CHAPTER FIVE

IGNAZIO

It has been a long day, one full of surprises. Therefore, Ignazio is enjoying every second he is spending on the comfortable sofa in the playroom with Alonso. It is five o'clock in the morning, but neither of them care. After all, they are used to sleep deprivation.

"Dude! That is cheating." Ignazio yells throwing the controller on the floor when he loses for the seventh time.

"No, it is not. Just because you are a chitty player does not mean you get to accuse me of being a cheater!" The right hand man grabs the pillow on his left, and throws it at his boss who catches it before it collides with his face.

The two men spend a couple of minutes cursing and throwing random objects at one another until eventually Leora walks in and leans on the wall next to the screen.

"What the hell are you two doing? Some of us actually sleep during the night." She complains as she rubs her sleepy eyes with her hands.

"What?" Ignazio raises his eyebrow at the tired woman before him. He walks to the sofa and reclaims his previous spot knowing that he and Alonso are going to receive a lecture from one of the two women who live in the house.

"Sleeping? You know that thing when you put on your pajamas, go to bed, and close your eyes in the hopes of waking up the next morning with new energy? Does it ring a bell?" She pulls her hands up in the air.

"Of course it does not."

Ignazio has known Leora for as long as he can remember. She is Alonso's little sister, and his best friend would do anything to make her happy. Once, when they were children, Leora came to her brother crying because some girl in her class slapped her. Instead of claiming revenge on the girl for hurting his sibling, Alonso tied Ignazio to one of the iron columns in the schools playground, and had Leora punch him in front of the entire school until she felt satisfied with herself. Moreover, no teacher ever showed up to stop her from assaulting him. Needless to say, it was the most humiliating experience he had gone through. Since that day, the right hand man never doubted the limits his boss would cross to draw a smile on his sister's face.

"Seriously Leora, what is wrong?" Alonso looks her way for the first time since she entered the room, but he does not bother to sit back down.

The tension starts to eat on Ignazio's nerves. Hence, he picks up a cigarette and a lighter from his pocket. He takes a quick glance at Leora to make sure she is not looking his way. He lights the cigarette up, and puts the thing between his lips as he waits for his best friend's sister to notice and scold him. When a few seconds pass without her seeing it, he starts smoking.

"Alonso, you just received a call from your friend saying that his sister almost got abducted by your greatest nemesis, and you are here playing x-box?"

"It is play station actually." Ignazio murmurs as he releases some smoke from his lungs.

"Are seriously smoking right now? How many times have I told you to quit this bad habit?" Suddenly, he is reminded why he has never been that close to Leora. She is a control freak, and if she fails to control you, you can be sure that she will make your life a living hell because of it. Many times Ignazio was tempted to put her in her place, and point out the dull fact that whatever he does is none of her concern, but his fear of what Alonso might do always stopped him. This time is not different; therefore, he leaves it to his friend to deal with her.

"No offense little sister, but the mafia business is none of your concern. I have everything under control, so please do not try to fix something that is not broken, and something you do not understand for that matter." Another reason why he has never hurt Leora's feeling is because despite everything, he loves her as a sister, he knows that she is a good person, and her intentions are always good; thus, he is always there for her whenever she needs him. They are not close, but they are good friends.

As her friend, he notices the hurt in her eyes because of what her brother told her, and Alonso fails to notice that since he is focusing on his phone, which being held tightly in his hand. The right hand man whistles for Leora, once she turns to him, he grants her a wink before throwing a play station hand at Alonso. It hits him in the head since he is too much distracted with his phone to be aware of his surroundings.

"Fanculo, what the heck man?" The Italian mafia boss almost pulls his gun out. Ignazio does not bother to mask his smirk, while Leora proudly chuckles aloud.

"Thank you Ignazio." Leora high fives the mafia man

"Look, I am sorry for my outburst. It is just it has been a long week with the crisis of Nick, and Hannah's surgery, and now finally we are having dome free time even though it is in the middle of the night. If you insist; however, I will tell you everything." Both men laugh at Leora as she nods her head eagerly.

