The Alpha Mafia King
Chapter 29

Taleela made an extra effort to begin a conversation with Alonso, who sat bare-chested on the bed. In his presence, she became self-conscious and was unable to say anything for a while, just because of the way he made her feel shy or nervous.

She rested her weight on the wall beside a study desk. Her nose picked up the distinctive smells of coffee, old books and his cologne. Music was playing softly from within the walls. The room looked impeccable and well furnished. She looked at the wolf painting that hung on the wall. That night, it had been different, he had asked her to strip.

“You said you wanted to talk,” Alonso said, making Taleela’s toes curl in response.

“Yes,” she replied, blinking rapidly and replaceing her voice. “I wanted to ask you about what happened and how Eureka died.”

“Eureka took a bullet for me,” Alonso said and it made Taleela feel a little jealous because she thought he was saying it with prideful tone.

“How did it happen?” she asked, managing to restrain the negative emotion.

“It was supposed to be me,” Alonso said. “Someone had wanted to assassinate me. She had tried to warn me beforehand but I didn’t check her messages. If only I had, then maybe she wouldn’t have driven like crazy just to have herself shot for my sake.”

“I’m sorry,” Taleela muttered. “What happened to the shooter?”

“He fled…”

“Well, what happened? Did they eventually catch the shooter?” Taleela asked.

“Yeah, they did.”

“So what happened to him?”

“He has been taken care of.”

Taleela knew what he meant by “taken care of.” She caught on to the feeling that he did not feel comfortable talking to her about such things.

However, she felt at ease and did not fear him when he spoke about his Mafia business. She did not know why, but she felt like it was not unusual to kill someone who had crossed the threshold of peaceful living. It was an eye for an eye kind of thing to her.

“Hey, it’s not your fault that she’s dead. I don’t want you to take it personally or feel responsible for what happened to Eureka.”

“It’s not my fault, yes!” Alonso answered firmly. “And I’m not taking it personally.”

“Then why do you look like that?” Taleela asked. She was slowly easing up, seeing that he was responding to her calmly.

“How am I looking?” Alonso said, shrugging. “Don’t just stand over there like a mannequin, come and sit down with me.”

“You look like you are sad or angry.”

“I am sad, Taleela, I just lost someone who was close to me!” he deadpanned. “I don’t feel responsible for Eureka’s death but I am angry because of who is responsible.”

“Do you even want to tell me who is responsible?”

“It was her father,” Alonso said.

“So what do you plan on doing now?” she said, finally taking the offer of a seat at his side. She wondered if he was going to kill Eureka’s father too. Alonso turned to look her straight in the eyes. His eyes were dark and cold.

“Don’t worry about that, okay,” he replied slowly. Taleela looked so heavenly. He felt his hand reaching for her face but he immediately put a restraint on the action by withdrawing his hand.

“What is it?” Taleela asked, surprised by his action.

“It’s nothing,” said Alonso, averting her gaze.

“You wanted to touch me,” Taleela blurted out.

“It’s not just the right time for me!”

“When is it never the right time to hold someone? When is it not the right time to feel? It’s okay to desire me too, because I want you as well.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he replied.

“I do, and like I said, I’m not going to prevaricate about my feelings. Tell me, Alonso, what is it that you’ve been feeling for me Alonso?”

“Nothing, I don’t feel anything,” he said quickly, hoping that it sounded true.

“You’re lying and I don’t appreciate that you’ll lie to me about such a thing,” Taleela said.

Alonso did not really like the straightforwardness. He thought that she was rushing him. He was looking for suspense and something to keep him on his tippy toes but she was blunt and preferred not to play games. He wanted to chase her.

The more she showed she desired him intensely, the stronger he felt like concealing his feelings. Also, he still felt that he did not have genuine feelings yet for Taleela. He was feeling like it was just because of the fact that they were mated that made him feel anything for her.

“Uh I really need to rest now,” Alonso said rising, and then added, “so if you’re done talking please leave.”

“What! Are you sending me away?”

“Yes, something like that!” he replied, pulling her up gently.

“Argh, sometimes I don’t even understand why you are so…”

“Adorable, thanks!” he said and she gasped.

