A plan.
The underworld was a cruel place without the possibility of unrightfully accommodating feeble men. But the outside world was just as bad. If not more. Because even though Made Men murdered, fought, threatened and extorted, they didn’t hide it. Unlike others. They were proud enough to show their face, to state exactly what they were doing. Who they were. As dreadful as it could be, it was also admirable. Underneath the whole violence, there was a twisted logic.
"Were you out all night?" he asked, looking at the clock that showed few minutes to six.
They had been in the abandoned building for almost four hours, something which Inéz hasn’t realized before. She knew that a few hours had passed but it still came as a shock to see the sun rising.
Noah disappeared upstairs to take a shower and get dressed. He was too wired to go to sleep. Even Inéz wasn’t sure if it would be a good idea to go back to bed at this point. A wave of weariness washed over her, but she was certain that nightmares would possess her because of the torturing. She preferred not to drive her mind crazy with visions of it. Not yet.
She moved towards the kitchen to prepare breakfast for everyone. Drew followed her instantly. His stubbornness was sometimes the most annoying quality he had. Valuable but irritating.
"Inéz, please tell me what he is doing to you. You have been acting differently since the restaurant incident and I would like to know why," he begged, really worried about her.
She turned her head from the fridge to look at him and send a small smile to reassure him. There was no use for her friends to worry about her. They had their own problems to take care of. She was just doing what she was supposed to. As much as she was shaking on the inside, there was something more to that. Something that she wasn’t ready to uncover yet.
"I’m alright, Drew. These past few days were just a lot to take in. That’s all, I promise," she said half-truthfully.
He didn’t appear halfway convinced but decided not to push her further. Inéz had never been one to speak her heart out and it took time for her to realize that she needed someone to listen. It was something that she had in common with Lynette. And to not push her away, he had to wait.
"Will you tell me about your job?" he asked, taking out the plates, seeing as the girl was preparing toast for them.
She shook her head. "I can’t. The fewer people know, the better," she repeated Noah’s words.
Drew was intelligent. He understood the reason all too well. That’s why the girl knew that he would listen to her and stop the interrogation. At least for a while. Because he was still a person who cared forhis friends and was always more than eager to help. Whenever it was needed.
Then Isaac showed up in the kitchen. He wasn’t fully awake yet, which suggested that only Drew had noticed their absence. Well, at least someone was able to sleep through the night.
She kindly greeted him.
"Yes, I do know that. Make sure the girl is taken care of. She might be willing to say more then."
They heard Noah’s voice. He was on the phone with someone. Judging by his usual tone, it was either Flavio or Nicodemo. With others, he made sure to sound rawer, more dominant which didn’t occur in the company of his closest men. Surprisingly, that was also true for the three of them. Sometimes yes, when they were talking business, but other than that he seemed relaxed. A boy next door at times.
"I will text you when I leave. Has Nicodemo contacted you yet?" There was a longer pause while the man listened to the person on the other side of the phone. He nodded even though they wouldn’t be able to see it. The smirk showed up on his face yet again. "Perfetto."
With that he hung up and walked towards the kitchen, taking one of the toasts from the plate that Inéz was preparing. She sent him an exasperated look.
"Today you will start your training," he announced, taking a seat on the barstool. "First, you will learn how to fight properly. We will go to the Famiglia’s main gym later. My men will show you everything."
Inéz yawned covering her mouth with her hand. She was extremely tired. Noah looked at her. "And you will go to sleep. I will wake you up when it’s time for your training," he said to her.
She looked confused. "I won’t train with them as well?"
"No, cara. You cannot be seen by my men any time soon. Nicodemo is supposed to train with you later in my private gym, which is on the floor below us."
She nodded knowing that it was reasonable. Noah couldn’t be sure that his Capodecinahadn’t convinced someone else to join him on his crusade, so it was safer for as few people to know about her as possible.
But Drew and Isaac didn’t share her view because they didn’t know anything about the job she was supposed to do.
"ThejobrequiresmenottobeseenwithNoah.Oranyoneelseinvolvedinthe Famiglia," she explained, seeing as Falcone didn’t bother to do so.
Instead, he walked up to the table and sat down in front of the laptop. They didn’t join him and ate at the counter.
"Henderson, I need you to do two things before we leave," he said after they were done with breakfast. Isaac sat down next to him knowing that it would require computer skills.
Noah turned the
