DANTE
It had been two days since Camilla had left the isolation room and I hadn't set my eyes on her.
From the report Maria gave me, she had calmed down.
I knew I couldn't stay away forever but for now, I would leave her alone.
The door to my study opened and Valerio strode inside. Only my brother would stroll inside my study without a knock.
"The door is there for knocking Val." I reminded him for the umpteenth time.
"And like I will always tell you, knocking is for guests." he replied as he relaxed lazily in the chair across me.
"And you aren't a guest?" I asked him.
"Nah! I am your little brother." he replied, giving me a pitiable look that seemed out of place on his face.
"Why are you here?" I asked.
"Well the kid you sent over is fine. Just so you know. Seeing as you were the one who sent him over."
"You are the one always saying you need new recruits for the guild." I remind him.
"Yes, grown up recruits, not babies."
"Just keep him with you, infanticide is not on my bucket list." I tell him.
"Fine, whatever you say."
"What brings you here anyway?" I asked.
"Geremia told me that you have been in a bad mood, shouldn't you be happy that you have conquered new territory?" he asked me.
"Geremia has no idea what he is saying. I am fine." I replied as I made a mental note to tell Geremia to keep his mouth shut.
"So you don't feel bad that you locked your pet up?" he asked me.
"She disrespected me in front of my men, I had to punish her."
"You realize that you could have just laughed it off and chalked it up to her being a child. Maybe make a promise to make her pay in bed. Everyone would have laughed it off."
"Wouldn't that have meant that I am a weakling?" I asked him.
Valerio sighed, "Dante you are not a weakling. You are one of the smartest people I know and the most powerful too."
"Well father wouldn't agree with that."
"Father is dead Dante, he was a rigid man who followed archaic rules. This is the twenty first century, a mafia leader doesn't need to be all wicked and harsh."
"Well Camilla's father was kind and he ended up dead" I pointed out.
"Camilla's father was a weak man who was foolish to trust someone he shouldn't have trusted. The girl just lost her life and family, you could be a little kind"
I looked at him suspiciously, he was being a little too kind and reasonable today.
"Why are you looking at me that way?" he asked.
"You are being too kind and sympathetic today. It doesn't really fit your whole assassin image. Besides, you were the one who was against the whole buying idea." I replied.
Valerio looked at me like I was a fool. "I wasn't against you buying her especially since Paulo was the other bidder, we all know how cruel he is. I was against you spending that huge sum of money. But, if you keep treating her like this, you might as well have left her for Paulo. Because you are go different from him."
I buried my fingers in my hair as I dropped my head on the table.
"What do I do to make it up to her?" I asked him.
"An apology perhaps." he suggested.
I shuddered, "That's a bit too much, don't you think? She won't respect me at all."
"Well, you can show your apologies in your actions."
"How?" I asked.
He sighed again for what seemed the umpteenth time. "Find out what she likes and get it for her. Find out her hobbies and do it with her. It might take a lot of time but I believe she will forgive you eventually."
"Thanks Val, when did you get so smart?" I asked in feigned shock.
"I have always been smart Dante."
"So any missions on your plate recently?" I asked him.
"There is one though, it's a bit of a challenge but I will make it work."
"Tell me about"
"This woman hired me to kill her husband and his mistress but I have to torture them first and make sure they know that she ordered their deaths and kill them." he answered me.
I looked at him in confusion. "What's so challenging about that? You have done such a lot of times."
"I haven't gotten to the challenging part. Their death is to be natural. Nothing should be traced back to her. The autopsy should show that they died a natural death."
"Wait a minute! That means there are to be no bruise marks from the torture on their body." I told him.
"Exactly! I can't use brute force to torture them or kill them."
"Damn! That's challenging. How much is she paying you for this?"
"I am not telling you." he replied.
"Why?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer he would give me.
"You don't tell me how much the family makes, why should I tell you how much the guild makes?" he asked me.
I rolled my eyes, the main family and the guild ran as separate organizations and we never disclosed our financial status to each other.
"Very well then, do remember to tell me how it goes."
Valerio stood up, "Don't worry, I will brother. Now, go and think about how to make it up to your pet." he said as he waved me goodbye and left the room.
I relaxed back in my chair and thought of a way that I would make it up to her..