THE MAFIA’S CAPTIVE ANGEL

The level of awkwardness during lunch with Uncle Carson was unbearable. He had a terrific sense of humour, and whenever we met, we would crack jokes about anything, but suddenly there were walls between us that neither of us could get over.Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

At least not yet.

After getting Sin’s approval for us to meet, I called him that morning, and we agreed to meet the next day at a restaurant for lunch. And like I promised Sin, I was sure to go with Mateo and two other men.

The silence pulsed between us. As the waitress noted down our order and left, I reached for the glass of water and took a sip. The clinking sound of the knives and forks did its business in the background.

Uncle Carson was the first to break the ice. “How have you been?”

“I’ve been good.” I quipped, giving him a smile. His eyes searched my face for any hint of a lie, and he gave a small nod when he saw none.

“That’s good to know.” He smiled, still studying my face.

“Wha… what about you? How have you been?” I stutter nervously, hoping to keep the conversation going.

Uncle Carson sighs, clutching his knife, his knuckles turning white. “See, Mani, as much as I would love for us to exchange pleasantries and catch up, we can’t avoid the matter at hand.”

“I know…”   I mumbled, casting my gaze on the table.

“Sin isn’t a man to be messed with; I don’t know what situation might have caused your involvement with each other, but I suggest you end it now.”

“Uncle Car…”

“He is a dangerous man, Mani. I’m very certain you know who he is.” He says this, cutting me off. His voice was filled with agitation.

“I very well know who he is, Uncle Carson, but I want you to know that he would never let anything happen to me.”

“You don’t know that. This is the Mafia we are talking about; you could get killed just because you are involved with the likes of him.”

“Don’t you think you are being hypocritical?” I sneered, my voice full of venom, without realizing it.

“What…”  His lips parted in shock at my tone.

I sighed, taking a deep breath before meeting his still-shocked gaze.

“I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to snap at you.” My brows creased. “I know you wish for nothing but my safety, and I understand your concern. But you know very well that your involvement with him is just as dangerous as mine. And yes, the thought of getting killed terrifies the hell out of me, but I can’t leave him, Uncle Carson. I just cannot.”

“You have feelings for him, don’t you?” I nod, my throat constricting into a tight ball. “From what I saw at the dinner meeting, I can tell he feels something for you. But how long till that feeling changes? How certain are you that he won’t get bored and toss you aside when he’s done with you?”

I breathed, my chest constricting at his words. “You don’t have to worry about me; I will be fine.”

“I just don’t want anything bad to happen to you or for you to get hurt,” he said, his eyes growing softer. “You are family to me, and I love you just as much as I love Stephanie.”

“I love you too, Carson,” I mumbled, twirling the fork in my hands. He smiled back at me.

“Does Stephanie know about this?” Fear rounded his eyes.

“Heaven, no!.”  I answered and watched as he let out a relieved breath.

“It’s bad enough that one of you is involved with the Mafia; the last thing I want is to worry about her involvement.” I twitched nervously, holding back my words before I accidentally blurted out anything alarming.

“You don’t have to worry; I don’t want her involved, just as much as you do.” My gaze flitted from him to the table.

“Does he treat you well? Don’t sugar-coat it or lie to me; I want honest answers, Mani.”

A smile graced my lips as I spoke. “He does, so you don’t have to worry.” He nods, hearing the sincerity in my voice.

Our conversation drifted to other topics as the waitress returned with a tray of food, and we dug into our meals.

♤♤♤♤

“YOU SAID YOU WERE GOING TO GET RID OF HER.” Victoria emphasized each word as she yelled, staring at the shadowed figure in front of her.

“I very much know what I said.” A voice snapped back at her with anger. “How was I to know that those fucking bastards would fail at doing one simple job?”

“What are we going to do when Sin finds out? You very well know he won’t hesitate to kill us, not after what happened to his precious slut.”

“If you are worried about Jordan being found, I already took care of it. There is no way Sin would ever find out about our involvement.”

Their plan to kill Mani had been unsuccessful; Sin had killed everyone involved in the shootout except Jordan, whom they had tipped off to run off to China. It was a good thing they had thought to finish him off before Sin got to China.

“So what are we going to do with that slut?” Victoria asked, hating the fact that Mani was still alive and acting like she was some kind of queen because of the attention Sin was giving her.

She despised the very sight of her and couldn’t help but blame her for the death of her brother.

“Don’t worry; I’ve got another plan in store for her. She won’t know what hits her.”

“It better work this time before Sin figures everything out. The only reason we form an alliance with you is because we both have something to gain, but make no mistake, I won’t hesitate to betray you if it means saving my own ass.”

“Oh, you don’t have to worry, sweet Victoria. I won’t hesitate to do the same either.”