Page 35 of Enzo DeLuca

Enzo

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He showered quickly.

After drying off, he towel-dried his hair before tossing the towels into the hamper. Then he quickly dressed, choosing to wear a black T-shirt, black jogging pants, and black socks. With his hair still damp, he left his bedroom and ventured into the kitchen, where he poured himself a glass of wine.

It was almost time for him to meet with Eve. Enzo swirled the wine around in his glass and reminded himself why he was about to do what he was about to do. There had been a fire mishap under his roof caused by an ex-fire-fighter. That in itself seemed like an oxymoron. Of course, it could've been an honest mistake.

It could’ve been a pure coincidence that a former firefighter had nearly blown up his microwave. Enzo didn't believe in coincidences. Shit happened because motherfuckers made shit happen. Since it was intentional, he found himself trying to figure out why his piccola testimone,little witness, had done it.

It hadn't been an escape attempt. The guard had mentioned that she'd stood outside the kitchen as they put the fire out, and she hadn't tried to flee. What had she hoped to gain with her actions? His anger? His attention? If that was what she'd wanted, she'd succeeded. Soon she'd regret her success.

Glass in hand, Enzo left the kitchen, turning the light switch off as he passed it. When he made it back to his room, he placed his glass on his nightstand before sitting down on the edge of the bed to make a call.

"Hello, sir," Giorgio answered his call.

"You're outside her door, right?"

"Yes, sir. I haven't moved."

“What is she doing?”

“She had been screaming for me to open the door. Now, she’s quiet.”

If she wasn’t tied to the bed, her quietness would worry him.

"Walk down the hall a bit,” Enzo instructed Giorgio. “I don't want her to hear our conversation."

"Yes, sir." A few seconds later, Giorgio said, “I’m at the end of the hall. I still have eyes on her door.”

“Good. I was told that after the incident, you and Orto put the fire out. Before putting it out, you escorted Ev... our witness, out of the kitchen and told her to wait outside the door.”

“Yes, sir. That’s correct.”

“And she didn’t try to escape?”

“No. Even if she had, she wouldn’t have been able to get out of the house.”

True. “And she wasn’t handcuffed at the time, right?”

“Not before the incident. She was cuffed after the incident.”

“Why was she cuffed after the incident?”

“Because whether she tried to start the fire or not, she’d still caused damage to your property. For that, I had to handcuff her until you arrived to determine what to do with her.”

“Why weren’t you by her side while she was preparing her food?”

“I apologize for my negligence, sir.”

“I didn’t ask for an apology. I want to know why you weren’t by her side.”

“Though it doesn’t excuse my actions, I’d only stepped out for a moment because Orto wanted to relay a message to me. When I heard her scream, I returned to the kitchen and saw the flames. My priority had been getting her out of there...”

“Why had she been your priority?” A sudden surge of jealousy washed over him. Was Giorgio attracted to Eve? “Why wasn’t my damn property your priority?”

“Your property was my priority. Eve is your property, sir.”

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