Cruel Saints

Federico’s POV

“It was quite a fun night, what do you say, Boss?” Dante, my right hand man asked as we made our way out of the Casino of the hotel.

I nodded in agreement as Mike came to open the door of the waiting Rolls Royce for me, bowing his head in respect. I moved in, followed by Dante and off we went.

It had definitely been a fun night, to say the least. We had each played, and won, a few hands at poker. Not to mention the constant flow of drinks and the hoards of women dressed scantily roaming about, to do with as you pleased. It had been a much needed reprieve from all the stress of work lately.

Unfortunately for me, I couldn’t indulge in frivolous activities as much as I would like ever since I had been forced to take over the family business after my father’s death three months back.

It had always been my brother, Sergio, who had been groomed to become the Boss of our family from the get go while I had been the black sheep, choosing to stay away from all that and studying at college to become a lawyer back in the city. Which was ironic considering my direct ties to the Mafia. But it had been the only profession my father had allowed me to pursue, probably to save face in front of others, assuring them that I would handle the legal framework of our family.

As if.

My father and I both knew there was no way in hell I was going to do anything like that, but as long as it allowed me to do as I pleased, I didn’t give a shit what he or anyone else thought.

But all that had changed when my father and brother had been murdered in broad daylight three months back. Frankly, the only reason I had taken over was so I could avenge their death. And avenge it, I would. Though, the only person who knew any of this was Dante, my right hand man and best friend. To the rest of the world, I was Federico Mancini, the ruthless Mafia Don who hated everything and everyone with a passion.

Sighing, I patted the inner pocket of my grey suit jacket to ensure that the small USB device we had procured tonight that would lead me a step closer to finding out who was behind the murder of my family members was still there.

Only, it wasn’t.

Panicking, I put my hand into the pocket, only to come up empty handed. I cursed up a storm as I began to pat the rest of my pockets in hopes that I had somehow put my wallet which contained the small device in some other pocket. I came up empty handed just as I knew I would’ve.

“What’s the matter with you?” Dante asked me, a deep frowning marring his forehead as he looked at me.

“Gio, take us back to the hotel,” I instructed my driver instead.

I was going to fucking kill whoever had dared steal that drive from me.

I had tortured and killed enough people in the past three months that murderous thoughts like that didn’t surprise me anymore. And I usually made good on them, too.

“Some motherfucker stole it,” I told Dante, my jaw clenching in anger.

Dante let out a low curse from beside me, urging the driver to speed up.

“No one knew why we had really gone to the casino. Who could’ve done something like that? How could they know what to take?” Dante spat from beside me, clearly getting worked up over it.

“Whoever did sure as fuck has a death wish. And I’m going to fulfill their wish when I find them out,” I seethed. I knew letting anger take over all rational thought wasn’t going to help but I couldn’t seem to control myself. It had taken me fucking months to get the information and now it was all gone.

Having not been far from the hotel, it took us barely a few minutes to get there. Before I knew it, I had ripped the door open and was making my way towards the manager’s office, ready to rip him a new one.

The door to the manager’s office slammed against the wall, almost coming off it’s hinges as I kicked it open, making the manager jump in his seat.

“Mr. Mancini, what... what’s the ma-matter?” The manager stood up, clearly scared out of his wits as he took in my angry disposition. Good.

“Someone stole something important from me tonight. I need to see the CCTV footage and find out who it was,” I spat out, glaring down at the shivering mess of a man.

“Of course, sir, right away, sir,” saying so, the manager hurried out of the room to what I supposed was the security room.

I followed in behind him and within seconds, I was looking at a large screen which displayed all the cameras present in the casino downstairs.

“Show me all the footage of table number twelve of the past two hours,” I ordered the techie manning all the cameras.

The techie looked at the manager for confirmation but one look at the revolver I took out from where I had tucked it into the waistband of my pants, and he didn’t need any more convincing to do what was asked of him.

Soon enough, I was looking at a grainy image of Dante and I as we sat at the table.

It took hours of combing through the footage meticulously until I had pinned it down to a masked and costumed brunette who had sat on my lap at some point during the night. She was the only one who had come close enough to me the entire night to be able to lift my wallet out of my inner coat pocket.

“That bitch!” I muttered as I looked at her closely. I couldn’t quite make out at any point if she had actually done anything, but I was almost positive it was her.

“She works at your bar, doesn’t she?” I turned to the manager who had also been with us in the room the entire time that we had been in there.

He was looking at the screen when I asked him and jumped at the sound of my voice. “She, uh, she seems to be a new girl. But we must have her employee information. I’ll, uh, I’ll get it to you right away,” he said and then he was off.

A few minutes later, the manager bumbled his way into the room, holding a piece of paper with the girl’s address on it.

