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Chapter 11
It was late and the crowd was dispersing. Acquaintances and business associates had already left, with only DeLuca family members from around the globe remaining. Some of them paid their respects to Adriano while others offered Neo encouraging words. One that stuck with him was Enzo, ensuring him that he could count on the family if needed. Those words gave him strength that he would need in the coming days.
“Remember what I told you, all of us are ready,” Enzo said. “Whatever you need. I know you have something to prove, but we’re family … we got each other’s backs.”
Feeling restless and a little impatient about the speed at which things were moving, Neo wandered the halls for a while after everyone left. The last place he ended up was in the armory. As he walked in, the motion detector triggered the ceiling lights, flooding the room brightly. Removing his jacket and tie, he tossed them on the table which was pushed to one corner to accommodate his training.
Strolling over to the weapons vault, he placed a palm over the panel and listened to the female computer voice telling him that access was granted. While the door retracted, offering him entry, Neo stepped in and observed the weapons ensconced in the pexiglass enclosures. He barely glanced over the handguns, shotguns, rifles and other high-powered weapons, and focused his attention on the prize … his beloved sword. A short sword measuring eighteen inches from the chappe to the point, with a sapphire gem in the pommel, Neo reached out and lovingly ran his finger along the fuller.
Taking it off the bracket, he left the vault and walked over to the table in the training area, where he set down the sword and removed his shirt. After rolling his neck and stretching his limbs, he unsheathed the sword and walked over to the sandbag. Imagining that the sandbag was a faceless enemy, he positioned into a fighting stance and brought the sword in a diagonal motion, imaging that he was slashing the throat of his brother’s killer. Unsatisfied with a single slash, he continued to assault the sand bag, ignoring the spilling out of the sand as the sword sliced through the leatherette. With each swing of his arm he grunted and released a growl. He didn’t stop swiping at the bag until all the sand had spilled out and the leatherette was mere rags.
“Wow, I’d hate to be that poor bag,” Neeky’s voice sounded a few feet away.
He turned as she approached. His eyes travelled over black pants suit and strappy stilettos. He’d noticed her at the funeral, how she looked different from before now that her hair was piled high into a bun and how her suit fitted her hips and showed up her tight ass. But the most tantalizing thing about her was her wine-red lips and how they parted slightly when she was thinking about something.
Neeky had little idiosyncrasies that he’d began to notice, like the way she cocked her head when she thought you were joking, or when she bit the inside of her bottom lip when she was being sarcastic. He also noticed that when she talked to Uncle Robert, she was docile and laughed easily.
“Wanna spar?” she asked.
He sheathed the sword and set it on the table then started walking towards her. When they were a few inches apart he stopped. “Tell me who my brother was involved with, if not you.”
“Are you still harping on that?”
“Why are you lying to me about your relationship?”
She sighed in exasperation. “I have no reason to lie to you.”
“Then why won’t you tell me who he was in love with?”
“Because I made a promise to keep it a secret, as well as protecting the other person.”
She began to walk away but he took her arm and pulled her back roughly. “Have you no sense of justice? My brother’s dead, your secret has become null? This person might know something.”
“Are you implying that this person might be responsible for Nino’s death?”
“Yes.”
Pulling her arm away she moved off again, but he was adamant to get to the bottom of whatever secret she was hiding. This might be a clue into Nino’s murder and he needed answers. Neo grabbed her and spun her around, pushing her up against the wall.
“Let me go Neo. I don’t wanna hurt you.”
“You know something and I want to know what it is.”
“I don’t know who murdered Nino, now let me go!”
“Then tell me what he was hiding,” he demanded. “Why would he hide this from me? We were close.”
“I know you were close, and that’s what made it difficult for him, even he couldn’t accept the fact that he was…” she trailed off. “I said too much already.”
“No, you have to tell me … he was what?”
They stared into each other’s eyes for a minute while she kept silent. Then a light bulb went off in Neo’s head. He released her and stepped back, shaking his head in disbelief.
“No, that’s not true.”
“He was,” she said softly. “I’m sorry you had to find out this way.”
“No, all he kept talking about was you and …”
