MELINA
Melina wakes up the following morning around the time they arrive in Chicago. She walks out of the bedroom cabin and to her seat. Looking at Thomas as he uses his phone, Melina wonders if Thomas will reprimand her for being clingy last night. She didn't mean to. Melina simply needed someone to be there for her after her nightmare. She's shocked that he took care of her last night. A part of her wondered if it had all been a dream because he was the Thomas she remembered.
Because he doesn't say anything to her, she smiles as time passes, believing he isn't angry about it. Perhaps things will turn out well for her while they are in Chicago.
They exit the plane as soon as it lands. Melina smiles as she breathes in the fresh air of Chicago, feeling happy to be back. She missed the US. She barely saw beyond the estate gates in Sicily, so it's nice to be back in the city. Walking to the car waiting beside the private jet, Melina thanks Leo for holding the door open for her. Seated comfortably in the back seat, someone grabs her hand and pulls her closer to them. Turning to face the person, she realizes it's Thomas. She didn't notice him getting into the car.
"I am only going to say this once. Do not, under any circumstances, attempt to flee while we are here. If you try to flee, and I find you. . . oh, Melina, you will truly wish you never met me. Do you understand?" Thomas issues a dire warning. She nods, swallowing hard.
As she said, in Sicily, she doesn't intend to flee because she will be dead meat if he finds her. Her goal while they are here is to convince him she didn't steal his money so he can set her free. How is she going to do that? She has no idea, but she believes she will figure it out. Thomas lets go of her hand and settles back into his seat. She exhales a sigh of relief as his cologne fades from her space. Getting comfortable in her seat, Melina's stomach starts to growl. She puts her hand on her stomach and begs it to shut up. She slept through most of the flight, so she hasn't eaten since yesterday. Lifting her head from her growling stomach, she looks at Thomas, hoping he didn't hear it.
"Find the nearest place where we can get food, Dave."
"Okay, sir," the driver replies.
She smiles, licking her lips. She couldn't wait to put something in her stomach.
***
Melina and Thomas walk into the restaurant, trailed by his bodyguards. All eyes turn to face them as they walk in. Melina didn't even want to imagine the theories going through their heads right now. She bets most of them are wondering what she's doing with men with ink all over their skin; it's not that having tattoos is bad, but we all know how the world misjudges people with tattoos like theirs. And in this case, they are right because they are people you shouldn't mess with; if she had known this as well, she might not be here today.
Thomas is the only one whose tattoos aren't visible, but he's also the most frightening of the bunch. As a businessman, he made certain that his tattoos were only drawn in places where his clothes could cover them.
Thomas and Melina take their seats at the first empty table they come across while the bodyguards stand around them. Melina is puzzled as to why he went into the restaurant with his bodyguards today. While they were dating, Thomas never went to restaurants with them. There must be a reason why he did today. It crosses her mind to ask him, but she knows better than to do that.
A waiter approaches their table, trembling, and asks for their order. Melina smiles softly at the young boy to calm him down. He must be afraid of Thomas because he is a dangerous man, but Thomas isn't unnecessarily ruthless. She's certain the poor boy believes Thomas will harm him if he speaks out of turn. He stammers even as he asks for her order. She places an order for creamy squash and hazelnut fettuccine with sautéed mushrooms. Thomas does not order anything for himself.
Melina looks out the window as she waits for her food. It's been months since she was last here to see her sister. Melina knows Franky must be worried sick about her. She bets she has already reported her missing to the police. Turning to look at Thomas, she wonders if he would let her visit Franky. It would really make her happy if he did.
Melina snaps out of her thoughts, hearing her name. She turns away from the window and notices an old classmate approaching their table.
"Melina, why are they preventing me from reaching you?" The bodyguards stop Claire from approaching the table.
"She's an old classmate of mine, Thomas."
"Let her through," Thomas orders.
"Thank you." Melina gets up and meets Claire halfway.
"How are you doing?" Claire asks, pulling Melina in for a hug.
"I am doing well. How are you?"
