The Alpha Mafia King
Chapter 38

“Who do you work for?” Alonso repeated this question for the umpteenth time.

“Why don’t you come a little closer, and I’ll whisper the answer in your f*****g ear!” Agent Fox said, and Bianco landed him a blow to his temple. Air escaped from his lungs forcefully, but the pain was nothing compared to the drills he took as part of his training in the army or when the Iranian soldiers captured him.

“Are you acting of your own volition?” Alonso bellowed and added, “if so, why would you want Taleela dead? What crimes have she or I committed against you?”

Alonso indeed wanted to know. It had taken him a while, and it took Bianco to make the connection that agent Fox was the same man that had approached Taleela outside the shopping mall. The agent was quiet, and it infuriated him. The torture seemed pointless because the man gave up helpful nothing, not even his name.

“Deal with him until you pass him out!” Alonso said, suddenly turning to leave.

Bianco flashed him a grin and pounded his fist to his palm. He attacked the man and began punching him relentlessly.

“More, hit me harder, you son of a bitch!” said Agent Fox, wincing in pain as a punch landed on his jaw. Bianco looked at him with unsatisfactory eyes. The agent was out cold in just a few strikes. He stared at his bloody hands and fought the urge to kill.

Agent Fox awoke groggily and found himself chained. With his hands and feet bound wide apart, the agent looked like a multiplication symbol. He had taken several rounds of torture hours ago, and he had passed out on Alonso’s orders. Pain racked his entire body.

—

Everywhere was silent, and he felt alone. If these chains weren’t so bloody damn tight, he would have freed himself. He kept struggling, though. The door creaked open, and a man stood in front of him. He was wearing a hoodie.

The flood of light pouring inside the warehouse made him realize that it was morning. The man pointed a gun at him, and he closed his eyes to say his last prayer. Four decisive shots after, and he still was alive. His hands dropped to his side, realizing that the shooter had broken the chains.

“You are free to go,” said the man.

Agent Fox came face to face with his rescuer. He had no idea who the man was. However, something told him that it was Mariyanna’s doing.

“Thank you for saving me, and who are you?” inquired the agent.

“Let’s just say we want the same things,” answered the man.

Agent Fox nodded and walked right past the man; he suddenly noticed another man lurking in one corner. He looked like a younger version of the man who had rescued him. He, too, was putting on a hoodie to conceal his face.

“Wait,” said the second man sharply. “I have a warning for you!”

Agent Fox paused and said, “What warning?”

“Last night, you learned about the existence of something which shouldn’t be,” the man said calmly. “Ordinarily, you wouldn’t live to tell the tale, but out of goodwill and in line that we are on the same team now, we will let you walk out of here alive. If you dig any further, you’ll meet a fate so cruel you will wish you were never born.”

“I see,” Fox muttered in surprise at the threat. He guessed that these men were related to the other two men who attacked him last night. He was relieved that they were letting him leave.

‘So, Mariyanna, you did replace Jamie!’ Fox wondered.

Who were these other guys? Were they some packmates with Jamie? His legs ran faster than his thoughts. He couldn’t wait to get a new set of instructions from Mariyanna. He wondered just how many they were in the world. Until last night, he would have placed a bet that these creatures were born out of the imagination of fiction writers.

“Hmm, you know what to do!” said the first man, handing his gun to his assistant. The man immediately started tailing the agent. His orders were from Callisto, and he was to replace out for whom the agent was working.

—

Back at the casino, Taleela was in the company of just her security details and a host of gambling strangers. She felt deprived that Alonso and everyone else she considered part of her new family had left for an urgent meeting. She wondered if it had something to do with what Vincenzo had told Alonso when they first came.

It was unusual for Mazza to leave her alone, but she wasn’t alone. Tired and hungry, she decided to go down to the restaurant. She had heard that the casino’s chefs were prolific in making the yummiest breakfast in Russia. It was also a strategy to get gamblers to play until dawn or come to play once it was dawn. Immediately after she stepped out of the room, the two guards stationed at her door followed her.

