Manners with the Devil

05

: 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻

❥︎❥︎❥︎❥︎

Dread overfills my bloodstream.

The words wail at the back of my brain, repeating one after the other like it's telling me something- something I need to figure out.

He wants me to fight with him... to train me... for protection?

None of it makes sense. If my father was an assassin for the Italians, why would I need to be saved or protected from them? Surely they would keep me safe meaning my father works for them. My father wouldn't hurt me. Right?

Well, that I don't know. If he's kept such an insane secret from me my whole life, god knows what else is up his sleeve.

"It's the French Mafia, M'lady." the man spoke. I glance at him and note the obvious amusement swirling in his irises, and most of me urges to snatch it away, but I hold back.
Instead, mild panic twists my stomach into a tight knot. fucking hell. My father's part of the Italians and now I'm being held captive with - probably - their enemies. Forced to train and fight with them. And it's still not making sense at all. Am I just here to piss off the Italians and my father? Am I here to train with the French and be on their side? Or is it more than that?

Christ, all these thoughts are cramming up my mind.

What feels like, a boulder falls to the pit of my stomach and swirls around a seed of displeasure. I curse under my breath and lifted the courage to look back at the man.

"How am I supposed to know you are not lying?"

"I don't lie for no reason." he deadpans.

"My father. And yourself." I swallow, balling my clammy fists together. "How do I know you are not lying?"

I could see the gears in his head turning as his eyes wandered elsewhere. A few beats passed, and his gaze came up from the floor, stabbing a path up my bare body -just covered by a cloth - and pauses at my eyes. He smiles.

"Something came in your mail. This morning."

Huh, did he break into my house? How could he do that with my father being home?

"From your father." he finishes.

Stomach turning, I narrow my eyes at him.

He takes a few leisurely steps across the room and picks something off the wooden table. Returning to where I stood, he flicks the paper out from its folds; I flinch as the paper skims my nose.

"Read it." his emerald eyes flash as they scan mine.

Gut lurching, I only manage a nod to the man, as I took the paper into my hands.

The paper looks like it's on steroids as it shakes so violently in my touch and I feel his eyes lurking all over it. I could now feel the embarrassment staining my cheeks bright red.

fucking hell, just read it Gia.

Dear Giavanna Amato,

I want to start by telling you how terribly sorry I am for all that's happening. I never wanted it to happen but it's out of reach for me to stop it. I'm sorry.

I'm here at the bus stop in Latina, writing to you about this. I wish I could tell you in person but that would just break my heart even more than it already has. It still is heartbreaking now.

I know ever since your mother left us both in pieces life has been outrageous. Our lives flew downhill and we fell into a massive rut. Life was daunting to carry on. Work was hard for me and of course, your education got damaged with your reaction to it all. And your reaction was valid. You lost your mother. It was chaos and terrible. It disrupted our lives badly.

Leading from that, I want you to understand how far you have come from all of your mother's disappearance. Through getting into law school and getting better with your addictions. You have really shown yourself as a strong young woman and I'm so incredibly proud of you.

Please remember that. I'm so proud of you.

But anyway, I have to tell you the reason why I'm leaving you with this letter.

As I've said, I would have stopped this if I had the power to, but I didn't. Something happened at the place I work at and I have to leave this town, this country. Please, don't hate me. I have to be cruel to be kind. Saving us from something much worse. It's what I have to do for us. For you.

I won't have any more contact with you.

I'm leaving you the house, the cars, and the money. It's already transferred for you.

I'm so sorry for doing this. And please don't make this take a huge toll on you as your mother's disappearance did. please. Remember that I'll always love you. And I'm hugely proud of the woman you have become. You can survive out here on your own now. You have got Vivvian and Law School to graduate next year.

I love you and so does your mother.

yours sincerely, Davide Amato, your father.

I need a real fucking strong drink right now.

I drop the letter to my bare feet, a bitter feeling choking at my throat as I manage to swallow down the cries eager to spill out any second.
I never am the type to get emotional, especially in front of a random man who has just kidnapped me. But now this letter piled on top of everything else that has happened in the past few hours? I'm bound to.

A drop crawls down my cheek and more follows down. I brush the tears away with my shaking hand, slowly looking back up at the man.

I open my mouth but close it again, if I even try to speak I know all that would come out would be a pure sob. And none of us want to deal with that. Sighing, I gulp them down and look back down.

"Don't cry."

My natural instinct is to scowl at the man and give him something to cry about because that would be me defending myself from stupidly crying in front of him. However, something else is ringing in my ears and if I just get on his good side I could catch a glass of whiskey, or, even better, a lead to getting the fuck out of here. Ridiculous, I know. But now I need to start thinking logically.

"Now you know I'm not lying. If he left because of work. His work will want revenge, which is you. Taking you and killing you."

"Still doesn't prove you're not going to do the same thing, is it?" I mutter.

I gasp when I feel his huge, hot hand appearing under my chin, cupping my jaw. He moves my head at his desire, so I'm stuck hypnotized within his green circles. fucking hell. My stomach lets go of all the discomfort and sprays out a wave of warmth throughout my whole body. I know I shouldn't feel this way, and I know he shouldn't be feeling my body getting heated by the moment passing longer, but he is. He knows what he is doing and I don't like it one single bit.

"No more questions now, m'lady." his watch flashes under the lights, "It's time to go."

I shake my stupidity away and attempt to cover my blushing cheeks with my hand, although he pulls my hands down and takes a strong grip on my wrist.

"Where are we going?" I gulp.

He eyes me with a disapproving look. "France."

I'd rather scrape my eyes out with a knife than follow this man to another country, but I don't have any other option.