Proserpina


    That night, Lucien came up to bedte. I had already dozed off, waiting for him. When he slipped into the bed and pulled my body to his, I murmured sleepily and pressed my body into his. Like spoons, I giggled sleepily. He grunted, his hand moving to cup my breasts possessively.


    After a while, he rasped,


    “I do not want that woman, Sophie, in my house again.’


    I stiffened.


    “What’s wrong, Lucien?’ I asked. Suddenly awake. ‘What? Has something happened?’


    He did not say anything more, just stroked my stomach tenderly and I fell asleep after a while, lulled by the motion. But the next morning, as I was checking my mail and replying to Alex Wu, the memory of what he had said came back to me. Lucien had left already. He had to attend a meeting, he said. A powerful Mafia Don from the Cosa Nostra faction was celebrating his daughter’s wedding.


    I had been puzzled; Lucien Dno avoided such functions like the gue. What hadpelled him to go this time?


    But as he watched me pack his bag for him, there was a brooding look on his face. I carefully ced the midnight blue tuxedo with the cored shirt and the patent leather shoes in therge suitcase.


    Lucien liked it when I packed his bag. He would watch me, his grey eyes glittering, but today he seemed slightly irritated.


    He was setting his papers in his briefcase, and I turned to him.


    “When will you be back?’ I asked wistfully.


    I felt lost when I woke up at night and did not find him with me. He grunted,


    “I will be back tomorrow.’


    I watched him. He seemed ill at ease, like a lion that was waiting impatiently for his prey. Lucien never mentioned his business but at times, I overheard things as he discussed matters with Schwartz when they were rxing over an after-dinner drink in therge living room.


    “Will Schwartz being with you?’ I asked, rubbing the small of my back surreptitiously. It ached at times.


    He looked up, grey eyes like coldsers. Immediately I stopped massaging my back. I did not want to get him rmed.


    “Woman.’ He growled, in his deep baritone, ‘Are you feeling okay?’


    I dimpled and went closer.


    “Yes , my Lord.’ I giggled.


    And then, wrapping my arms around his neck, I added,


    ‘Lucien, you never attend such events…?’


    He kissed the tip of my nose, gently.


    “Woman, little tease,’ he chided me, his voice a rumble, ‘There are some things I do not want you to know. It is safer that way.’


    I studied him curiously. This powerful, tough man, who would not hesitate to kill if his loved ones were threatened, as I had seen firsthand.


    With the thick grey hair and the cold grey eyes, the brawny ‘physique, and the strength of a boxer in his arms, he looked attractive in a rugged way that invariably made my knees go weak. His lips twisted slightly, as though he was amused by my perusal as he watched me in turn.


    ‘Seeing me for the first time, little girl?’ he growled, and I smiled, rising on my toes to kiss the harsh mouth.,” Like what you see?’


    He was openly mocking me, and I blushed.


    “I did that many years ago on a chilly evening at a notorious Club, Sir.’ I said, kissing the corner of his mouth.


    “And I have not stopped looking since.’ I thought.


    ‘Notorious, eh?’ he growled, kissing me hard, his hand moving down to fondle me. I tipped my head back andughed.


    He said it again,


    “Notorious? I have f*cked you repeatedly in my office there, haven’t I.’ He snarled, biting my lower lip, and I gasped in arousal.


    “I will be back in one night’s time.’ he grunted, kissing me fiercely.


    “It is important to gather people to my side, ‘ he added, almost to himself.


    And then again, capturing my mouth with a snarl,


    ‘Wait for me, my horny little woman.’


    He left soon after, getting into the car without a backward nce. I stood watching him leave from the drawing-room windows, ude in my arms, Ria and Piers having dashed back to y.


    ‘Come back soon, my love.’ I thought.


    *


    Danielle and Grace turned up, as a surprise that evening. Danielle had to dash back but she did open up when I asked her about Sophie.


    “Dunno about that kid,’ she said, her voice hoarse from smoking but still puffing away on a cigar.


    “She goes around with a sore head. Snapping at everyone, staff and clients. So I put her on kitchen duty for a month. Hates it but she got no choice.’


    She puffed again and I coughed.


    ‘Oh, sorry.’ She said and made to grind it out under her foot.


    Grace squealed and stopped her from dropping it on the expensive Kashmir carpet.


    And then Danielle added,


    “I think she has something to do with that pig, Worthington.’


    I baulked. It couldn’t be true, I thought but her words echoed in my mind.


    Aiyana


    Schwartz and she were together all the time these days. She sighed as she shifted her gaze from theptop on the table and taking off her sses, she rubbed her eyes.


    All morning long, she had been working on finding out more about Dmitri Rudenko. A number of files sat in theptop, brimming with information, She preferred to do her work when Schwartz was out of the house.


    The man had grown on her. He was kind and caring, considerate, and yes, loving. Gentle too, in bed. She missed her husband, but he was already bing a distant dream. Like a speck on the railroad station, as the train moved away, she thought.


    *


    This morning, Schwartz had untied her ck hair which she generally preferred to wear in a long, no-nonsense braid.


    “You look lovely,’ he had said, almost worshipfully as he straddled her and they made love at dawn.


    She smiled. They were behaving like teenagers.


    At the ripe age of thirty-two, she thought drily, she should be more responsible, she chided herself.


    *


    Kicking off her flip flops, she wandered over to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water. As she drank it, she thought of what Schwartz had said the previous evening.


    ‘We are going to meet Proserpina and the kids this weekend.’


    He had said as he was preparing to leave for the Club. She had stood, leaning against the wall, arms folded, watching him.


    ‘Oh? She asked, ‘Why?’


    He had turned to her, genuine surprise on his face.


    “Proserpina cooks like a dream! And … don’t you want to meet the kids?’


    Aiyana shrugged She was not particrly fond of children.


    But her curiosity was piqued. She knew that Dno himself was attending the wedding festivities of some biggie Mafia hood in some other state and he would be back by the end of the week.


    She had collected a lot of information on Dmitri Rudenko.


    Herptop had many locked files with details about the man. All of it was information from her trusted sources.


    Which was another reason why she preferred to work when Schwartz was away.


    Now she tapped her fingernail on the surface of the bottle and thought,


    Things were going to move fast if what her sources had told her was true…This content ? N?v/elDr(a)m/a.Org.


    *


    Sophie.


    She lifted the phone. She had been instructed to pass on any information about the Dno family.


    “Here goes,’ she thought and began to punch in the numbers, her fingers sweaty and trembling.