Mafia Men: Nikolai's Inferno - Chapter 16: Chapter 16

•Evangeline.
Rough and hard until the only word
IT'S BEEN A WEEK since I had that little episode. I don't really remember anything, only Nikolai telling me to breathe and then put me to bed.
I stayed in my room most of the time and didn't see Nikolai much. He was always working, so, we never really saw each other. I hadn't even seen Bianca in a long time.
I attended the whole orientation week, for a beginner at life like myself, it was insanely informative.
Today was the first class of my freshmen year. I have chosen psychology as my major and I couldn't contain my excitement about it.
I wore a cute outfit, straightened my hair, and applied light makeup. All of the stuff has been bought for me by Nikolai. We haven't even seen each other for the past week but his employees regularly update my
closet, makeup, and every single female necessity.
After I had told Nikolai that I don't want Scott to be my driver for college, he assigned one of his other men to take me to college, his name was Marco. This one was nice, he doesn't talk much but I know that he
was way nicer than Scott.
I descended the stairs and went straight out of the house. Marco was waiting out front, I hopped into the car and we drove off to college.
As we reached the college, I jump out of the car, and the excitement has my whole body tingling. I waved at Marco, he doesn't wave back he just watched me with a frown, shrugging I entered the building. By now, I knew the whole campus, I could walk around the whole thing in my sleep that's how much obsessed I was.
I hadn't made any friends yet but I will, I'm an optimist. I entered the huge lecture hall and found an empty seat in the second row, it was between a guy and a girl. They both seemed bored and uninterested in
everything that was going on. For some reason, Nikolai's words rang in my ears.
No boyfriends, Evangeline.
No boyfriends but he didn't say anything about making friends. I gleamed as I approached the empty seat and settled between them.
They introduced themselves and so did I. We made small talk, and the whole class suddenly turned silent as I saw the professor walking into the class.
Bradford Campbell was our psychology professor. He was a tall, lean, blonde man in his mid-fifties. He introduced himself and then went on to tell us about what we can expect to learn from this semester.
I listened to his every word carefully, I was completely in awe. It all looked like something straight out of a movie. I couldn't believe I was here. His gaze traveled from one face to another as if he was trying to memorize the face of every single student in the class.
"Psychology is the study of the mind, brain, and behavior of individuals. Of course, this is a very broad field of study which includes all aspects of behavior, mental health, and disorder, cognitive and perceptual processes, emotion and motivation, developmental processes"
His words flowed around the room. I took down notes, I didn't want to miss anything in the first lecture of my life.
Almost after an hour, we were dismissed. I perched the strap of my bag over my shoulder and walked out of the class.
"Hey..." someone called me from behind.
I turned to see a really muscular guy, he had black hair, brown eyes and a friendly smile tugged over at the corner of his lips.
"Hi..." I replied, shifting my weight from one foot to another.
"I'm Liam," he extended his hand.
I shook his hand. "Evangeline Bolton"
We engaged in small talk as we walked down the huge hallway. He was extremely friendly and nice, everyone here was. His friends joined us later on; two girls and four more boys. They were jocks and were on
our college football team. Columbia Lions; they called themselves.
The girls wanted me to sign up for a sorority, they all were doing it and the boys were a part of a fraternity. I made a mental note to search it all up once I get home.
After the day was over, I saw Marco waiting for me outside. I turned to my new friends. God! I couldn't stop myself from saying that again and again, my friends! I said my goodbyes but Liam held my arm.
"That's your ride?" he questioned, gawking over at Marco.
"Yeah," I answered nonchalantly.
They all exchanged a look before Liam turned back to me. "You belong to the Costello family?"
I shook my head. "Nope, he is a friend of my dad's, I'm staying with him."
"Why?" Brittany asked with a horrified look on his face.
"Um, my parents passed away recently and he took me in"
"Luciano Costello?" Wade asked.
I had no idea who that was. Luciano Costello? I again shook my head. "Nope, Nikolai Costello"
"You live with Nikolai Costello?" Stacy excitedly asked, "What is he like? I heard he once shot a man in the neck because he hated his voice, is that true?"
Shot a man? Hated his voice? What the hell?
"Have you seen him kill anyone yet?" Liam asked with a deep frown.
"What are you guys even talking about?" I asked frustratedly.
I didn't like the way they were talking about Nikolai. He wasn't a murderer or a bad man, in fact, he had been nothing but sweet to me since the day I have been living with him.
"You do know what Nikolai Costello does for a living, right?" Brittany asked.
I lifted a shoulder. "He, um, he owns multiple businesses, I think"
"All illegal" Wade snorted. "We all know the Costello Group of Companies is just a cover for the real thing."
I tilted my head to the side. "What real thing?"
Stacy leaned over to me and whispered in my ear. "That he is the head of a mafia."
Mafia? It's the same word Scott once used.
"Mafia?" I questioned in a low voice.
Jake frowned. "Don't you know anything about it?"
I gave my head a gentle shake, confused out of my mind. "No, I don't."
