"Francisco just keeps reminding us every day that we have to look after Inéz. I think he is actually considering flying to Seattle."
Noah frowned. "Why?"
"He said that she called him the other night and sounded weird. As if something bad had happened, but she didn’t want to give him any details. We are to keep an eye on her. However, we all know what is wrong with her, but it’s not like we can say that it’s just mafia stuff," Drew ironized, biting into a slice of pizza.
The Capoglanced at him, surprised. "Since when is he acting like a brother of the year?"
"Since always. You didn’t meet the twins under the best of circumstances. Francisco can be a judgmental dick, but he loves his sister. They were always close and ever since he left, Inéz began to struggle a little bit more. They were never apart for long."
"Besides, her working in a nightclub might have been the worst idea ever," added Isaac, not worried at all that he had just criticized his boss’ plan. Each day he was becoming more daring along with his best friend. But right now, that wasn’t the most important thing. Noah felt like there was actually something wrong, and everyone knew it but him.
"Am I missing something here?"
Isaac nodded. "It’s really not our place to say anything. You’ll have to ask Inéz. Or better yet, let her tell you when she’s ready," he advised.
The topic was over. As best friends, they would stay loyal and not tell Noah anything no matter what. For them, friendship was stronger than the Famiglia.And as much as the Caposhould smother such a thing, he actually admired it. To put someone above all was something he himself had done back in the day. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for his brother, and before also for his sister.
CHAPTER 24
Her birthday was never a day she liked to celebrate. Rather the complete opposite. That particular day was another reminder of just how screwed up she really was. However, neither Isaac nor Drew would let it go just like that, and wanted to spend time with her. So, after Noah organized all the details for her to sneak into the penthouse, she felt bad to just ignore their efforts and stay in her apartment.
Francisco didn’t congratulate or wish her anything, as always. He just sent her a text saying that he loved her. It was easier this way. Neither of them treated this day as special and never celebrated. They didn’t have a reason to.
Thankfully, as she got to Noah’s place, she found out that her friends hadn’t organized anything but a movie night. Nothing out of the ordinary, so she could simply pretend it was a normal day. They spent a few hours just laughing and commenting on everything that was happening on the screen like they used to do. The movie itself wasn’t important, so it never even crossed their minds to watch it in complete silence. A night in like this was what she needed. You could never go wrong with junk food and soda.
"How are you holding up working in the club?" asked Drew when they finished the second movie.
She looked at him, knowing exactly what he meant by that. This job could very easily be a trigger for her like she’d initially thought too. And the first night had been just that. But there was nothing she could do about it. Thus, she needed to be strong.
She shrugged. "So, where exactly is Noah?" She had no desire to talk about that. It wouldn’t change a goddamn thing so what was the point?
"He went to check up on one of his drug labs," Isaac explained.
"Is he ever at home?"
Drew shook his head. "No, but none of us is, really. We train each morning, then we try to catch up on the business the Famiglia has and Isaac also looks for Lyn. So, if we don’t have time, then he as the Capohas even less."
The mention of Lynette was clearly painful for Drew. He was still holding on to the thought that soon she would be found and returned to his arms. But the search wasn’t easy. With the death of the Capodecina, it seemed like a futile thing to do. However, Noah didn’t even want to hear his brother when he advised him to leave the girl alone. The hatred written all over his face. The Capo definitely had a reason for it but wasn’t straight-forward enough to explain it to them.
Also, Drew refused to give up. He loved the girl and Inéz wouldn’t put it past him to go to his father for help if Falcone decided to pull the plug on the operation. That could be a disaster just waiting to happen. And Noah surely wasn’t stupid to think that his soldier wouldn’t do it.
The elevator moved and the doors slid open, revealing Noah, in a dim light casting a glow showing what he was covered in. Blood. It was dripping from his face and stomach down to the floor. He could barely stand and as he raised his head there were bruises all over. He looked like a dead man walking.
Inéz’s eyes widened as he kept pressing his hand against his stomach. Blood kept running through his fingers, making him weaker, paler. He was covering a wound without a doubt. She immediately ran up to the man.
"What happened to you?" she asked, examining the damage that was done to his body. From the corner of her eyes, she saw Drew grabbing his phone. Probably to call Flavio and let him know.
He winced, coughing out some blood, but didn’t answer the question. The pain was there, however, Noah didn’t seem as bothered by it as any sane person would. He was surprisingly