"I'm doing good. How is James doing? It's been ages since I saw you guys." Melina's body goes cold. She can't believe Claire just mentioned James. She hopes this doesn't spoil Thomas' mood. He has been treating her like a human being these past two days, and she hopes that doesn't change.
"Fine, I guess. I haven't heard from James in a while."
"Oh my God! Don't tell me it's true." Claire must have heard of their divorce.
"Unfortunately, it is."
"That's sad; you guys were such a lovely couple," she laments.
Melina's eyes automatically move to Thomas to see how he reacts to hearing that. She pales, seeing his knuckles turn white as he tightens his fist. This isn't looking good. Thomas is definitely going to have her head when they are alone.
"Even beautiful things come to an end, sometimes," Melina says as she fakes a smile. She hopes Claire couldn't tell she was panicking inside. Things would only get worse if Claire noticed and asked.
"Yeah, that's true, and I hope you're doing fine. Divorce can be hard." Claire looks down at Thomas, whose attention is on his phone. Melina notices her staring at his tattoos. His sleeves are rolled up, so they are exposed. She must be wondering what Melina is doing with someone like Thomas.
"Everything is fine."
"Are you sure?" She looks into Melina's eyes like she's searching for the answer there.
"I am, indeed." Melina hopes she is unaware she's been missing some time. Franky must have reported it to the police, but she's hoping Franky didn't call Claire to inquire about her whereabouts. Claire isn't the first person to call to inquire about her whereabouts, but her last stop before Portland was LA. It would make sense for Franky to call and ask her, but it would only complicate matters for Melina.
"Alright, if you say so," she says as she opens her purse and pulls out a card. "I am assuming you lost your phone, which is why you haven't called or returned my calls. Give me a call sometime. I am always available to help," she says as she hands her the business card.
"Thank you, Claire." Melina kisses her cheeks goodbye.
Once Melina returns to her seat, Thomas takes the card and lights it up.
"You won't need any fucking help," he says. Melina's eyes are filled with terror as she watches the card burn. "If you try to get help from her to escape, I'll burn her business down just like I burned her card in front of your eyes. Don't you dare try anything stupid, Melina. A word is enough for the wise." Melina nods in agreement.
THOMAS
A few days have passed since they arrived in Chicago. They are staying in Thomas' family's hotel in Chicago even though they have a mafia house here. He's going out a lot to deal with the Mexicans, and he doesn't trust the soldiers in the house not to try to fuck Melina while he's away. Thomas walks out to the terrace in their suite to call his brother.
"Hello brother, how is it going with the Mexicans?" Stefano asks once he picks up.
"As expected, fucked up."
"Rafael is really out to get us, isn't he?"
Rafael is the don of one of the most powerful Mexican cartels in the world. He's also the one causing problems for the Costanzo mafia. He has a beef with Thomas.
"Yes," Thomas sighs, running his hand through his hair.
"You know this wouldn't have happened if you hadn't fucking banged his wife?"
"How the fuck was I supposed to know she was his wife? She was fucking in our club." The Mexican cartels never enter clubs owned by Italians. They have a long history of beefing with each other and had a pact that ensured both gangs didn't cross each other's territory. Unfortunately, that changed the night Thomas slept with Rafael's wife.
"That's true, she had no business in our club, but she was there that night. If I didn't know better, I would say Rafael sent her to seduce you."
"I would put it past the motherfucker. He hated me and needed an excuse to go to war with us." Rafael hates Thomas because he believes Thomas is full of himself.
Rafael's ex-wife wasn't by choice. He married her so he could inherit her father's cartel. Rafael sending her off to sleep with someone will come as no surprise given that he doesn't even like her. He most likely never touched her during their marriage, and the bitch was desperate for dick and agreed to do Rafael's bidding. Horny ass Thomas didn't know and gave in to his plan.
"That's also true, but none of those matters. We need to get them under control as soon as possible."
"Don't worry, I will."
"Good, see you when you get back," Stefano says as he hangs up the call.
Thomas returns to the suite to get some work done before retiring for the night.