[1] A War of Blood and Hearts | ✔️

CHAPTER FIVE

IGNAZIO

It has been a long day, one full of surprises. Therefore, Ignazio is enjoying every second he is spending on the comfortable sofa in the playroom with Alonso. It is five o'clock in the morning, but neither of them care. After all, they are used to sleep deprivation.
"Dude! That is cheating." Ignazio yells throwing the controller on the floor when he loses for the seventh time.
"No, it is not. Just because you are a chitty player does not mean you get to accuse me of being a cheater!" The right hand man grabs the pillow on his left, and throws it at his boss who catches it before it collides with his face.
The two men spend a couple of minutes cursing and throwing random objects at one another until eventually Leora walks in and leans on the wall next to the screen.
"What the hell are you two doing? Some of us actually sleep during the night." She complains as she rubs her sleepy eyes with her hands.
"What?" Ignazio raises his eyebrow at the tired woman before him. He walks to the sofa and reclaims his previous spot knowing that he and Alonso are going to receive a lecture from one of the two women who live in the house.
"Sleeping? You know that thing when you put on your pajamas, go to bed, and close your eyes in the hopes of waking up the next morning with new energy? Does it ring a bell?" She pulls her hands up in the air.
"Of course it does not."
Ignazio has known Leora for as long as he can remember. She is Alonso's little sister, and his best friend would do anything to make her happy. Once, when they were children, Leora came to her brother crying because some girl in her class slapped her. Instead of claiming revenge on the girl for hurting his sibling, Alonso tied Ignazio to one of the iron columns in the schools playground, and had Leora punch him in front of the entire school until she felt satisfied with herself. Moreover, no teacher ever showed up to stop her from assaulting him. Needless to say, it was the most humiliating experience he had gone through. Since that day, the right hand man never doubted the limits his boss would cross to draw a smile on his sister's face.
"Seriously Leora, what is wrong?" Alonso looks her way for the first time since she entered the room, but he does not bother to sit back down.
The tension starts to eat on Ignazio's nerves. Hence, he picks up a cigarette and a lighter from his pocket. He takes a quick glance at Leora to make sure she is not looking his way. He lights the cigarette up, and puts the thing between his lips as he waits for his best friend's sister to notice and scold him. When a few seconds pass without her seeing it, he starts smoking.
"Alonso, you just received a call from your friend saying that his sister almost got abducted by your greatest nemesis, and you are here playing x-box?"
"It is play station actually." Ignazio murmurs as he releases some smoke from his lungs.
"Are seriously smoking right now? How many times have I told you to quit this bad habit?" Suddenly, he is reminded why he has never been that close to Leora. She is a control freak, and if she fails to control you, you can be sure that she will make your life a living hell because of it. Many times Ignazio was tempted to put her in her place, and point out the dull fact that whatever he does is none of her concern, but his fear of what Alonso might do always stopped him. This time is not different; therefore, he leaves it to his friend to deal with her.
"No offense little sister, but the mafia business is none of your concern. I have everything under control, so please do not try to fix something that is not broken, and something you do not understand for that matter." Another reason why he has never hurt Leora's feeling is because despite everything, he loves her as a sister, he knows that she is a good person, and her intentions are always good; thus, he is always there for her whenever she needs him. They are not close, but they are good friends.
As her friend, he notices the hurt in her eyes because of what her brother told her, and Alonso fails to notice that since he is focusing on his phone, which being held tightly in his hand. The right hand man whistles for Leora, once she turns to him, he grants her a wink before throwing a play station hand at Alonso. It hits him in the head since he is too much distracted with his phone to be aware of his surroundings.
"Fanculo, what the heck man?" The Italian mafia boss almost pulls his gun out. Ignazio does not bother to mask his smirk, while Leora proudly chuckles aloud.
"Thank you Ignazio." Leora high fives the mafia man
"Look, I am sorry for my outburst. It is just it has been a long week with the crisis of Nick, and Hannah's surgery, and now finally we are having dome free time even though it is in the middle of the night. If you insist; however, I will tell you everything." Both men laugh at Leora as she nods her head eagerly.
"Alright then, Ignazio and Alberto chose a volunteer for Hannah, and I checked up everything after them about the chosen man, and everything is good. The surgery should take place sometime next week. As for Nick, his parents along with few of Ivan's men barged into his house a few hours ago. He was forced to sneak his sister Crystal out of the house and straight into the airport along with Lucas. They should arrive to Italy in at least six hours. I already had Alberto find the perfect house for her to stay in for as long as needed, and Nazi will befriend her so he can check on her from time to time." Ignazio finishes his cigarette and press it on the ashtray as his boss explains today's events, which he cringes at hearing, all these things happened in one day.
"But why cannot she come live with us? She would be safer here, wouldn't she?" Leora's lips make a duck shape as she tries to think.
"She would, but she does not know anything about the mafia, and Nick wants to keep it that way." Ignazio murmurs.
"Wait, he has been lying to her for years about something this important?" horror is painted on Leora's features.
"Well, that should tell you how like you are to have a brother like me." Alonso smirks.
"Oh please, the only reason she knows is because she would kill you if you even think about hiding it from her, and it would not matter if you are a mafia leader." Ignazio earns a death glare from Leora for saying that but the fragile woman only causes him to burst out laughing.
"Well, as much fun it is to bark along with the DiFronzo siblings, I am going to get some sleep. After all, I have to meet up an old friend and a threatened woman at the airport six or seven hours from now." Ignazio gets off the sofa and starts heading for the door.
"And that is just one thing I have to get done tomorrow, or today, or whatever." He salutes the two people in the room before leaving.