Over fifteen minutes go by and neither of us speaks. I'd be more than happy if our little moment is never brought up... and never repeats.

I keep my thighs squeezed together and even though I'm facing the window, I can't stop myself from glancing at Elio every other minute.

I try not to think about this morning and our little moment by the car, but no matter how hard I'm endeavoring, it sneaks back into the front of my mind.

The car is an old thing, driven with a stick. In its congested area, Elio is hard to ignore. He's so out of place, yet with the ease he's driving, his one-toned arm on his thigh and the other lightly on the steering wheel, if I look longer than a few seconds I'll be entranced. Every once in a while, he drums his fingers on the wheel.

His jacket is discarded on the back seat, giving me a clear view of his tattoos.

A few minutes later, Elio takes the first exit, getting off the highway, and making me frown. He takes another turn, enters a street with shops on either side of it, and slows down the car, parking it at the first empty space.

"I thought we were going to the airport." I eye him with confusion.

"We'll get to that, but first, breakfast." He holds his index finger up before unlocking the door and stepping out.

Shaking my head, I climb out and follow him into a beautiful coffee shop. The tables are set outside, bushes and shrubs encircle the place. Almost all the booths are taken and Elio goes straight to the one placed in the farthest corner.

Once we settle in, I take my time to survey the nearby shops visible over the small plants on my side. I sense Elio's gaze on me but decide to pay it no heed.

As my fingers fumble with the pendant of my necklace, I gaze at the normal people walking by, a small part of me grows envious even though I'm fully aware I never could have had their lives. For as long as I can remember, I wanted someone to love me, give a damn about me.

Now, my dad, who should be worried, has dismissed all the search warrants for me, despite knowing I've been captured by a bunch of dangerous people. If our place would've swapped, I would have moved heaven and Earth for him to get him back and free him from his captors.

"I ordered for you," Elio announces, startling me. I quickly scan the place, catching the waiter returning inside the coffee shop.

I didn't even notice when he came and left. "Thanks," I mumble, crossing my legs and turning my attention back to the sidewalk across from us.

"Can I tell you something?" Elio starts. I furrow my brows as he shifts on his seat and leans back, his eyes never leaving me. "Not as the boss of a criminal organization, but rather as a person who is aware of a lot of things, including the risks and dangers."

"Okay," I reply with uncertainty.

"Just don't throw a hissy fit, I don't want us to become the center of attention."

I roll my eyes and huff, folding my arms.

A corner of his mouth twitches upwards. "Once all of this mess is over and you turn back to your normal life, I want to suggest you change your branch of focus, leave the criminal industry to people who are monstrous and match our level of... cruelty, this world will get you killed if you don't leave soon enough."

I frown at him, tilting my head slightly.

"You can't throw every single person from all the families and Goodfellas behind the bars, and as long as someone stays out, you're in danger. You should have a clear image of danger, especially after last night." He raises an eyebrow to emphasize his point.

I purse my lips and stay quiet.

"Cerise, getting rid of us is impossible, every single person in power across the world is one way or another connected to us. At some point, you'll throw an associate in jail that has direct contact with a politician and they won't waste a second to suspend you, fire you, and kill you."

I inhale sharply and hold his gaze.

He waits, but I don't. Sure, he has a good point, but I don't want to be deemed a quitter.

Elio sighs. "I'm not saying these things to set aside one of my obstacles, because believe me, getting rid of judges and prosecutors who become a thorn in our sides is way too easy. I'm advising you as a... well-wisher."

"I'll consider it if I get out of this mess alive." I'm pretty sure if I survive, by that point I've had enough of mafia drama to last me a lifetime.

"You offend me, tesorino, don't you trust my capability of keeping you alive?" Even though his voice carries a faint hint of playfulness, it comes off as forced and his face reflects no such thing. He really is offended. I resist the urge to roll my eyes.

"That is, if you don't get killed."

"Touché." He shakes his head with a smile.

Elio watches me with his head slightly cocked to one side and the longer I hold his gaze the deeper I fall inside the depths of his dark eyes. The sun beating down on us offers a beautiful shine to his olive skin and brings out the golden swirls of his brown eyes.

I snap out of my observation and distract myself with a question. "You said there are a few other families as strong as yours, who are they?"