"Alright then, Ignazio and Alberto chose a volunteer for Hannah, and I checked up everything after them about the chosen man, and everything is good. The surgery should take place sometime next week. As for Nick, his parents along with few of Ivan's men barged into his house a few hours ago. He was forced to sneak his sister Crystal out of the house and straight into the airport along with Lucas. They should arrive to Italy in at least six hours. I already had Alberto find the perfect house for her to stay in for as long as needed, and Nazi will befriend her so he can check on her from time to time." Ignazio finishes his cigarette and press it on the ashtray as his boss explains today's events, which he cringes at hearing, all these things happened in one day.

"But why cannot she come live with us? She would be safer here, wouldn't she?" Leora's lips make a duck shape as she tries to think.

"She would, but she does not know anything about the mafia, and Nick wants to keep it that way." Ignazio murmurs.

"Wait, he has been lying to her for years about something this important?" horror is painted on Leora's features.

"Well, that should tell you how like you are to have a brother like me." Alonso smirks.

"Oh please, the only reason she knows is because she would kill you if you even think about hiding it from her, and it would not matter if you are a mafia leader." Ignazio earns a death glare from Leora for saying that but the fragile woman only causes him to burst out laughing.

"Well, as much fun it is to bark along with the DiFronzo siblings, I am going to get some sleep. After all, I have to meet up an old friend and a threatened woman at the airport six or seven hours from now." Ignazio gets off the sofa and starts heading for the door.

"And that is just one thing I have to get done tomorrow, or today, or whatever." He salutes the two people in the room before leaving.

Ignazio has been waiting for Lucas and Crystal to show up for the past few hours in his car. They are supposed to be escorted by some bodyguards to him once their private jet lands. Despite knowing better, the Italian man cannot help but wonder how Crystal Moreno looks like. Nick has done a marvelous job of deleting everything about her; there is not anything about her even in the government's database. He must not be surprised; the mafia boss's sister would be the perfect target for anyone who seeks revenge against the Brazilian mafia. Therefore, she is non-existent to the world.

Still, he cannot help but draw thousands of images of how she looks like; her height, her hair, the color of her eyes, and the shape of her lips. God, he really hopes she is attractive, he can use the company of an appealing face.

"Let me guess, you are dreaming about some stripper you met the other night?" Ignazio is pulled out of his train of thoughts by a man's voice, one he has not heard in months. He immediately gets up and gives a bro hug to his Brazilian friend.

"Hello to you too Lucas, it has been a while." Both men pull apart.

"Indeed. The Last time I saw you, you were convinced you were in love with a stripper named Bonnie, how is she by the way?" Ignazio almost forgot Lucas's sense of humor.

"Ha ha, very funny" He hit the Brazilian man of the arm while smirking. His smirk; however, vanishes when he hears a feminine chuckle. He looks behind Lucas to find a very beautiful woman covering her mouth as she laughs. She is a brunette; her hair reaches right before her mid-back. Her eyes are small; they are captivating green with long eyelashes that help shape them. Moreover, her lips are light pink, and match her pale skin.

"And you must be Crystal, Nick's little sister." Ignazio offers his hand for the lady to shake. It takes her a few seconds before accepting his hand and shaking it.

"You are right. Though I must say, it is kind of weird that you know who I am, but I do not even know your name." She retrieves her hand from his and rubs the back of her head while smiling sweetly at the Italian man.

Ignazio gives Lucas a look, wondering if he should tell her his real name. After all, his name has been on the news quiet often.

"This is Nazi; he is a close friend. Therefore, you can trust him." Ignazio gives Lucas a weird look; he has never called him Nazi before.

"I could have introduced myself Lucas, thank you very much. Now, enough chit chat, let's go and see the house I have picked out for you Crystal."

Alonso had Ignazio choose a house thirty minutes away from their mansion for their friend's sister, and the drive to get there from the airport takes about forty minutes. Ignazio is in the driver's seat; Lucas is in the passenger's seat, while Crystal is in the middle seat in the back.

"So, Crystal, we are going to see a lot of each other in the next few months, so why do not you tell me a little bit about yourself." Initially, he is the one who is assigned to keep an eye on Crystal since Alberto has a lot on his plate, and Alonso is the mafia boss. Besides, Nicholas requested that no one beside them and Leora know about Crystal. Therefore, it is only right he gets to know his new job.

