TEMPTING THE DEVIL - EPISODE 12

( 3 Months Later )

*

It was a sunny Saturday, I sat at the veranda of the house, where I could stare outside the compound to the streets.

The sun was damn so hot on my skin, that I had to take my bath twice in an hour before coming out to receive some fresh air.

Yet, I can still feel the droplets of sweat rolling on my abdomen.

I was on my ear plugs listening to Juice Wrld, one of his featured music ‘ Hate Me. ‘

I was so much into the music like hell and I can play it over and over again without minding.

I saw the gate keeper run to the gate. After checking on whosoever that horned, he opened it widely.

Two vehicles and a van packed by the side. And about five men stepped out of the vehicles then four from the van.

They were putting on the same outfits, a black suits and shoes with a tinted glasses.

Some maids left to help them take the countless cartons into the building, while I sat my ass out here watching.

What do you expect??

After they were done offloading the cartons, they zoomed out of the compound.

Being the naive girl I was, I went inside to ask them what it is that was inside the carton.

” Who are they?” I asked.

” They are workers of The Master.” One of them answered.

” Why were they here?”

” They came to drop some stuffs The Master had ordered.” She answered.

” Oh, okay. You all can get back to your duties. ” They all bowed before retreating.

I shivered by the sound of my ringtone. Checking on the dialer, it was dad.

I picked the call, ” Hi, Dad.”

” Hey, Nat. How are you doing?” He asked.

” I’m doing good, what about you? How is business too? ”

” It’s going great. Nat, ” he sighed.

” Yes? ”

” There’s something I wanna tell you, and… you’re really not gonna love it.”

” Tell me, dad, what’s going on? ”

” You know I told you my business trip was gonna last for six months. ”

” Yes, you did. ”

” My return has been shifted to the end of the year. I won’t be able to return as promised. ”

” What?! Why?! ” I cried. ” No, dad, you can’t be at Russia forever. You can’t leave me here all alone. It’s almost three months and now you’re telling me it’s been postponed? ”

” I wish I can do some thing about it, Nat, but there seem to be a lot of schedules to work on. It’s really not that easy as you think. ”

” So, does that mean I’ll have to live here until the year runs out? ”

” I guess that’s what it is. ”

” No, dad, I have to go home. This is not my home, and we can’t possibly leave it empty for who-knows-who. I have to go and take care of it. ”

” Natalie, I already assigned someone to do that. There’s tight security, no one is sneaking into our house, okay? ”

” Not that I’m okay with it but… Fine, I’ll stay. ”

” Thank you, sweetheart. Always remember dad loves you. ”

” I will. ”

” So, hope you’re getting used to everyone, including Mr Lucky? ”

” Yep, we’re cool. ”

” What about Tony? ”

” Dad? ”

” Sorry, I was just being so concerned, you know. ”

” Don’t worry, you don’t have to. There’s definitely nothing going on with us. ”

He laughed. ” I gotta go, call you tomorrow. ”

” Okay. Bye, dad. ”

” Bye, sweetheart. ” I hung up the call.

” Extra six months to go. Earth f*cking sucks… A lot. ”

*
*

” There were group of men who arrived here this afternoon, they had two vehicles and a van with them. Are you aware of that? ” I asked Mr Luciano while we ate dinner.

” Yeah, of course, I am. ”

” I heard they are goods you ordered. ” I said, biting on my salad.

” No. Those stuffs doesn’t belong to me, they belong to my son.”

” Oh,” I gasped an ‘ oh’ with a slight nod.

” Well, I’ll be leaving to Spain in two days time for a business bargain. He’ll be arriving here by tomorrow evening to take charge.

You two can get to know each other, and you can likewise let him know whatever it is that you want. ”

” How long is the trip? ” I asked.

” A month or two. Not sure yet, though.” My gaze fell to my plate, I was done with hearing all this.

Dad said his was postponed, and now Mr Luciano is leaving? And I’m left to leave alone with the City’s notorious gangster??

” Your father told me his return has been shifted, I’m sorry to hear that. ”

” It’s okay. Besides, I ain’t a kid anymore, I can take care of myself. ”

It would just be so fine if he had to say he would be leaving the house under my custody.

*
*

I laid on my bed, my face staring up at the ceiling. I don’t know why all this seemed to be happening to me, especially now!

I’m just pissed off with the fact that Draco Luciano will be arriving here by this time tomorrow. If it were to be after the year runs out, I’d be the most happiest woman in the world.

” Dad,” I called after he had picked up.

” Hey, Nat. What’s the problem?” I guess he did notice the dullness of my voice.

” Dad, please I wanna go home.”

” Come on, Nat, I thought we’ve talked about this earlier. ”

” I know but, I don’t think staying here is fine by me anymore. ”

” Did some thing happen? Did anyone hurt you? Tell me, what’s pissing you off? ” He asked, sounding concerned.

I hate to see dad this way. Like I once said, he always acts the mom and dad role to me. Seeing him so over concerned and bothered about me weakens me.

But now we both a bothered about each other… I can’t tell.

” Natalie, talk to me, what’s wrong?”

” Mr Luciano just told me few minutes ago that he’d be leaving to Spain by two days time. ”

” Okay, I’m aware of that. ”

” I know, but that’s actually not the problem. He’s son will be arriving here by this time tomorrow, he’ll be in charge of the house in his father’s absence, now that’s my problem.”

” You’re scared he might end up hurting you? ”

” I can’t live under the same roof with someone like him. Who knows what he’s capable of doing? ”

” Look, Nat, you don’t have to be scared of him. He’s never gonna hurt you as far as his father and I are concerned. Does he know you are a journalist? ”

” I think he does. It’s possible his father most have told him. ”

” Okay, I’m gonna tell you this. You’ve got to be careful, Nat, very careful because he’s gonna have eyes on you. He’ll be keeping watch on whatever action you take.

Your calls, your write-ups, every discussion you make they are all going to be under his control. All you have to do is to play smart around.

Look, you don’t have to let him know how nervous or scared you are. It’s only gonna prompt him to do more. Act like you know nothing. ”

” That dude is hell scary than you think, dad. ”

” Hell scary?”

” Yes, he is hell scary.” I repeated.

” Then make him feel like heaven. ” He said.

” What’s that supposed to mean? ”

” If he’s hell scary, then you just have to make him feel heaven. I’m pretty sure that will work out well for the both of you. ”

” That’s not funny, dad. I don’t have anything to do with him. ”

” That’s not what I meant. I meant, you just have to avoid anything that will cause trouble. That is, don’t think about creating a story about him. Your knowledge about his true identity should be between you and you alone. ”

” Does Mr Luciano know you are aware of what business does? ”

” Yes, it’s like a secret between us. Just like I said, do not create an article about Draco Luciano or you will end up getting yourself into trouble. ”

” I’ve heard you dad, I won’t work on an article about him. ”

” Better. Good night. ”

” Good night, dad. “