章 14: Chapter Fourteen
Romano.
I heard a noise, a howl of pain coming from the vault. What the hell was happening? I knew Raph had gone to bed, and there was no way in hell that was Bruno. Bastard loved sleeping too much to be down there at this hour without some urgency. I couldn't go back to sleep.
I might as well get up! I thought as I dressed up in jeans and a T-shirt before making my way down.
Shit! I muttered.
I have known Raphael for over a decade. He was a ruthless killer, cruel when he needed to be, but I had never seen him like this. He looked psychotic, enraged, possessed , and downright angry.
"Why are you awake," I asked him as I entered the room, noticing Alberto's leaky had a bloody month and one protruding eye.
"I thought I could have some work done," he muttered, hitting the guy's head with his booted feet.
"You need to stop beating him up if you don't intend to kill him right now."
"Why should I spare him?" He glared at me.
"Hey, why are you glaring at me? I'm on your side!"
"I'm not glaring," he shot back, dropping his leather gloves. He looked like an avenging angel. I could feel the anger emanating from him, the frustration that was just too obvious.
"Let me guess, Sophie!"
"What has she got to do with it!" He glowered. His shirt was wrongly done, his hair was shaggy, and his dark eyes looked troubled.
Raphael didn't care about anybody as a rule. In fact, the only people he held in any bit of esteem were Bruno and me. That is not to say that he didn't love us in his own way; he did. I imagine we are the only people in the world he would mourn or miss, but now it seems there was another addition to that, which scared him shitless.
We needed a drink. I turned and headed to the kitchen; I didn't have to tell Raphael to come along; I knew he would.
I got out two beers, handed one to him, and we both sat at the dining table.
We didn't speak for a long time. I figured we both needed the silence. Hell! I didn't even know what to say to him; the guy still looked like crap.
"I don't know what to do about her," he said as he swallowed his beer like it was water. "I don't want her with me, and I can't let her go. I'm damned either way."
Just as I was about to say something mundane, Bruno walked in.
"What is this? A drinking spree that you didn't feel inclined enough to invite me?" he asked as he sat down beside me with a thud.
He glared at Raphael, blaming him for it.
"You look like crap," he said, noticing for the first time how bad Raphael looked.
I was glad Bruno was here. He would know what to say. I have never been good with words; I preferred silence; I couldn't begin to imagine what I would have told Raphael.
I looked at Bruno, who in turn was looking at Raphael, waiting for him to begin the reason he looked like crap.
This was my family. I thought.
I still remember how we met. Raphael was holding a gun on this really huge guy demanding money for a package he had just delivered, and Luciano just stood smirking at him.
"Now, my boy, I have no money," he had said with the confidence of someone who knew he could get away with anything.
The guy had been sandwiched between two very mean-looking guys, both holding guns. He believed there was nothing Raphael could do about it. I thought the same, but boy, were we wrong!
My heart had stilled at the scene in front of me, which was ironic because the lone boy against three guys didn't seem so scared. He looked like he had nothing to lose, which I came to find out he really didn't.
I knew the exact moment Luciano figured out Raphael wasn't scared of death. I saw it in his eyes, the fear. By the time he had permitted his minions to shoot, they were all lying down in a pool of blood.
From that moment on, I wanted to be his friend. The boy who killed three wanna-be gangsters robbed them to their skin and walked away unfazed.
That, to be honest, had to be the fascinating thing I had ever seen. Here was a boy my age who walked the earth like he owned everything and everyone in it.
So I decided to follow him. He wasn't easy to follow; he kept changing routes and disappearing on shortcuts, some of which I never knew existed. Eventually, I manage to follow him right until I surprisingly came face to face with his gun on my temple.
"Why the fuck are you following me?" His voice hard, and his eyes as black as sin. I couldn't formulate a single word to save my life until I heard him cock his gun, and my adrenaline kicked in.
I raised both of my hands in surrender. He stared at my eyes for what seemed like an eternity; I didn't blink. I was afraid he would pull the trigger while I fluttered my eyes, so I forced my eyes to look back at him.
He must have realized I was no threat because he uncocked the gun. Putting his gun away, he asked the same question again.
"I want to join you,' I said, feeling a bit stronger because I didn't want him to think I was weakling.
" What makes you think I need anybody."
"You need someone to have your back in some cases. I know today was easy, but it could be an isolated case. Maybe you'll not be so lucky the next time," I had become more confident now that I knew he wasn't going to blow my head off.
"I already have that, and trust me, if today was luck, then I've had more luck than I care to admit. I don't need anyone else" he started to walk away, but I followed him. There was no way I was letting him walk away without me.
"You mean you've shot in cases like this? Alone? Do you have a death wish?" I couldn't believe that he had had other instances like that.
"That is not brave. It's stupidity," I vehemently said.
"Are you calling me stupid?" He calmly asked as he took a step forward, his arms on his chest and his black eyes fixed on me.
I didn't move. I thought if I wanted him to take me on, I needed to show him that I wasn't afraid. So I just maintained our eye contact and bravery told him I wasn't calling him stupid, just his actions.
Suddenly a sharp object hit my head, pulling me out of my reverie.
"What he...
I looked up in time to see Bruno narrowed eyes fixed at me.
"What?" I glowered at him
"Stop fantasizing!"
"I'm not fantasizing; I'm thinking of a way to deal with Sophie."
"Really?" He said in a mocking voice, "We are all ears, aren't we, Raph?"
The way I saw it, Sophie was one of us now. She may become Raph's girl, but she was ours to protect. It meant we would all kill to protect her.
I knew she would have a hard time transitioning, but there was no way out now; we were screwed, and so was she.
She had morality written all over her, while the mafia had none. We had none; we broke the law; we had more vices in our lives than a normal person should.
I took a sip of my drink and thought this was going to an interesting ride. I was actually looking forward to seeing how far Raphael would go to protect her. How much of his strength he was going to use to protect her.
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