Chapter 14 - A Successful Lie
1847 Words
It didn’t take them long to locate where the Greco father and son duo were currently holding up during their stay in Italy.
Call it one of the many perks of being born a Romano.
Their family’s never-ending list of reliable contacts and favours being owed to them assisted Dante to find the expensive villa both Raphael and Alonzo were apparently held up inside of since their arrival not so long ago.
According to their reliable source, both the father and son were there right now and Dante decided to make a move now, while they least expected it.
Nicola was on his way headed out there in two large SUV’s, along with Luca, Cecilio, Lanzo and three others loyal to the Reaper.
Their job was to find the duo, incapacitate them and then transport them back to Castello Romano for an intense interrogation.
Each of the seven men were dressed in all black clothing, including a matching black pair of boots, gloves and a balaclava.
And of course, all of them were heavily armed.
No doubt they would have to get through a barrage of men to find their targets.
Nicola, who was on the phone with Dante at that very minute while Luca drove along the darkened street in the front SUV, listened in as his boss gave his final commands.
Cecilio followed along in the second SUV behind.
“Remember, I want this to go as smoothly as possible. We don’t want this all over the morning news tomorrow. Keep things quiet and get it done.”
Dante spoke sternly from where he sat in his black leather chair.
“Got it covered.” Nicola mused with a smirk, glancing across at Luca who turned to him with a raised brow in question.
“I mean it Nicola! I want both men alive! I want to see the fear in each of their eyes before I end them.” Dante reminded.
It was clear that Dante was holding back the majority of his apparent rage as he spoke into the receiver of his phone, but his clenched fist hitting the surface of his dark oak desk showed otherwise.
He was on edge.
After the disagreement with Alexa, he wasn’t in the zone as he would normally be during a take down like this one.
And this particular one had been a long time coming.
The Greco’s had menaced their family for far too long.
It was time to put a stop to it, once and for all.
“Like I said, you’ve got nothing to worry about Capo. You’ll have them both nicely delivered to your doorstep by morning.” Nicola confidently promised, balancing his phone between his ear and his shoulder while he worked to attach a silencer nozzle to the end of his glock.
“Call me when it’s done.” was the last thing Dante spoke before he abruptly ended the call and threw the phone down onto his desk with a huff.
He had no idea why this was irritating him so much. Normally he enjoyed this kind of thing.
The thrill of the chase.
But right now, there was nothing.
It seemed that Alexa’s words had really gotten to him a lot more than he had thought they had.
That woman… she got underneath his skin.
Suddenly, the door flew open and Roberto emerged, panting and wide-eyed as he searched the room for his older brother until he locked eyes with Dante, who frowned in confusion.
“What?” Dante asked.
“You need to come, now.” Roberto announced, gesturing for Dante to follow along after him.
“What is it?” Dante queried, apparently not convinced to do so.
Roberto sighed, “It’s Alexa…“
That was all he needed to say before the Mob Boss had rounded his desk and came jogging out after his taller brother.
Together they made their way back down the hall towards Willow’s guest bedroom.
-
“What happened?” Dante began his interrogation as soon as the two stepped into the bedroom.
Dante crossed the room within the matter of a second to be by Alexa’s side, promptly crouching down over his unconscious woman to check on her.
His fingers moved to the side of her neck to check for a pulse while he listened to Willow’s reply.
“I…I…I don’t know!” she finally spat out, shrugging her shoulders and with a terrified expression.
“One second we’re just sitting here talking, and then bang, she’s out cold laying on the bed like this...”
Dante narrowed his eyes at her explanation, feeling Alexa’s pulse as steady and counting along to make sure her heart rate hadn’t increased or decreased.
Besides being a little slower than normal, it felt good.
“She didn’t hit her head or anything, right?” Roberto joined in the questioning now from where he stood on the other side of the bed with the terrified red head by his side.
“No… I mean, not that I saw. She kinda just slumped over, like she fell asleep while we were sitting here. There was nothing out of the ordinary…” Willow explained.
“Maybe she fainted.” Roberto suggested, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Like I said we were just chatting.” Willow added, furrowing her brows as she glanced down at her friend laying across the mattress.
“Is she gonna be ok?”
Dante’s serious expression never left his handsome face as he came to stand and glanced across at Willow again for one last question.
