CHAPTER 5: A LION WITH A BOO BOO

HAVEN'S POV

I feel like I would collapse at any moment with the combination of fatigue and sleepiness. It's only been a year since I last went out of the country so I don't think it's the only reason why I feel like I run a marathon. I'm sure the biggest contributor to how exhausted I was was all the stress that I had accumulated since that night at the grocery store.

I knew I shouldn't have slept during the short flight or in the car. It's only reminding my body how I'm lacking the sleep I need and depriving myself to have more.

"I don't think she can hear us," Allessio grumbled beside me.

I was so out of it that I hadn't realized that we were inside the doorway of a massive house. I noticed the men and women lining up in front of us as if they're all waiting for us.

"Fierro will introduce you to everyone again later." He turned to an older woman, who immediately approached us. "Rosa will bring you to your room. Go take a rest, and come down whenever you want to eat. Unless you want to eat now?"

I just shook my head without speaking as if even that takes a lot of effort for me to do. I felt a gentle hand guiding me towards the huge staircase, and I realized it was the short, older woman who looked Filipino. Rosa sounded like a Filipino name too, but what do I know? Maybe she's Spanish or Mexican.

When were inside the room, I jumped in surprise when I felt someone pulled down the zipper of my dress. I tried to move away, but Rosa was faster than my reflexes that was failing me at the moment. Thankfully, I didn't stay naked long because she quickly slip a long, nightdress over my head.

She guided me to the bed, and before I knew it, I was lying down and she was tucking me in. Rosa gave me the most gentle smile, and I found myself lowering my guard that was starting to rise.

"Sleep," she said softly before she turned around and walked out of the room.

I scanned the room that I was in. It's beautiful and simple, yet I could sense the feel of luxury. It has mostly a combination of white and dark wood tones, but the furniture is mostly white with beige accents.

The bed I'm on is so huge that it must be a queen-size one. It feels soft on my back that it wasn't surprising that I couldn't finish appreciating the room more because I was transported to the land of dreams. When I opened my eyes, there was already light peeking from the curtains.

We arrived early in the morning so I must have been asleep for hours. I looked at the bedside table, and I saw that it was almost two in the afternoon.

I stood up while stretching my arms above my head. I noticed that the bags from the boutique in Paris were on the white sofa. It reminded me that I'm currently wearing a long, powder blue silk nightgown that I know wasn't one of the sleepwear we bought. It feels new, but for all I know, it could be Allessio's wife's or girlfriend's.

I rummaged the bags, pulled out the white silk robe from them, and put it on. After that I opened the door and took a peek at the long hallway.

There seem to be a lot of room, and it's just on this side of the house. That wasn't surprising. Even if my soul had already left me when we arrived, it wasn't lost on me that the place was huge. It's three times bigger than the house I grew up in, and that's saying something because in the Philippines, our house could be considered a mansion.

I sighed and went out of the room I was in when my stomach made a loud sound. I headed for the stairs since that's what Allessio instructed me to do before Rosa brought me to the room.

Despite my curiosity, I didn't dare open any of the closed doors. I'm not sure what Allessio's title is in the mafia, but by the looks of it, he's in the higher ranks. I don't want to get shot at if I make a mistake and see something I shouldn't have in one of those doors.

My steps halted while I was on the stairs when I caught sight of the view outside. The whole thing seems to be perched on the hillside, and it might not be near the ocean, but it has an expansive view of the beautiful blue waters and the lush mountains surrounding the whole place.

I was interrupted from admiring the view when I heard a commotion downstairs. Reluctantly, I continue descending the stairs. When there was just about four steps left, I stopped on my tracks when I saw Allessio standing in front of the huge front door

His white polo shirt is stained with blood, and his hands are also red with it. On the sofa which fortunately for them is not white, Fierro and three other men are helping a younger man sit. A man who happens to look like he's been beaten.

As if feeling my gaze, Allessio's eyes went to me. His gaze went downwards but it snapped back up quickly. "The kitchen is still preparing for lunch. You can wait in the dining room with me."

He sounded like this is an ordinary day for him, and he's even casually wiping his hands with a small towel that Rosa handed to him.

"Are you sleep walking?" Allessio asked when I didn't say anything.

"N-No." I glance at the injured man. "Did... did you beat him?"

"No. But when he's all healed up, I'm going to beat him for letting himself get beaten up." He turned to look at Fierro. "Call the doctor."

"He's on his way."

Without acknowledging the words of the other man, Allessio started to walk away. "Are you going to eat or are you just going to stand there?"

My knees were shaking as I went down the last four steps of the stairs. I yelped when I almost fell but fortunately for me, there were hands that caught me before I did. When I looked up, I saw a pair of kind eyes and a handsome face. The man was one of the three men Fierro and Allessio was with, aside from the injured one.

