Ria
She had been torn between feeling angry and frustrated and experiencing a deep respect for the silent man beside her.
They had left the little house in the dark, before the dawn and now, she deduced that they were nearing Hollowford although all she could see was the darkness. A couple of large dark SUVs had joined them on the way, materialising like dark chariots of gloom from the surroundings and she had felt a clenching in her gut till she realised what was happening; Pappa had sent people to ensure that she reached back home safe and sound.
She swallowed in relief and felt the Capo’s dark glance on her face.
But she stubbornly looked out of the window, refusing to speak or look at him.
*
After a while, she began to get restless and tired of staring out obstinately. Her eyes slid furtively to study the harsh, profile of the man beside her.
The scar on his face, running from his brow to his chin, was prominent when she sat beside him and at one point, she reached up to touch it, unable to restrain herself. Gently, curiously, she ran a tentative finger along the puckered skin, a scar that made him look dangerous.
He flinched and glared at her, capturing her wrist in his large dark hand easily. The touch of her small soft hand on his hot skin would be his undoing and he felt himself harden at her innocent gesture.
But then, he felt her body stiffen. So his little princess was also turned on, eh? he ruminated . Yet the thought brought him no joy. He had upheld his values but at what cost? All he felt was like a man deprived and his frustration was making him angry. Blue balls, as his companions would say, raunchily.
*
“How did you get that, that scar?’ she asked, curiously.
Throughout the journey, they had been silent, each sitting stiffly in their respective corners in the back seat of the small car.
But trying desperately not to think of the vulnerability of their situation was difficult. She had been trying to keep herself busy but not having her own phone made things seem worse.
Besides staring outside as the world gradually became brighter, for they had left when it we barely dawn, the heavy silence was only a reminder of the danger they were in.
*
The Capo stared at her, an unfriendly, irritated look as he tried debating whether to tell her the truth. then he took a deep breath and growled in a low voice,
‘The Boss had sent me to Germany. To be trained. I got that in a knife fight .’
As she sat open-mouthed, he went on,
‘It was a lesson well learnt.’
And with that, cryptic pronouncement, he went back to what he had been doing; issuing terse orders and texting on his phone.
Ignoring her completely, she thought bitterly.
She sat back in her corner of the small car, feeling miserable. Only the thought of being back with her family made her feel happy and she sat, counting the minutes till she could be back home with her loving parents and siblings.
*
Proserpina
Even as the elevator doors opened, there was the thundering sound of vehicles entering the basement garage and Proserpina felt her breath catch as she saw the relief on her husband’s face, knowing that he was feeling the same as she was. But Lucien kept a firm grip on her arm to prevent her from hurrying forward.
As they stepped out together, one of the car doors flew open and Ria stepped out from what was the smallest of what seemed like a cavalcade of cars. There seemed to be a small army of cars that rode in and Proserpina wanted to run to her daughter as the door of the middle vehicle, a small, nondescript looking car at that, had flown open as her beautiful daughter rushed out, stumbling as she ran to her waiting parents.
But being her Papa’s favourite, she went into his large embrace first. Ria threw her arms around Lucien, sobbing into his chest as her father engulfed her in a bear hug, shutting his eyes briefly as he gathered her into his tight embrace and held her there
And then, turning to her mother, the girl wept in joy, going easily into her mother’s outstretched arms.
“Daughter?’ asked Lucien Delano, his cold eyes skimming over her face interrogatively as he gripped her small chin and raised her head to meet his eyes.
The Don’s eyes went to the Capo who had stepped around from the other side, looking exhausted. ‘
“Capo?’ he snapped, just two words but filled with menace and a wealth of meaning. Ria touched her father’s arm gently and shook her head mutely in reply to his unspoken question as his hard gaze sliced to her upturned, lovely face.
‘Pappa, I am well. The Capo … took care of that.’
The words were spoken softly, just audible enough for her father and her mother to hear. Lucien Delano relaxed, just a little but his eyes were on his Capo.
Proserpina looked from one to the other in some bewilderment.
The muscular young man met his Boss’s eyes unflinchingly as he stood straight and tall, and all he said was,
‘We managed to shake them off our tail, Boss.’
Proserpina was holding her daughter in her arms and she could detect the slight whiff of Philippe’s manly smell on Ria. She shut her eyes briefly, trying not to see too much into the matter, desperate to keep her husband off the young man’s throat.
Proserpina knew how much the Capo worshipped her daughter. And she was also aware that for Lucien, his eldest daughter was his dearest. He would kill Philippe with his bare hands if he even suspected anything untoward had happened between them.
But she had immense faith in the young man who used to come to the kitchen when he was a child, a big grin on his face, just to say hello when he was much younger and all gangly arms and legs. The boy had worshipped Ria then and Proserpina sighed as she recalled how her daughter used that adoration to make the poor chap do the most outrageous of things. And now, Philippe’s love had grown stronger and he looked at Ria as a man looked at the woman he loved.
But Lucien Delano would need a lot more of convincing, thought Proserpina as her gaze shifted to her husband’s cruel profile as he stood, listening to what was being said while Philippe reported all that had occurred. Schwartz had joined them, sweeping Ria into his embrace fondly.
She looked at Philippe now, the tall, dark man, all muscles and tattoos, and said in a soft tone, “Philippe, thank you.’
His eyes softened as he looked at her and he mouthed,
“Madre.’
That was the name he called her by. Lucien Delano scowled as he turned around to his wife who was cuddling Ria to her breast.
“Woman, take her upstairs, she needs to rest,’ he said in a harsh voice.
Obviously, the thought of both his dearest women standing before the rest of the men here, in the basement garage, was not something that the Don appreciated.
And placing a large, hand tenderly on his daughter’s shoulders and drawing her into his warm, secure embrace once more, he growled,
“I shall talk to you later, pumpkin.’
She nodded, her eyes glistening with tears, love on her face as she gazed into her father’s harsh features.
.”Yes, Pappa.’ she said softly.
Leaning up, she kissed her father’s hard cheek and then followed her mother.
She stopped for a minute and looked back at the Capo but he was already turning away, talking to Schwartz and with a small shrug, she continued after her mother.