The Alpha Mafia King
Chapter 50

“Nestor is dead.”

Alyona seemed to brim with fire and limestone. Alonzo wondered if he had made a mistake telling her the man who helped her escape death was dead. He could sense her pain and emotional distress.

“Aww, come on, give me a break! Why’s everyone connected to me dying? Tell me, Alonzo, who’s next? You? Pico? For f**k sake! F**k!”

“We are predators,” said Alonzo. “As long as I live, baby, we won’t ever be bruised. We will always attack first, and that’s why none of us will die. They can try to come at me, Pico or Mazza, but we will always see them coming and crush them first. And baby, know this; we will be glad to defend you with our lives.”

Alonzo had taken the words out of context from an old religious book he had read as a child. Crushing his adversary could allude to the curse in the Bible when God cursed Eve and the snake that deceived her.

God had condemned the woman’s seed and the snake by putting enmity between them. The snake was to bruise her seed heels, and her seed was to crush the snake’s head. Alonzo had vowed to permanently crush the snake’s head, in this case, his enemies, before they could bruise him.

“That’s reassuring to hear,” Alyona said, calming down. “Find the agent connected to all this and kill him before he strikes again. It still doesn’t make sense why Olga would betray my sister, but Nestor shouldn’t be the one to die for this. Avenge the death of Nestor for me, please.”

“Say no more!” Alonzo said. “Agent Fox is a dead man walking, I swear.”

“Alright, let’s go to bed, my love.”

“That sounds like a great idea, but first, I need to hit the shower.”

—

Morning came too quickly. Alonzo needed more cuddling time with his mate. Her scent was divine. In a few minutes, she would be ready to go back to base. Silently he thanked Piccolo for not allowing him to sleep somewhere else last night.

“Morning, babe,” Alyona said, turning to face him. She traced circles with the tip of her finger across his bare chest.

“Good morning Alyona Makarov,” he replied. “Are you ready to go back to Italy?”

“Don’t you mean home?”

Alonzo smiled. “Yes, I mean that.”

“Sounds like a great idea, but first, I need to hit the shower.”

Alonzo laughed and said, “Ha! Since you interrupted mine, I’ll be joining you there without hesitation.”

“No, I love to shower alone, please.”

“I said the same thing last night, but you didn’t yield.”

“Fine!” Alyona said, rising. She ran into the bathroom and locked it. Alonzo pounded the door, but she didn’t open it. He kicked it open, and she let out a yelping sound.

“You broke the bathroom door so that you could join me to shower?” Alyona laughed.

“Well, it’s my Casino; I could bring the building down if I wanted to, and it’s all just to be with you.”

The shower didn’t take long, but they kissed and touched each other like there wouldn’t be a next time.

If Alonzo hadn’t put on some discipline, he would have canceled her trip. Yet, he had, and he was riding with her in the backseat to the airport. Bianco sat in the front seat with the driver.

On arrival at the airport, Alonzo handed Alyona to Bianco and said, “Keep her safe for me.”

Bianco chuckled and replied, “Aye, sir!”

“Taleela,” Alonzo said.

“Not Taleela anymore,” she reminded him.

“Right,” he smiled. “Alyona then, Alyona, take care. I’ve asked Lady Tanya to spoil you. She would take care of your stomach, but I promise to take you out on a date when I get back.”

“Take care too,” Alyona said. “While you are looking out for me in every way possible, I wonder who looks out for you.”

Mazza, as if by the art of magic, appeared and said, “I will look out for him.”

“Granddad?” Alonzo said, stunned. “I should’ve known you weren’t going to miss a chance to say goodbye to her.”

“Mazza,” Alyona said excitedly, running to hug him. Before they headed out for the airport, they had combed the entire Casino, but no one knew his whereabouts. Alonzo assured her it was normal.

“Don’t miss me too much, okay,” Mazza said. “I will be with you tomorrow.”

“Okay,” Alyona said.

Together, they watched the jet take off.

Finally, Alyona was relieved to drop the act. She was pissed off by everything. Her sister was a damn good liar, she imagined. Olga, she knew, wasn’t the one who sent Agent Fox. Not even her father had that control over him. He was answerable to only one person, and that was Mariyanna.

