Page 13 of His Black Onyx

Chapter 7

Nate

"We have a mission, and that mission is to–"

"Who is we?"

I growl angrily, throwing her an irked look.

"For fuck sake, stop interrupting me!" I bark at her. "One more time and I'll just whip your sorry ass into submission instead of answering your questions. And stop speaking with your mouth full."

She stops chewing, her eyes widening in a blend of surprise and terror when our eyes meet. That expression makes her look so much younger, her cheeks round from the greedy bite she tore off the sandwich and her eyes big and round like those of a child.

She looks so much like Lailah right now that it's borderline creepy.

A simple nod is all she can muster as a response, but that's fine with me. I want her to listen, not to speak.

I clear my throat, trying to collect myself and find the right words to tell her what she needs to know. I can't tell her everything, not if she's to come out of this alive. I take no joy in killing pretty girls, and I have no intention of making an exception with her.

Unless I absolutely have to. Her life is not worth as much as my own.

"The Onyx mission is a promise," I begin. "A promise for a marriage between two young people to create a bond between us and a family."

A faint furrow emerges between her eyebrows.

"Mafia family," I elaborate. "We're working with them, or trying to. This marriage would be the start of a connection that is not established yet."

"You're mafia," she gasps, biting her lip when she catches herself speaking even after I told her not to.

I shake my head. "No, I am not. We are not. We just want to work with them, or rather, under their protection. It's becoming harder and harder to navigate in this world without having any ties to them."

I raise an eyebrow at her. "You can't tell me you've never heard of the New England Mafia and their hold on this area?"

"Well, I'm... I guess," she stutters, disbelief lacing her features. "It's not like I ever... met anyone who... you know, worked with them or anything."

Her eyelashes flutter nervously as she looks back and forth between me and a random spot in the dim room. I can't wait to get out of here. And I can't wait to get her out of here. This room is not meant for anyone to sleep in. It's too damp, too moldy and cold.

"Well, you have now," I continue. "And you are a part of it now, whether you want to be or not. Because you see, Lailah was the one who was supposed to carry out this mission for us. She was the one who was promised to that damn Scivola boy."

"Scivola?" she interjects with another question.

I sigh. "The family we're hoping to work with. They set their eyes on Lailah years ago, when she was still a teenager, way too young to be considered for something like this. But their proposal was intriguing enough for us to make a deal with them. Once Lailah turned 21 years old, she was to become the wife of the first son of one of their bosses."

Her shoulders grow more tense with every word as she slowly gains understanding of what her role will be in all of this.

"Who is Lailah?" she dares to ask, caution overshadowing her posture. "And where is she? Why do you need me to pretend to be her?"

"Lailah is one of us. She grew up under the boss's wings after losing her parents as a child," I explain. "She's as loyal as can be, owing her life to the boss, and to us. But..."

I pause, biting my lips in anger as I try to maintain my composure. It's a fucking tragedy, next to all the shit that this causes for all of us, it's just that. A tragedy. Unfair.

"She got sick, very sick," I go on. "She won't live much longer, and she sure as hell won't be able to carry out the mission, even though she's been prepping for it for years now."

The girl sucks in a sharp breath.

"So, you want me to marry this... Scivola boy?" she asks, her eyes wide with disbelief. "And just pretend to be someone I'm not? For the rest of my life?"

I can't suppress a laugh at her naive question. It's understandable, of course. I spoke of marriage, and for a girl like her, spoiled with romantic notions of eternal love, that means forever.

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