<-I-L-A-<<< "You heard of me?" He raised his eyebrow.

"No, I think I'm mistaking you for Francesco Casciani," I said, shaking my head. There was no way I got myself involved with the biggest, baddest mafia in America. They were always on the news every night, either with a bank robbery or murder.

"That would be my father." He said, scratching his head.

My jaw dropped. I was sitting down in front of the son of a mafia lord.

"The documentary said nothing about Francesco having a son," I told him.

Il Bisbiglio was a well-known mafia. There were documentaries made of them by polices and detectives. For decades, the cops have been trying to capture any man that had ties with Il Bisbiglio. Not one man was ever caught alive. Just as the police had them in the palm of their hands, they willingly killed themselves. Therefore no information of them ever reached the law, keeping the mafia a mystery.

"We only let out what we want them to know," Matteo said seriously. "If they knew about me, I'd be the second most wanted man alive, next to my father."

"What exactly do you do?" I asked. I didn't know what made me ask that question. Especially since I was afraid to hear the answer.

"None of your business." He said, harshly.

I was taken aback by his sudden mood shift. The guy, five minutes ago, that was openly flirting with me had disappeared.

>>>-M-A-T-T-E-O-> I didn't mean to snap. She doesn't have to know what goes on in the black market. She'll only judge me and the people who are in this risky business. Besides, she seems to already have a good idea of what goes on based on the fearful look she had on her face when saying the mafia's name.

I was debating on whether to apologize or brush it off when my phone rang. I looked at the caller ID and saw it was Lorenzo. I cleared my throat and answered.

"Yes?"

"Where are you?" He asked.

"The gym," I answered. "Why? What's wrong?"

"We have to meet Charlie, remember?"

"Isn't it at six?" I asked. I checked my watch and saw that we had three hours until that time.

"He changed it to five."

"There is no one at the house to watch the doctor." I frowned.

"What happened to your grandmother and sister?"

"My grandma left to drive Serena to the airport. She's dropping off Maria."

"Just bring the girl with you."

Leaving no room for disagreement, Lorenzo ended the call.

I got up from the floor. I was about to offer my hand like a gentleman but Ila was already on her two feet.

I stared at her, contemplating my decision.

"What?" She asked as she shrunk under my gaze. She squirmed and nervously played with her fingers. Realizing that my stare was making her uncomfortable, I shifted my view onto the floor.

<-I-L-A-<<< "Come on, we have to be somewhere," Matteo said.

I put on my shoes and retrieved my bag. I didn't want to go anywhere with him. I might have given my trust without cation. Matteo, without no doubt, was a criminal. Who knows what he can do? If he was anything like his father then he's a cold blood murder. Matteo can be playing games with me, toying with me until he decided to kill me.

Matteo walked in front of me. He led us out of the gym, down some halls, and into the living room where the front door was.

"I need to get something." He said as he made his way to the stairs.

Left alone, I examined the room. On the wall was a big picture. It was obvious that the people in the photo was some of the members of the mafia. The portrait was a bit eerie. They all wore a serious face and dark colors. It must have been taken a few years ago since Matteo looked younger. By him were his father and Giovanni. They were in the middle, surrounded by the other people. Next to them was the guy I remembered that stood in front of me in the donut shop line and a girl. She had blond hair and bright blue eyes. Confidence flowed from her.

I scanned everyone else in the photo. There were at least 100 of them, both genders. All were good looking, strong, and intimidating.

The sound of footsteps alerted me that Matteo was coming downstairs. He was in a new set of clothes. Under his leather jacket was a white T-shirt, hugging his fit body. His black jeans were messily covering the high top part of his compact boots.

"Okay, let's go." He said after slipping a gun into the inside pocket of his leather jacket.

Was he going to bring me to a ditch and murder me there?

Matteo opened the door and held it for me. Feeling uneasy, I forced my legs to walk outside. Should I make a run for it? My eyes roamed the outside. Going on for miles, all I could see was a big nice lawn surrounding the gigantic house in the middle of nowhere in upstate New York.

I glance at Matteo. He had his back faced towards me as he locked the door. If I bolted, he'd waste no time in whipping his gun out and shooting me. I looked down at my shoes and frowned. I shouldn't run in heels. I can end up hurting my ankle.

"The garage is this way," Matteo said as he began to lead me.

It was a separate building. Using the remote, he opened only one of the five big garage doors.

There were rows of rows of cars. My eyes scanned the line up of Ferraris, Lamborghinis, BMWs, Teslas, and other luxurious cars.

A black Mercedes G Wagon in the far end caught my attention, shining in its glory.

"Ila," Matteo called for me.

I was memorized by my ideal car that I didn't notice that he had gone inside and picked one of the many keys that hung on the wall. He pressed down on the key and the Mercedes Jeep beeped.

"Are we taking this car?" I asked in awe.

>>>-M-A-T-T-E-O-> Right as the garage door opened, I saw Ila eyeing Marcella's Mercedes Jeep. Still feeling guilty for snapping at her, I decided to do something nice.

"Are we taking this car?" Ila asked, breaking into a smile. I felt the tension and anxiety roll off of her.

I nodded and we walked over to the car. I was the first to get there and hopped into the passenger seat.

In front of the car, Ila stood there confused. I smirked, looking at her through the windshield. I pointed at her and then to the driver's seat. She gasped and quickly walked to the driver's side, opening the door and poking her head inside.

"Wait, you're telling me that I can drive this?" I can hear the excitement in her voice.

"If you'd like," I said, casually.

"I don't know where we are going."

"Don't worry," I said, pointing at a small screen on the dashboard. "There is a GPS."

I dangled the keys in front of her and she snatched it from my hands. She jumped inside and started the engine.

Ila was smiling as she pulled out of the garage, ecstatic. The sight of her so happy made me grin without thinking. Realizing that I was smiling, I cleared my throat and looked out the window.

<~> I'm planning on updating the next chapter tomorrow since I can't want to next Saturday. Chapter 10 is probably my favorite chapter so far because Ila and Matteo get to know each other a bit more :)

Please so much love <3