Inéz had fallen under his protection from the second she’d decided to join his Famiglia. No matter her reasons for doing so. It might have been her desire to help find Lynette, or something completely different. Regardless. She was loyal and that made her worth keeping safe. Even when he’d given her such a task. The girl was more suited for the job than she thought.
Noah smirked as the brunette walked up to the bottle of water and bent over to grab it. The camera was showing her backside. She was wearing shorts and a tank top which perfectly emphasized the shape of her body.
Seeing the brothers’ faces, Drew got up from the couch and went to the kitchen for something to drink. "I still don’t know what her job is exactly, but I am certain that I don’t like it. And she probably hates it even more if it requires her to learn pole dancing," he said making the men look at him as he returned with a soft drink can. "What?"
The boss narrowed his eyes. "Why would she hate it? She was actually pretty good atdancing on her birthday," said Noah, reminding himself of the way the girl had swayed on the pole in front of all those people. He wished he’d been there to see it in person, but he’d had to send Cristian instead.
Drew laughed. They clearly knew nothing about his best friend.
"If not for me and Isaac, she would have never gone to that club. She hates going to those places. We pestered her to do something remotely crazy at least once in her life."
ThesmirkonNoah’sfacewidened.Asinnocentasthegirlseemedtoact,shewasa completely different person around him. One who didn’t turn around when he was torturing a man, who looked fascinated to some extent by the bloody scene, and took the lead when she wanted to gain the advantage.
There was more to her than Drew thought, but while he based his facts on what Inéz let him know, Noah had learned how to read her, and the things she didn’t want to the world to see. His way was more entertaining.
§ § §
"Good workout?" asked Flavio when the brunette returned from the gym after another hour. They had been watching her train most of the time while also engaging in some needed business talk.
The girl meaningfully looked at him. "As if I didn’t see the camera there. Don’t ask me things you already know the answer to. Leave that to Noah. It’s enough as it is," she stated freeing her hair from a messy bun.
TheCaposmirked at her words. He did ask despite already knowing the answers quite often. That was true. He found it was unnerving to a lot of people, and that gave him even more satisfaction so he kept doing it. The Falcone brothers seemed to enjoy her confidence to some extent. Yet, she knew that there would come a time when she would anger them. That’s why she only tried to do it after being absolutely certain that they were in a good mood.
"Yes, we could easily see what a pleasure it was to fall from the pole so many times. The bets were on about how long you would last." He winked at her.
They heard Isaac’s voice from upstairs telling them to come to the bar area. He was still tracking down Lynette to the best of his capabilities, but the way he called them up unsettled both Drew and Inéz. They’d come to know the man pretty well, and he was rarely frustrated, which he clearly was right now. But there was something more. Something they couldn’t put a finger on.
As they reached the area, Isaac was sitting at the bar with the laptop in front of him. He looked as if he’d seen a ghost. Blood completely drained from his face.
"What’s going on?"
Drew swallowed because there was only one thought running through his head.
That Lynette was dead.
He came closer to his friend. On the screen, there was a photo of a man’s body. Blood was everywhere. It looked barbaric, even to Noah who certainly wasn’t the softest killer out there. He took in the scene. The man was slim and tall. His arms were stretched out on both sides, completely covered in blood. One of the hand was cut off. Fingers laying separately from the palm spread all around the body. He was wearing an expensive suit which was no longer grey. Soaked in red without an inch of a dry spot. He has lost a lot of blood. However, that wasn't what caught Noah's attention. As he looked at his face, there was a long cut going from one ear to the other, through the mouth. All the teeth were exposed.
"Noah," whispered Flavio, moving closer to the screen. Recognition flashed on his face.
Soon after Capo followed his brother's thinking, identifying the man as his Capodecina, who’d taken over the businesses in Phoenix. Andrea Gaspari.
Anger coursed through the Capo’s body seeing one of his men had been murdered. And even more, so that no one had contacted him yet.
"What the fuck is this?" He roared, ramming his fist into the counter with a full force.
Inéz flinched. She had never heard the man being so bluntly furious that his body started shaking. His eyes darkened. Such behavior was what suited his position of power, but never before had he displayed it in her presence. And for the very first time, Inéz realized that the man was capable of more wrong than right. A monster hiding under the mask of a calm and wit.
Flavio took out his phone to find out why they hadn’t heard of the news yet. And by listening on the conversation, it appeared that he was the one to break the news to the Capodecina’s son who immediately went in search of his father.
Isaac swallowed, trying to figure out if it was wise to continue. "That’s not the worst
