kai entered the car and closed the door. He was carrying a bag with equipment he'd need for tonight's plan.
The driver started the car and pulled out of the driveway.
"Put these on," Kai said, passing us tiny wireless earpieces. "The microphone located on the transmitter is very sensitive. It lets me hear everything you say, even a whisper."
Marquise sighed and put it on. "I don't think I can never understand how earpieces work."
I put the cord around my neck and covered it with the collar of my shirt. Then, I put the earpiece into my ear.
The car came to a stop half an hour later. The locale wasn't one of the best. Plastic cups, bottles, and cigarettes were all over the road and sidewalks. A dead dog was lying in the middle of the road. I held my breath as we passed by it, not wanting to smell the stench of a dog that had probably been hit by a car days ago.
A few people sat and hung around on the sidewalks; smoking, drinking, and some moving out of our way. Behind their gazes, I could see the fear in their eyes. No one crossed the narrow road as we stalked to the club.
A tiny building came into view. The building looked tattered instead of a lively club with security guards standing in front.
Marquise and I got inside the building. The place looked like an old shop. Almost every material was grubby and ancient. Getting rid of this place would notably do more good than I expected it to do.
"What can I help y'all with?" A deep voice with a southern accent said.
A man was sitting behind a desk, reading a magazine. He had piercings on his eyebrows, bottom lip, and ears. His tattooed forearms were visible from the rolled-up sleeves of his ragged shirt. It wasn't difficult to guess he was one of Giovanni's men.
"So...," Marquise whispered, "aren't you going to kill him?"
"No, you kill him."
My dress shirt was white and neat to ruin. At least Marquise's was black. Even if blood got spilled, it wouldn't get noticed.
"Sul serio," he hissed. "This is my favorite shirt. You do it."
"You'll buy one after you kill him. Now go. We're wasting time."
Marquise begrudgingly stepped forward. He unbuttoned his blazer and put it on the table. After rolling the sleeves of his shirt, he took out his gun from the back of his pants.
The man's eyes drifted to the gun. "Chi cazzo sei?" he snarled. His southern accent was fully gone.
[Who the fuck are you?]
"Wait, don't kill him," Kai's voice came through the earpiece. "You need to know the code word to get inside the underground club. Ask him the code word first."
Crossing my arms over my chest, I leaned back on the wall. This was going to take more time than wanted.
Marquise had pulled the trigger before asking the man the code word.
"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Kai said indignantly. "You fucked us up."
"Relax. Gio and I were besties. I can guess the word."
"How the fuck are you going to figure out the code word when there are like 170 thousand words in the English language?"
"One hundred and seventy-one thousand words, actually," Marquise corrected. He was unfazed.
"I can't believe you're the one who's going to get replaced when Adrian dies. We will all get killed under your lead."
"Boy, if you don't shut your Einstein-wanna-be ass up—"
"Enough," I finally said and started to the back door of the shop. "You're both forgetting that we have Luca and Savio inside. I had already ascertained the word while you two were quarreling."
"Oh," they said simultaneously.
Kai muttered something I couldn't quite pinpoint.
Marquise put back his blazer and caught up with my pace. "So, what's the word?"
"Lucy," I answered.
"He's using his cat's name as a code word," Marquise said to himself. I was expecting him to exaggerate Giovanni's stupidity, but he didn't. "That's a smart move," he said.
I refrained from saying anything. Maybe one day he'd realize how much of an idiot his "friend" was.
"Dispose of the body," I ordered through the cord. "Make sure no one is around and do your task discreetly."
"Copy that," the curt voice of my driver came through the earpiece.
The security guards came into view through the long corridor. Marquise would blow up our cover with his full-time rambling mouth, so I gave him a signal to shut the fuck up.
"If you don't hear anything from us for longer than five minutes," I said, my voice firm, "raid the building."
Before anyone could respond, I told the security guards the code word, and they let us in without any further ado.
The dimly lit club was filled with intoxicated people. The music was sexually inviting. Half-naked women were dancing on poles, swaying their hips mechanically to the rhythm. I had to drag Marquise through the crowd because he couldn't keep his eyes off of the women's uncovered chest.
The disco ball was twirling above - launching every shade of the rainbow colors into the darkness. The loud music and different noises of people's shouts deafened my ears.
We took the stairs that led to the VIP section. Two sturdy men were standing in front of a golden double door. They had dark sunglasses on with a solid stance. Their poker face remained the same as we approached them.
"You're not allowed to get inside," one of the guards said. "Go away before we make you regret ever coming to this place."
"I'll tell you two shitheads who is going to regret—"
I gripped Marquise's arm and whispered, "Let me do the talking."
Fixing the collar of my shirt, I stepped forward. "Giuliano," my voice was clear, letting the men know who I was with a single word.
