Betrothed To The Mafia Lord novel Chapter 12

Luca’s POV

“No! The guards stay. You can bring in your own guards if it would make you feel safer.” James answered in a smooth voice before I could begin to answer to him and I watched as the man’s eyes narrowed at me for a fleeting moment before breaking the contact and focusing his eyes on James instead.

“You thought you ate that, didn’t you?” The man asked James in a flat voice with a raised eyebrow and James only snorted not so quietly, which made the man's face morph into a slight scowl which only lasted for a few seconds before disappearing, leaving behind his previous relaxed expression.

He turned back to me and raised his drink in the direction of the guards standing a few feet behind James and I, “The guards need to leave.”

I didn’t take my eyes away from his face as I spoke audibly to my guards, “Leave us.”

I didn’t need to glance over my shoulder to know that they’d immediately bowed their heads a little in respect before leaving quietly as instructed.

The guards left and the sound of the elevator going back down faintly drifted into the office. The man then got to his feet and walked towards us only to stop a few feet away, he was almost as tall as James and I, his head was hairless, while the broadness of his shoulders and chest was really impressive compared to James and I who were leaning more on the lean muscles side, I wasn’t fazed one bit by all the authoritative vibe he was trying really hard to give off.

He was buff, yes. But I had no doubts about the fact that I could easily take him out in a moment. I might not be as broad as he was, but I was as fast as a hare and my reflexes were a direct gift from God with how smooth they were.

Why was I even thinking about taking him out in a fight when I was here to create peace in the first place?

“Welcome to the Manzo mafia. I am Morris.” He said and picked up the conversation from there. “I am Luca, and this is my right hand man, James.”

None of us offered our hands out for an invitation of handshakes and I watched as he stared at us quietly before pointing to the couch a few feet away from the chair he was sitting in before, “Have a seat, please.”

“Thank you.” I answered smoothly as James and I proceeded to slowly perch on the tip of the couch, our elbows placed on our knees as our eyes trailed over the whole office. From what I could see from my position here on the couch through the transparent glass walls, everything was extremely tiny on the ground and it looked like we were almost in the sky.

My eyes drifted away from the window to once again take notice of the tiny cameras on different sides of the roof, a bunch of devices which I had noticed the moment I stepped foot in here, but acted like I hadn’t. I ended up my survey with my eyes fixed on the man still backing the office, he was in a white suit and had a white hat on his head. His drink was still filled up in his left hand and I had no doubt that he was indeed the man I had come to see, and not the one we’ve been exchanging words with.

“When’s the leader himself finally gonna come speak to me himself?” I asked Morris, my gaze burning into his. Morris’s mouth opened and closed with nothing but air slipping out and James quietly snorted beside me.

The man in white finally turned around and slowly made his way forward, his forehead was shielded by his hat which casted a shadow over his face.

“Hello, Mr Ricci, it’s an honor to have you here.” The man said once he got to the middle of the office, a few feet away from Morris’s seat. I stood to my feet instantly, along with James.

“Thank you for agreeing to have us, Mr Manzo.” I answered, my hands clasped behind my back. There was a good amount of feet between the couch James and I were standing in front of, and the couch Morris was sitting in, which made a reasonable excuse for none of us to exchange handshakes.

I’d never offer a handshake to an enemy first, and would almost never accept one until we’ve settled our ongoing feud, so it was pretty sensible that he wasn’t offering me a handshake.

“It’s about time, I guess?” Was his reply as he finally lifted his head high to stare me in the eyes, my eyes twitched a little as I took a quick look at his face, there was a thin lined scar running from the top of his cheek, down to the edge of his jaw. He was just as buff as Morris, or perhaps a tad buffer.

“This is my immediate younger brother, Morris.” He pointed at Morris who was back to leaning on the back of the couch with his drink in his hand once again.

“Let’s all sit?” He asked and we all took our seats, James and I still perched on the edge of the couch once again.

“It’s been a really long time since both mafias have been in a feud, for reasons we the leaders now, had no hand in it.” I started to say and Morris immediately sat up straight, his facial expression morphing into that of a serious one, a sharp contrast to the relaxed one he had been wearing moments ago.

“My father only wanted a friend…” Mr Manzo started to say in a gravelly voice and I tightened my grip on my hands, my heart constricting in guilt on behalf of my father.