Page 8 of Incognizant Desires

Chapter four

Nico

"Urgh. Seriously Atlas?"

"What? You said, 'Let’s finish this', so I did." Atlas shrugged, putting his gun back in his holster. "What? Afraid you got a little somethin' in that manicured hair of yours?"

I grunted with disgust as I dropped the body in my arms and wiped my cheek with a handkerchief.

"Well, you could have waited until I was clear. That's three times you've done that already."

Atlas howled with laughter. "And the expression on your face, bro, is priceless. Every. Single. Time."

I scowled at him. "Next time, you're staying at home. I can deal with this myself."

"Perhaps. But I'd rather be here, taking revenge. If I stay home, I'll get stuck watching sleeping beauty. Can't exactly say that's riveting since it seems she can't even remember her own name."

I shook my head, remembering the first time I had laid eyes on her. She was even more beautiful than the rumors had said. When she was delivered to the manor, all of us were in shock. Why Catalina Rivera-Flores was on our doorstep still wasn't clear, but one thing was. We were to protect her ourselves, and to trust no one, not even people we trusted within our own organization. Why we would be protecting the late Mateo Rivera's daughter was beyond me, but if our brother said it had to be done, then there was a bloody good reason.

"Come on. Let's get this gear back to the warehouse." I nodded towards the crates piled high to the ceiling, and Atlas proceeded to yell orders to our crew.

I watched the trucks back in, deep in thought about why the Phoenix would be targeting us. Their raids on our property were getting more frequent lately. They seemed to be targeting anything we owned, taking anything they could get their hands on. Money. Weapons. Drugs. It was strange. While we were all aware of each other and tolerated the other mafia's, we usually stayed out of each other's way and got on with our own business. It was only the occasional clash that caused issues. But that had not been the case lately and there was one question that kept niggling in the back of my mind.

Why now?

By the time the cargo was loaded and removed five trucks later, I was spent. I waited as Atlas delighted in his pyromaniac urges, and watched the blaze in the rearview mirror as we sped away, wondering how I was going to stay awake to watch over Catalina again.

Oh, Catalina….

I didn't know what to think. On the one hand I was annoyed. I didn't have time to babysit. Yet, here I was, two months later, still watching her angel face as she slept. Now that she was no longer in a coma and she could converse, admittedly, I found the task quite exciting. Having watched her sleep for so long, I was keen to know the type of woman she was under that pretty façade. The fact she couldn't remember anything though was a bit concerning.

Or was it? Maybe that is for the best and works in our favor.

When we arrived back at our heavily guarded hilltop manor, I took the grand staircase two steps at a time, unbuttoning my jacket and running a hand through my messy hair. I paused at the hallway mirror, checking to make sure there were no obvious signs of blood or brains that would surprise me later, or Catalina for that matter. Satisfied, I stepped through her bedroom door to find Luca standing in the middle of the room, a look of annoyance on his face, as he faced an angry Catalina.

I raised an eyebrow in question at Luca, but he only turned dark eyes towards Catalina, who returned his gaze with a baleful glare.

This I got to see!

"So that's a no then?" Catalina demanded, hands on hips.

"No. I mean, yes." Luca shook his head in frustration. "You are to remain here. End of discussion."

I stifled a grin with my hand. I'd never seen Luca so exasperated. He was usually so calm, collected and in control. It was good to see that he actually was human, and something could get under his skin. Evidently, that something was Catalina. Maybe it was their shared Spanish blood that got the fire going. Either way, I was breaking out the proverbial popcorn and crossing my legs on the couch as I took in the scene before me. I was fascinated by her spirit. Most people would not dare stand up to Luca, but I guess she didn't know him well, so ignorance really was bliss.

Catalina started pacing the room, spraying a string of what I can only assume were profanities or insults, or both, in Spanish. Luca's face only seemed to get darker as he patiently waited for her tirade to stop. When she did, she looked straight at me, glowering. I immediately wiped the smile off my face.

"I want to leave. If I'm not your prisoner, then why do you keep me here? I demand to go, now!"

"No!" Luca and I said in unison.

Luca straightened his suit jacket before leaning forward and speaking into Catalina's ear. Whatever he said seemed to make her angrier, and she glowered after him as he came towards me.

"I have a meeting downstairs. She's all yours, Nico. Have fun with that." He brushed past me with a flicker of amusement on his face.

I sighed, looking back at a now seemingly fully functional woman. I half wished she was still asleep so I could lock the door and get some shut eye myself. But by the looks of the thundercloud within the room, that was never going to happen.

"Nico. Care to explain to me why I can't leave here?"

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