The Life

Ain't That a Kick In The Head

"Papa, you know what must be done," Dante spoke up.

Dante, Marillo, and the Ricci family consigliere Kevin sat in the office of the Don in the family home discussing the incident that had taken place in the restaurant earlier. "We stayed vigilant, and we made no moves towards them as you ordered, but the brothers have crossed the line. I don't say this lightly, papa, but war is imminent at this stage."

"For what? A girl we barely know who got a little shaken up. The implications of war are not worth it." Kevin responded boldly, clearly annoyed and slightly scared with the idea of going into a war with the Varashano brothers.

The room was silent, and Dante's eyes filled with fire bored holes into Kevin. He tried his best to keep his composure at the distasteful mention of Shanice. "It was a message to this whole family and me. He crossed the line and endangered an innocent person. Clearly, it was a threat, and have care how you speak, Kevin. She is not a girl I merely know I plan on making her my wife, and when that day comes, she will rank higher than you. Do you understand that?"

"Si signore." Kevin apologized, which Dante dismissed with a simple hand wave.

"Dante is right, pops," Marillo spoke up. "We have to do something, but I think we should send a small warning first, a mild retaliation. We need time to prepare, and if things are as dire as you say, then this is not a decision that we can make overnight. "

"He's right. We'll need the Capos to get more men and increased security around the estates and business," Kevin interjected.

The Don cleared his throat, signaling he wanted to speak, and all three men grew quiet and waited for him to speak."We will take out one of their warehouses, something discreet and something quiet I want it done tonight, and then we form a plan and get our men together. I want all the family to be on the estate and guarded until further notice understood as well as Shanice understood?" The three men nodded in understanding at the Dons words. Dante, on the other hand, was extremely nervous. He was sure Shanice would not take too kindly to having to stay in his home with people she has never met before, and he didn't know how he would explain any of this to her.

"Excuse me." Dante sighed heavily, getting up and excusing himself from the room to check on Shanice.

The soft hums of classical music filled the room, awakening Shanice. Slowly opening her eyes,  she did her best to regain her senses. Sitting up, she took in the large unfamiliar low-lit room she had been asleep in. She couldn't tell where the music was coming from, but it seemed to be a hidden sound system in the room. The soft piano sounds calmed her until slowly then, all at once, the events that transpired earlier began rushing back. This time instead of sadness, she was filled with an anger so great it felt like a weight sat atop her chest. Quickly getting up and scrambling out of bed, she crossed the room towards the double doors, which she assumed was the exit of the room. Her assumption proved right, and she swung the doors opened forcefully and made her way out into the hall. She was met with a large wall instead of an open hallway which slightly surprised her, causing her to stumble back due to the impact.

"Ouch, what the hell-," She looked up at the wall she had bumped into. "Dante!" She exclaimed, realizing it wasn't a wall but the large chest of the man she needed desperately to see. Her face morphed into one of violent anger.

"Shanice, how are you feeling?" Dante asked, cautiously aware of how angry she had grown. He raised a hand to stroke the side of her head in an attempt to soothe her. Sidestepping him and turning back into the room, she slapped his hand way her face still seething with anger. He followed her inside, his heart filling with an unusual emotion before turning back to his usual unreadable demeanor.

"How am I feeling, Dante? I don't know how about you tell me." She shouted at him as he shut the door behind them.

"Shanice, I need you to listen to me. There is a lot I need to explain to you." He responded calmly, maintaining is composure.

"Damn right, you need to explain, and once you are done explaining, I am walking out that door and never coming back." She yelled, rubbing her temples to calm herself down as she paced up and down the room. Knowing that she was speaking from a place of shock, he tried not to let her words affect him.

"Please sit. You need to try your best and calm down so you can understand what I'm going to say to you." Dante coaxed her into sitting down on the edge of the large canopy bed she has just woken up from.

"Don't tell me what to do." She snipped at him, sidestepping him again and taking a seat on the bed.

"Shanice, I know you're upset." 

"You think?" Her bloodshot eyes snapped up at him. He took a deep breath realizing this would be more difficult than he thought. Running a hand over his chin, he realized his hands were sweaty. That surprised him. He never found himself nervous about anything around anyone the way he was around her.

"As you know, my family and I own a multitude of businesses, and my father heads all of the business. Being in a family with that much power sometimes brings enemies and people who have vendettas or personal agendas against my family. Unfortunately, you've gotten caught up in tha-,"

"Caught up?  No, absolutely not I haven't done anything. Whatever mess this belongs to you and only you." She shouted up at him in disbelief.

"I know, and I will handle it and protect you. No danger will come to you. But you have to stay here." She gasped in shock. "Shanice, I'm sorry, there's no other way." He looked deep into her, trying to read her face for a hint of any emotion besides rage.

"No other way? I have my own life. You can't possibly think I can stay here, my job, my friends, my mom Dante. Make it make sense."

"If you don't stay here, the danger will come to you, Shanice. These are not nice people." He tried to reason with her.

"Well, what kind of business do you run? Because I've never heard of this happening to people who own businesses like you."

"There are just some things I can't disclose right now. It's for your safety." He leaned off the wall and took a seat down beside her. She scooted over, keeping her distance from him, content on being petty for as long as she could.

"Well, I hope you know we're over." She said to him with venom in her voice. She stood up and walked into the bathroom slamming the door closed behind her. She had calmed down to some extent, but her anger was still prominent. Turning on the sink, she splashed cold water on her face. Looking up at her dripping wet face in the mirror, her mind was racing. As much as she didn't want it to be over, there was no way she would stay with someone she barely knew and who was content with lying to her. She knew he was lying. If it was one thing she wasn't, it was stupid, and she knew well enough that he was in more than just the restaurant and club business.

Dante refused to show any emotion, although, on the inside, he was feeling it. He figured she would do as much. After all, he had just uprooted her life. The guilt he felt inside lying to her made him feel bad, but he knew his job as underboss came first, and he would never jeopardize that.