He releases a heavy sigh, running his hand through his hair. "Vasiliev and Belov."

"Belov?" I frown. "The same family you thought their daughter married my dad?"

He grimly nods.

I razor my bottom lip between my teeth. "And is the Antonov clan related to them somehow?"

"Just a small rival for them."

I run my fingers over my left cheek. I twist and turn this information, pondering over it, but it's useless. The relations within the mafia are too tangled and messy to come of use, unless...

I straighten myself and clasp my hands over my thighs to keep my fingers from fidgeting. "I've been thinking," I begin.

Elio's features turn blank as he studies my face.

"Since I'm an active part of this mess and a bunch of mad mafiosos are hunting me down, uh..." my voice trails down and I shift on my spot. "Let me rephrase that. Until last night, I had this little second thought over all the things you were claiming, but after those events, I was convinced you weren't exaggerating and you really are protecting me."

Elio rolls his eyes and crosses his arms.

"And I'm aware you don't trust me, you literally have no reason to. I technically owe my life to you, the least I can do is, promise you I won't ever, under any circumstances double-cross or betray you. Or do anything that will cause losses to your business. I can even make a legal contract stating this and sign it and if I ever backtracked from my words, you'll have free reign to put that into motion and probably cost me my law degree and my job."

He furrows his brows and narrows his eyes. "Cerise, I'm not stupid to think all of this is not a build-up for a grand but so just get to the point, what do you want?"

I gulp and lick my bottom lip. This is a fair deal, beneficial for both of us, I just hope he agrees. "In return, I want to accompany you to all of your meetings."

A breathy laugh tumbles out of his mouth as he watches me with disbelief.

"What?" my voice raises. I lean to the table and put on my most persuasive expression and tone.

"Just think about it. We have common enemies, if either of us losses, it means imminent death and neither of us can overpower so many mobs simultaneously on our own. Instead, if we join forces, we can attack them from two different but effective sides. You'll handle the illegal ways and I'll do the legal ones. And you know I can get them life-long sentences either here in Italy or in States, I know how to file a winning case. I promise, if you agree to this, your allies will be my allies, I won't go against them. You won't lose anything in this deal."

Elio scrutinizes me as he rubs his chin. "You do realize what this means, don't you?"

I tilt my head in confusion.

"You'll be seen with me, in front of a lot of people, if you want to attend all the sitdowns."

I shrug, "I know."

"You won't ever be able to distance yourself from us."

"If I get out of this alive, I'll worry about it then."

"You're convinced you're going to die, that's why you're signing up for this suicide mission."

I lean back into my seat and bring my hair over my shoulder, playing with its end. "I'm aware of the truths of my life, and my position in this ordeal, so yes, the odds are against me. I'm not one to go down without a fight and I know I'm stuck in a losing battle, but I'm going to hit them too if they're aiming for my life."

He nods, observing me intently. "There's no need for a legal contract, I'll kill you if I ever catch you going back on your words."

I can't help the smile slowly forming on my lips. "I know."

A ghost of a smile appears on his face too.

I offer my hand to him, arching an eyebrow. "So, what do you say, partners?"

"A prosecutor and a capo," he muses, leaning forward. "I think we'll make a good team." He accepts my hand, his long fingers furl around my palm, sending instant jolts of electricity down my arm, bringing my senses to life.

We hold each other's gaze long after ending our handshake.

Elio adds, "If only we weren't forced by our duties to be enemies and had met under different circumstances, I think we could've been good friends."

Even though I hate to admit it, in my heart of hearts, I know he's right. Aside from being a gangster, Elio is not that bad.

❈ ☯︎ ❈

So now they're kinda frenemies :') I hope you liked this little progress (feel free to comment your thoughts, especially over Cerise's thoughts =) )

I hope you enjoyed this chapter [vote if you did!]. Thank you so much for reading <3

[Edit #1: So for some reasons still mystery to me, a lot of new readers have begun reading this story 👀 and I'm honestly shocked, I think it has to do with the fact I'm re-uploading CMC but like on a daily basis... regardless, I just want to say thank you so much for giving this mess of a story a shot :") it means a lot, you guys are the best <3]

Stay safe, lots of love, happy reading <3