"Lasciala andare se vuoi tenere le mani, Lorenzo."

The man instantly withdrew his hand at Allessio's words. I don't know what the latter said, but it sounded like a threat. Everything that comes out of him sounded like one though. Even his presence alone feels intimidating enough.

"Haven," he called out to me impatiently.

I tried not to roll my eyes. "Hold your horses."

He gave me a look, and I pressed my lips together and hurriedly went to him before I could say anything else that would piss him off. I followed him until we reach a huge dining room with a floor-to-ceiling windows which give the place an expansive view of the outside.

Allessio pulled out a chair for me that positioned to the left of the head seat. Without waiting for me to sit down, he walked past the chair without and took the seat at the head of the table.

I hesitated for a second before I sat down. Just like he told me, his staff are just starting to bring out the food and placing them at the table that could fit a lot of people.

"This dress..." Allessio fixed his gaze on me, waiting for me to continue. "I'll wash it and return it to your wife."

For some reason, his face darken at what I said. I probably lost color in fear because what I saw on his face was replaced again by his usual blank expression. "I don't have a wife."

"A girlfriend?"

"I don't have that either. You can keep the dress because it's yours. I asked Rosa to buy things that you might need once we arrived because I figure you might want to wash the clothes you bought first."

I mumbled a thank you, but he didn't say anything more. The room was shrouded in silence, and I looked around uncomfortably, trying to find something to talk about. "Is... is this your home?"

"Yes."

"Fierro lives here?"

"Most of my men live here and in the extension house at the back of the property." His eyes were piercing when he met mine. "Why are you asking about him?"

"Just curious," I mumbled.

"Haven't you heard about the saying that curiosity kills the cat?"

I tried not to let it show how his words were affecting me. He's a dangerous man, and every part of me is telling me that. "I'm not a cat."

He rubbed his lips, looking at me in a way that made me want to squirm. "I don't know. You look like one. Skittish and yet with hidden claws ready to strike."

I looked away. "I'm not."

"Hmm."

I wring my hands together, trying not to look his way. But he was right in a way. Now that we're here, I couldn't stop my curiosity from getting the better of me. "Your parents don't live here?"

"No. My father's retired, and he's living with my mother in a private vineyard in Cortona."

"And where are we right now, exactly?"

"Firenze. In Tuscany."

"Firenze?" I asked.

"Florence."

My eyes flickered around the room, looking everywhere except at him. Especially when I could feel his heavy stares directed at me.

"Have any more questions, gattina?"

When I turned to him, it took every fight I had in me to hold his gaze. "Will you answer every one of them?"

He shrugged. "I don't see the need to lie."

"And if there's a good reason to lie?"

"I would, but I doubt you would know that I lied."

That was him basically telling me that he's a good liar, and it doesn't feel good to hear. "The injured man... what happened to him?"

"He got into a fight with a man from a different organization in Calabria. He went missing last night, and I took him back this morning."

"Are you their boss?"

"Their capo? Yes." Nang makita niya ang pagguhit nang pagtataka sa mukha ko ay nagpaliwanag siya, "I'm the head of Idalion. A secret criminal society you love calling mafia. We're one of the strongest organizations in the country, and we operate here in Tuscany."

"Was your father the head before?"

"He was."

And he managed to inherit a whole mafia organization at his age? That must mean that he's great at what he does, which explains why he looks like a personification of the word "danger".

"How old are you?"

Out of all the questions I asked him, he seemed to be taken aback by this one. "Old."

His answer was too vague that it made my forehead knot in confusion. "Is it a secret?"

"No." His jaw tightened. "I'm thirty-two."

He sounded almost angry. "I'm sorry. I didn't know you're sensitive about your age, or I wouldn't have asked."

His mouth gaped for a second before he clamped it back shut. "I'm not sensitive about my age," he said through his clenched teeth.

"It's fine if you are. Some people are like that."

"I said I'm not." He crossed his arms. "Do you have a problem with it?"

I tip my head to the side. "Why would I have a problem with it? Thirty-two is not old."

"Says a teenager."

I gasped. "I'm nearly twenty!"

"You're still nineteen right now, and that makes you a teen." For some reason, what he said made him almost more annoyed than he was moments ago. He stood up, and he leveled me with a look. "Wait for your lunch and eat. After that, take a rest. I need you to meet someone at dinner."

I followed him with my eyes until he disappeared from view. He's like a lion with a thorn on his paw.

"What's wrong with him?" I crossed my arms and huffed in irritation. Sometimes he acts like he's making fun of me, and then he's back to being angry. "He's really like a piss-off lion with a boo-boo. Maybe that's why he's always in a bad mood. Go figure."