Many moments later, Adeline had already settled in her room. Viktor had given her a separate room that was in a totally different quarter of the house.
She had just finished taking her bath and was dressed casually in a day wear while drying her hair before the mirror. Then, there was a knock on her door. She paused what she was doing and looked back at the door.
"Who…is there?" She asked.
"It's me," the familiar voice replied from the other side of the door. "Viktor."
She got up and went to the door. Then, she opened the door. The man was standing gallantly with a hand in his pocket. He was dressed in what could be called the boss Mafia kind of way. Adeline could swear there was a pistol hiding beneath that Mafia coat that he was wearing. He had gloves on. It definitely didn't look like he was going for some random casual outing.
"You..are here," she said.
Viktor nodded. "May I?" He asked.
Even before she could welcome him in, he was already inside.
"I didn't say you could come in," she said.
Viktor stopped and looked at her. Then, he tried to leave.
"You can stay," she said.
He was hesitant for a moment. Adeline was trying to toss him around. It made him wonder where she could have gotten her balls of steel from.
He walked to a couch across the room and sat down while Adeline sat before the mirror and continued what she had been doing on her hair.
From where he sat, he could get a clear view of her face in the mirror. Adeline? Damn it! She was just naturally beautiful. There was something about the tenderness of her pretty face. It just had a way of sweeping him off his feet.
She noticed he was staring at her.
"Why…are you staring at me?" She queried him.
"You are beautiful, Adeline," he said.
The statement was totally not expected. She loved it. But she was eager not to be swayed by him. It was too early for that. Besides, there was a sort of bet between them. She had no intention of clinging to a Mafia for more than a year.
"Is this a cheap attempt to get me on toes for you?" She asked him.
Viktor was shocked to hear that from her. He smacked his lips against his teeth.
"By telling you that you're beautiful?" He shook his head. "Give me some credit. I'm way too classier than that cheap gloating of a random hood boy."
Adeline sighed mildly. "Why are you here?"
Viktor was hesitant for a moment. Then, he cleared his throat and looked at her.
"About what happened earlier, I want to let you know that I'm genuinely sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."
Adeline said nothing. She thought about that exact moment. Her life had flashed right before her eyes in a second.
What if he had pulled the trigger? Viktor terrified her right there.
"You..you are not saying anything."
She swung around in the chair and faced him.
"That's because there is nothing for me to say to you," she replied. "What do you want me to say to you?"
"That you have accepted my apology."
"Accepted your apology?" She scoffed loudly and looked away. "Why would I do that? You put my life at risk. That was your way of saying welcome to me. You didn't even let me settle in before showing what kind of life I was getting into."
Viktor rubbed his palms together. "Adeline, I'm sorry. It won't happen again. I explained to you what happened. I had just gotten off the phone with my brother."
Adeline was curious again. She leaned forward.
"Let's say it's true. But why would you want to aim a loaded gun at your own brother? Are you not supposed to be happy?"
Viktor was quiet for a moment. He thought about Lorenzo and his father. Adeline had no idea what sort of evil those two were. He knew he was never going to get rid of them. But for them to come to him….that was a different level of madness he didn't think he was ready to deal with.
"Adeline, those two are bad news," he said. "Trust me. At the moment, I already pity the streets. Blood may begin to flow again in the streets of America like they did in the past."
Adeline remembered the docks incident that occurred the previous year. That was Viktor's doing. If someone who turned the docks into a graveyard was feeling this way, then, how terrible were these guys?
"And…they are coming to live in this house."
Viktor cocked his head. "There are many places they could go. You are with me. You shouldn't be scared of anyone."
Adeline was mute. She was simply trying to process every word that he said.
"I can't wait to meet Don Carlo Constantino," she said.
Viktor chuckled mildly. One of those things he loved about her. She didn't show fear, even when it was clear she was afraid.
He got up and straightened his coat.
"If I were you, I wouldn't wish for that," he said. "I'm heading out now. And I will be back home quite late. Maybe tomorrow morning. If you need anything, my men will attend to your orders."
He was done talking. He turned and started walking away.
"Where will you go?" She asked.
Without turning, he said, "I need to be somewhere now."
Without any further explanation, he walked off like someone in a haste to catch up with a meeting.
Hours later, in the early hours of the morning, Adeline crept out of bed to get herself hydrated in the kitchen. She was descending through the staircase when the door to the living room opened.
Viktor walked in. Adeline may have woken from sleep, but she could tell a blood stain when she saw one…..in this case, Viktor had stains all over him!