Dangers

~~~~~

Something was off. I didn't know what it was, but the way the atmosphere shifted, had me cradling his head against my chest. Then the sound of footsteps, quietly shuffling along caught my attention. Danger had my nerves standing on end, and I could tell he noticed it too. His firm forearm held me close, the heat of his skin burning through my clothes and his, but I slowly reached under his arm to nab a gun from his holster.

We slowed our breathing, trying to force the heat to dissipate as we needed logic to work. When the door opened, I aimed the gun straight at the face of our opponent when they appeared, my eyes narrowing in dismay. A man in a suit carrying a large black suitcase stepped forward holding one hand in the air, the other waving the suitcase around in offering. Did he think that eased the tension in my arm?

"Your grandfather sent me." The man stated, opening the suitcase with a flourish after sitting it on the nearest table, his gaze solemn. "I am sorry for your loss… could we put the gun away now?"

Then I noticed he was white as a ghost, his body visibly shaking, and I now realized he was just an average person. And what was that about my grandfather? I hesitated for several seconds, my gun still not wavering as I searched his strained expression. Nico lowered me to the floor before turning to face our visitor, one shoulder blocking me from the man's view. He seemed tense, like a snake preparing to strike.

"Who allowed you to walk in here like this?" Nico demanded, his fists clenching at his sides as though he needed to so he could restrain himself. "I hate interruptions more than anything else on this planet."

With that, my finger shifted a little, my eyes narrow on his face. I would know if he lied, so I simply waited for the very second a falsehood passed his lips. His expression paled further as he pushed the suitcase closer to us then put his now empty hands back in the air in fear, his eyes closed tight. Everything about him screamed outsider, yet that palpable fear and respect with which he stood earned some leniency in my eyes.

"What do you know about my grandfather?" I questioned, grabbing Nico's forearm as I stepped to his side, back firm. "I'm not known for patience, so hurry."

"He was involved in a car accident."

~~~~~

My vision narrowed as I stared hard at the man sharing this information before his eyes fell to the case in offering again. Nico grabbed the gun from my hand, then nodded towards the case. I nabbed my magnum and aimed again, then approached the man who quickly moved away from it. I glanced inside to see paperwork, specifically, papers with handwriting that could only belong to my grandfather. It was not the kind of thing normal people could read, either. Everything business related was done in substitution ciphers, for a good reason, and this had been too.

Moving to current methods of paperwork storage had been my plan, but I had to be careful about said storage. Despite my skills, I knew how fallible I was. There was a reason we waited so long before upgrading to digital potential, after all. We would be using a similar cipher system in the app, once it was complete. This must be stuff concerning my parents, since it didn't seem to be included in any previous document uploads. I would've noticed something like this. I managed the uploads directly to make sure all was necessary. Even we had our share of useless family paperwork.

"My name is John Teller, an understudy for Lawkey Lawyers. Your grandfather is in a medically induced coma, though has been formally declared dead." The man said, then finally clasped his hands together pleadingly. "That's all I know! I'll forget the information as soon as I leave, I swear!!! My boss told me to deliver the suitcase directly to you. Please don't kill me! I have a wife and a baby on the way!"

My gun fell, as did his shoulders in relief. Anyone in our world and perhaps the public knew. If you wanted to protect your family and yourself, you never mentioned them to the Mafia. Quite a bold, and not quite moral declaration in this situation, which lent some credibility to his story. Now that he answered my question, I glanced at Nico, who could manage things from here. I needed to step away from the situation to find out the truth.

"I swear it's all I know. It's all I know!" The man shouted, and as I passed him, I could see the sweat rolling down his neck. "Please, I really don't want to die. My wife and kid need me!"

"He's telling the truth, Nico." I tossed over my shoulder as I exited the room, then left that matter to deal with another, more distressing one. "We'll have to finish our little conversation later."

Maybe promising that would get his hopes up, but I needed to find out what was going on with my Grandfather. As I left the room, I heard Nico tell the man to stay put with a threat before his footsteps quickly caught up with mine. My fingers were already working through the contacts in my phone, until he grabbed my wrist, drawing my gaze up to his handsome features in annoyance. Why could he never leave me alone?

"If you want to talk, I'm here." He stated, then returned to his office without another word.

I didn't understand why he said that, but I ignored it as I pulled out my phone. There were plenty of other things I needed to figure out, though top priority was my Grandfather. Why was he faking his death? Was he really in an induced coma? I didn't understand. I never expected to take over the Accardi like this. My honest hope was that my Grandfather would be retiring, and spending the rest of his life in quiet ease. I thought that was his plan, too.

"Marcello, explain." I ordered into my phone, stopping just inside the doorway to my old room, then turning around, feeling a little out of place. "What is going on?"

"Your Grandfather was in an accident. He didn't make it."

Were Nico, that understudy, and I the only three who knew the truth? Where was my grandfather? I needed to know and clearly my second didn't know anything. After confirming several other important pieces of information concerning the Accardi's next move, I ended the call just as I entered the vibrant courtyard. The Villa was tucked into the side of a hill overlooking a stunning vineyard filled with an array of colors.

I shouldn't be entertaining that man or his whims, yet found myself under his spell again. There were more important things to focus on, like what my grandfather was up to, why Marcello didn't know, and what any of this had to do with me. Why did my grandfather need to disappear? I still didn't know anything about that independent nation or what they wanted either, and my only link just disappeared.

