Page 27 of King of Omen

He reminded me, ‘Six a.m. tomorrow for our flight back to Italy at 9 a.m.’

‘Si,’ I gave him an absent-minded nod. ‘I’ll be ready.’

He nodded and tracked away, and I was left alone.

Moving back into the room, I stroked my hand over the thick stock of the letter and drew in the soaked-in scent again, inundated with a reluctance to leave.

Longing hit hard, and I was flooded with such untamed desire that I growled, realising how much Mia’s note stirred something profound within me.

I felt a yearning, need, and savage hope that I couldn’t quite articulate. It tugged at something inside me that I hadn’t set free in years.

I went to sleep with the envelope on the pillow beside me, her perfume soothing me to sleep.

Still, the night passed with fragmented dreams and restless thoughts.

When morning came, I woke groggy and heart aching.

Still, as I dragged myself into the shower, readied to leave and packed my bags, Mia’s presence lingered in the corners of my mind, refusing to let go.

The plane took off, carrying Mauri and me away from Sydney and towards Naples.

Outside the private plane’s windows, the world blurred beneath me.

I saw none of it. Lost in introspection, I reached for her letter from my jacket and reread it, bringing it to my nose to breathe her essence.

The scent of musk and white amber still clung to the thick parchment, transporting me into a cocoon of a single memory: seated with Mia on the terrace, her essence haunting me long from so many millions of miles away.

I replayed each moment; Mia’s eyes filled with sadness yet also with their intensity burning into my spirit.

I tucked the paper, envelope and all into my left suit pocket, next to my cheroot case.

The hours slipped away as our flight swung over Turkey and into European skies unnoticed.

Hours passed in a haze, mirroring the growing ache inside me.

By the time we landed in Naples, I was certain of one thing: I wanted Mia.

I’d dated and bedded beauty.

But fuck, I’d never experienced such a pull to one woman.

I needed all of her: body, mind, soul, spirit. Every part of her.

As our car rumbled towards my villa, I pledged an oath to myself.

She was going to be mine.

I was a man of oaths, and hell, this was the most important I’d made so far.

Lips twisting as I committed to my pledge, I leaned and tapped on Mauri’s shoulder who was riding shotgun alongside one of our Neapolitan capos, Enzo.

‘Can you please contact Bianca’s lawyer in Sydney? Ask him to start shopping around for a house that meets our standards. I might need it in the next few months.’

His eyes met mine in the rearview mirror, glinting with a reaction I couldn’t place. Then he jerked his chin at me. ‘Consider it done, padrone.’

MIA

Over the next few weeks, memories of Lorenzo possessed me.

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