Owning the Mafia Don

Proserpina

I was finally able to get Siek Toth to help me, a decision he seemed to take reluctantly. One part of my mind registered the fact that Phillippe seemed to have taken a dislike to the man. But I was too excited to find out why.

After the man had left with his retinue, I turned to Phillippe eagerly.

‘Let us go and visit Schwartz first and then we can begin. Oh, Phillippe, I am so relieved, ‘I cried.

The boy looked at me and said nothing.

“What is it, Phillippe?” I asked, puzzled.

“That man. Toth. He is not to be trusted, ” replied my young companion shortly. I stared at him. Then I said gently,

“Sometimes we make do with the help we get, son. We can not always afford to choose.”

He said nothing, just held my hand tightly for a while and then said softly,

“Madre, you are so innocent.” I looked at him in astonishment.

Every now and then, the youth surprised me with his astuteness. This was one such occasion.

I rose to my feet. Draping my Brunello Cucinelli double-breasted alpaca blend coat around my shoulders, I sighed. The fawn-coloured expensive coat had been a gift from Lucien last year and I loved it. The retro design, the roominess of the coat, and the brushed alpaca blend made it one of my favourites.

We left the house and stepped into the biting cold of the morning.

*

Schwartz sat up and winced as I entered the room. The sight of the familiar face, handsome and charming as ever, the lopsided grin, deep grooves on either side of his smiling mouth, and the way he stretched out his arm when he saw me had me across the room in a shot. I threw my arms around him and hugged him, as he grunted and rumbled in laughter.

“Hen!” he chuckled softly but I could feel the emotion.

I lifted my face, crying and laughing all at once,

“James,” I sighed, touching his arm,” You are well. ”

He gave a crooked smile and a dark shadow passed across his handsome countenance.

He looked away for an instant and then returned his gaze to my features.

“And you look horrid,” he teased, and I giggled.

“Your nose is red and …”

He turned to Phillippe, who was hovering behind me and laughed, reaching out to the young boy.

“Mafiosa Captain in the making, eh ?”

And as Phillippe’s face broke out into a wide grin, Handsome James chortled,” Get over here!”

Unlike my husband, who awakened feelings of awe and fear and respect for those away from his trusted circle, Handsome James was a dashing superhero in the eyes of most people. With his ready charm and swashbuckling looks, he could charm anyone, male and female alike. When he came home, he would spend hours with my children, and inevitably, young Phillippe was part of the group. Now my young companion flung his thin arms around Schwartz and hugged him fiercely.

Schwartz held him close, a look of affection on his face.

I stepped back and that was when I noticed Aiyana.

She was standing a little away, her hair drawn back in the familiar tight black bun, severe as always, observing.

Without another thought, I went to her and hugged her, saying,

“Thank you, Aiyana. Thank you for doing everything…”

I stepped away and was surprised by a look of softness on her lovely strong face.

Then she smiled, a mere twist of her lips but I knew that I had made headway.© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

She nodded.

“I will help you, Proserpina.”

She said softly and gave the first genuine smile I had seen on her face. Overcome by emotion, I suppressed the desire to throw my arms around her again and settled for a squeeze of her long, thin hand.

“Now what exactly do you plan to do?” asked Schwartz as I pulled up a chair to his bedside and sat down.

*

Lucien

He lay on the bed, trying not to let the feeling of impotent fury overcome him. His cheek still burnt from the force of her blow, for she was a big-built, strong woman of the outdoors. Added to that had been the fact that he had been unprepared and weak, which made him rage at himself. The woman was dangerous simply because she was crazy.

He let his eyes drift across the room. It was cluttered with junk, was his first thought. The old furniture is stacked in a corner at the back of the room. He could swear that he saw a rat darting across once.

The woman had fetched him a bowl of Bryndzove halusky: potato dumplings with bryndza, a sheep’s-milk cheese. Lucien had enjoyed the fare on several occasions earlier but this was a mockery of the traditional fare. The dumplings tasted stale and the cheese had a distinct smell that made him wonder just how old it was. But he forced it down his throat, all the while thinking of his Woman who was a talented cook. She worked magic in the kitchen and her lip-smacking food was something he thought of now with regret. He ate silently, knowing that he had to build up his strength.

How long had he been here, he asked himself. Had no one come to look for him?

Schwartz had been wounded and he knew his men had also been hurt. But Toth?

*

The appearance of the old woman broke into his thoughts. She was still dressed in her layers of smelly clothing, he noticed with distaste.

She shuffled out of the house, muttering something about bringing in the wood. She had dragged the old man to his feet and had propelled him outside too.

Stopping to send a look in his direction, she had said softly, an evil glint in her eyes,

“Tomorrow, Stefan, tomorrow. You will help me to bring in the wood.’

With that threat, she had provided the old man between the shoulders and forced him outside into the watery sunlight. Leaving the door open, she worked.

From where he sat and lay, alternately, having given up the futile attempt to free himself, he could see the frozen ground. A pile of logs lay on the ground and he watched as the woman raised an axe and swung it expertly, bringing it down to splinter the wood.

She was strong, he thought, putting away that piece of information. After a while, the old man stumbled in, wheezing as he tried to carry a load of logs, They fell and rolled to Lucien’s feet. The old man glanced at him nervously and made his way to the fireplace. He kept the load down and stood, wiping his brow, leaning against the wall.

Lucien realized that he needed to find out more about his captor. This was the chance. He had seen the woman make her way into the forest, and she had disappeared into the woods.

He turned to the old man.