The Alpha Mafia King
Chapter 30

The man who wore a body hug tee-shirt sat in the car with a pair of marine-military binoculars. Also strapped to his waist was a pistol sheltered in a holster. He had a single airpod attached to his left ear.

Agent Fox spied on her with the binoculars. He knew Alyona very well. She used to be a protégé of Agent Dimitri back when her father, his former boss, was still alive. Mariyanna was his protégé. He still could not believe that she was alive. She was holding hands with Don Alonso Marcovic.

Despite being an ardent admirer of Don Ivan Makarov, his utmost devotion was still to Mariyanna. He had long known before anyone else that Alonso’s consigliere, Vladimir, was responsible for the hit on Don Ivan and Dimitri.

They had just entered the mall. He wanted to follow them in, but he figured that nothing could pique his interest in the mall.

Besides, he thought that since the mall had eyes all over, why should he risk visual confirmation of what was happening? He fumbled with a tab that sat on his lap, and he hacked into the cameras situated in different angles in the mall.

Now, he saw his quarry shopping for dresses. Alonso held a gown in front of Alyona, but she shook her head disapprovingly. Fox chuckled lightly at the fact that the great Don Alonso was out here shopping with Alyona.

“This one looks suitable for you; it matches your complexion!” Alonso said. Dimitri looked at Alonso repeat the same process of holding up a dress in front of Alyona.

“I don’t like it,” Alyona said. “I want something black. Black is my favorite color.”

Alonso threw his head back, apparently in frustration, and said, “Honey, we are not going to a Funeral.”

Alyona pouted like a child and said, “Fine! Give me this one, and let me try it on.” She snatched the dress from Alonso and smiled, while Alonso, on the other hand, did not budge.

“Go ahead, put it on!” Alonso commanded.

“No way, not while you’re standing there watching me!”

“I’ve seen you naked before,” Alonso said. “What’s the big deal?”

Agent Fox g*****d disgustingly and flipped the tablet over. He was a homosexual who happened to hate the sight of a naked woman because it always made him uneasy any time of the day. He could still hear their discussion go on.

Alonso was reiterating how the dress complimented her beautiful skin. He was shocked at the compliment made by the Don.

There was going to be a severe lovers squabbling between Alonso, Alyona, and Mariyanna, but he did not give a f**k. He was only spying on them to know if Alyona was up to no good. Fox waited a while and returned to watching the duos on his tab. They were at the cashier’s checkpoint.

“Damn, I left my black card in the car,” Alonso said. “It’s somewhere in the front compartment. Help me retrieve it, please.”

Perfect! He thought. He had been waiting for an opportunity to get Alyona alone so he could engage her. He saw her take the car key from Alonso. He ditched the airpod, tab, and binoculars.

He saw that Alyona was coming out alone, and he alighted from his car and went towards where she was headed. He pretended to be making a phone call. He had his back to her.

“Honey, I have checked for this specific toy in six different locations already!” Fox said, acting frustrated. “I’m starting to think it’s sold in America only. Hey Beam, stop crying. I’ll get it for you.”

Fox heard Alyona shut the door, and on cue, he spun around to catch her eyes. He gasped and feigned excitement.

“Oh my goodness, it’s you! Fanny, long time!” Fox said, attempting to make body contact, but Alyona recoiled. Her face registered no sign of recognition.

“Excuse me, do I know you?” Alyona said.

“Oh, my apologies, it’s just that you looked like someone that I know.”

Alyona nodded and said, “It happens.”

As she got to the mall entrance, she took a glance backward but did not see him again. She had a tingling sensation about him. She tried to envision if she knew him from Adam, but he did not show up in her memory. She wondered if she should have engaged the man more, but she was scared.

She was scared because Bianco’s mate was shot, and so was Eureka, and everyone knew the saying that death comes in three. She wondered if she was next in line. Suddenly, she wanted to be careful. Suddenly, she wanted nothing more than to tell Alonso about the man who had said she looked familiar.

“What took you so long?” Alonso said as she arrived at the spot.

“I’m sorry, I was searching for the card.”

Alonso studied her features closely. She looked shaken up. He could sense that something had changed in her. He was using his Alpha powers.

“It’s fine,” he replied, collecting the card from her. “Hey, are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m okay,” she said. Alonso listened to her heartbeat that doubled in one second. No, he could tell that she was not okay, and he wondered why she would lie. He wished he had followed her outside.

“Okay, if you say so.”

Agent Fox had driven out of the parking lot and was waiting for his spy subjects to move past him on the road. He had also changed his top. As they drove past him, he immediately began tailing them.

Alonso continued to glare at the rearview mirror, and after a few minutes, he scowled and gritted his teeth.

“What’s wrong?” Taleela asked him.

“That car has been tailing me for the last ten minutes!” he replied tersely.

Fox had been a spy for so long that he knew when he was suspected of tailing. He drove past Alonso and made sure to turn his face in an impossible angle which offered less recognition.

“I don’t think that he was following us,” Taleela offered, seeing the car pass them.

