Matteo’s POV
My attention got depleted the moment I saw Aurora taking off the robe she had on when she got to the pool. At that point, I wanted nothing more but to rip her bra and thong off and make her come in the most violent way possible.
I couldn’t deny that seeing Angelo stung me with jealousy but he was my younger brother, and he wouldn’t go after whoever he knew that I liked.
I held back because I didn’t want to be too forward and behave like I was a sucker for her. So I delved into my work and got interrupted by a phone call from Francesco.
“Good morning boss,” He greeted in his usual rumble.
“Morning, Francesco.” I replied and clicked on my mouse to go through a review that was sent to me.
“I’ve got news from our allies. Some other gangs has promised to give our support in claiming the Neapolitan territory, but they said that we have to give them more time.” He paused.
One of the reasons I liked working with Francesco was his ability to go straight to the point. He never beat around the bush anytime we had a major discussion.
“How much more time do we need? I need to get this over with.”
“A year max. They don’t want us to have loopholes in our plans and I agree with them if you ask me. For now, there’s no one who has risen to take over the Camorra and I don’t think that there’ll be, knowing that Eduardo Mancini didn’t leave any successor except from his daughter. And women aren’t allowed to rule,”
I sighed and massaged my temples, meditating on his words. He was right, but I couldn’t shake off the feeling of uncertainty when it came to the Camorra. Though the former Capo died by the hands of my father, a ruthless killer, I still had the doubt that there was no one else aiming for the position as Capo.
“Here’s what we are going to do, Francesco…”
I stopped talking and rushed to the window of my study. It was a large casement window that had shutters. I’d picked the room on purpose so that I could have a view of the pool while studying.
Aurora looked like she was about to fall, goosebumps covered her body like a second skin so I ended the call and sprinted out of my office.
I headed straight for the pool and almost bumped into Ginevra who was coming to my direction.
“Matteo..” She called with her eyes flickering in surprise.
“Call the family doctor and make sure my room is clean,” I dished out the order to her and kept moving until I got to the pool which was at the far end of the building.
She had already taken her hand off the rail which she held onto for support, and tried to make another step when she lost her footing. I lurched at her and reached out for her before her head could have an impact against the tiled floor.
Her eyes were squinted as she looked at me in recognition with a scowl on her face. I overlooked her expression and gathered her in my arms while heading for my room.
Angelo chased after me with a towel in his hands, so I stopped so that he’d cover her with it then I asked,
“What happened to her?” I marched forward as we got into the house.
“I can’t really explain, Matteo. She was fine even while we played together in the pool until she got out.”
Another ting of jealousy pricked me when he mentioned that they played together; something she wouldn’t do comfortably with me. But I didn’t let it grow, rather I listened to other useful information he could give me. From what he described, she has a case of pneumonia and I wondered why she still went ahead to swim when she was this delicate.
I didn’t respond to his words anymore, as I focused on the beautiful woman in my arms whose smoky gray eyes were closed. Her cold body made me more scared as I didn’t want to imagine staying for days without having to talk to her.
We entered my room which was already arranged. It wasn’t dirty before I asked Ginevra to clean it, I just wanted to make sure that there wasn’t a single dirt in it.
“The doctor is on his way already.” She informed me by waving her phone at me to show that she had called him.
I didn’t miss the look of contempt and jealousy she had in her eyes, but I ignored it. Whatever happened between us was in the past when I was still naive and kept in a bad place. I was Capo and I had control over everything, including my life.
Aurora stirred on the bed but she didn’t open her eyes. My heart was filled with worry over her which surprised me. No woman had ever gotten the kind of attention I’d given to her today.
“Don’t worry, she’ll be fine.” Angelo said and sat beside me.
“I hope so. Maybe she’s allergic to things that are really cold yet she went ahead to swim,” I shook my head, propping my arms against my thighs.
“She said that swimming was one of her hobbies and maybe she was tempted to swim. This illness started today because she seemed to be a pro at swimming and she couldn’t have learnt that if she was always falling sick after swimming.” He added and I agreed with a nod.
A knock sounded on the door and I guessed it was the doctor, Luca. My guess turned out to be right when he came in after giving me permission.
“Good morning, Capo.” He greeted and dropped his suitcase.
It didn’t look empty and I knew that Ginevra had given him so much information before he came.
“She hasn’t opened her eyes yet,” I blurted and Angelo squeezed my shoulder.
“Oh,” He said and placed his stethoscope on the left side of her chest. “Her heart is beating normally which shows that she is safe, I’ll just check her temperature and administer some drugs to her. She’s suffering from pneumonia, the water might be contaminated with the disease causing organism, so she has to avoid swimming for some time,” He advised as I nodded.
“Hell yea, she will never go near that pool again. I don’t mind flushing the water in it,” I decided with my jaw flexing.
Aurora stirred again but this time her eyes fluttered open. “Uncle Lorenzo…” She muttered, stirring to her sides.