The Maid: Mafia Romance (Series)

Negotiation

Giovanni was out of his fucking mind. Nothing in this world had him this coiled up with dread that he could piss in his own pants. But he had to take charge, take control of the situation. Now!

As soon as he’d heard the news of Jay’s kidnapping, he went ballistic, damning Lorenzo and his clan to hell. He reached for his phone and dialed Lorenzo’s number. He counted ten heartbeats before the call was picked up. The fucking bastard was fucking with his head. If he saw him, he’d make sure to pay him the same respect as he did, by cutting his balls off. The fucking bastard.

How dare he take his beloved Jay. He’d been successfully hiding Jay for all these months with no fear and interruption until now. Maybe he’d miscalculated his moves. He’d been so excited, so fucking in love, he’d forgotten his surroundings. He backtracked his moves and remembered that situation back in Singapore. Lorenzo was there too. He must have planned Jay’s kidnapping since then. The fucking bastard.

How the fuck did Lorenzo know about his one weakness? Did he have people spying on him and Jay? The fucker! What a lowlife. If he wanted Las Vegas so much, he’d have given him the whole fucking land deed; he only wished Lorenzo wouldn’t mess with his woman. Because their rift had nothing to do with her. His beloved Jay was just an innocent bystander. She didn’t know shit about life in the mafia world.

Fuck! He was going insane. The thought of losing Jay wasn’t just an emotional pain anymore, but a palpable physical pain, where his heart was wrenched, like a knife had been stabbed into his heart, again and again. He couldn’t imagine not seeing Jay again. She was his love, his life, and his soul. If Lorenzo wanted to see his downfall, he’d succeeded. But he wouldn’t be easily defeated. If he was still breathing, he’d fight until the very end, and the fight started now, with their verbal assault.

“Lorenzo, are you trying to fuck with me? Why the fuck did you take my woman?”

“Hello, Giovanni, my friend. Long time no see. How have you been? I haven’t heard from you for a while.”

“Don’t fuck with me, Lorenzo. You have my woman. I want her back.”

“Is that a demand?”

“It’s a fucking order.”

“Tsk, Giovanni. You are always so demanding.”

“I could say the same to you.”

“What can I say, we were born of the same breed. Mafia blood always runs strong. I still can’t believe Justin and Dawson still tolerate you though, with that foul mouth of yours.”

“Leave my friends out of this.”

“They are my friends, too.”

“In your fucking dreams. Now tell me where your residence is so I can get Jay back. Are you still in Chicago?”

“Jay? Who’s Jay?”

“She’s my girl, you fucking idiot, the one who you fucking kidnapped.”

“Oh. I didn’t know she was yours. You had too many in the past; I lost count. How important is she to you?”

“Don’t fuck with me, Lorenzo.”

“I’m the one asking the questions here, Giovanni. How important is this girl to you?”

Giovanni didn’t reply. He knew the question was a trap. If he revealed that Jay was as important to him as the heart that was beating in his chest or the air he needed to survive, he was sure Lorenzo would harm her, just to spite him.

“Giovanni. I can’t hear you.” Lorenzo’s voice knocked him back to his senses, and when he was about to reply, a soft voice floated into his earpiece.

“Gio, is that you?” Jay. His lover. His heart pounded in fear.

“Jay, is that you? Jay, are you okay, baby? Put her on the fucking phone, Lorenzo.” Giovanni shouted down the line.

“I don’t think so.” Lorenzo’s smooth and calm voice just irritated him even more.

“Fuck you, Lorenzo. Fuck you.”

“Hahaha.” Lorenzo chuckled, which just pissed the shit out of him even more. “Don’t worry. She’s safe. I haven’t fucked her…yet.”

“Don’t you fucking dare lay a hand on her, or I’ll fucking break your arm,” he yelled.

“Is that a warning?”

“It’s a bloody demand. And you better-”

“Giovanni, Giovanni. Stop talking like a fighter.” Lorenzo interrupted him, which just sent him into another tailspin. “I think your fighting skill is rusty at best. When was the last time you fought?”

“None of your fucking business.”

“It is my business. Now enough of the chitchat. Listen carefully to what I have to say. Here’s what I want. Bring the land deed for Las Vegas. I want to deal with all the trades in that territory. Tell all your minions that I’m now their new boss.”

