CHAPTER EIGHT

ALONSO

Ever since he was a little kid, Alonso knew that he will not grow up to be the typical Mafia leader. He knew that cruelty and inhumanity are things he is going to have to act out; they were not and still are not a part of who he is. They however emerge out of thin air when one of his beloved suits gets ruined, which is what just happened to his brand new Brioni black Madison suit. He insults the woman that ruined his precious clothing with all his might, and his fury only increases when she smiles at him and walks away like she did not just commit a crime.

Blinded by anger he follows after her and grabs her arm tightly before she can run away from him. He can see her body stiffen as the wind cause her hair to fly into way too many directions.

"Your meaningless apology is not going to fix what you have done to a suit that costs more than your entire wardrobe you clumsy bitch!" He yells at her.

Slowly, she turns around to face him as she uses her hand to push he brown hair away from her face. By the way her body stiffened just moments ago he expected her to look at him with fear maybe even with tears in her eyes, but that is not how she looks at him. The Italian mafia leader is taken aback by the wrath in her eyes. His eyes leave her angry ones and travel to the rest of her face; her eyebrows are shaped in the right way to match her captivating green eyes, her pink lips would have been kissable if she is not cursing him.

"Did you just call me a bitch?" She scratches the hand that is holding her arm with her nails causing Alonso to let her go with a startled gasp.

"Fanculo, what is wrong with you woman? You do not just…"

"I understand that I ruined your clothes but that does not give you the right to call me a bitch!" Alonso cannot help but feel a little dazed; no one has ever talked to him like that before. He knows that he should be angry, but all his anger has been replaced by amazement.

"An asshole like yourself does not deserve to be regarded as a human being and be apologized to, because even if you apologize to a dog it would understand what the word 'sorry' means and implies." At her words his anger starts to emerge once again. He would never hurt an innocent woman, not physically at least, and while he refuses to show a woman any kind of cruelty, he would still expect them to show him respect, and if they do not, then his words will be sharper than a knife. But if a woman is part of a mafia, well it is a completely different story.

Alonso cannot stop himself before his right hand around the young lady's throat, while holding her hair tightly with his left one; he makes sure that his ire is noticeable.

"Listen here you bitch," he makes sure to emphasize the last word. Which does not work out for his favor since she throws whatever that is left in her cup on his head causing him to let her go in surprise.

"Might as well play the part I have been given" she mutters as she turns around and walks away.

Once again the Italian man does not control his own actions; he follows the mysterious lady and grabs her arm pulling her to him. Her eyes meet his, while his focus on studying her soft features, hers are still filled with anger. Alonso goes back to all the women her has met before but he cannot recall any woman – or a man- for that matter who has ever held themselves the way this lady does. There is a certain fire in her green eyes, a fire that is capable of consuming one's soul if they look into them for too long.

Another thing that makes Alonso DiFronzo different from the standard mafia leader is that he believes in love. He believes that one day he will meet the right woman and he will fall madly in love. Sure, he has killed many people, and he has tortured and maimed a lot more, but he never claimed that his heart is made of stone or that it is as cold as ice. On the contrary, he reckons that the mafia life will not destroy other aspects of his life.

Alonso has always doubted that love can occur at first sight, it rises from knowing the person and falling for their bad traits before their good, it is something that the person gradually gets soaked in until eventually they allow themselves to drawn in it. He believes, however, that he may take an interest in a woman once he meets her, which is something that is happening with him right now.

He is certain that he has some kind of interest in the woman who is currently in his arms, he cannot however decide whether it will ultimately lead to love. After all, his interest in the few women that has caught his eye before was diminished greatly one way or another until eventually it was gone completely.

"I'm sure your mother has taught you to be more polite and elegant with people you just met." He gives her a smirk as he manages to regain his calm.

"Yeah, that rule can only be implied if I plan on being acquainted with said person, which I sure you that is not the case right here." He does not know why, but something inside him wants to see what it would take to make her show any sign of fear, or hesitant at least because one of the two things that attract him about her is her attitude. It is not about the way that she fights back, but rather the way she holds herself. Alonso cannot help but think he is an idiot for thinking this, but somehow it makes sense to him.