"As her best friend, it is my job to warn you that she is really mischievous and immature. She cannot be serious about anything, literally." Lucas gives the only lady in the car an evil smile. Ignazio looks at the Brazilian woman through the mirror to see her smiling innocently at her best friend before she pinches his left ear and keeping pressure on it causing Lucas to yelp and let out a rather loud "awe."

"Do not fill his mind with lies about me Jackass!" She smirks at both men in the front as she leans back in her seat and makes herself comfortable.

"Lies? Okay, I will prove it. When she was eight years old, she put a serpent in my backpack. When I opened it once I got to school, the damn serpent immediately got out and terrorized the entire class, including the teacher. I got detention for two months." Ignazio chuckles at the image he creates in his mind of young Lucas trying to defend himself before the school principle.

"You have to admit, you crying before the principle and your parents was one hell of a show." Crystal bursts out laughing.

"And let's not forget just a few days ago when you pinned me to the floor and shoved that disgusting green liquid into my mouth." Lucas pulls his hands up in the air.

"Oh, so now it is disgusting? I thought it was the best thing anyone can taste." Ignazio can tell that the few days he is going to spend with these two are going to be memorable. They are like Timon and Pumbaa.

"And to answer your question Nazi. I am twenty-four years old, but I have no job because I rely on Nick financially. No wait scratch that, I rely on my brother on everything. I prefer isolation instead of being surrounded by fake people. Also, some might argue that I am crazy, and I guess this pretty much sums it up. How about you?" She slides the glass of the window down before taking out a cigarette and a lighter and begins smoking. Ignazio stares at her through the mirror with amusement, he has never seen a woman smoke before, and it is sexy as hell.

"Well, for starters, I am twenty-six years old – a year younger than Lucas-, I have known your brother and your best friend for almost a decade, and I will be your only friend once this guy goes back to Brazil." Ignazio is aware that Nick would have his head if he as much as thinks inappropriately of his sister, but he just cannot help himself; she is so beautiful.

"Hey Nazi"

"Yeah?"

"Would you please stop eye raping me, and focus on the road?" for some reason, Ignazio's cheeks burn up at her words. He takes a quick glance to his left to see Lucas giving him a look. His embarrassment forces him to do as told, and focuses on the road for the rest of the drive to the house.

"Oh My God, it is breathtaking." Crystal covers her mouth with her hand as she stands in the middle of the living room of her new home.

"I know it is not much, but I guess it will do." Ignazio looks at his feet still reluctant to meet Crystal's eyes.

"Are you kidding? It is perfect!" She exclaimed with excitement.

"I am going to the second floor, and find myself a room to collapse and sleep until tomorrow morning." Lucas murmurs as he goes up the stairs.

"Are you tired as well?" The Italian man tries to be polite.

"I am hungry actually." She throws herself on one of the couches.

"We can order something, how do you feel about Pizza?"

"That would be great thank you." She grabs the remote and flips the TV on while he walks to the other room to order the food.

Before he makes the call to the pizza place, Ignazio calls a friend. It takes a few rings before the other line opens.

"Everything alright Ignazio?"

"Yeah, I just called to check in. We just arrived at the house, and Crystal and I are about to order dinner. "

"Oh really, are you friends with my sister now?" He can feel Nicholas's sly smirk even though he cannot see him.

"Shut your hole. The woman is hot. If all Brazilian women look like that, then I am in desperate need for a trip there."

"Just remember that your job is to protect her, not to fuck her. I trust you around my sister; please do not make me regret it." He can feel all humor vanished in Nicholas's voice.

"Do not worry bro; I know how important this is. Nothing will happen to your sibling, not while she is under the care of the Italians. In addition, we have a few hidden guards around the house to keep her safe."

"Good, just make sure she does not spot any of them." And just like that the line ends. Ignazio orders the pizza, then goes back to the living room to find Crystal sitting in the same position she was in before he left the room, only she is busy with playing with her fingers rather than paying attention to the TV.

"Are you having a reflective moment?" He sits next to her on the couch.

"No, I am just thinking."

"What about?" He finds this weird random urge to know what is bothering her, and maybe talk to her about it. In this moment, he forgets her looks and how attractive she is. In this moment, she feels like a sister to him. Therefore, he feels bipolar.

"I just met you a few hours ago, and you want me to share my deepest thoughts with you?"

"Good point." He chuckles.

"How about we watch a movie until the pizza arrives?" He offers.

"That sounds like a good plan."