Page 133 of His Dark Demands
My phone buzzedin my pocket. I removed my device, hoping it was Alba. But to my disappointment it was Ciro.
“Yeah, Boss,” I said, answering his call.
“Where’s Isla?”
“Inside her apartment.”
“Listen to me carefully. Fabio will be sending additional men as soon as he can get a crew together to help guard Isla and the baby. I could be overreacting, but I don’t want to take any chances.”
“What’s going on?” My body stiffened as I looked up and down the hallway. Nobody was around, which wasn’t unusual. Things seemed to quiet down after six each evening. But it was a little unusual for a Friday night.
“Cara Clemente is alive and she knows about Pippa.”
“Jesus.”
“I’m trying to get to San Francisco, but this fucking city is slowing me down. My jet is having mechanical problems. It’s a shitshow here. I need you to stay with Isla. Don’t take your break tonight.”
“Okay.”
“If all goes well, I’ll be there by ten and all of this will have been like a practice drill.”
“Kind of a fucking scary practice drill.”
“No, shit. My heart hasn’t slowed down since I left Courtney.”
“What do you want me to tell Isla?” Usually, I’d check in with her before I left at nine o’clock when Fabio’s man covered for me so I could have a six-hour break. I’d go to Alba’s, indulge in her sweet pussy, take a shower and sleep until returning to my post outside of Isla’s door. I guess none of that was happening tonight.
“Don’t tell her anything. The last thing I need is for her to freak out. I might be overreacting.”
I grunted.
“Well, maybe tell her I’ll be there around ten.”
I grunted again.
“If anything seems off, call Fabio. He’s on alert.” Ciro paused and spoke to someone. “Shit, they said it would take another hour to get my jet fixed. Maybe I can rent a helicopter. Yeah. I’ll see if I can do that. I’ll be in touch.” The call ended.
I sent Alba a text to let her know I wouldn’t be coming tonight. Alba quickly became my obsession. She was intelligent. Pretty. Adventurous in bed. I was falling hard for her, but I knew nothing more could happen between us.Soon, I’d be returning to Canada with Ciro and my fling with Alba would end.
Paolo: Can’t come over tonight. Maybe tomorrow.
Alba: Bummer. Is everything okay?
Paolo: Yes. My replacement had an emergency.
I didn’t like lying to her but in my line of work, we did a lot of lying and deceiving. It was just what Mafia men did to achieve their goals.
Alba: Okay. No worries.
I waited for another text, but it didn’t seem to come. Most women would have asked a million questions but not Alba. I assumed Isla had given her tips on how to be with someone like me.
Without giving it another thought, I put my phone away. It would be easy to keep texting with Alba. I was getting attached, which meant she might be getting attached too. That couldn’t happen. One of us had to keep things casual and it appeared it had to be me.
At nine o’clock, Isla’s door opened right on schedule like the other nights. I turned around to face her.
She stared at me with a smile on her face.
“What?” I asked.