"Just because you act like a confident bitch, does not mean you get to escape this situation that you stupidly put yourself in." he grits his teeth as he forces himself to look intimidating. For some weird reason, he does not want her to be scared of him; deep down he knows it is because of his hope of one day finding love.

"As you can see my suit is ruined, and I cannot exactly walk around looking like this. So, you are fixing this little problem." He smirks at her fearing his words or what she might think their implications might be.

"Well, if you mean to say that you wish for me to lend you my clothes then, I am afraid that is not possible; not because I am unwilling but because they will not fit you." He is taken aback by her fake sweet smile.

Suddenly, he sees a glint of mischief in her eyes indicating that she is up to something. And he finds himself intrigued and curious as to what she is thinking.

"I can, however, help you steal some clothes from one of the houses a few blocks away." He is tempted to snap at her and remind her how expensive his suit is, but finds himself wanting to spend a reckless few hours with the appealing before him.

"And I assume you know how to steal without getting caught?" he tries to conceal it, but he is extremely excited to do such a childish thing. As the leader of the Italian Mafia, he does not get to enjoy little moments like this one. Therefore, he decides to relish the moment. After all, he does not know if he will see the mysterious woman again.

"What? Getting caught is the fun part, and you just want to avoid it?" the horrified look she gives Alonso grants her an amused chuckle from him.

"Well, then I should not stand in the way of your fun. Shall we?" he asks her playfully.

"I feel like I should at least know your name before we do this." Alonso says as they walk side by side trying to find the perfect house. Even though he has committed countless and much more crimes before, Alonso tries to act as if he is nervous.

"Well, you can call me Crys." She answers looking at the building they are passing through; she does not even glance his way.

"I meant your actual name." He smirks as he looks at her, examining her features under the moon light. She is beautiful, but that is not what he thinks is special about her. It is the way her eyes spark when she talks about causing mischief, it is the way she holds herself, and it is her care freeness. He doesn't picture his life with her; he didn't fall in love with her from the first glance. But he can, however, see himself falling gradually in love with her as he gets to know her; that is if he ever sees her after tonight.

"Call me old fashioned, but I am not the kind of person to trust strangers with my name."

"Well, in that case I won't tell you my name either." He gives her a playful smile.

"That's fine; I already have a name for you in my mind." She sounds satisfied with herself causing Alonso to give her a nickname of his own in his head; beautiful fire. It is definitely more fitting for her wild personality that Crys. In all his twenty seven years he never met a woman with such fire who is this comfortable around a man like that.

"Dare I ask what is this nickname?" He is strangely intrigued by many things in her.

"Bagel; because you know they are kind of salty, just like you." Her evil smile tells him that he is meant to be annoyed but he is not. He is about to reply when she abruptly stops in her tracks.

"That is disturbingly cliché." She mumbles with a pout on her lips. Alonso follows the direction she is looking at to see a small two story house that has a small backyard, a car in the driveway, and countless pieces of clothes on three clotheslines.

A chuckle escapes Alonso's mouth when he realizes that that particular house is their target. He takes a look at Crys to find her eyes glowing like a child's who has been gifted a huge jar of biscuits. She mindlessly grabs his wrist and drags him towards the house.

They walk soundlessly around the house until they reach the back yard. Crys lets go of his hand and points with her finger at the lights indicating that the owners are home. Alonso thinks that the beautiful fire will back down because of that. Surprisingly, however, she gives him an exited smirk before she makes her way through the property towards the clotheslines.

"Alright sir, take your pick. Although I do recommend the dress, but that is just my opinion." Crys pretends to be in deep thought as she studies a sleeveless short light purple dress causing the mafia man to get slightly angry. Not enough to actually harm her though.

"I think I will settle with those." He informs her with a harsh glare that she totally overlooks. From the beginning, Alonso isn't planning to wear any stolen clothes. He would never wear such cheap clothes, and most certainly not when it had been worn by someone else. Still, he is enjoying every second of his night even though it is not unfolding in the way he expected it to.

