THE MAFIA FAKE FIANCE

THREE

NATHAN

“Get in the bag,” I said calmly.

The guy blinked at me like he didn’t hear me. “Wh… what?” His voice cracked.

I pointed at the sack on the floor, it was not just any sack, one of those thick body bags we sometimes used. I had cut the bottom open so that he could slip into it. It was clear enough that I could watch his face once he was inside.

“Like I said, get in the f*****g bag.”

He just stood there shaking his head, while his Adam’s apple was jumping like crazy. Luca and Gino were behind me with their arms crossed, they knew better than to interrupt me when I was in this mood.

“Boss, please, I didn’t mean to…”

“Don’t whine,” I said, pulling my gun out and letting it hang by my side.

The guy dropped to his knees with his hands clasped and tears streaming down , nose running, the whole thing while he begged.

“Please. I have kids,” he said.

“Then maybe you should have thought about them before you screwed me over,” I said, still pointing at the bag again.

“Where’s the stuff?” I asked him. “The coke. Where did it go?”

“I… I don’t know…” he stuttered.

“Wrong answer.” I flicked the gun so the barrel was just an inch from his forehead.

“Try again.” I yelled.

“I swear, I swear it was stolen…”

“By whom?”

“I don’t know boss… I swear it was gone when I checked the stash…” He tried to explain which only pissed me off.

“You’re telling me,” I paused for a while.

“that someone broke into my warehouse, walked past your guys, past the cameras, took my product, and you don’t know who? You think I’m an i***t?”

“N… no, boss, no…”

“Then give me something. A name. A lead. A reason why I shouldn’t end you right here.”

He was shaking so hard that I thought he might collapse. “I’ll find out. I promise. Just give me a chance…”

“Chance expired,” I said flatly. “In the bag.”

His hands were shaking so hard the bag almost slipped. He still grabbed it and stepped inside and pulled it up over his legs, past his chest, until it covered him completely. Seeing him stuck in there, breathing heavy, face smushed up against the plastic… It was pathetic.

“Hmmm… Fits better than I thought” I said.

“Boss… please…” His voice was muffled through the plastic.

I raised the gun and fired once, right through his head, the plastic turned red instantly, the body twitching as it collapsed inside the bag.

“Take it out and don’t eave a mess.”

“Yes, boss,” Luca said.

I rolled my sleeves back and wiped a tiny dot of blood off my cuff with my thumb. White shirts never lasted a whole day with me but I still wore them. Habit, maybe. Or maybe I liked ruining them.

By the time I got in my car, the whole thing already felt like a warm-up… it was just another Tuesday morning.

My phone buzzed. I pulled it out and glanced at the screen.

Andrea Costa.

For a second my chest tightened, which was ridiculous. Years. It had been years since I even saw her. I thought she had stayed tucked away abroad forever, studying or pretending to be important or whatever spoiled girls like her did.

But there was her name, glowing on my phone. Andrea Costa.

I almost picked up. Almost. Then I remembered who the hell I was. Nathan De Luca didn’t jump to answer Andrea Costa. Nah. Let her wait.

I slid the phone back in my pocket and leaned back against the seat.

By the time I got to the office, my head was back in work mode. My new secretary, a fresh-faced kid who probably graduated last summer was waiting by my door. Tie too tight, palms sweaty.

“Mr. De Luca,” he said, holding out a folder. “I, uh, confirmed your meeting with TYC Group at two o’clock.”

I stopped walking and turned to look at him. “What did you just say?”

He swallowed hard. “The meeting… TYC… I confirmed it…”

I slapped the folder out of his hands and the papers scattered everywhere across the floor.

“I told you to cancel that damn meeting,” I said quietly.

“Sir, I thought…”

I stepped up close so he had no choice but to look at me.

“You thought? That’s your first mistake. You don’t think”

“Y… yes, sir.”

He scrambled to pick up the papers, his hands shaking so bad some of them slipped again. I was just about to tell him to get out of my face when the office door flew open.

And there she was.

Andrea Costa.

Walking in like she owned the building, her heels clicking against the floor, hair loose and her dress hugged every curve like she wanted me to notice, and yeah, I did. How could I not?. It hit me right in the chest, harder than I expected.

I shoved that feeling down quickly no f*****g way will I give her that power.

“Wow,” I said leaning against my desk.

“If it isn’t the ugly Costa sister.”

“Ugly? That’s the best you’ve got?”

“Hey, I’m just being honest,” I said. “Money buys a lot of things but apparently not taste.”

“You didn’t answer my call.”

“Busy,” I said. “I have better things to do.”

“Hmm… still dumb as fuck.”

“And you’re still ugly,” I shot back with a grin. “At least we are consistent.”

She rolled her eyes.

“Relax, Nathan. I didn’t come here to banter.”

“Thank God,” I said. “That would’ve been embarrassing for you.”

She didn’t bite, just stepped forward and put her hands on my desk, leaning in. I could smell her perfume, it was jasmine, sharp and sweet. My stomach flipped but I kept my face straight.

“I have a proposal,” she said.

I crossed my arms and leaned back.

“What, finally accepted I am better than you yet?”

“I’d rather choke.”

I chuckled low. Yeah, I missed this. I missed the way she threw it right back at me like fighting was our first language.

“Then spit it out, princess,” I said. “What’s the proposal?”

“I need you to be my fiancé.”