When The Sun Goes Down - A Midnight Mafia Novel

Three

 "Into the dark below, evading shadows, blind in a rabbit's hole we fall beneath the earth  and watch the shell come unraveled."

---------- It Has Begun - Starset ----------

His head was down, and the fedora he wore dipped down just far enough so that I couldn't see his eyes. What I could see of him was more than enough. His shoulders were broad and his body was built sturdy, as he wrote something down I could see the veins in his hands working. His suit was perfect, even though his body wasn't straight the lines on his suit appeared to be. The perfectly shaped white triangles of his dress shirt hung loosely around his throat. While I couldn't see his eyes, I could see the square jawline, rugged, and prickled with a five o'clock shade. There was an indent on his chin that was simply adorable and seemed out of place in an otherwise stern character.

He didn't say anything, didn't look up, merely just continued what he was doing. The shirtless man who had showed me in went further into the room and whispered something into his ear. His hand stopped moving, and when the shirtless man laid my phone down on the desk he laid his pen gently down. Finally he looked up.

He had deep set brown eyes, big with surprisingly long lashes. They again seemed out of place with his otherwise stone cold gaze. The inner half of his brow slanted down slightly creating a mischievous expression. The dangerous look, mixed with just a touch of mystery, it was terrifying.

I fussed with my corset, pulling it up to cover my bosom then down to cover my stomach and repeating the action.

Finally he stood from behind the large wooden desk he sat at and walked around to the front. He pulled a lighter and cigar from his pocket, placing the cigar in his mouth he lit it and puffed lazily at it. He studied me up and down.

I crossed my arms over my chest self-consciously as he sized me up. "Leave us." He waved the nameless man out of the room and I heard the doors shut behind me. He crossed his arms as well and watched me still in silence, occasionally he would put his hand to the cigar after taking a long drag and pull it from his mouth to blow smoke to the side. In the background I could hear a clock ticking, I fought to keep my gaze on him and not study the room. I could guess that he was the man in charge, and if he suspected I didn't belong down here I was probably fish food.

The silence was deafening. He smoked his entire cigar before uncrossing his arms and coming closer to me, he walked circles around me twice and then stopped in front of me again. Arms crossed he shook his head. "I don't remember you."

"I'm new." I croaked. I tried to clear my throat after hearing how rough my voice sounded.

He nodded. "Do you know," He began, he talked so slowly, emphasizing each and every one of his words, "I approve of every. Single. Girl. here before buying any."

'Buying?' I repeated in my head.

"And yet." He shook his head again. "I don't remember you."

I didn't know what to say. So I did the only sensible thing, I stayed quiet. I was shaking though I couldn't decide if it was due to my skimpy outfit and the climate, or my fear of my surely impending death.

He studied me for another few moments then walked back behind the desk, he picked up my cell phone, waved it around showing it to me as he walked back around to me. "And this?" I did my best to stop my body's convulsions, my best amounting to little. He dropped it onto the ground, quickly pulled out a gun and shot it at the cell phone three times. Instinctively I jumped backward and covered my ears a shriek escaped my parched throat. He paused, locked eyes with me and shot it a fourth time. "This is no more." He finished and lowered the gun onto his desk.

I slowly lowered my hands from my ears. "I'm-"

"Sorry, of course, won't happen again, I know." He waved his hand around with a dull expression on his face. "You're right. It won't."

I was taken aback by how frightened I was compared to the calmness in his voice.

"Name?"

"Mar-"

"Real name." He narrowed his eyes sharply.

"Katherine." My voice shook as I spoke now.

He nodded. "And this is the name you go by?"

"Kate."

He nodded again. He moved closer to me again, this time not stopping until he was practically on top of me, with only centimeters between us I could not bring myself to make eye contact with him. He caught my chin between his thumb and index finger, the smell of gun powder and metal rose to my nose as he forced me to look up at him. I surrendered, letting our gazes connect. Very sternly, and slowly, he spoke to me. "I will be watching you, Katherine." He glanced down momentarily to take me in then looked back to my eyes. "Very closely." He let go of my chin and smiled condescendingly. "Benvenuto nella famiglia."

(Welcome to the family)