Chapter 3
**Zeno's POV***
"Mama". I said kneeling towards her. The red liquid staining my knees.
" Zeno, I love you. Take care of yourself". She said and closed her eyes.
"Mama, mama". I said, tears rolling down my eyes.
"Capo. Svegliati". I heard Herberto's voice in my head.
"Boss". Douglas said, shaking me furiously.
I jerked up, sweat on my forehead, my heart in my mouth.
I looked around to see Herberto and Douglas looking at me with worried looks.
"Sto bene". I said, getting up and going to take my pills.
"Well, we just wanted to check if you'll want us to go to meet the Gazzizis". Herberto said.
"Quel bastardo mi deve dei soldi". I said, pouring a glass of whiskey for myself and taking a sip.
Then one person crossed my mind.
"Dove é Aurora?" I asked, looking specifically at Douglas. (Where is Aurora?).
"She's having breakfast with the rest of the men?". Douglas said, more like asking, like he wasn't sure if he saw correctly.
I furrowed my eyebrows, looking confused. I and Herberto exchanging the same glance.
I quickly took a shower and dressed in my all black suit but without the jacket and tie, leaving three buttons open.
We three, went out to the garden. Since the men are having dinner and she joined them this means it's in the garden they are eating, that's the only dining table that can contain all my men.
As we approached we heard a very heart warming mixture of laughter, but hers getting drowned by my men's.
"Cosa sta succedendo qui?" I asked, my eyes becoming cold. ( What's going on here?)
As soon as they heard my voice, all my men stood up, leaving her seated and in a pool of confusion.
After looking around for sometime, with a pouty face and wide eyes, she stood up.
"Vorrei avere una discussione privata con lei". I said and they started leaving the table with their plates and guns. ( Leave. I'd love to have a private discussion with her).
"Seat". I commanded her. She stood not moving looking at me.
"Didn't.." I began.
"I heard you but you'll have to be more polite". She said, crossing her hand across her chest.
I squinted my eyes, looking intently at her.
"Well, I came her to discuss something with you". I began and brought out a picture of Thomas and Sofia.
I watched her expression. Her eyes left mine and looked at the picture and her face once laced with annoyance was now laced with confusion.
"Why do you have photo of my parents?". She asked me, looking at me with furrowed brows but fear and suspicion in her eyes.
So they weren't drunk and seeing or hearing things. What the fuck Is going on?.
My head was spinning with so many unanswered questions.
"Answer me, Zeno". She said, trying to mask the fear in her voice.
"Nothing, darling. Remember you'll last longer if you don't ask much questions". I said standing up and running my finger through my hair.
I walked to her, dragged her in by her waist.
"You'll be good, yeah?. The maids will get you anything you want. Do not leave the house without a guard. I'll be back by dark". I said, looking at her doe eyes.
I took the picture and left, going into the house to see Herberto, Douglas and four other of my men waiting for my order.
"Partiamo". I said, not minding the questioning glance Herberto threw at me. (Let's leave).
We got into the truck and drive to meet the Gazzizis.
After driving for over two hours, we finally reached their residence.
As we drove close to the front door we saw Stetson Gazzizi, the don of the Gazzizi mafia.
"Stetson". I said, after coming down from the car. Herberto and the rest of my men standing behind me.
"Stefano, what an unpleasant surprise". He said, looking between me and my men.
"Coming here wasn't so pleasing for us either, idiota. We came for business". Douglas said.
This somehow caused anger to settle within Stetson. With another emotion he, himself, wasn't good at masking.
"É paura quella che vedo, Stetson?. Vuol dire che non hai miei soldi pronti, vero?" . I asked him tauntingly. (Is that fear I see, Stetson?. That means you don't have my money ready, do you?).
I saw him swallow and reach to his gun from behind him, but I was quicker and so were my men.
Soon my men and his men had guns pointing at our faces.
"You've grown, Gazzizi. Good to see that. But it's like your consigliere didn't advice well enough on this decision". I said looking at his advisor shaking like a deer caught in headlights.
"Vaffanculo, Stefano". He seethed. (Fuck you).
I smirked and shook my head. "You made your decision. But I'm telling you, you are going to regret it".
And with this his consigliere was dead on the floor. This caused a little bit of rattle and fear amongst his men.
And soon another was drop dead. My men and I lowered our guns looking at Stetson right in the eyes.
And like that his men were dropping dead like flies. I could see the fear in his eyes.
"Who is shooting?". Stetson asked, his head trembling, cold sweat on his forehead, as he looked around.
"If you continue looking around, you might be next, no?". Douglas said, and this earned him a glare from Stetson.
"Now let's go over this", I said, coming closer to hiim, and putting my hands on his shoulder, " how am I getting my forty million?". I asked him.
"I'll…I'll bring it to you. Just please don't kill me". He said, tears rolling down his eyes.
"Deal. You have two minutes". I said, looking at my watch.
"What?". He asked, blood leaving his face.
"Ninety seconds. Thirty, twenty. Oh well. It was good doing business with you". And with that I brought out my gun and put a bullet within his eyes.
His blood staining my face and his body as my feet.
"Well, I lied. It was really unpleasant". I said and took out my handkerchief, cleaning my gun and my face and leaving it on his body.
"Our business is done guys". I said and we all went to the car to get back home.
I wanted to see her again.
Going home was longer. We don't take the same road we use to come to a particular place to go back home.
Always one step of our enemies.
We soon got home. "Assemble the men. We need to have a meeting". I said and went into the house, leaving Douglas to it.
I got upstairs to my room, showered and got dressed in a dress shirt and jeans.
I went to my office and got to see my men there, seated waiting for me.
"Tonight, Gabriel shows his efficiency in handling the sniper, so Casper you have a second man. Train him to be good like you". I said, paused and looked around the room.
"Today, I put a bullet through Stetson Gazzizi's head. Moat of you think we have claimed their land but unfortunately we got to figure out that he was only the front person for his older brother, Klion. So we should have the entire Gazzizi in our asses soon enough". I said, almost nonchalantly.
"With this news you know what to do", I paused, fear, settling in me.
"Capo, É paura quella che vedo?". Herberto asked. (Boss, is that fear?).
This caused all my men to look at me, with shock and confusion.
They've never seen me afraid. Not even when a gun is pointed at my head.
"Aurora". I said and this made relief but still confusion sweep across their features.
Confusion in the sense that they must be confused as to why I'm scared about her and relief that I'm not scared of the war about to ensue.
"She doesn't know what self defense is. And I'm sure she doesn't know how to pull a trigger without having a trauma". I said, and took a sip from my glass of whiskey.
"She'll learn. We can teach her". Douglas said.
"Herberto, please, ensure that Douglas is not near Aurora with a gun. I can't let a clumsy person teach an even clumsier one". I said, rolling my eyes.
This earned me snickers from around the room.
"C'mon, just one time". Douglas said in self defense.
"And if that one time occured again, we can have a grave in our garden with a human underneath". Casper said, slapping him upside the head.
"Hey, enough. I need to think. Douglas and Herberto stay". I said and with this, everyone of them left, but Herberto and Douglas staying.
"I asked her about the picture. Turned out that you guys were right after all". I said, looking at them.
"What do you suggest would be the next step?". Herberto asked.
"Watch them". I said," send someone to out them under surveillance, twenty four hours ". I said and dismissed them with my hand.
I just hope am wrong, because my head is making scenarios and theories.