A part of Alonso is amazed by how they still haven't been caught yet; they are not being exactly cautious or quiet. As if on cue, the beautiful fire grabs a shovel that was laid on the grown next to other gardening tools and aims at the nearest window.

"Don't run until they come out." Even though he is not a fan of the fact that she raised her finger in his face, he let it slide because he is more focused on what the crazy woman is about to do.

Despite being used to chaos and loud noises, the entire world freezes when the beautiful fire throws the shovel towards the window with all her might. Alonso finds himself going through his memory trying to remember feeling a thrill like the one he is feeling at the moment, but he fails.

Thrill is his companion through many things in his life especially when it is related to his mafia life. He never loved his life style; still his companion has been with him when he went on missions, when he was plotting war against someone, and even when he tortured people.

At this particular moment, he is feeling a different type of thrill; one he has never felt before. For some weird reason, that excites him. As a mafia leader, he should ignore this feeling and pretend that he is not capable of actual feelings. Luckily, that is the one part of the mafia leader role that he has never been able to do, and he never pretended otherwise or felt ashamed by it.

Suddenly, a woman in her late fifties comes out holding a pat. She throws countless colorful curses towards them as she approaches them a little too slowly. Alonso cannot decide if her speed has something to do with her age or her pink house slippers. Nonetheless, he doesn't hesitate before he throws the clothes to the floor and gets a tight hold on Cry's left wrist before he takes off running.

Alonso looks back at Crys to see her hysterically laughing as she watches the woman who is actually running after them. He feels a smile forming on his lips when he sees the utter joy on her face. Her laughter stops a few seconds later and is places with a serious expression. Before the mafia leader can comprehend what is happening, she pulls him to the left side of the street they are running on and then between the houses.

After a few minutes of running, they end up in an isolated area where there is nothing but trees and the animals that hide between their branches. The beautiful fire leans on a tree to catch her breath before she jumps in glee.

"I told you the fun part is getting caught. " She throws her head back and resumes her laughing. Thus, he laughs along with her. He has never had this much fun in his entire life, and he can't help but want to do it again.

"I can't believe you threw the clothes just like that. Still, I did my part and fulfilled my promise, so now if you will excuse me I have to go." She turns around and start to walk away from him.

His heart drops at her words; he doesn't want this to end, this feeling this joy. In addition, he knows that if she walks away now, he will never see her again, and that thought burned his chest.

"Do you even know where you are going? You can get lost." He lamely says as an attempt to convince her to stay with him, just a little longer. He is not ready to give up this thrill yet. He almost dances in victory when she stops in her tracks and smirks at him.

"Something tells me that you don't know how to live my friend; getting lost would be another adventure, another story that I will reminisce in ten or twenty years as I tell it to my children or my grandchildren with a huge smile on my face. I will tell it with such pride because I will know that unlike most humans on this planet, I had lived, I had tasted the glory of adventure and everything that comes with it, and I will have no regrets."

Alonso is taken aback by her words; he didn't take her to be a profound person with profound insight on life. That just made him not want her to walk away even more. Her words hit his soul, they expressed something he has always chased but never got; his life didn't allow him to.

Yet, here is this mysterious woman standing before him and she somehow represents everything he has ever wanted. He didn't foresee meeting her; she came like a hurricane that is now striping him from his balance.

"I am not exactly comfortable letting you walk through these deserted streets on your own in this hour." He decided to be honest. Alonso has never believed in love at first sight; you can only love someone after you know all their flaws. And he knows for a fact that he is not magically in love with this woman, but he has this feeling that letting her walk away would be the biggest mistake in his entire life.

"Alright, how about this? You walk me back to the café where I did that." She does a circle with her finger pointing at his damaged suit with a winning smile on her face.

"And then we part from there. What do you say Bagel?"

"Bagel?" Alonso finds himself smiling at her like an idiot.

