"We don’t want to hurt you. Just to talk, Layla," said Fabro.
The girl swallowed. "It’s Inéz actually," she whispered, unsure whether it was actually the right thing to do to correct him. But when Elio chuckled, shoving down his anger, she relaxed a little. At this point, there was no use in trying to run because she was way too slow with her back still on the mend, and even if that weren’t the case, they were too fast for her anyway.
Instead, she breathed out, building up her courage and invited them into the apartment. She hadn’t moved since she actually felt good there, and didn’t want to go back to their old living arrangements from Seattle and live with Isaac and Drew. They would be unbearable this time around, wanting to do everything for her and being way too overprotective.
With a heavy heart, she watched as they sat on the couch, carefully looking at her. They probably still had trouble with realizing who the girl in front of them actually was.
"I assume you want to know exactly how it all came to be," she said, settling herself in the armchair. They nodded.
"Why did Noah choose you?" asked Fabro, unlike his twin brother who was still keeping his composure.
"He flew to Seattle to get me, Isaac and Drew to work for him as he wanted to find Lynette, telling us that she was alive. Drew loves her so he would never refuse, Isaac had many legal reasons to agree, and I wouldn’t abandon my best friends. He proposed me to become a spy for him to get your father to spill his side deals as he was certain he had many. As for your question why I don’t know for sure. He always said that men were less careful around women, thinking they were too weak to actually be taken into consideration and that would be my advantage." Pause. "But I believe the way I carried myself was also one of those reasons."
"You befriended Amanda, did she know?"
She shook her head immediately. "No, she had no idea. I didn’t say a word to anyone."
"So our lives laid in your hands?"
"More or less. I was to see if you were also involved in your father’s betrayal. I ruled out Elio pretty quickly, and there’s that. I don’t really know what else I can tell you. I didn’t finish my job as you know. It was Lynette’s doing so, in the end, your lives were in her hands."
Silence fell upon them. Inéz wasn’t sure how to handle this situation. She told them everything, knowing that they deserved at least that modicum of decency from her. Because as it appeared, neither Elio nor Fabro had been involved. While it hadn’t been hard to realize when it came to the first one, the latter had been handling pretty bad stuff, but none kept out of the usual books, so Flavio had told her that Noah had ruled to let Fabro live. He didn’t become a Capodecinaafter his father but was able to keep the club. That was as much a mercy as the Capowas willing to give. And it had to be enough.
She looked at Elio and saw a flash of uncertainty in his eyes. He had become a soldier under Noah’s rule because of his father’s betrayal. He was still keeping the position but there were probably questions that he wasn’t ready to ask his boss.
"Noah appreciates those who want to achieve something on their own, and he saw something in you that was worth giving a chance to. Don’t think it was solely because of Gastone’s case. Yes, giving you this opportunity was one way of ensuring you would pledge your loyalty to him and only him, but that wasn’t all. Don’t feel like you don’t deserve it because you do, Elio," she pointed out, smiling.
The man had been through enough with his father as it was and should let go of it all now. His position was one that could evolve anytime, and focusing on making it happen was what he should be trying to do instead.
CHAPTER 47
He wasn’t in the mood for a night out, although after the day he’d had, he deserved it. Capturing Gastone hadn’t been anywhere close to being the hardest part. What came after had. Proving his power left and right so his men wouldn’t start a mutiny wasn’t easy. Meeting with his soldiers and doing favors for them was one of the most annoying shibboleths that he hadn’t ever been able to completely avoid. But he used to do as little of those open meetings as possible. Not this time around. He spent most of his Friday inviting men to his office, listening to their problems.
He needed a fucking drink. And a really strong one too. However, he couldn’t be bothered with that anymore after he’d heard his brother saying that he had just come from Inéz’s. That name was haunting him just as much as her image haunted his dreams. Restraining himself and giving her the space that she’d asked for was proving too fucking hard. He had found himself driving to her apartment building more times than he could count. The only thing that had stopped him had been seeing the man he’d ordered to guard her. She wouldn’t be needing anyone else’s protection but his if he had only pulled his head out of his ass much earlier. And after reminding himself that it was all his fault that they had been separated, he found himself driving back home.
As he downed his fourth round of tequila shots with Flavio, Drew and Isaac, Nicodemo appeared with a huge grin on his face. He rarely smiled, so it was very unsettling to see him like that. The Enforcer took his seat, ordering a beer,
