Family Business

Panicking

EJ's pov

"CLAIRE!" I yelled again and again, my eyes darting all around as I spun in circles looking for any sign of her. Fuck! Where did she go? I can't even call her since she left her phone in the car with the driver because she didn't want to carry it while we were jogging. "CLAIRE!" I shouted desperately again. Where is she?

"CLAIRE, if you're hiding from me because you think this is funny, it's not so you better come out now. I'll give you to the count of three and if you don't show yourself by then, I'm gonna whip your ass when I find you. And when we get home, I'll have your grandfather use the strap on what's left of you. I'm not joking so you better come out now." Nothing. No response. I'm glad no one else is around, or they'd think I'm some crazy person talking to the trees.

I swear if that girl ditched me on purpose, I'm gonna smack the shit out of her. Maybe she had to go to the bathroom or something but even if she did, she should've told me. I knew I shouldn't have taken her with me. This is all Father's doing, it's really not even my fault. I'm sure he won't see it that way though. I've gotta find the brat and fast.

I took off running, backtracking from whence we came. I'm trying to remember when I last saw her behind me. I've been so caught up in my own head for the past twenty minutes, I have no idea when I lost sight of her. Fuck, fuck, fuck! Father's gonna kill me if he finds out I lost her. Forget about coming home to the mansion without her, that's not even an option.

I hope she's alright. What if a rival family took her to use as a bargaining chip, or what if some pervert kidnapped her? What the Hell am I gonna do if I can't find her? My lungs are burning from how fast I'm running and how much I'm panicking right now. I stop at the two bathrooms we passed and she's not at either. Fuck! I don't see her anywhere. What the Hell am I gonna do?

As I get closer to the main area of the park, I see a lot more people around. There are several activities here despite it still being so early in the morning. People are exercising, meditating, and doing yoga. Vendors are starting to set up their stands to sell their wares. The crepes carts and coffee stands are already doing a booming business. The artists, musicians, and street performers will be out in full force shortly. It's going to take me forever to find her if she just wandered off on her own.

Now that I'm back at the gate we initially came through, I decide to go to the parking area to check if the driver has seen or heard from her. Unfortunately, he hasn't. Dammit! I tell him to notify me immediately if he sees her before I head back into the park to continue my search. What the Hell was she wearing today? Think EJ think. Damn my selective memory. If it doesn't have something to do with me, I typically don't bother to commit it to memory. I mean, how important could it be if I'm not at the center of it?

Wait, I remember insulting her outfit when I saw her get out of the car. What did I say? What did I say? I know it was funny because let's face it, I'm hilarious. God, I really am the whole package. Hmmmm, where was I ? Oh yeah, how did I insult her poor fashion choice? It had something to do with food, I remember that. Wait, wait, I got it. She's wearing hideous neon yellow shorts and a brown tank-top. Shoot! Now I can't remember the insult. It was funny too. It had something to do with fruit. Yeah, a pineapple or banana. Oh well, it'll come to me eventually.

Back to the task at hand, finding the brat. Ugly yellow shorts, ugly yellow shorts. I keep repeating the description in my head as I start scanning the people in the park. No, no, no ,no, no, ooh she's gotta fine ass and fuck look at the tits on her. Damn girl! She must have been the inspiration for that stupid American song Milkshake. Focus EJ focus. You can't please the ladies if you're dead and you won't live to see another day if you don't return to the mansion with the brat in tow. Ugly yellow shorts, ugly yellow sh...WAIT! I SEE HER! YES! That's her by the football field. I'm sure of it.

I sprint over there, slowing down to a walk when I'm within two metres of my soon to be dead niece. I take three deep breaths as I attempt to dampen my temper which is currently burning red hot. She's just sitting here watching some teens play footie, without a care in the world. I honestly want to throttle her right now. Squatting down behind her, I pinch the back of her neck hard.

Without letting go, I whisper harshly in her ear before she can get more than a gasp out, "If you value your ability to walk, you'll come with me willingly and keep your mouth shut until I allow you to speak. Nod if you understand me, Bambina (Baby girl)."

I heard her breath catch and felt her muscles tense up as I tightened my grip on her neck. Slowly, she nodded and began to stand up.

"We're not going to have this conversation in front of all these people," I said quietly, as I led her away from the crowded areas of the park. I prefer to deliver my verbal beatdowns in private. Once we were in an area with nobody nearby, I released my grip on her and sternly commanded, "Start talking," as I crossed my arms and scowled at Tony's little bastard. "I want to know why you left without telling me and do not try to bullshit me, Francesca."

"I had to stop and tie my shoelaces so I tried yelling to you but you were already too far ahead and I was so out of breath I guess you couldn't hear me. After I looked up from tying them, I couldn't even see you and I was really tired so I knew I'd never be able to catch up to you."

"Why didn't you just wait for me there if you couldn't catch up to me? Why the Hell would you just wander off?" I angrily questioned the twit.

"Because I figured we were jogging in a loop so I didn't think you'd pass by me again. How was I supposed to know we were jogging in a line? I mean, who does that? Nobody, that's who."

"We were jogging in a loop you idiota (idiot). I only backtracked to try and find your sorry ass. Did you honestly think I wouldn't look for you once I noticed you weren't behind me anymore?"

"Yeah, kinda. I mean, you do hate me and I figured we'd just meet up at the car eventually."

"Non ti odio (I don't hate you), Francesca. I am furious with you at the moment though. And why the Hell didn't you wait at the car then? The driver could've called me to let me know where you were."

"I started heading in that direction and I even sat on one of the benches near the entrance but then I got bored waiting for you. I began watching one of the groups doing yoga and then a couple of the ladies waved me over to join them so I did and when that class was over, they were going to do tai chi so then I did that. After that was over, I wandered around for a little while until I decided to watch some kids playing soccer."

"Are you kidding me? I've been looking all over for you for almost two hours now. Do you have any idea how worried I was that something bad happened to you? That you were lost, or hurt, or kidnapped for chrissake. Only to find out you walked away purposely because you were bored." Grabbing her arm forcefully, I yanked her close to my side and hissed in her ear, "You're lucky I can't beat you right now because we're in a public place with witnesses but preparati a farti frustare il culo non appena torniamo alla macchina (be prepared to get your ass whipped as soon as we get back to the car)."

Claire's pov

I gulped seeing the scary look on Uncle EJ's face. I'm not sure what he said about farting in the car but I know enough not to ask. He's really pissed. He never even let go of my arm, instead he just tightened his hold as he dragged me to the parking lot. When we got there, he opened the door and threw me in the backseat as he said something to the driver in Italian that I didn't understand.

"Aspetta fuori dalla macchina finché non avrò finito di disciplinare il moccioso (Wait outside the car until I'm finished disciplining the brat)."

Then he handed the driver some money and said, "Ho bisogno della tua cintura (I need to borrow your belt). Mio padre non deve mai sentire una parola su questa situazione (My father is never to hear a word about this situation). Capisci (Understand)?"

He said something about the driver's father I think, or maybe he was talking about his father, that would be Grandfather. Yeah, I guess that would make more sense. The driver nodded and unbuckled his belt, pulling it slowly through the loops, he handed it to Uncle EJ. Oh shit! I am so dead.