"I told you I came up with a name for you." She is definitely something he had never seen before; someone who you would not find in the mafia as long as he knew. After all, he does know his men on personal bases. He does however know each and every one of them.

"It is a deal." he offers her his hand so they can walk back to the place they met. She gladly takes his hand and actually moves closer to him. For what feels the hundredth time tonight he feels himself smile. He can't help but hope that she too doesn't want this night to end. He wants her to have the same thrill he is feeling. But he will never know unless he asks her, and even then he doubts she will be sincere. Therefore, he decides to keep his mouth shut.

"So, what is your secret?" the mafia man takes the chance to get to know the beautiful fire.

"My secret about what?"

"That speech you said about adventure and you children and grandchildren." She immediately lets go of Alonso's hand making his heart drop believing that he just made a mistake by asking her that.

She surprises him once again when she open her hands really wide and starts running around him as if as he is a beautiful bird that is flying through the wide night sky enjoying her freedom. The beautiful fire Jumps around him as with a laugh that makes his heart flutter.

She stands behind him and places her hands on around his neck. Alonso loses his senses for a second when he feels the beautiful fire's breath collide with his skin. She covers his eyes with her hands.

"You're so tense, relax." Her lips are pressed against his left ear.

"Forget everything that prevents you from being truly happy. In fact forget everything and everyone in your life. Just focus on the wind that is gently kissing your skin; you face. Focus on the quiet and the peace that comes with it. focus on yourself, the parts that you usually neglect. Lastly, imagine having wings; they are big and beautiful. They also carry you off this planet and into the wide sky where no one and nothing can pull you down because you have left them behind on land." They stay in the position for a few minutes before Crys pulls away from him and keeps on walking.

Alonso stays paralyzed in his spot for a few seconds amazed by what he just experienced before her follows the beautiful fire.

"Unfortunately, sometimes it doesn't work. Sometimes, the weight of my emotions is too heavy, but it does help me live in the present and enjoy the small little moments." She breaks the silence after some time.

"Still, that is a beautiful aspect to have in your life." Alonso's daze towards the woman that walks beside him is multiplied; he has never met someone who thinks the way she does. She seems to be really different in every aspect that matters. He decides that it will be better if they don't pass the house they tried to rob. Thus, he nudges her shoulder and gestures for her to follow him. It would be better if they took another path to the café even though he wouldn't mind a second adventure with the beautiful fire.

"Well, I have to think like that otherwise I would lose myself in the lies and the cheats of the world." It takes every bit of Alonso's self control not to ask her to justify her words. Even he knows when not to ask questions.

Despite the thousands topics he wants to talk to her about, he remains quiet for the rest of the walk to the café; he chooses to enjoy her presence because even though he hates to admit it, he will never see her again once they part ways tonight.

"It was refreshing to meet you Crys." Alonso says in a hint of disappointment in his voice.

"Same to you. Although you were a total jerk in the beginning." She gives him a playful smirk before she gives him a hug and turns around. As Alonso watches her figure slowly disappear as she continues walking away from him.

Every cell in his body compels him to go after her and confess to her his overwhelming desire to get to know her better. But she is a beautiful fire that doesn't deserve to be put down by the mafia so against his every breath he watches her until she is completely out of sight. He doesn't even know her real name.

He knows that he is different from other mafia leaders; he doesn't share their same priorities and coldness. They dedicate a huge part of themselves and their time to omit their emotions and basic need for love. They focus on anger and vengeance. He also knows that being different does not make him a good person; it cannot wipe off the huge stain on his soul. He, however, tries to make amends with himself by not repressing that side of him. He wishes he can show that little piece of himself to the entire world. Sadly, that would be lethal considering his title. Thus, only a small circle of people even know that it even exists. This circle consists of his parents, his younger sister, his two best friends, and his close friends in the Brazilian mafia.

Tonight, however, a total stranger saw that part of him, and she did not even know it. She didn't realize that she was in the presence of one of the most dangerous people on earth and she managed to see the side of him that not even his circle has seen. Against his better judgment, he actually feels good about it; it means there is hope for his future.