The Mafia's Captive

What could he be doing outside at such an hour of the day? Most importantly, why is he even here in the first place? My life was doing just perfectly fine throughout this week, and he just had to show up. I groan in frustration and run my fingers through my hair as I stand right in front of my older brother, Cristiano. As usual, his hair is a mess and he has several bruises on different parts of his skin. "How can I help you?" I blurt out with a frown on my face. At first, I was going to ignore him but then I figured it would be better to face him than ignore him, plus it is almost impossible to ignore a basket of trouble like him. "Rory, remember this is my place too? I can show up whenever and however I want to." Cristiano replies with a small frown on his face. I sneak a glance at his hand and notices the ice bag clutched tight in his hand. I gaze at his face again and notice a fresh cut on his left eye. "Well, maybe you should just go back to where you came from. I do not need trouble around me." I snap at him and attempt to walk away, but Cristiano gets a grip of my wrist and pulls me back. He raises a brow at my sudden outburst and points to the empty space besides him. "Sit." He orders in a commanding tone. I shake my head in disagreement and respond "No, thank you." "Rory, you need to sit because I have something important to discuss with you." Cristiano deadpans. The sudden seriousness in his tone causes the hairs on my skin to rise and I gulp a lump down my throat. Why am I suddenly afraid that Cristiano has done something unforgiving? "So, sit." He repeats, eyeing me with disdain. I sigh heavily and join him on the floor, my eyes settle on the dark and gloomy clouds. "What important thing do you have to tell me, Cristiano? I need you to make it quick too. I have to rest and prepare for another busy day at work." I say rolling my eyes at him. "Stefano, remember him?" Cristiano starts with a raised brow. I shake my head in disagreement. Who could that be? "Stefano Conti." He repeats and the sound of that name makes me shiver in fear. Stefano Conti is a ruthless Mafia boss, a famous one at that. Everyone knows better than to stay out of his trouble. "What happened to Stefano Conti?" I ask with a small shrug. "I might have gotten involved with him somehow." Cristiano deadpans. Hearing this makes me j******f the floor and gaze at Cristiano with an angry look on my face. How could he get himself involved with someone like Stefano Conti? My goodness Lord. "I swear it was not my intention, Rory. I tried my best to stay out of his lane, but he seemed so interested in doing business with me." Cristiano says in a defensive tone and raising his hands up. "Stefano Conti? Wanted to do business with you? How stupid do you think I am, Cristiano? Why would he be so interested in doing business with you? You are probably the one who forced yourself into his way like you always do with everyone and everything dangerous around you." I snap at him. Cristiano scoffs and fumes in anger. "I do not need a lecture from you Rory! I am the older one here!" He snaps back. "Then why do you not go ahead and start acting like one because I am so sick of playing your role all the damn time." I cry out, staring right into his eyes. "At least hear me out, Rory. Quit judging me when you have not even heard the full story," Cristiano says. Oh wow, so this isn’t the full story? There is more. I pace in front of Cristiano with both of my hands on my waist. I bite my lower lip to hold back the tears that threaten to fall from my eyes. I am very afraid that Cristiano has done something horrible and is about to beg me to help him clean his mess. "Anyway, Stefano kept giving me opportunities to do business with him. I swear at first I kept refusing but he kept giving me more signals and I started to feel like I was wasting such a precious opportunity, so instead of that happening, I accepted Stefano's proposal to do business with him." Cristiano says. I know he is not going to tell what kind of business he got himself involved in and sincerely speaking, neither do I want to know what business he and Stefano did. I just want to know the part I will play when it comes to cleaning Cristiano's mess. "It got really dangerous, Rory and I wanted to back out. I swear I wanted to but Stefano did not want me out so quickly, he needed me to keep running more errands, so I tried to outsmart him by running away with a huge amount of money that belonged to him. Now he will not let me out of his cage, he wants his money back and he will not stop at nothing until he gets it." Cristiano says with a fearful look on his face. I mean, who would not be afraid of Stefano Conti? "Then just give him back the money." I say with a small shrug. "The money is gone Rory, trust me, if I still had the money then I wouldn’t have come to you. I had to spend it covering some bills," Cristiano says. Covering some bills my foot, more like you spent it on gambling. "Okay, fine! So you want me to lend you the money, right? How much is it?" I ask but surprisingly, Cristiano shakes his head in disagreement. "Stefano Conti said he would give me another chance if I allow him marry you." Marry me?