Alonso was silent, and he continued to drive, taking different turns. The car he had suspected was tailing them had veered off in another direction. Taleela was thinking about the man who had said she looked familiar.

She wished that she had said more to him. He had looked unarmed, and he had been talking to maybe his child… so she wondered why he had made her cringe. Something kept nudging her about how he had disappeared, but that was not the only disturbing thing.

There was something else about the phone call. She looked outside the car window when they waited in front of the red light.

She saw a baby inside of the other car that was opposite theirs with a pacifier in the mouth of the child. She remembered the toy! The stranger never went in to check for the toy.

–

“They are home!” Lady Tanya announced their return. Mazza came out from the kitchen wearing an apron. His hands were smeared with flour.

“What the actual f**k?” Taleela said, feeling greatly surprised.

Mazza shrugged and replied, “I did fail to mention that one of my hobbies is baking. I love to bake a lot.”

Taleela nodded as Tanya retrieved her bags, and she replied, “I can see that.”

They all went into the kitchen except for Alonso. He headed straight up to his bedroom. Taleela wondered why he had not said a word to her right after the incident where he had believed he was being followed.

“Do you want a piece?” Mazza said, presenting a tray of neatly sliced cake.

“Hmm, why not?” Taleela said. She took one and put it in her mouth. She savored the taste and closed her eyes.

“So, what do you think? Am I a good baker?” Mazza said, offering a broad smile.

“Ha un sapore paradisiacal,” Taleela said. She had managed to roll out the words in a perfect Italian accent. It meant, “It tastes heavenly.”

Mazza gave her an impressive nod. “I see, so Lady Tanya’s been teaching you Italian?”

“Well, amongst other things, yeah!” Taleela said, looking quite pleased with herself.

Tanya froze at the sink as she felt a gentle squeeze on her shoulder.

“Thank you, Lady Tanya,” Mazza said. “Taleela, how did your outing go?”

“It was lovely, thanks!” Taleela said.

Of course, the reunion was not complete if they had not yet discussed her affairs with Alonso. She smiled, remembering all the places they had gone to.

They went to Al ristorante in Hill Street, where Alonso described a place where professionals like bankers, politicians, and movie stars eat.

They featured expensive foods not limited to season and locality, asserted proper service etiquette, and required many cutleries.

“Lei è una Bella ragazza,” a man had said to Alonso as they greeted each other with a palm.

“Yes, she is beautiful!” Alonso had confirmed, making her head swell.

“Taleela,” Lady Tanya said. “If it was so lovely, then why is Alonso upstairs and you are here with us?”

Okay, so Lady Tanya had to shake the table, but that did not exactly mean that she was lying. She indeed had a good time with Alonso. To her, they were making progress.

“Well, I don’t have any comments,” Taleela said, taking another piece of cake. “Maybe he doesn’t like the smell of cake.”

Taleela snorted. “Alonso loves cake, especially the ones baked by his grandfather.”

“Yeah, he does,” Mazza said. “Everyone loves my cake.”

Taleela exhaled sharply and said, “Okay, fine, he likes cake, but he hates showing his affection in public! Can we just let the whole thing go?”

“Sure,” said Mazza. “However, if you don’t mind, please can you take the cake up to him?”

Taleela looked at Lady Tanya, who was doing the dishes and saw Mazza in helpless surrender. She took a saucer and put some cakes in it. She thought that it had made a perfect excuse to go and see him. She hoped he did not send her away with the cake. But knowing how irresistible this blueberry cake was, she doubted that he would reject it.

Alonso had been listening to their discussion from his bedroom. He was pleased that Taleela was coming up to meet him. She was walking. Differently, he could tell. Almost as if she was doing so on her toes. He counted to three and opened the door, startling her.

“Okay, we’ve got to stop meeting like this,” Taleela said. “Can that AI stop informing you? Hello, I know you’re there.”

“Yes, I am here, Miss Taleela, but I didn’t inform Don Alonso that you were on your way,” said the AI. Taleela scoffed silently, not believing a word of it.

“Your grandfather asked me to bring you some cakes,” Taleela said.

“Nice, he’s been thoughtful these days!” Alonso said, returning to the bed where he had been sitting. Taleela went and joined him.

Taleela instinctively took his hand in hers.

“Earlier, you asked if I was alright….”

He looked into her eyes and replied, “Yes, I did because I sensed a sudden change in your demeanor.”

“Your intuition was right, and I’m sorry, but I didn’t want to leave you worried for nothing.”

He held her hand firmly and said, “Go on, speak.”

“Someone thought I looked familiar at the mall,” Taleela said and added, “then I got panicky and hastened back into the mall. I didn’t even get to ask pertinent information like where he thought he knew me from.”

“It’s alright,” Alonso said, brushing the back of her palm softly and repeatedly. “It’s alright to get scared at times. Do you recall how he looks?”

Taleela nodded. “I have a very eidetic memory, and I can draw his face, but before today, I’ve never seen that man before.”

“Can you maybe draw him?”

“I can do that.”

“Good,” replied Alonso. He leaned into her more and planted a soft k**s on her lips.