“She’s been through a hell of a lot recently. What were the two of you talking about right before she passed out?”
Willow’s expression suddenly changed, paling in colour as she tried to remain calm.
There was no way she could admit they were waiting to see the results from a pregnancy test!
Not to Dante of all people, the possible father.
She needed to think up a lie, and fast.
“Uh… just the usual, you know. Shopping and jewellery… you know? Girl stuff.”
Her lie seemed somewhat convincing enough for Dante to accept.
But Roberto was having none of it.
He saw right through her lies and the obvious hesitation beforehand that the red head displayed towards his brother’s question.
Strangely enough, he decided not to call her out on it right now and instead remained silent while Dante nodded in response.
Matteo suddenly emerged in the open doorway, scanning the situation as he frowned and stepped just inside.
“Matteo, call the family doctor. Have them visit the house. Tell him it’s an emergency.”
Dante gave his commands sternly, never once taking his eyes or hands away from his woman.
Quickly nodding, Matteo pulled out his phone and began dialling as instructed.
Roberto watched as his older brother leaned in and with his powerful arms, lifted Alexa draped over both his arms, even in his expensive Italian suit.
The movement looks effortless as he did it, as if Alexa weighed less than a feather.
The Mafia Don then proceeded to carry Alexa out of the room, headed for their master bedroom.
He would leave her there to rest while he had her checked over by the doctor when he finally arrived.
Matteo followed along after Dante as he made his phone call to their family doctor, leaving both Roberto and Willow alone in the guest bedroom.
For a while, Roberto simply stood watching Willow’s movements as she seemed concerned and paced back and forth for a moment along the floor.
“Do you think she’ll be alright?” Willow finally asked, looking up at Roberto with worry in her eyes.
Roberto’s eyes narrowed in response.
“You lied to him, just now.” he announced softly.
Willow blinked several times, allowing his comment to sink in before she frowned.
“I’m sorry?”
“You lied to my brother when you answered his question. I saw you.” Roberto insisted.
Willow crossed her arms over her chest defensively, deepening her frown.
“I did not.”
Roberto broke out into a large, cheesy smile as he argued the point.
“Yeah you did. You totally did, I could tell!”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Willow announced confidently before turning and beginning to walk away from him in an act of defiance.
“Will...”
His strong arm suddenly wrapped around her from behind, stopping her and causing her to roll her eyes at his inability to let this current topic go.
“What are you doing?” she demanded, slowly turning around to meet him face to face.
“Tell me why you lied.” he urged, still smiling.
“Why? So you can go run to your brother and tell on me?”
He frowned now.
“What? No. I’ve just never seen anyone get away with lying to my brother face to face like that before. If I’m being totally honest… I’m kinda impressed.” Roberto admitted, wrapping both arms around her, pulling her in against his chest.
“Not even I can lie to him. And I’ve been studying the man for years.”
Willow’s left brow shot up as she looked him up and down for a moment in silence.
A playful smirk pulled at the corner of her mouth.
“It’s not that I wanted to lie to him…” she finally admitted.
“It’s just… I couldn’t tell him, or you, or anyone else the truth.”
Her eyes lowered to the ground out of a mixture of guilt and shame.
“Why not?” Roberto pressed further.
“Because it’s not my truth to tell. It’s Lex’s.” Willow replied.
“And she should do it whenever she’s ready.”
Roberto stared into her eyes for a moment, as if sizing up what she had said.
The truth was, he admired her friendship and dedication towards her bestie.
Willow was one hell of a strong woman and didn’t appear to take any kind of crap from anyone!
Even dangerous Mafia Bosses like Dante.
“Ok, I get it.” Roberto finally announced, nodding his head and smiling.
“You do?”
“Yeah. I guess it’s just strange, clearly something made her pass out…”
“Maybe she’s just tired from all of the endless adventures she’s having with you guys?” Willow suggested sarcastically, smirking as her arms snaked around Roberto’s neck.
“I mean, it does get pretty tiring being around you Romano men.”
His brows both lifted, “Does it?”
Her smirk turned into a large grin, spread wide across her face as he leaned in for a kiss.
As their lips met and their tongues danced together playfully, wickedly, Willow tried not to think about the waiting pregnancy test still sitting on the bathroom counter behind her.
The same one she would have to check on and then get rid of asap!
Before anyone else happened to find it…
- Writer
