But no one knew any of it. She'd resigned from the job in the senator’s office that she got after spending her last months of high school doing an internshipthere. Never having explained her reasons for quitting. Her parents went back to Spain with Francisco. They still worked as architects, while Francisco had gotten a full ride in college because of his basketball scholarship. Her whole family was still convinced that she was in Seattle. Working.
A door creaked making the girl jump, thinking that someone was coming into her bedroom. Opening her eyes, she saw a light coming from the corridor and heard quiet steps. She checked the time on her phone. It was past one. To realize that someone wasn’t sleeping either, just like her, had her lower her feet off the bed as she stood up, pulling a big hoodie over her body.
She headed out of the room, careful not to make too much noise. The corridor was dark once again, but there was a dim light at the bar area. She tiptoed there but stopped as soon as she heard the safety of a gun being released. Her heart went up to her throat.
"You can come closer, Inéz. I won’t bite." She heard Noah’s deep voice and a quiet chuckle.
She breathed out, not realizing that she’d been holding it back. Slowly, she approached the bar area and her eyes fell on the blond man sitting in one of the armchairs with a glass of scotch in his hand. He was dressed in just his sweatpants and had a holster carelessly thrown over his chest. One of the guns laid on his lap. He was playing with it since he obviously had no trouble discerning who’d gotten up. He raised his eyebrow in a questioning manner.
Inéz sat in the other armchair, pulling her knees under her chin and tightly clasping her arms around them.
"Why aren’t you sleeping?" he asked, taking another sip of the alcohol. "I can’t sleep in a new place. It takes time to grow accustomed to it."
Her voice was sleepy, however, there was no tiredness in her. "How did you know that it was me?"
"I heard you tossing and turning in bed. It could only be you."
She nodded. "Have you already dealt with this Ivo guy?"
Noah shook his head, turning his eyes away from the girl. He leaned his head back breathing steadily.
"It’s been a long time. Haven’t you said that Nicodemo is your best Enforcer? Why does it take so much time to kidnap one man?"
The Capolaughed at her words. She was new to the mafia world and a lot of things wouldn’t be easy to understand. The mob played by their own rules, had their own society where Inéz, as well as Drew and Isaac, will have to learn to be a part of, eventually.
"Nicodemo prefers working at night. Some of the easiest jobs he takes care of throughout the day, and then leaves the best ones, the most interesting and entertaining ones for the night. He will text me soon."
She searched his face but could tell that he was relaxed enough not to be secretly worrying that something had happened to his Made Man. She took another attentive look at him. His muscles were flexed and perfectly shaped. Scars covered his arms as well as stomach, some of them burns. But those imperfections didn’t look like ones on him. They were signs of survival, a harsh past and tough jobs that happened throughout his life. They were untold stories, braided in dark memories. Inéz wanted to know more about him but there was no point asking because as much as he’d been willing to tell her more a few years before, there was no sign ofthe same person today. Due to him becoming a Capo, he’d changed a lot. Couldn’t afford any weakness or kindness if it didn’t add to his ever-growing strength. Power plays through and through.
"Do you sleep with your guns as well?" she asked curiously.
There wasn’t a time that he hadn’t had his holster. Even earlier in the day, she’d been able to see the bulge under his jackets, which hadn’t meant anything then, but right now she was certain that it had been guns hidden underneath.
"Mostly. I don’t make a habit out of being unarmed."
She didn't expect such an answer. Noah was tall and brawny. He could easily crush someone with his hands alone. That should be reassurance enough to at least sleep without having a gun near his bed. The Capo had said a couple of times that he didn’t trust people, but it looked as if he didn’t even trust himself.
"Can I ask you something?"
"You already have. More than once. So does my permission really matter? You will ask anyway." he smirked.
She smiled lightly. "That’s true," she admitted. "What’s your brother’s deal with Lynette? He was kind of rude when someone mentioned her."
"Kind of? Flavio is more than kind of rude when it comes to Lynette. He thinks that I am wasting my time looking for her. That she doesn’t deserve it."
Noah returned the gun to the holster, got up and poured himself another glass of alcohol but didn’t sit back down. He came up to the windows, looking at the illuminated Las Vegas. It was a breathtaking view even more now at night than during the day. The city came to life with casinos, clubs and other entertainment sites. The penthouse was right in the middle of the Strip which Inéz hadn’t acknowledged before. But now it gave her goosebumps just thinking about everything that was happening right now in every single building around them. And it was all under the control of the Famigliathat she was now a part