“What?! That’s not what I wanted to say,” Taleela protested.

“Okay but right now I don’t care about what you wanted to say. I’m sorry but I need to be left alone now.”

Taleela spotted a mark on his back. It was like a tattoo. She knew she had seen the tattoo somewhere else. She could not recall where but it was so vivid. Who else had this kind of tattoo? She wondered.

“The tattoo on your back…” Taleela said, getting up.

“It’s not your business,” Alonso assured her, pushing her gently towards the door.

Taleela hated that she had just been subtly thrown out of his room. She was feeling completely bummed out. As she drew nearer to the stairs, she heard Mazza’s voice. She hurried down the stairs in excitement.

She g*****d inwardly as she saw him talking with Piccolo Durante. It surprised her that she had easily recognized him despite spotting only the posterior of the man. So that was where Mazza had been, with Piccolo.

“Hello Mazza and Pico,” Taleela said, offering them both a warm smile. Piccolo turned to look at her.

“Taleela dear,” Mazza replied. “I’m sorry I took so long to come back.”

“Hi Talee,” Piccolo said. “Ah yes, we had urgent matters to attend to. It was also a rough day for the both of us. I hope you had a better day.”

Taleela shrugged with a sweet smile and said, “Um well, it was just okay to be honest. That’s a first and I think I liked it.”

“What are you talking about?” Piccolo said.

Mazza g*****d and said, “The name.”

“Oh, sure!” Piccolo said, rubbing his palm together. Talee, the shortened name had slipped right out of his mouth in direct response to her shortening his name too.

Taleela heard that Alonso was coming down the stairs and she saw it as her cue to leave. She did not want to stand in the middle of their affairs though she knew she was welcome to be present. Alonso had made her angry because he was denying his feelings towards her.

“Maybe he is just having a hard time admitting it,” she heard herself say inwardly.

“Um I’m going to the kitchen,” Taleela said the minute Alonso took the last step down.

“No problemo,” Piccolo said.

When Taleela walked into the kitchen, Lady Tanya lifted her gaze towards her. She had been lying down on a couch but she sat up so Taleela could join her on it.

“That was the briefest discussion in the history of conversations between two lovers, what went wrong?” Lady Tanya said.

“How did you know something went wrong?” Taleela asked, pouting.

Tanya smiled.

“I have had many experiences with boys. Trish me, if all had gone smoothly then you would not be sitting next to old Lady Tanya in the kitchen.”

“You’re not old,” Taleela said.

“Thank you,” Lady Tanya said, waving her hands in the air. “Now let’s cut to the chase; tell me, what went wrong?”

“Okay fine, I almost had my chance but I blew it.”

“We are all guilty of that. Do not worry you will get some new chances to try again.”

“He wanted to touch my face but he hesitated,” Taleela explained. “Then I guess I tried to force him to bring me up to speed on what he has been feeling for me since I came here.”

“You should not have tried to force him to admit it though,” said Lady Tanya, shaking her head.

“I know but it was just so obvious that he was trying to hide his feelings and I am getting tired of the suspense.”

“You know, I have heard before that there are some men who enjoy it when there is a bit of suspense and tension in the relationship. They want to feel the chase. Give them something to look forward to but make it rewarding for them playing your game. It is possible that Alonso might be one of such men.”

Taleela gave it a thought and said, “So what are you trying to say? Do you mean I should be less blunt?”

“Exactly what I am implying my dear,” Tanya said.

Meanwhile, in the living room, Piccolo Durante was sharing his replaceings with Alonso. Jerald had uncovered the identity of the newly recruited mafia member of the Makarov family. It was something that he had already told Mazza.

“So, do you mean to tell me that Laslow is now an inducted mafia member of the Makarov family?” Alonso questioned with his voice slightly rising in anger.

“Yes, he is,” said Piccolo softly. “Also, I caught whispers of a rumor that Jamie is also in Russia too but we do not know his purpose yet.”

“I sense that there is foul play here,” Mazza said. “I see Callisto’s involvement in this and I don’t like the fact that he is moving his pawns.”

