The Inside Job
1188 Words
Three days.
Three days of the same thing.
Men outside her shop.
Vito driving past and not stopping.
Lina pretending she wasn’t looking for him.
It was stupid.
And exhausting.
Lina tried to go back to normal.
Fix a heel here. Fix a zipper there. Take the money. Smile at customers.
But her hands kept shaking.
And she kept checking the door.
At 11am on Thursday, the bell rang.
Lina looked up. Ready with her "hello welcome" smile.
It died on her face.
The man wasn’t a customer.
He was too clean for this street.
A suit that cost more than her rent.
Hair slicked back.
And eyes. Cold. Like he was counting everything in the room.
"Morning," he said. My voice is smooth. Fake.
"You must be Lina."
Lina wiped her hands on her apron. Heart beating fast.
"Who are you?"
"Bruno." He smiled. Didn’t offer his hand. Good.
"I’m here about the security thing. The city program."
Lina frowned. "What city program?"
"You know." Bruno waved a hand. "The free guards. The city’s trying to help small businesses."
Lie.
Lina knew it was Vito.
But she played along. "Oh. Right. That."
Bruno walked around. Slow.
Picked up a shoe. Put it down.
Touched a bag.
Like he owned the place.
"Nice shop," he said. "Small. But nice."
"Thank you."
"You work alone?"
Lina’s stomach tightened. "Yes."
"Brave," Bruno said. "This area... it’s not safe for a girl alone."
Lina didn’t answer.
Bruno stopped in front of the counter. I leaned on it. Too close.
"I heard something interesting. About you."
Lina froze. "What?"
"Nothing bad," Bruno said quickly. Held up his hands. "Just that you had a visitor. A few days ago. Big guy. Black suit. Real scary type."
Lina’s mouth went dry.
Vito.
"I don’t know what you’re talking about," she said. My voice is too high.
Bruno laughed. Soft. "Sure you don’t. Look, I’m not here to cause problems. I’m just... checking in. Making sure you’re okay."
He didn’t look like he cared if she was okay.
"Okay," Lina said. "Well I’m fine. So you can go."
Bruno’s smile dropped for half a second. Then came back.
"Sure."
He pulled out a card. Plain white. Just a number.
"If you need anything. Anything at all. You call me."
He put it on the counter and left.
Lina waited 10 seconds.
Then grabbed the card and threw it in the trash.
Her hands were shaking.
Across town, Vito was having a worse day.
Don Rocco’s office smelled like smoke and anger.
"WHERE IS MY MONEY VITO?!" Don Rocco slammed his fist on the desk.
2 million dollars. Gone.
And now people were whispering. That Vito was distracted. That he was soft.
Vito kept his face blank. "I’m close, boss. 48 hours."
Don Rocco stared at him. "You better be. Or I’ll put someone else on it."
Vito nodded and walked out.
As soon as the door closed, he punched the wall.
Once. Hard.
His knuckles hurt. He didn’t care.
The phone buzzed.
Guard: `Unknown man at shop. Bruno. Asked about you and the girl.`
Vito’s blood went cold.
Bruno Moretti.
He called Marco. "What the hell is Bruno doing at Lina’s shop?"
Marco was quiet. "Boss... Moretti?"
"Yes. Find out what he wanted. Now."
Vito hung up. Got in the car.
He was driving before he could think about it.
Is she okay? Did he scare her? Is she okay?
Lina was closing early.
She couldn’t focus. Couldn’t breathe right.
Bruno’s words kept playing in her head.
"Men like that bring problems."
Was that true?
Was Vito bringing trouble to her door?
The bell rang.
Lina jumped.
It was Vito.
He looked bad.
Hair messy. My eyes are tired. Jaw clenched like he was mad at the world.
"You okay?" he asked. No hello.
Lina crossed her arms. I tried to look tough.
"Did you send Bruno?"
Vito’s jaw tightened more. "No. And he’s not in the city. He’s Moretti."
Lina blinked. "Who?"
"Rivals," Vito said. "Bad people. He was checking you out."
Lina felt sick. "Why me?"
"Because I was here," Vito said bluntly. "Now they think you matter to me."
Lina laughed. But it wasn’t funny.
"I don’t matter to you. You said you’re just watching me."
Vito didn’t answer that.
He walked to the window. I looked outside.
"From now on, you don’t close alone. My men stay inside."
"I don’t want—"
"You don’t have a choice," Vito cut her off. Then softer: "Please. Just let them stay."
That "please" hit Lina weird.
Nobody like Vito said please.
"Fine," she whispered. "But they stay by the door. Not following me to the bathroom."
Vito almost smiled. Almost.
"Deal."
He turned to leave.
"Wait." Lina’s voice was small.
Vito stopped. Didn’t turn.
"Why are you doing this?" Lina asked. "Really. Why me?"
Vito was quiet for a long time.
When he spoke, his voice was low.
"I saw your wrist. The mark. I’ve seen it before."
Lina’s breath caught. "Where?"
"Don Rocco’s office. Old files." Vito finally looked at her.
"You’re not just some girl, Lina."
Lina shook her head. "That’s not possible. My parents died when I was 10. I grew up in a home. I’m nobody. I don’t have a mark or a secret or—"
Vito held up a hand. "I don’t know what it means yet. But I’m going to find out. And until I do, nobody touches you. Not Bruno. Not anyone."
He left before she could say anything else.
That night, food showed up.
Italian. From downtown. Expensive.
Pasta. Garlic bread. Salad.
Lina ate it all.
Hated that she was grateful.
Hated that part of her felt safe.
The guards stayed outside.
Bruno didn’t come back.
But Vito didn’t come back either.
And that bothered her more than it should.
Vito didn’t sleep.
He was at his apartment. 3am.
Supposed to be looking at Moretti files.
Instead he was thinking about Lina’s face when he said "you’re not just some girl."
He couldn’t stop it.
So he did something stupid.
He went to Don Rocco’s office.
Broke into the old storage room.
The one nobody used anymore.
Dust everywhere. Boxes. Files from 15 years ago.
And there it was.
A folder. Faded.
Elena.
Inside: one photo.
A woman. Pretty. Tired eyes.
Holding a little girl’s hand. Maybe 8 years old.
The girl had the mark.
Circle with a line. Same as Lina.
Under the photo, written in pen: Daughter. Location unknown.
Vito stared at it.
His chest felt tight.
Lina wasn’t nobody.
She was Elena’s daughter.
And Elena... Elena used to work for Don Rocco.
That meant Lina was connected.
That meant Moretti would want her.
That meant she was in danger because of him.
Vito closed the folder.
Hands shaking.
He texted Marco: 24/7 watch. Inside the shop. Armed. If anyone gets close, you call me first.`
Yes boss.
Vito put the phone down.
Leaned back in his chair.
Rule 1: Protect her.
Rule 2: Find out what Don Rocco knows.
Rule 3: Don’t fall for her.
He was already breaking rule 3.
- Writer
