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Sofia looked away from Alessandro to Harmony. “Did you say something, Harm?”
“Me?” Harmony put her hand on her chest and put her empty coffee cup back down on the saucer. “No, I didn’t say anything.”
Harmony placed her hand down next to her chair and moved her fingers to sign “L-E-A-V-E.”
She knew Darius would see it wherever he was.
“Well, um…thank you for dinner Alessandro. That was sweet of you.”
“Yeah…happy birthday.” He slurred.Perfect.
The waiter came by with the check and placed it on the table. Alessandro looked at it and the sickening color came back into his cheeks. Harmony smiled. She bet that the bill was over two grand, since she purposely ordered the five-hundred-dollar wine bottles.
“I’ll be right back, Sof. Gotta use the bathroom.”
Alessandro practically ran from his chair to the back of the restaurant.
Harmony smiled. She knew Darius had to have seen him go toward the bathroom, and now it was just a waiting game for his signal.
Ten minutes had passed before Sofia started to worry.
“What’s taking him so long?”
Almost immediately, her phone lit up. Sofia looked down and saw it was a text from Alessandro.
“Huh. He said something’s come up and for us to go on ahead.”
“Oh.” Harmony feigned. “Hope it’s nothing serious.”
“I don’t think it is. Harm, can you take me home?”
“Absolutely, sis.”
Harmony and Sofia got up and left the restaurant, walking out to her car. The entire ride home Sofia was chattering incessantly. Harmony wished the wine would kick in a little more and she would shut the fuck up. An hour later, she pulled up to Sofia’s door.
Sofia smiled and reached over to the driver’s side, hugging Harmony.
“And what’s that for?” Harmony quipped.
“For being a great sister.”
You have no idea…
Harmony turned back toward the road, trying to hide the softness in her face. “Thanks.”
Sofia got out of the car and looked back at Harmony. “Do you think he’s ok? He does this sometimes, but he’s never left me to catch a ride home.”
“I’m sure he’s fine. Probably an important work thing or something.”
“Ok. See you soon?” There was hope in her voice.
“Yeah.” Harmony said dryly. With that, she pulled off and made her way to start the half-hour drive back toward Darius’ mansion. If he was just here for a hit, she was curious how the hell he had a mansion in the middle of nowhere near the mountains. She’d have to ask about it later.
Rounding the corner up the long and winding macadam road, the mansion loomed in the distance. She pulled up to the gate, showing her badge to Tony the security guard to let her in.
“He’s already made his way to the cottage, Miss Catrone.”
Efficient much? Then again, she had purposely driven a bit slower on the way home and she had to go out of her way to drop Sofia off at her apartment. She drove up the road to the 7-car attached garage and pulled into the one open door. The whirring of the garage door was white-noise as she got out and made her way to the back of the house. Going through the large living room area from the foyer to the dining room, there was a massive sunporch leading out to an even larger patio. The patio was complete with lounge chairs, plush cushions, an inground fire pit, built-in bar and grilling area, and a cabana. Her heels clacked against the brick and cement. A small stone path from the patio led to a shed the size of a small outhouse a few feet away. She squeaked open the wooden door and stepped inside. Locking the door behind her, a caged wall came down the floor began to move. Down, deep down she went, the elevator taking her a few feet underground. When it stopped, the cage lifted open revealing a clean, well-lit tunnel encased in cement. A few feet from her was a railing and a moving travelator. She stepped onto the belt and leaned against the railing, the travelator taking her down the tunnel faster than her feet could move. It wasn’t long until she reached the end. A bank of large, sealed-off steel doors lined the walls. She walked to the right towards the closest door and knocked twice. She heard the wizzes and clanks of the automatic lock coming undone. Looking up, a camera was right above her. She waved, then the door swung open. Stepping inside, she couldn’t help but smile. Darius stood behind Alessandro tied tightly to a Saint Andrews cross. He was putting on his leather gloves when she walked in. Alessandro’s head was down, blood dripping from his mouth. He was stripped down to his boxers, and she could see bruises were already appearing on his ribs.