I handed it to Dante and we rushed out of the hotel, hoping to catch the woman at her residence and retrieve the USB drive.

Dante rattled off the address of the woman’s residence, which was, surprisingly enough, a dingy basement somewhere near Central Park, to Gio and then we were off. I briefly wondered if she had actually given her right address if she knew she was going to do something like that. No one other than the man who had gotten us the USB had known anything about it or the information it held. So I was almost positive the girl had only swiped my wallet off for the money.

It took us about half an hour to reach the place. As soon as the car rolled to a stop in front of the building, Dante and I rushed out at once, entering into the building and practically shouting at the woman at the reception to tell us where the entrance to the basement was.

The petite woman gave us a rather funny look before pointing to a door off to the side. Wordlessly, we all but ran towards it before pulling it open and walking down the dimly lit concrete steps only to end up in what looked like a half converted garage if the rustic old Chrysler in the corner and the jumbled web of cables hanging overhead was any indication.

Dim halogen lights flickered overhead, illuminating the barely furnished space which had just enough room for a worn out couch and a couple of used bean bags.

Suddenly, something large and furry scurried past me, and I would’ve nearly lost my balance had Dante not supported me as the black cat rushed past us before jumping onto the Chrysler and meowing loudly.

“I know they’re here, Whiskers. I’m just pouring tea for our guests,” a soft female voice replied from somewhere behind the Chrysler, clearly talking to the cat as if it were human, making my brows raise in surprise as I shared a look with Dante who seemed to be just as surprised as me, if not more.

Before either of us could react, the owner of the voice herself walked towards us, setting down a tray with three cups of tea on the couch.

Flashing us a grin, almost as if she was greeting long lost friends, she said, “You’re just in time, guys. I hope you like chamomile tea.”

What?

Federico's POV.

I tilted my head at the woman, curious as I took her in. Even in ratty old pajamas and a stained t-shirt, there was no doubt in my mind that she was beautiful. There was something dainty and extremely feminine about the way she held herself, her movements graceful as she took a seat on the couch, crossing her long legs and leaning back in her seat comfortably before gesturing for us to do the same.

I shook my head at her, too focused on finding the USB to play whatever games the woman in front of me clearly wanted to. "Where is my wallet?" I demanded.

Much to my annoyance, she let out a chuckle. "Eager, aren't we?"

"Do you even know what you've stolen?" I asked, getting even more agitated at her cool and composed demeanor. It was grating on my nerves like no other. I usually wasn't one to get violent with girls but I wasn't above using some threatening to get what I wanted. And that was exactly what I was going to do soon if she didn't give me my wallet back in the next two minutes, my hands itching to pull the gun out that was tucked into the waistband of my jeans.

The chick raised a perfectly plucked brow at me. "One should never underestimate someone without getting their facts straight, Mancini," the woman replied, her eyes glinting with something that looked a lot like amusement as she stared at me as you would a particularly naughty child, her pouty lips turned down into a mock frown.

My eyes narrowed, my jaw clenching. Who the hell did she think she was, making fun of me like that? And how the fuck did she know my last name?

I was a second away from pulling my gun out and aiming it at her when Dante grabbed my arm, probably sensing what I was about to do. I looked at him and he shook his head at me lightly, telling me with a look that he was going to handle it.

Turning to the woman, he cajoled, "Look, just give us the wallet and we'll not press any charges against you."

The woman actually had the audacity to laugh at Dante's suggestion, making me clench my teeth some more. "It is a bit hypocritical of a mafia undergoes to threaten you in the name of police, don't you think?"

My hackles rose. It was clear she knew who we were. That meant this probably wasn't a simple pickpocketing incident like I had thought it was. Frankly, it was embarrassing that this woman had managed to lift my wallet off of me like that without me realizing until much, much later. And to think she had done it with an ulterior motive somehow seemed even more humiliating than it previously was.

I exchanged a look with Dante. We had to approach this differently if we wanted to get the USB back.

"You know who we are. Do you also know why my wallet seems so important to me tonight?" I asked slowly, looking at her carefully to see how she would react.

Much to my annoyance, she simply smiled at me, the same serene smile she had on when she had brought out the damn tea cups. Then, she nodded. "I do. I was the one who created the USB in the first place and gave it to you, Mancini."

My brows raised. She couldn't be serious, could she? No. It can't be. It was a man who had brought the information to me, not a woman. And definitely not her. "You're lying. Tell me what you want in exchange for the USB and let's get this over with already," I said, getting frustrated at the entire conversation and wanting to get it done and over with as soon as possible.

"Am I, really?" The woman said, a perfectly plucked brow raised again as she took a slow sip of her tea. "Then how did I know you had it on you today? And how to take it from you?"

