Unmistakably Yours (MXM) (MPREG)

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

M A R I A N O

"Try to keep it down, Hal. I'm busy." My first-in-command nodded and he stuffed the man's bleeding mouth with a dirty rag. Hal resumed the kicking and punching, with only the man's muffled groan and cries filling up the room. I turned my attention to the stack of documents that were waiting for me after a day off. I had to fly back to Italy to visit my grandparents who won't stop pestering me. Still, I love them both.

"You shouldn't have taken the money and ran away. You think that we wouldn't find you? Are you underestimating the Il Volo's?" Hal's low and dangerous voice was enough to make the man tremble in so much fear. Hal Moreau, half-French, half-Italian mafioso, who is also my best friend and my right-hand man.

We met when we were twelve. An assassin sent by our rival family tried to kill me but Hal saved me by taking the bullet for me, but not letting the assassin escape. Hal was a human weapon for destruction and no one could tame him. He has experienced a very dark past, something that a child should never be able to survive, but Hal lived.

Deep within his raven eyes lies a darkness that shouldn't be freed. They said that I tamed him, but they were wrong. Hal saw something tolerable in me and he knows that I will never betray him. Ever since then, he got adopted into our family and became a member.

"I... I'm sorry... I will bring b-back--"

"It's too noisy, Hal." He nodded and dragged the man two meters from my desk and shot the man in the head. The blood splattered on the carpet and even on my desk. The documents are safe so there's less worry for me.

"I'll call the clean-up. By the way, do you want me to find him?" Hal wiped his face with a white handkerchief; the droplets of blood drenching the fabric.

He was referring to the boy we saw at the museum yesterday. I noticed that he was burying his face in the magazine so I thought that something might be wrong but when I took my eyes off of him, he ran away. I glanced at the gold cuff resting in a small box with a glass cover. He dropped it when he left yesterday. Hal noticed the guest was still in the parking area but he drove away just like that.

"No, don't. If this is important, he will come to us." I twirled my pen around my fingers and leaned against my seat. The clean-up team entered quietly and did their job. Hal sat on the sofa and disinfected his knuckle.

"I know that look, Don," Hal said without looking at me. He was wrapping his knuckle with a bandage.

"What look?" I sat up straight and arched my brow.

"He piqued your interest." Hal lifted his head to look at me.

I crossed my legs and smirked. "What made you think that?" I admit, I am a bit curious. No one has ever run away from me. Men and women fawn over me but he was different; he looked so tense and he did not waste any time getting out of my radar.

"That gold cuff... we have capable men to take care of it, yet you are keeping it like it's your possession." This time, Hal was looking at me with scrutiny. Instead of humoring him for an answer, I just shrugged my shoulders.

"How's the party preparation? Make sure that those who can only enter are the ones given coded invites. I don't want a repeat of last year." Invitations were also sent last year but we did not expect that many people would attend using fake invites. This year, I asked Hal to create a card that is hard to duplicate.

Aside from being a mafioso, he's also responsible for keeping my private information under wraps. He's very skilled with anything related to computers and he can hack any server, except the ones under the Morelli family's name. We don't want to make an enemy out of them so we try to stay away from their radar.

"No worries. I will man the entrance. Anyway, have you read the letter sent to you by those oldies?" My expression soured at the mention of the disgusting letter. "Marriage again?"

I scoffed and poured whiskey into my bottle. "Those fucking old goats. I don't know if they don't have a TV at home but I made my statements about marriage."

The people I'm referring to are the family elders. They have been pressuring me to get married and produce an heir but I'm only twenty-seven. I don't think I can handle that kind of responsibility, more so taking care of a baby. That's not on my list and never will be on my list. Hal takes care of my affairs and he makes sure that those I had sex with will never chase after me.

"Let's hope that they will stop at that. You know how they are, those sly century-old foxes," Hal gritted out in distaste. He's not fond of the elders because they were opposed to our family taking him in.

The elders are the family's council of advisers but really, they are old coots who want to prove that they still matter even if they are now rendered obsolete.  Our ways have changed and we have adapted to the modern era. However, they are still stuck in their conservative ways, which explains the arranged marriages. I was able to escape those with the help of Hal, but it was only a matter of time before they catch me.

"I hope so." The uncertainty is rooted in the fact that even if the elders are obsolete, they still have authority when it comes to power and inheritance. It was an ancient agreement that my forefathers signed and now, it's about to come to bite me in my ass. There's also a possibility that they will use my own position against me.

"By the way, have you figured out who my stalker is?" Ever since my visit to the restaurant, I sensed that someone was following me. I didn't pay attention to him that much, Hal confirmed that it was a man, since I was busy with my errands.

Hal snorted. "You know who he is, Don, and I have known you since forever to know that you will use this information and that cuff as collateral if ever shit hits the fan." Hal didn't bother to mince his words as he opened his computer.

He's correct, though. I know that the man in the gallery is the same as the man in the restaurant. For a mafia don, it's important to be hyperaware of our surroundings and to observe the little details. I haven't had him investigated because for a stalker, he doesn't seem aggressive as the usual ones and he didn't try to harm me so there was no need to do so. He respected my boundaries and I will do the same for him.

"Should we send him an invite?"

"I'm way ahead of you, Don. Almost five days ahead of you. I took care of that," Hal replied with a slight quirk on his lips. I didn't press because it's rare for Hal to be this amused. Someone caught his interest and I feel that it is somewhat related to the skittish kitten who has been following me. "Are you sure you don't want to know who he is?"

"Where's the fun in that? I'll meet him at my party anyway. I can't wait to see my kitten, Hal."

"Just don't hurt the poor boy. I don't know what runs in that twisted mind of yours."

I raised my brow. "This is new. I didn't expect you to be so concerned." He doesn't care for anyone and always maintained his narrative of being a time-ticking bomb.

Hal closed his laptop and stood up. "I can somewhat relate to him. I'm heading back to the HQ."

What he said shocked me. What Hal said was a revelation and I just can't ignore his words. "Fuck. Now, I'm interested, my kitty stalker."

TO BE CONTINUED