Why the hell was she so scared when she did nothing wrong?
Simple - because mafia didn’t give a single fuck whether something was wrong or right. Their morals were questionable as they killed, tortured people and extorted money from businesses. Nothing was free. Nothing was easy.
Savannah saw the waitress coming up to the booth, realizing that she was to inform the men about her. And after pointing a finger in her direction, she had half a mind to turn back and leave. However, Elio's shocked expression forced her into standing still. Swallowing the large lump in her throat, she decided to push through and came closer.
Her eyes settled on the Enforcer as she tried to ignore the others curiously looking her up and down as if she were an exhibition sculpture. "Can we talk?" she asked not waiting for the man to come out of the primal shock.
"What are you doing here, Savannah?" He completely ignored her question.
The blond-haired man pretty quickly went from being confused to understanding. Savannah knew that he must have already heard about her before and Elio's eyes flickered with the one thing she didn't want to see at all - anger. Rightfully so. There were so many ways to handle this issue. Coming to a mafia-run nightclub wasn't the wisest choice. She realized that now.
"I have something I need to tell you," she continued retreating slightly.
Elio regarded her and nodded. He whispered something to the men and stood up from the booth, coming closer to Savannah. His jawline clenched as he tried to rein in his emotions and gestured for her to move behind the stage. She walked, each step less confident than the other.
They passed a few dancers who emerged from the backstage barely wearing any clothes. Seeing them, they sent Elio flirty smiles, which the man didn't even acknowledge. They continued until the music could only be heard as mumbling without any importance. The Enforcer looked around as if he wanted to avoid anyone hearing them. Then he turned to Savannah, a murderous expression bleeding through his eyes as he stared at her.
For a few seconds, she couldn't talk. The words were one big mess even in her head and wouldn't go out as anything even half-coherent. His hand dropped to his pockets nonchalantly but at that moment they both knew he wasn't trying to be that. "You were saying...?"
She tried to focus on keeping Aiden safe and whether she liked it or not the man in front of her was the one who could make it happen. She remembered how furious he was when Hunter had involved her into their matters when there had been no reason for it. Even if he would never admit that he preferred to punish those who wronged him. And Savannah was in no rush to get on that side of the darkness.
Aiden.
Aiden.
Aiden.
With a heavy heart, she swallowed her fear. "I think Hunter has been meeting with Russians," she spoke softly. Her voice was shaking as she was thrusting nails in her boss's coffin. The image so vivid she barely could handle it.
Elio's eyebrow rose. "You think?" he mocked, leaving her little to no courage to go through with her decision.
"I know," she corrected herself.
Their eyes met, marking one very important thing - she was scared beyond all the other times she had met Elio, and he was nothing. There was nothing in his eyes that might have even resembled an emotion. Not even anger.
No more.
"After all that trouble you should consider being more precise, Savannah."
So she was. Like a tsunami wave, she spilled everything about the situation that prompted her to take action. From the first meeting of the strange and creepy Russian to what she'd heard today. Elio was listening to her, occasionally nodding his head as a sign that he was taking in her words. Still nothing.
As she came to an end, she felt completely out of it. Whatever was going to happen, would. Savannah did the best with the cards she’d been dealt, but given the line of work the mafia had, she couldn't pretend like nothing happened. They had resources to learn about Hunter's indiscretions and along with them - most employees could be dragged into the mess. If not all.
At that moment someone decided to walk in. It was the same blond man from the booth that Savannah had decided was Noah Falcone. Was he listening in on their conversation? If so, she might just end up dead after all. She held her breath.
"I'm heading out. Coluccio called."
He spared them one glance and turned back around to leave.
"Flavio, aspetta," Elio shouted.
That wasn't Noah Falcone.
The realization hit her.
That was Flavio Falcone - the younger brother of the Capo dei Capi. But that information wasn't much better. She knew close to nothing about Made Men yet she wasn't holding her breath to believe that any of them were remotely good.
"What?" asked Flavio.
"I'm going with you," he decided.
With those words, Savannah knew she was to leave. Whether Elio'd do anything with the given information, was no longer her concern. As long as she wouldn't be dragged into anything mafia-wise, she was good.
Or at least that's what she was telling herself all the way back to her house. But guilt was spreading in her chest like wildfire, making it extremely hard to think of anything else. There was no satisfaction or relief. None. She cared about people. Deeply. Yet tonight she had condemned one person to death so that she could live.
Was that why people turned on each other? Because of such impossible decisions that were destined to haunt them regardless?
The answer was maybe.
Savannah didn't kid herself into thinking that Elio didn't get the message loud and clear. He was an Enforcer and it