“Great! They will keep following me around all day,” she thought, annoyed by it.

“I am just going to eat,” Taleela said. “Do you have to follow me?”

“Our orders are to keep watch over you, ma’am!” said one of the men.

“Okay,” she said helplessly. They wouldn’t dare disregard their orders even if she tried to persuade them.

Nestor was eating at the casino restaurant. He craved the mouth-watering breakfast that only the restaurant at the casino served. He couldn’t imagine that he had committed an act of violence that made them close the casino for several days. He dug into his plate and ate till his stomach said no more.

“You can follow me around, but I need you to be discreet about it,” Taleela said, entering the restaurant. “Keep your distance!”

“Yes, ma’am!” said the guards, suddenly halting and not moving into the restaurant with her. Taleela flipped her hair and spun around to look for a table.

Nestor’s ears had picked up her distinctive voice. That Russian accent that unmistakably belonged to the long-lost daughter of his boss Ivan. When his eyes met Alyona, she didn’t offer him any smile. She didn’t run to him in distress or excitement. She acted like she didn’t even know him. He looked at her seat and picked up the menu. Immediately, he got up and dashed to her table.

“Alyona! Oh my goodness, it’s really you!” Nestor said, caressing her cheeks. She recoiled in utter shock.

“Do we know each other?” Taleela inquired, surprised at his genuine affections for her.

“I’m Nestor! Of course, we know each other,” he replied, suddenly becoming less excited. “Why would you ask me if I knew you?”

Taleela gazed over the man’s shoulder and saw the security men glaring hard at Nestor. With just one snap of her fingers, she could have him taken away.

“Sit down!” Taleela said in a hushed whisper. Though she didn’t recognize the man, she felt she should hear how he knew her. She had once let that opportunity slide.

“You seriously don’t remember who I am, do you?” Nestor said, and she nodded. “I haven’t changed, but you have changed a great deal, yet I remember you.”

“Are you done feeling surprised?” Taleela asked in a cold tone.

“I guess, but-“

“Listen, I lost my memory, and for months now, I can’t recall anything meaningful about my past life. So why not help me remember you by sharing how we know!”

The words made no sense to Nestor. He had heard that this kind of stuff happened to people but for it to have happened to Alyona was unforgivable. She had forgotten everything and everyone. It seemed unacceptable, but it was happening, and he was bearing witness to everything.

“I don’t know what happened to you, but you need to come home,” Nestor’s voice cracked as he spoke these words. “Your father is dead, Alyona. Killed by the very owner of this casino, but your sister doesn’t want us to avenge him.”

All at once, it was as if Nestor had released a bomb on Taleela. She began to remember the conversations she had with the AI. Then slowly, she began to remember Dimitri’s features, and suddenly everything was a blank page. It was like waking up from a dream that you could tell was incomplete.

“No, no, no!” she began to scream, and the security men jumped to her rescue.

They rounded up Nestor, and he tried to fight back, but at this time, more than five able-bodied men had come to back up the first two that came.

“Alyona, I swear I’ll save you!” Nestor said before he was marched out of the restaurant.

One of them helped Taleela back to her bedroom. The other one had waited for her order and brought it up. “Why did you scream?” asked the security man as he paused with the food tray.

“What? That’s none of your business!” Taleela answered, feeling irritated. The guard set the food beside her and bowed. Taleela had no appetite; she kicked the tray and screamed.

“What should we do?” asked the guard waiting at the entrance as the other one came out.

“We should leave the boss a text and hope he sees it,” he replied.

Alonso looked bored to death as he listened to the bland introductory remarks. They were honoring all the members of the high table, which included every one of the royal pricks.

Callisto and his pack were not yet in attendance. Mazza nudged him and offered a sympathetic smile. He knew that Alonso would rather be in the company of Taleela, his mate. Had he performed the mating rituals, Taleela would’ve been qualified for this meeting.

“The agent has been rescued just as you anticipated, but we still don’t know who he works with,” Vincenzo whispered, and Alonso gave an absent-minded nod.