Piers walked into his office and stood, surveying the room, a feeling of slow happiness spreading through him. Philippe who had accompanied him, stood in the doorway, hands on his hips, watching. Piers glanced at him and a look passed between them. They understood each other and he knew that the Capo would always have his back.
He was glad that the Capo was to wed his firebrand twin sister.
“All good?’ asked Philippe, a frown appearing on his dark, handsome face as he checked his phone. And then, he turned to leave as he read the message.
‘Gotta go. The Boss is leaving and he wants me to attend to some last-minute stuff.
Piers nodded and the Capo disappeared, moving swiftly for such a large man.
Soon, he was lost in the business of managing the finances of as extensive an operation as his father’s mob holdings.
His father abruptly summoned him to the office for an impromptu meeting as the Mafia Don needed to leave the country urgently. The meeting was followed by lunch with Philippe and when he finally returned to his office again, the shadows outside the windows were lengthening.
He sighed and set to work; a lot of mail had piled up although he had tried to tackle some of it when he had been forced to stay at home.
As he checked his mail, he noticed that there were quite a few papers he needed to go through as well. Frowning, he picked them up and as he did so, a note fluttered to the floor.
He frowned darkly as he read and re-read the message.
Bob Crafter was his secretary and the old man had been with his father for a while now, helping to handle the accounts. He was thorough and he did not keep notes to remind Piers of some task, lying on the desk. The young Delano picked up the note carefully and studied the bold writing.
‘Your family is in danger.’
That was all, a stark warning.
He felt his body go cold and then a flash of rage flooded him.
He was on the phone, barking orders and old Bob Crafter hurried in, a little old man with poor eyesight and thick glasses, the man who helped him handle the accounts.
“Who was in my room?’ snapped Piers.
The old man looked perplexed as he replied,
‘No one…except for the people who came to do the fixtures ..’ he waved his hand vaguely in the direction of the ceiling.
Piers was around the corner of the table and hurrying down the corridor when his phone pinged.
An unknown number.
Scowling he slowed down as he growled,
“Hello?’
There was a pause as though the person at the other end was breathing shakily. Then a voice that caused his gut to clench said in a husky undertone.
‘No need to get your boxers in a twist, Pretty Piers.’
He stopped. Then he leant against a wall, aware that his men, Walker and Andersson, had also followed him and were hovering nearby.
He waved them away and walked slowly to a window that opened onto the lush green lawns which were being landscaped.’
‘You.’ He bit the word out with loathing.
Another silence. And then, almost jeering, she came back with a retort,
‘Did you think I would leave you and walk away so easily?’
He felt his body burn with need; the need to punish her, the only woman who had gotten under his skin so badly.
‘Where the f*ck are you…?’ he ground out.
A laugh, brittle, almost like a sob as she replied,
‘I am nearby, Piers and I want to meet you. But. Alone. I need to talk to you.’
Her voice was serious and he stiffened.
‘I shall send you the details,’ her husky voice continued before she ended the call abruptly. He smote the wall in frustration. There was so much at stake. Should he trust her?
More to the point, COULD he trust her?
His heart told him he could. For Hila had struck him as deadly but trustworthy.
And then there was her message.
He came to a decision. He would meet her. Come what may.
*
Piers
The instructions Hila sent him were precise and clipped. She had called him from a pay phone and he knew that it would be impossible to trace it if he were fool enough to try. Now he stood in the small alley , with his men in the background. He had only confided in Philippe who he knew would have his back at all times.
The Capo had been uneasy. He had rubbed his jaw and said, looking into Piers cool gaze,
‘You sure about this woman, Piers?’
The unspoken statement being, She ran away after f*cking you.
Piers had nodded, he could not tell his best friend how deeply Hila had jolted him. He had once been engaged to be married to a Senator’s pretty daughter. Now he could not even recall her features. But Hila, who had spent just one night with him, he could see her blazing eyes, her strong features, damn, he could smell her body if he shut his eyes. She was that real, so much a part of him.
But he had smiled wearily and the Capo had nodded.
“I will be close by,’ he said quietly and Piers had nodded. He knew that Philippe would only be within shouting distance and he felt glad that this tall, dependable man was to be his brother in law.
Now a light rain was falling as his phone rang and he pulled it out from his overcoat.
‘Hmm?’ he grunted and there was a soft sound, like a husky laugh as Hila spoke, her sultry voice coming over the handset clearly.
‘So you got that big ape, your brother to be , to come and guard you, Pretty boy?’ came her husky tones.
The calculated jibe worked and he felt his temper flare.
‘Just get the f*ck to business, you bl*ody wh*re,’ he growled, his patience wearing thin, ‘Why the hell did you call me if you were just going to make me wait in the rain?’
“Mumma’s boy swearing so badly?’ she said and he knew she was annoyed at the abuses he had flung. He sighed and she seemed to take pity on him.
“There is a bar on the left.’ She said and her voice was cool, in charge,
‘Go in, take a seat in the booth at the left corner, near the window. I shall join you when I see that you are alone.’
“How can I trust you?’ he bit out fiercely, ‘You might kill me. You are a trained assassin, after all.’
He felt petty the moment the words were out. He was met with a cold silence and when she replied, she spoke with pride.
‘One of the Mossad’s best, yes. That is who I am.’
She laughed but there was no humor.
“Would I…?’ And the phone went dead.