What's more was trying to hide the idea that I might never see him again. My grandfather was the only family I had left, since my parents disappeared. I didn't even know if any of my father's family were still alive, because I never met them. There was no one to get the information from that I knew. My eyes fell to the suitcase sitting on the path nearby. I apparently brought it with me from the office. Perhaps my grandfather left me the clues in this.

"Donna?" Piero appeared behind me, a friendly, albeit sad smile on his face. "The Don wanted me to check on you. I heard about your grandfather. I am so sorry."

My gaze fell to the concrete pathway beneath my feet as I sank onto the nearby bench, thoughts wandering. I needed to act upset, yet it felt as though I were failing in that task since I knew the truth. Grandfather was still alive, I just didn't know where he was, but that lawyer's assistant said he had been publicly announced dead. Everyone in the Mafia that knew about the Accardi would likely think he was dead.

I needed to play along with his wishes yet again, and it was getting rather annoying by this point. Not only did I have to become Donna and deal with all the stresses that comes with, grandfather wanted me to marry a stranger, and NOT look into who was after me. Then he fakes his death, leaving me to clean up the mess. Just what was that man thinking? There was nothing I could do, either though, so I willed faked tears to my eyes. I needed more information, but for now I would play my part.

~~~~~

He flexed his fingers in the knuckles after Lili left the room, his focus on the guy who randomly waltzed into the Villa, straight into this room as though he owned the place. Nicolo didn't know the man's purpose or connections. To reach his office, the man would have had to go through several armed guards, doors requiring passwords, and more. Few people had all access to the Villa, especially the inner sanctum like this.

"You haven't answered my question." Nicolo stated, cracking his knuckles as he approached the stranger, eyes narrowed. "I've never heard of a Lawkey Lawyer before."

"I told you what I know. I was only hired to bring you the case… And your wife took it." The guy replied, on his knees with his hands still in the air. "Please don't kill me…"

His horror was palpable as Nicolo got closer, before the man fully prostrated himself on the floor, tears running down his face. Perhaps he was telling the truth. It didn't answer how he got in the Villa though, and that was something the Don needed to know. If someone allowed him through, there were only a few people with that authority. The Don, Donna, and Caproregime. If he or Lili hadn't allowed it, who had?

"Who let you in?" He demanded, cracking his neck when the guy looked up at him from the floor. "Answer."

"The… I think he said his name was Piero? He said someone reached out he trusted to get me access." John replied, his body shaking with fear. "Please! Call him! He'll confirm it!"

"He's telling the truth, Boss. I allowed him access." Piero poked his head in, Lili behind him, making Nicolo's fingers clench again. "Marcello called saying someone had important information for the Donna, and to please let him through. You are the most dangerous man I know, so I knew you could handle one person if you needed to."

"Preferirei non farlo davanti a mia moglie!" 'I'd rather not do it in front of my wife!' The Don yelled, making Piero's expression fade to shock, as if he hadn't expected it. "E 'così difficile da capire?" 'Is it that hard to understand?'

Lili's eyes widened, as though the thought never occurred to her, and Nicolo knew how strange it seemed. She was an Heiress before she was his wife. Odds were, she wasn't oblivious to the torture that existed in their world. Nicolo hated to even consider it, but she was likely tortured in the past too. It was something everyone in the Mafia world faced at some point. But he didn't want her to see him like that. Her to see him being a Don.

"Leave." Nicolo nodded towards the man, who quickly gathered himself and ran for the door, not looking back once. "Tell no one you came here, anything you heard, or the information you passed on, or I will find you."

"You know I cannot avoid death being who I am, Nico." She stated after several moments of silence, but he couldn't turn to face her. "And you cannot avoid who you are when I'm around either. We know what this world is to us. Trying to hide it from me is pointless."

She was right, yet still. The thought of showing her how mean he could be to people was horrifying. Then again, she convicted his cousin to death, so maybe he was just being overbearing. Still, it didn't quite sit right for his wife and woman he loved to see that darkness. No matter how much she claimed to be darkness incarnate. When she stepped in front of him a knowing grin on her face, he rubbed his head in frustration. Mafia protected their women.

"Tu sei mia moglie." 'You are my wife.' He growled, crossing his arms in front of his chest, eyes narrowing on her beautiful features. "Non posso cambiare il fatto che voglio proteggerti." 'I can't change the fact that I want to protect you.'

"And that's fine. But I don't need protection from my husband, do I?"

Maybe she was realizing it was easier to fall into him, though from the expression on her face, he doubted it. Odds were, getting along was much easier than always arguing. How did she know what he was against? That connection, the one he felt anytime she was near, thrummed to life, reminding him. She was his wife, but she was dangerous. Even more dangerous than he was. He can be himself and compromise with her.

"Piero, leave." Nicolo ordered, grinning lecherously down at his wife, who flushed red when she locked gazes with him. "Now."

The man he was had gone insane for his little wife, and he barely registered the click of the door behind Piero before he pinned her to the wall, head buried within her neck. Lilac. He remembered the first time he met her, those warm brown eyes seeming to understand his pain. Was that what had him wrapped around her finger? When her pouty lips parted in a gasp, his vision narrowed, and he caught her up in another kiss.

"We have to make up for the earlier interruption, Amore Mio." He ground himself against her, watching as her tongue moistened her lips. "Niente più prese in giro." 'No more teasing.'