They checked us out. The bald security guy whispered something into his wired earpiece. His head jerked up to meet our faces after he got his answer from his boss. They apologized for making us wait and opened the door.
The men slammed the door behind us after we got inside. Marquise and I held our heads high as we stepped in. I smirked, enjoying how Giovanni's face fell when he saw us. It looked as though his eyes were about to pop out of their sockets. At least he'd spare himself the discontent of watching his body get turned into an inspirational drawing board. Red, red, and red. Those were the colors Marquise would use.
I wonder why...
We sat on the free sofa. A few women in flimsy clothes were sitting on men's laps. Some of them were getting a tip in between their breasts, and some were desperately trying to laugh at what the men were whispering into their ears. It was indubitable that not any of the men here knew how to make a woman laugh.
Two of our men were here, too.
A pink-headed woman came up to us and proffered us a tray of alcohol. Marquise took a glass of champagne while I gazed at the drinks, checking to see if Giovanni was dense enough to spike the drinks and attempt to escape. I wouldn't be surprised if he tries to do it.
A spiked drink would change from its original color, it would look cloudy, and it would have excessive bubbles. These had neither of those. But I refused to drink since the reason I came here had nothing to do with drinking alcohols.
"How did you get in?" Giovanni finally spoke.
"Is this a proper way to accept your friends?" Marquise questioned, shaking his head. "Where is this generation going?"
"It doesn't matter how we came in," I said. "What matters is what you're going to do, for me to be generous and kill you with one bullet."
Giovanni forced a laugh. "Weren't you the smart one?" he asked. "Too brave of you two to come here all alone. I could kill you right here, and no one would know."
"God, just kill him already," Kai groaned.
Being the mind reader I was, I had already figured out how terrified Giovanni was. No matter how much he was trying to hide it, I saw it right through him. He was bat shit terrified of what we could do to him with a single command. The splendid part was we could get away with it without a single hurdle.
After all, too much power was no use to an empty skull.
"I'll give you five minutes to turn around and leave," Giovanni said.
Marquise choked on his drink as he cackled with laughter.
"Do I fucking amuse you?"
"Very," was Marquise's response. "Tell me again why you haven't become a stand-up comedian? I'm genuinely curious. You have so much potential."
The room was suddenly filled with fits of giggles. Giovanni glared at everyone who laughed. A few of the women stifled a laugh whilst the men coughed to hide their laughter.
Swiftly, Giovanni yanked a gun from the back of his pants and pointed it toward Marquise's direction. A huge gasp left several of the women's mouths.
I, on the other hand, wasn't surprised in the least bit. Giovanni's temper had always been quick to explode. He wasn't too keen when it came to controlling his emotions.
"How dare you come and disrespect me in my own fucking club!"
We gave him an unimpressed look.
"Because we fucking can," Marquise said, mimicking Giovanni's voice.
I sent my men a signal, and they slid their glocks, pointing them each at Giovanni's head. The rest of the men and women's eyes widened, but they did nothing.
Marquise chugged the champagne and gave it to the woman who was standing behind us. He stood and stepped up to Giovanni. Giovanni swallowed, desperately trying to put up a valiant facade.
I remained where I was because it wasn't my fight nor shirt to ruin. "Make it quick," I told Marquise, glancing at my watch.
"Yeah, make it quick," Kai repeated what I said. "I have somewhere to be in an hour."
"What...you sick fucks think you'll get away with killing me?" Giovanni scoffed. "My men will kill you before you step a foot outside."
"If you don't have anything to offer for us," I said, my eyes trained on Giovanni's, "Marquise here won't hesitate to slit your throat."
"Eye contact while slitting someone's throat is sexy," Kai spoke.
Giovanni lowered his gun. "You don't know what you're up to. This isn't a war you're going to win." A crooked smile made its way to his face. "They're coming for you. Unfortunately, for me too, since I worked along your side like a little bitch for such a long time." He flipped the front of the gun to the side of his forehead. "But gladly, I won't be here to face the storm."
"The fuck is he talking about?" Kai asked. "What drug is the dude on?"
Giovanni pulled the trigger and his body fell limply to the ground.
The room went silent after that. Everyone was confused. Even I was slightly puzzled.
"Well...that was easy," Kai's voice came through the earpiece, filling in the silence.
Giovanni was afraid of what was to come, so he escaped it. He wasn't one of the bravest men I knew, but he wasn't a man who runs away from his problems either. It had to be something big for him to kill himself for the sake of eschewing his troubles.
I should have been intimidated, but instead, I felt eager to destroy whatever came my way. Because that was what I was good at doing; I was excellent when it comes to demolishing my nemesis.
"Arrivederci, bitch!" Marquise seethed before we left the building.