Scheming Heart (Available on Amazon Kindle)

Chapter 39

ALFONSO

I hate this kind of feeling-this feeling of anxiety that eats you alive each passing second while you were confined inside the car and your mind kept on playing the worst case possible.

"Stop fidgeting, will you?" Dante who was sanguinely sitting next to me at the back of the car chided me softly. "This is one of the reasons I don't want you to tag along. The last thing I want was to babysit you while rescuing Claudia. Another ass that might need saving."

I threw a dirty look in his direction. "I will not be a hindrance in this rescue mission I assure you. I can't believe you're so laid back with this whole thing."

He crossed his leg over the other a complete picture of confidence. "Let's just say that this is a normal occurrence in our lives as a member of a mafia. And uneasiness has no room in our lives since you cannot perform your task well if you're nervous."

"Have you killed people in the past?" I suddenly asked. I didn't know what madness had possessed me to ask such a question of him.

He cocked a brow at me, giving me an amused look. "Why do you want to know?"

I shrugged indifferently. "I am just curious, that's all. You don't have to answer if you're uncomfortable with my tactless question."

"Yes, I have." He responded without a hint of emotion in his voice. There was a cold look on his face that was far from the laid-back expression he usually wore. Sometimes the mask he constantly wore slipped away and reveal the real Dante Marchesi.

"Do you regret this kind of work?" I inquired trying to ease off my mind on my fear for Claudia's safety. I need to distract myself.

"It's part of my job as my father's son to continue our family business." He answered gravely, once again I couldn't decipher what he was thinking at the moment. "I need to eliminate our enemies and that involves killing people."

"Did you sometimes wish that you were born into a different family?" I started looking at him curiously. "Because I feel that way sometimes."

His mouth twitched with a knowing smile. "Poor little rich boy, are you?"

I scowled at him darkly. I didn't know why I am having this conversation with him when we were about to rescue the woman we both love. "Are you mocking me?"

"Yes, I am."

"You're awfully honesty, do you know that?"

"I know."

Silence filled the car when Marchesi was informed by his men that they already know Claudia's location. They held her captive in the suburban part of the town just outside Rome. My anxiety intensified but I didn't show it to this mafia boss sitting beside me. If I didn't know how to pray in the past I was surely pleading to God right now for Claudia's safety.

"Don't worry, she'll be fine," Dante stated beside me in a monotone manner. "It's me that they after and not her. Unfortunately, she got caught in this mess because of her association with me."

"I should have hit you in the face to get even for the trouble you have caused to the woman I love," I told him threateningly. "But since you're helping me in rescuing her maybe I will postpone my plan later once Claudia is finally safe."

He laughed amusingly in my direction making me wince mentally. He didn't take me seriously about my threat which I find annoying. "Yeah. Sure whatever."

My adrenaline pumped up when we finally arrived at our destination. I was aware of how my heartbeat was so wildly in my chest I could feel that I was in some sort of movie shooting and we were about to rescue the female lead but too bad this was very much in real life. There was a high possibility that I might die today.