Her words stumped me for a moment. That much was true. But just because she knew all that didn't mean she had created the USB in the first place. "I don't give a fuck how you knew any of that. Only that you give the device back to me," I bit out. I was about ten seconds away from pulling my gun on her to get the damn USB back.

She tutted at me as you would a particularly annoying child, her lips pulled up into a mocking smile. She was actually fucking enjoying this. "Now, now, Mancini. Is that any way to talk to the woman who gave you such valuable information about the murder of your father and brother?"

The fuck did she think she was talking about my late father and brother like that?

I lost it, pulling my gun out of the back of my pants and aiming it at her. "You're fucking lying. Give me the USB back unless you want me to put a fucking bullet in your head."

Any lesser woman would be shaking in her boots by now. But the woman in front of me simply sighed, bringing the cup to her lips again to take another sip of her tea. Then, as if she had all the time in the world and I hadn't just pulled a gun on her, she placed the cup back on the table and leaned back in her seat. "If you're going to threaten me, at least take the safety off first. Besides, if you really wanted to kill me, you'd have done it by now. Kill first, ask questions later, and all that," she said, waving her hand around as if to prove a point.

A point she did have. I wasn't going to actually kill her. Unlike other mafia families, we didn't kill women unless it was absolutely necessary. This hadn't escalated to that point. Yet.

When I didn't immediately say anything in reply, she sighed before leaning forward in her seat, her expression suddenly all businesslike. "If you're done with your theatrics, let's get down to business."

I shared a look with Dante who seemed just as curious about this as I was. This was the last thing I had expected coming here, that was for sure. We gave each other a single nod, deciding mutually to hear her out.

I put my gun away before looking down at her. "What business?"

"Turns out, we both have a common enemy— the Russians."

My brows furrowed. I knew the Russians were somehow involved in the death of my father and brother, but I was yet to figure out how, and why. "What makes you think they're my enemies?"

This time, her brows furrowed, a delicate frown marring her forehead. I had the sudden urge to smooth it off her features so she could go back to smiling again. I shook the thought away as soon as it had come, focusing on her words instead. "Have you not seen what's on the USB yet?"

"I would've, if someone hadn't stolen it from me before I had the chance to," I bit out, getting agitated again. I'd had the USB on me for barely an hour or so before we had left the casino. I was going to watch it in the privacy of my home office but this bitch had stolen it before I could.

"For someone who was eager to find information, you sure took your sweet time getting to it," she rolled her eyes at me.

I ground my molars in annoyance, not saying anything to the jab.

"Well, the USB holds the CCTV footage of the camera on the road where your father and brother were shot. It took me a while to hack into the database to get the files, but I did it," she began, clearly proud of herself. "The number plate on the car the murderers used was a fake one, obviously, but I managed to track down the guy who makes these fake plates. Turns out the car belongs to a guy who has close ties to the Russians and they often use his vehicles to carry out their tasks within the city," the woman explained as if she had actually been the one who had gotten all this information for me all on her own.

Bloody hell. I had tried for months on end to procure that CCTV footage but to no avail. They had told me that the footage had been deleted the same night. If what she was telling was actually true and she was the one who had gotten that information for me along with the rest of it about the Russians, then she was going to be extremely useful to me. And I was going to end the Russian Mafia if they were the ones who had done this.

"So, you're telling me you got that information all on your own? And who's to say you're not lying about the information itself?" I challenged her.

That infuriatingly calm smile was back on her face as she leaned back in her seat again and crossed her impossibly long legs together, drawing my attention to them. I could only imagine what they would look like bare, or over my shoulders when I— fuck. I cut my train of thought short when I realized the direction it was taking. No. I couldn't go there. Not with her. Not until I knew who she was and what she wanted from me.

She clapped her hands once, and her cat bounded down the Chrysler with my wallet in its mouth, jumping right into the woman's lap and purring loudly as it dropped the wallet onto her lap before curling by her side.

"Good girl," the woman praised the cat, running a hand along her smooth black coat almost lovingly before picking up my wallet with the other and holding it out to me.

"You can verify all that on your own. We'll talk once you're done. You know where to find me," she told me, clearly dismissing me as I quickly grabbed the wallet from her and checked if the USB was still inside.

Her cat meowed loudly, looking at Dante and me rather suspiciously.

"No, Whiskers. They're not going to harm us. They're just leaving," she said to her cat, picking it up and placing it on her lap before looking at us. "Aren't you?"

I didn't reply to her, quietly leaving her place with Dante in tow.

This whole encounter had been weird as fuck but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't intrigued by the woman I had just met.

"Let's see if she's really who she says she is," I muttered, more to myself than anyone else before we got into the car and went back to my mansion.