48 Hours

MARTINA

I wake up the next morning with sheets barely covering my body and my legs tangled up with Mahone’s.

“Oh shit, shit, shit, shit.” I quickly back off, untangling myself and falling on the floor.

I see Mahone waking up and grabbing his gun quickly, pointing it at no one in particular.

“Mahone, out of the room.” I pull the sheet and wrap it around me, wanting to cover my body as much as I can.

I can see how Mahone’s features were changing. Like he wants to say something but does not dare.

“Yes ma’am.” He puts his clothes on and leaves the room.

I run my hand across my face thinking about what I have just done.

Or what I did last night.

I slept with my bodyguard, who has been with me for seven years now. Maybe there was some pent up sexual tension over the time.

This better not get weird.

I quickly shower and slip on a comfortable hoodie with some yoga pants, making sure I dry my hair and put it in a gentle braid.

Walking out of my bedroom, I admire what I have accomplished alone throughout the years. I bought a mansion that was calling my name the moment I laid eyes on it.

My hand touches the cold rail as I head down the stairs, and something deep inside me tells me something is the matter.

No noises or voices are present when I reach the bottom step.

“Matteo?” I call out, waiting for a response.

I frown upon not hearing anything back.

“Mahone?” I say a bit louder and I don’t get a response either.

A spare covered dagger was always placed next to the bottom step table. I place that behind my back, to make sure I’m armed in case something jumps in my way.

“Eliza?” I rush to the kitchen, to see if my cook is there.

I reach the kitchen and hold the side of the door to maintain my balance and I see her doing the dishes.

“Eliza, where is everyone?” I ask her as I walk over to the fridge to grab a bottle of cold water.

“They are all downstairs, Ms. Lorenzo.” She responds, closing the tap so I can hear her better.

“Do you know why?” I gulp down the water quickly, ready to race downstairs to the cellars.

“No, but there were voices outside on the back, before going downstairs.”

“Thank you.” I smile at her and speed walk to the cellars.

Guarding the door was Diego.

“Let me in.” I glare at him for not informing me about this.

“Boss, we have a…little problem.” His brown eyes pierce through mine, giving me the signal that someone dangerous must be there.

“Give me a name.”

“Alessio Romano,” he says.

“Oh, ho ho. That is exactly who I want to see. Move please.” Diego opens the door for me and I let myself walk towards the noises.

“Mahone! Matteo! Do not lay a finger on him,” I say as I show up to the scene.

“But,” Matteo says as begins to loosen his tie.

“No, he is my possession.”

The two men move to the side and I stand in front of the man tied to the chair.

“What an honor to have you sitting on my furniture, Alessio Romano.” I grin when I notice the bruise on his cheekbone.

Involuntarily, my hand reaches over and my thumb brushes against it. Then I step away a few steps to remain in a shadowed place. He still doesn’t notice who I am.

“And who are you? The maid?” His deep voice comes out, making me warm up on the inside.

“Attire plays a role with you, huh? Sadly, no. I am not the maid.”

“Oh please, is your boss making you strip for me before I die? At least I can guarantee myself to die happy.” He chuckles, which makes my insides burn with fury.

I bring myself closer to the light so he can see who he is talking to.

“I think you should respect yourself when you speak to any lady in society, Mr. Romano.”

“If it isn’t the She-devil herself.” Alessio lets out a deep chuckle.

“Do not make me crack a knuckle for you. You have too much of a pretty face to ruin more than my men already have. How long has it been? Seven years?”

“What do you want, Martina?” he asks with a sigh, as if the world is too boring for him.

“What do I want? Question is, how on earth did you end up here, tied up in a chair, in my cellar. It is not a sight I see every day.” I smile as I decide to walk around the cell he will be staying in.

“Coffee. I was having coffee, then suddenly I am whisked away into the sunset by two men.” Alessio clears his throat and shifts in his seat.

“Tsk. Haven’t you learned to always leave with protection?”

“The only protection I’ll be having is around my dick. That is, if you sleep with me.” His dark green eyes look into mine.

“Over my dead body,” I scoff.

He tries to part his legs,does his best and looks up at me.

“You know, this can be easy. You just give me information.”

“Oh, nothing is easy in this world, bella.”

Does this man’s voice just keep getting deeper?

“I know that, Alessio.” I stand in front of him, letting him see me.

“Then we both know that the ending is always death. I give information, you either let me bleed to death, or a bullet to my heart. Isn’t it how we, or should I say, you do things?”

“Stronzo,” I mutter as I start to walk away.“Diego, keep an eye on him and check if he has anything on him.”

I stand by the cellar door with both Matteo and Mahone behind me.

“He actually had nothing on him but his phone. I had it turned off when I found him,” Matteo says.

“Who was with you?”

“Carlos. We went to get that favorite coffee of yours and we found him on the way.”

I give Mahone a side look but see him looking straight ahead. I shrug that odd feeling away and focus on Matteo.

“Keep him alive. I will be down later.” I go up the stairs to head to my office.

What do I know about Alessio Romano, other than he is my stupid rival enemy?

I check the file in front of me. I am still confused why he would be in my area, while he has the same brand of coffee shop on his side of town.

I lean back in my chair and stare out the window for a bit.

“Boss?” Mahone’s voice brings me back to the office.

“Mahone.” I nod my head and gesture with my hand to the seat in front of me.

He closes the door behind him and takes a seat, looking at me.

“About last night...”

“We are both adults here. This should not be weird.”

“I am not here to start an argument with you, Martina.”

“Like hell you would,” I scoff.

I see his face harden.