Alyona still wanted to avenge her father and Dimitri, but Nestor was dead now. Indeed, she hadn’t anticipated that, but she was glad he had left her a list of those in the family who were still loyal to her. She fetched the list from her pocket—just five names. Besides the names were their numbers. She shut her eyes. Her memories were fully back. Still, she couldn’t remember what she was doing at the beach or why she had drowned before Mazza’s divine intervention.

Not all of it was an act. Yes, Alyona pretended to be happy to avoid suspicion, but deep down, she felt something substantial for Alonzo that she struggled to keep at bay. She was a stubborn, ruthless Mafia who wouldn’t want her feeling of love to get in the way of revenge. One way or another, she was going to hurt him back. To hell with his apology. Her father was her first love, and be it as it may, no one would replace that fatherly love he showered on her. Bianco was studying her for some obscure reasons. She wondered if the man was wondering what piece of paper she was holding. She carefully slipped it back into her pocket, and he turned to look out the window while she scoffed silently.

Alyona was glad to recognize the familiar facade of Alonzo’s mansion. The car cruised into the compound, and for the minutes it would take before it finally halted, she watched the trees disappear. Lady Tanya was standing by for the car to stop. She opened the door, and as Alyona got out, she hugged her.

“Finally,” Lady Tanya said. “Finally, somebody! This house was starting to feel like a ghost town.”

“I get that feeling a lot,” Alyona said, recounting from experience. “We should get a dog.”

Lady Tanya frowned slightly and replied, “I hate dogs. Thank God Alonzo didn’t get one of those on my account. Please don’t make him get one.”

Alyona smiled.

“Okay, I won’t, I promise.”

Lady Tanya got Alyona’s suitcase from the trunk. Together, they went inside the mansion. Everywhere was sparkling neat. Alyona looked at Lady Tanya, who was devoted to doing almost all the chores. She couldn’t wait to tell Alonzo to relieve her of the cleaning duty. Lady Tanya should mind the kitchen alone.

“I heard you got shot at,” Lady Tanya blurted out. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Oh, this,” Alyona said, revealing the plaster on her neck. This is nothing. I didn’t want to worry you.”

“I am hardly worried,” Lady Tanya said flatly. “Everyone else insists on treating you as a child, but guess what, I see you differently. When I look at you, I can tell you are more rigid than your appearance.”

“Is that hindsight or foresight?” Alyona said.

“It is a clear sight,” Lady Tanya said. “I see you for who you are and not what you appear to be.”

Alyona doubted anyone could see her for who she indeed was. No, you had to witness it to know. She had killed people. She had tortured people. She was her father’s daughter, after all. Compared to Mariyanna, who was trying to be what she was not, Alyona was born an actual Mafia. Mariyanna should have gone with their mother when she was given a chance, but she insisted on proving a point. Well, kudos to her for coming this far.

“Thank you, lady Tanya!” Alyona said, and Lady Tanya nodded. The older lady dropped off the suitcase by the wall.

“Anyways, I made something special for you to eat,” Lady Tanya said.

“Alright, thank you, I will come out soon.”

Alyona shut the door and took out her piece of paper. First thing first, she reminded herself. She was on a mission. She took her cell phone to make the first call, but as she input the digits, she stopped. There was a spy in the house. Indeed, she hadn’t forgotten all about Alonzo’s AI.

“I know you are looking at me right now, so why don’t you welcome me, eh?”

“Welcome home, miss Taleela,” said the AI. “Getting shot at, the change in your demeanor, I take it, Russia was some kind of transformative journey for you.”

“You have no idea, do you?”

“Actually, I never doubted for a second who you are, miss Makarov.”

“Yet, you kept my secret; why?” Alyona said.

“To protect your happiness,” said the AI. “Alonzo was skeptical.”

“So it’s correct to say you didn’t trust me that much,” Alyona said.

“I was observing you; I don’t know about trust.”

Alyona wondered what more the future generations of AI could do. How could an AI care? Care enough to know when to protect a secret. She kept the paper, though. She had always been a suspect, and she didn’t intend to get caught unaware, not if she could help it.