Page 94 of Isabella

“Well, it’s both of our unlucky nights. See, I was having a fantastic day, and then my ass gets sent to pick up some money from you, and now my fucking night is ruined. I didn’twantto shoot you, Alessandro, but you must understand there are consequences to your actions.”

“Yes, Boss. I understand.” He hisses out in pain.

“Look at that. So compliant now.” I glance down at his leg that’s bleeding out onto the tile floor. “You really should’ve thought about that before you decided to steal from us.”

Pushing myself off my knees, I stand and walk back toward Leo, who’s still perched by the door.

“Is-is that it? You’re leaving?” Alessandro asks.

I turn around and give him a smile. “Yeah, that’s it,” I say, which seems to calm him a bit. But just as quick, the fear in his eyes returns when I raise my gun, aim it directly at his forehead, and shoot. His lifeless body falls with a thud to the floor.

I didn’t necessarilywantto shoot him, but the guy is a fucking idiot when it comes to our world, and to steal money from us? I was doing him a favor. He’d never last.

Tucking my gun into the waistband of my jeans, I say, “Call the cleaners and have them pick this shit up. Return the office to better condition than it was before. That blood’s going to be a bitch to get off that tile, so the sooner the better.”

“You got it,” Leo says, pulling out his phone. He sends off a text before bringing his attention back to me. “They’ll be here in ten.”

“Great,” I say before turning around and exiting the office.

As we walk down the hall toward the front of the shop, Leo says, “You know, I thought for a second you were going to leave him with just a bullet in his leg instead of his head as well.”

I laugh. “Nah, I just didn’t want to get blood on my jacket. Do you know how fucking annoying it is to get blood out of this shit?”

We both laugh as we round the corner and make eye contact with the young worker and the woman Alessandro had in the back. The worker looked scared before, but now he looks like he’s seen a damn ghost.

I smile at him. “There’ll be some guys stopping by shortly. I highly suggest you let them through to the back. Got it?”

The kid gives me a few tight nods.

I bring my attention back to the woman and say, “And you; I highly suggest you leave this place and never come back. You understand?”

“Why?” she asks, but the look on her face tells me she already knows that answer. I didn’t have a silencer on my gun, so these two know exactly what they would walk in on if they went back to the office.

“Just some advice for you,” I say with a shrug. “Take it or leave it.”

Leo and I walk out of the shop and get into the car.

“So what the fuck was that all about?” Leo says.

“I don’t know, but I’m about to fucking find out,” I say, taking my phone out of my pocket. I dial my dad, and he picks up after two rings. I put it on speaker so Leo can hear.

“Son,” he greets.

“Dad,” I respond.

“How’d it go?”

“Well, Alessandro’s dead, so there’s that. But don’t worry, I got about half of what he owed you.”

My dad scoffs on the other end. “Half, you say? I knew that little shit couldn’t be trusted.”

Of course he fucking did, and he set me up to deal with it.

“He’s dead, you say?”

“Yup. Bullet in the leg and in his head.”

My dad sucks in a sharp breath. “Nice work.”

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