“Sorry. I am just...”

He raises his hand as a signal for me not to speak.

“Martina, we both know what happened. You did it out of frustration and I did it out of care.”

“Huh? Never heard of people fucking because they care, Mahone.”

“You get what I mean.” He sighs.

I did get what he meant.

“But I am not here to tell you I want to be with you. In that way.”

“Then why are you in my office?” I chuckle, because I did not know what emotion to portray.

Mahone purses his lips.

“I’m quitting.”

“What are you talking about?” I frown.

“I can’t stay after what happened. I can’t protect you the same way.” He replies too calmly for my liking.

“We have my rival here, Mahone! You cannot just leave. What happened to omerta?”

“I’m sorry.” He responds quietly, places his gun on my desk and leaves the office, closing the door slowly behind him.

I frown after he leaves. Knowing I care about him, I could not send a bullet through him. No man should just walk out on me like that. Especially not him.

I decide to go back through the file to see what I know about Alessio.

I see the usual. Name, height and whatever else you find out about a person.

A few moments later, my door knocks and I tell the person to come in.

I don’t look up from my papers and wait till the person speaks.

“I’m surprised you didn’t put a bullet through my head, Martina.”

I look up and see Mahone smiling at me.

“Forgot something?” I say very coldly as I see him grab his gun.

“Yes.”

“And that is?”

“That I promised to protect you with my life. So no. I won’t be leaving.” He winks at me.

“So you were pulling a sick joke on me?” I stand up and walk around the desk to face him.

“No. I was proving a point. To myself mostly, but to you as well.” He comes closer to me and unties my hair and loosens my braid.

“And what is that, Mr. Mahone?”

“That we both care about each other.” He whispers, while running the back of his hand on my cheek.

“Why now?” I look up at him to meet his eyes.

“Sometimes, the right things fall in the right place and time.”

He places a very soft kiss on my lips and heads out my office.

“Now that was weird,” I say to myself and leave my office to go back to Alessio.

I smile at Diego as I go inside and see Alessio still sitting on the chair tied up.

“Everyone leave. I need to speak to him alone.”

Everyone who was there left to stand outside the cellar.

“Alessio, what were you doing on my side of town?” I ask, taking a chair to sit next to him.

“I told you, I wanted coffee.” His mop of hair was falling on his forehead.

I bring my hand up and brush through it to get it out of his face.

“For a lady who hates me, you have a soft touch,” he says quietly and softly.

“Trust me, I can go rough.” I chuckle.

Wait, that was not what I meant.

“That is how I like it.” He smirks.

“So coffee? Stop lying, you have the same coffee shop on your side.”

“What if I am not?” Alessio decides to look very deeply into my eyes.

I grab my pocket knife and flick it open and bring it to his jawline.

“See this? The more you lie, the more reason you give me to hurt you.” I start to graze his jaw with the tip of the knife.

“Knife play? That’s new to me, Martina.”

I close my knife and put it back in my pocket, standing up.

I crack my knuckles and punch the right side of his face.

Holding the collar of his shirt I speak quietly and closely to him.

“Listen here you scumbag. If you do not tell me what you were doing here, I swear on every precious person you have in your life, I will end you.”

He laughs.

What does he do after I threaten him? He laughs.

“You know you are cute being bossy,” he says.

I let go of his collar and kick him in the stomach, which makes him groan.

“For all I care, you can go ahead and fucking die. I am not going to protect your ass, and your men can spend their entire lifetime looking all over for you. I will have both your hands chopped off and neatly wrapped like a Christmas present and sent off to whoever is in line after you.

“It is your choice how you want to play this game.”

I storm out the cellar and head to the kitchen for some water.

“Is Alexander still at the hospital?” I ask when I notice Carlos sitting there, drinking some coffee while working on his laptop.

“Yes ma’am.”

“Check all of the whereabouts of Alexander for the past few months. He must have showed up here for a reason,” I tell him.

“And tell Antoinette to pose as his nurse. I will provide him with a proper room where he can stay and I can keep an eye on him. He doesn’t leave Italy alive, not this time.”

Carlos nods and leaves the kitchen.

“Ms. Lorenzo?” Matteo comes from behind me.

“Yes, Matteo?”

“Alessio said he is ready to speak to you.”

“Should have kicked him a long time ago,” I scoff and head back to the cellars.

“What is it you want?” I ask and close the door behind me.

“I understand we are rivals, Martina, I do. But I need your help.”

I frown, feeling confused.

“My help? You did this whole stunt thing because you need my help? Do you understand that you are captive now?”

“Martina, please take a seat,” he says, both with his eyes and lips.

I grab a chair and sit in front of him again.

“I am after Alexander Vogel. I believe you are familiar with him?”

“Alessio, if this is all business, why did you not just sign up for a meeting?”

“We cannot be seen together. They will attack both our sides. You know how the Vogel’s are.”

I nod.

“I am familiar with Alexander. If you must know, I sent him to the hospital with a damaged knee cap and a bullet through his thigh.” Alessio nods, as if knowing exactly what happened.

“I have been around your area for the past three months, walking around as a very normal civilian,” he began to explain.

“Why did my men only notice you today?”

“Because I let them. Martina. We are both in danger.”

“48 hours,” I respond.

“What?” He frowns, confused.

“What? Do you no longer understand English? Quarantotto ore.”

He glares at me.

“48 hours. You give me all the information we both need. If you take one step wrong or I find out you are lying to me, I will not hesitate to shoot you, Alessio.”

He lifts his chin up and cracks his neck.

“Understood, Martina.”