“In your fucking dreams. Don’t you have enough shit going on already with your business in Chicago? Don’t try to wear pants that are too big for you. Las Vegas is not your territory.”

“Try saying that again with your girl on the phone while I slide a knife down her perfect porcelain face.”Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.

“I’ll fucking kill you, Lorenzo. If you dare lay even a hand on a strand of her hair, I swear to God, I’ll fucking kill you myself.”

“Bring the land deed, Giovanni. I’ll see you, say, ten a. m. tomorrow morning. I’ll text you with my residential address nearer the time. And don’t fucking turn up early. You will not be welcomed until ten a. m.”

And Lorenzo cut the call.

Giovanni was vibrating with so much anger he flung the phone with so much force, it smashed against the wall.

Fuck, Lorenzo. Who did he think he was? Some kind of fucking mafia God who everyone must obey? Well, too fucking bad. He wasn’t going to listen to his shit.

“Bobby, Heath, Finnie, Jonny,” Giovanni shouted from inside his office. “Get the fucking plane ready. We’re going to Chicago.”

It was approximately eight a. m. when Giovanni and his gang arrived at Lorenzo’s residence. Lorenzo was already dressed, waiting in the dining room, having his breakfast of egg and toast, with jasmine tea as his drink.

“It’s fucking eight a. m., Giovanni. You are interrupting my breakfast. I did say ten a. m., did I not?”

Giovanni pulled out the chair opposite Lorenzo and sat down, folded his leg elegantly, and smirked at his frenemy. “Have I ever listened to you?”

Lorenzo paused, his knife and fork in midair. He assessed his old-time friend, who somehow along the way had turned into his frenemy. “You have a point,” he said. They got down to business. “Have you got the land deed?”

“I have a better idea. Why don’t you tell me how much you want? I’m willing to pay,” Giovanni said instead.

“Are you willing to pay for your woman or for the price of the land deed?”

“My girl, of course.”

“So you’re not going to give me the land deed?”

“Of course not.”

“You are willing to pay for the life of your girl, but you aren’t willing to give me the land deed. Do I have this information correct?”

“Why do you fucking want the land deed?” Giovanni slammed his fist on the table in his effort to try to get his message across. “Signor Dente gave it to me. Your late father, Signor Lorenzo, had also said the Las Vegas territory belonged to the Dente clan.”

“I’m not my father. I want all businesses associated with that area.” Lorenzo didn’t even flinch. He just went back to eating his food, and Giovanni hated it when people ignored him.

“Well, too fucking bad. You can get it over my dead body.” And quicker than lightning, Giovanni stood up, pulled out the pistol from his inner pocket, and aimed it at Lorenzo’s head. “Now, do I need to spell it out for you that I will not give you the land deed, or do you want me to blow your brains out right here and now?”

“Giovanni. Giovanni. Calm down.” Lorenzo pushed his plate away, having had enough of the food. He drank his jasmine tea, and when he thought he was ready to speak, he stood up too. “I was only joking. I don’t fucking care for your land deed. I was just messing with you. Do you really want your girlfriend to see you in action, blowing a friend’s brain out like this? It’s not a pretty picture. I’m sure she hasn’t seen you kill before, right? You only let her see your good side. What would happen if, say, she were to walk in right now and see you like this? Pointing a gun at my head. How would she feel?”

Giovanni was stuck. On the one hand, he so wanted to pull the trigger and be done with this stupid bastard, but he knew the implication was too hard and too messy to deal with. Although both Lorenzo and he liked to play a game of cat and mouse, taunting each other every so often, they’d never reached this stage before where they had to pull the trigger for real.

He retracted his pistol and slipped it back in his inner coat when he saw two women, both so similar in looks, race down the stairs. They moved closer and in a blurry of fluffy fabric, one barreled into his arms.

“Gio.” It was his lover, Jay. He hugged her small body and buried his nose in her hair, inhaling her sweet scent that he’d missed for the past night. This was Jay; she was real; she was alive. And oh, fucking God, he was happy to have her back in his arms again.

Until he saw the face of the other woman, so similar to Jay, so beautiful like a porcelain doll, and his heartstrings stirred because she was the face that had appeared in his dreams.