The Mafia's Maid

Chapter 3

Vlado POV

I swung my fist at the punching bag repeatedly. My knuckles were bloodied, but I didn't care, I just kept on punching.

"Vlado, stop!" My number two, Romero yelled. I reluctantly stopped punching and took a deep breath. Romero and I have known each other for 7 years, and he was my closest friend and work colleague. Other than my family, I only let Romero get away with yelling at me.

"I know you're angry, but it's not your fault. You shouldn't punish yourself." Romero insisted clearly, but when I heard that, I whipped my head to face him.

"I am the leader-the Don of the Sanchez Mafia, and somebody leaked information about our next ambush to an opposing mafia and it's not my fault?" I demanded loudly.

Romero let out a sigh and dragged his hands down his face.

"Yes, there was a leak. Yes, the other mafias know our plan for the ambush, but it's not your fault. You couldn't have known." Romero reassured me. Even though that was true, I couldn't help feeling disappointed in myself.

My father gave me the title of Don when I was 20, 3 years ago. He believed I was ready to take over at a young age, and so far, I have proved him right. But this made me feel like I was taking a step back instead of forwards.

"It doesn't matter if I could or couldn't have known, it still happened, and I need to ensure that it doesn't happen again," I stated. I made my way to my bag placed on the bench near the punching bags and rummaged through it. I sat down on the bench and closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I needed to take my mind off of the leak right now.

"How are the interviews coming along?" I asked Romero as I took a sip from my water bottle.

"They are coming along nicely. There are 4 candidates as of right now that we believe would be a good fit." He answered, walking towards me.

"Remember we can only hire 3 people. No more, no less. I don't want to take any chances for another leak. Did you interview them thoroughly enough?"

"Yes, and we still need to do a tour. That's scheduled for tomorrow. Will you be coming along?" Romero asked.

"No, I have to figure out a way to find the leak," I replied, slinging my sports bag over my shoulder and standing from the bench. I looked to Romero.

"I need to clear my head, so I'm going to walk around town for a couple of hours." I resumed, walking out of the gym and closing the door behind me.

Leah POV

A few hours earlier...

I woke up with a start, forehead dripping with sweat. Another nightmare. This has been going on for such a long time, thanks to Lucas.

Sometime after Lucas became abusive, I went to the doctor when I found that I couldn't sleep without nightmares, or more accurately, memories. She gave me a test, and it turned out that I had PTSD. I had gotten sleeping pills to help with it but had only realised I forgot them when we were already in the air.

I've never told Mary about it, because she already does so much for me, and I can't ask her to stay up with me during the early mornings every night.

Honestly, I'm surprised the jet lag hasn't gotten to her. But then again, Mary loves her sleep.

I lie back down on the comfortable bed, trying not to wake the sleeping body next to me. I stare at the ceiling, observing every little detail. This is what I would normally do every time I woke up in the middle of the night. It always helped me calm down somehow. I close my eyes and try to drift back to sleep.

* * * * *

I hear the sounds of birds mixed with the bright light of the sun shining through the windows.

I sigh, realising that I didn't get back to sleep. I lift my still aching body from the event a few days ago out of bed, careful not to take the blanket with me. I make my way to the kitchen and begin to make a coffee for Mary and me.

I enter the bedroom a few minutes later, now holding two cups of coffee, I hear Mary yawn. She lifts her body up with her arms, squinting at me groggily with tired eyes.

"Good morning." I greet her cheerfully, handing her a cup of coffee with milk and sugar. Mary greedily takes the cup and sips the coffee. I chuckle at her enthusiasm and sat next to her on the bed.

"How is it that you are always awake before me?" She asks, her voice croaky after hours of sleep. I smile at her as I take a sip of my hot coffee.

"How is it that you are always asleep when I wake up?" I rebuttal playfully, still smiling. She gives me a playful glare as she takes another sip from the cup.

"Touché." I chuckle once more as we sit in comfortable silence.

* * * * *

I exited the café, defeated. Another shop that has no open positions. And I can't go to any higher-paying jobs, because thanks to Lucas, I couldn't go to university to study art history or do any courses.

I walk down the busy street, looking much better than I did 48 hours ago. Mary and I had already eaten and decided to get looking for a job as soon as possible. We split up so we could get more ground covered as we wanted to make the most of the day. I walked in and out of cafés, restaurants, and small clothing stores with no luck. Nobody was hiring.

I look at the people walking along the street on the other side like me. There were people buying fruits from the small market set up, others just enjoying the sunny day. I was so caught up with observing them that I didn't even notice the man walking in front of me.

I bumped into his hardback and because of the sudden impact, I found myself sitting on the floor a short couple of seconds later with a grunt. Ow. I let out a small groan before I inclined my head to the man towering above me. I was about to apologise, but then I felt my heart pick up its pace.

The man was tall compared to my 5'9" figure, probably 6'3". He had a muscular figure, but not to the point where it was gross, more admirable. He had curly jet-black hair that reached his ears. The man had forest green eyes that made my breath hitch in my throat.

He had tanned skin, and he had tattooed arms that weren't hidden by his short-sleeved top. The man held his head up confidently with the tiniest smile playing on his lips whilst he stood there with his extended arm.

"I'm sorry, what?" I stammered, finally finding my voice after so obviously checking him out.

"I asked if you were alright." The man repeated in a voice that made my body involuntarily shiver, but in a good way. His voice was deep and had a slight Italian accent.

The mystery man's hand was still extended, offering to help me stand. I shook myself out of my daze and placed my hand in his. The man seemed to lift me to my feet with ease, making some part of me upset when he let go of my hand so quickly.

"Umm, yeah, I'm fine." I finally answered, stuffing my hands in the pockets of my jeans.

"I'm sorry for making you fall over. I should've moved." The man said as he looked at me.

"No, I should be the one saying sorry. "I reprimanded the man, dragging one of my hands down my face. "I should've been paying attention to where I was walking."

"Did you see something interesting across the street?" He asked, turning his head to look where I was looking a moment ago.

"No, I was just thinking." The man turned his head back to look at me when I answered.

"What were you thinking about?" I looked at the man suspiciously, debating whether to tell him or not. The man noticed my questioning look and brought his hands up defensively.

"You don't have to tell me. I was just-" The man stammered defensively, but I cut him off with a deep sigh.

"It's fine. You were just asking. My friend and I just moved here, and I've been looking around all morning for any jobs, but luck hasn't been on my side so far." I explained. The man looked at me for a moment, thinking, before his lips tilted upward into a small smile.

"I might be able to help with that."