“Should we just shake them up?” Alonso asked.

“No, I think that we should act aloof until they have shown us what their move is!” Piccolo suggested.

“Okay that’s good,” said Mazza.

“What the hell is he up to?” Alonso said. He could not connect the dots himself but he recognized that the man was laying down traps. Why else would Lazlo go and join the Makarov family? He wondered if it had anything to do with Juno’s death.

Piccolo shrugged and said, “That’s why I said that we should wait and see.”

Alonso looked doubtful and so he said. “Yeah, but is waiting to see what happens; we will be allowing Callisto and his wolves to carry out whatever plans they have.”

“Yeah but have you forgotten that you are the one who said to me that sometimes when going up against a powerful enemy whose motive is not clear, that it is better to let him go first.”

Alonso had not forgotten. It was his father who had taught him that and he taught it to Piccolo too. He remembered that the statement was made to him when his father was teaching him to play chess. He always played as white, playing the first move.

—

“Why do you always play as white, son?” his father asked.

“Because white has the advantage of playing first,” the younger Alonso answered.

“No wonder you keep losing,” his father replied. “Just because you have the advantage of making the first move doesn’t mean you know how to beat your opponent. Sometimes, you have to play as black and make the counter move, in order to win. When going against a powerful enemy whose motive is unclear, it is sometimes in your best interest to let him make the first play.”

—

“Alright fine,” Alonso said to Piccolo. “Let’s play dumb.”

“Good,” Piccolo replied. “The casino will be reopening tomorrow.”

“Ah it’s about time,” Mazza said. “Finally I get to take Taleela to Russia to see the casino.”

“What?” Alonso and Piccolo chorused.

Mazza chuckled lightly and said, “Come on, she needs a bit more exposure.”

—

In Mariyanna’s apartment, she popped the cork on the champagne, watching it bubble. At this point, this was her second bottle of champagne and she was already starting to see things double. It did not make sense, Alyona was supposed to be dead, but now she had found out that not only was she alive, but she was standing in the way of her and Alonso.

She had not anticipated such kind of trouble. She wanted to believe that Alyona did not remember anything, but she was also thinking of replaceing a way to tell for sure.

“She’s just a small fry,” Mariyanna said to herself. “I’ll easily eliminate her but for now…”

She tried to hold on to the wine glass lazily but it slipped out of her grasp and she watched helplessly as it fell to the floor, breaking and spilling its content. She had been feeling dizzy and now she caved in.

She awoke a few hours later, and her mind had registered a new way of figuring out if Alyona had indeed been an amnesiac or if she was pretending. Also, she just wanted to place tabs on her and see what she was up to. She picked up the phone beside her and placed a call to the same person she had called to solve Alonso’s minor challenge.

“Hello,” she said, after the voice on the other end refused to speak first.

“What is it this time around?” the voice said.

“Fox, it seems that I have a need for you more than I really want to admit,” Mariyanna said.

“I see,” Fox replied. “Go on, tell me, how can I help you?”

“My sister was supposed to be dead but now, I replace out that she’s alive and she’s living with Don Alonso who just so happens to be my business associate and this guy I’m interested in.”

“Okay but you should know that I don’t handle siblings squabbling,” Fox said. “Just how deep should my replaceings go?”

“I want you to uncover everything about her. Like how she’s still alive, what she has been up to and what her current goals are.”

“Shouldn’t you be feeling happy about replaceing out that your sister is alive?” Fox said, his voice was filled with warmth.

As Dimitri was to Alyona, so was Fox with Mariyanna. The both of them never quite got along back then.

“Fox, by now you should know where my affections lie,” Mariyanna said coldly.

“Just thought you might have had a change of heart. Well, consider it done. I will put her on a twenty four hours surveillance scheme.”

“Alright, thank you. I knew that I could count on you!”

“Sure, anytime you need me I’ll be there.”

Mariyanna ended the call, gazing at the phone. Fox was there whenever she needed him except when she needed him to have s*x with her. He had a rule of not getting involved in the act.

Mariyanna felt glad that she had finally started shifting her affection for Fox towards Alonso.