Brittany looked behind me and her eyes slowly widened. "I think we have said enough already, we'll see you later, Evangeline" saying that, she pulled everyone along with her as they left me alone.
"Ready to go, Evangeline?" Marco's deep voice came from behind me.
I turned and smiled at him. "Yeah..."
The whole car ride home, I kept thinking about their words. I still remembered Scott's words too; You don't know anything about the underworld? The fucking La Cosa Nostra?
As soon as we got home, I jumped out of the car and ran inside. I collided with a rock-hard chest and strong arms encircled me to keep me from falling.
"You can't do anything right, can you?" Scott said
I pulled myself out of his hold and glared at him. "I'm sorry," I mumbled quickly and tried to walk past him but he placed his arm in my way stopping me from going any further.
"What? No pleasantries?"
I looked here and there. "I don't have time!" I blurted out.
He chuckled. "Got homework?"
I nodded. "Yes, I do"
As I was about to walk past him again, he gripped my arm and pulled me to him. He placed his mouth next to my ear, I could feel his warm breath fanning the side of my face. I closed my eyes; frustration ran
through my blood. I wanted to yank my arm out of his grip but he was far stronger than me. I know if I tried, I would be putting myself up for humiliation.
"Marco told me about the guys you have been warming up with, Sweet cheeks" he chuckled in my ear, sending a shot of anxiety through my veins. "Trust me, when he will know, they won't see the daylight ever
again"
Swallowing the lump that formed in my throat I asked. "Who?"
"Nikolai..." he whispered.
He let me go with a jerk, I staggered to my side and rubbed the area of my arm from where he had gripped it. I glared at him and turned to run up the stairs.
I got to my room, slammed the door shut, and locked it. I picked up the laptop from the study table and searched for the word that was bothering me the most.
"Mafia"
Hesitantly, I clicked on the first search result that pulled up and started to read everything about it.
Mafia is an informal term that is used to describe a criminal organization that bears a strong similarity to the Sicilian Mafia...I
Mafias often engage in secondary activities such as gambling, loan sharking, drug trafficking, prostitution, and fraud...
Matia-terrorist-type organized crime syndicate.
The Russian mafia... "Bratva"
The Japanese mafia... "Ninkyō dantai but is more commonly known as Yakuza"
The Sicilian Mafia and the related Italian-American Mafia refer to their organizations as "Cosa Nostra"
More than 5,500 members.
The Sicilian Mafia has used other names to describe itself throughout its history, such as "The Honoured Society". Mafiosi are known among themselves as "men of honor" or "men of respect".
The things I learned and the things I saw shook me to my core. I refused to believe that Nikolai was involved in all of these activities but then there's a part of me that was drawn towards his darkness from the
very first day I came here.
Then I searched about Costellos in the crime syndicate. I scrolled down as I read about Luciano Costello the father of Nikolai Costello.
I read about how many times he has been charged with money extortion, running a prostitution ring, and many other crimes that were never proven. Somehow he always managed to get out of every single trial
with a squeaky-clean criminal record.
The Untouchable Costellos...
Various articles on the Costello family were pulled up.
Was Nikolai a mob boss? Was Nikolai involved in all those crimes?
Then I thought about the gunshot I heard a week ago, Nikolai was fine, Scott was fine all of the men that work for him are here and fine but I can't say the same thing about the men who came to see him.
Did Nikolai murder them in his home?
A part of me did not believe it. I did not believe it at all. Nikolai can't be a mob boss or whatever it was. He wasn't that person, I have seen him, lived with him. No one knows him personally but I do. He is not this
person.
Thinking about all those things, I changed out of my clothes, showered, and went down the stairs to get something to eat.
Once, I got to the kitchen I noticed that it was empty. I frowned, since the day I got here the kitchen has never been empty. The staff was always available and worked tirelessly even at the night.
I padded towards the refrigerator barefoot and opened it to get something to eat. I pulled out some rice some put them in the microwave. I sat on the countertop and ate the rice in complete silence and
loneliness. I never had a meal alone when I was with my parents but now I was always alone.
I don't know if I liked it or sometimes felt miserable because of it.
Heaving a sigh, I finished up my rice and jumped off the counter. I poured myself a glass of water and drank it in one go.
Nikolai "The Devil" Costello, El Padrino.
I shook my head, nope, not going to believe it unless I talk to him myself.
I made my way out of the kitchen and went straight to the library. Since I had nothing to do, I settled on reading a book. I surveyed the huge library and finally found a book that seemed interesting enough to
read. "Mafia and Mafiosi by Henner Hess"
With a book in my hand, I walked back to Nikolai's seat to read but halted in my steps as I saw him already sitting on it.
My heart dropped into my stomach.
Nikolai's eyes slowly trailed up from the floor and met mine. I suddenly felt breathless and my mouth dry, I darted out my tongue and swiped it over my lower lip.
Slowly, his scent filled the space around us, manly, expensive, and clean, my mind went dizzy by his scent.
He was dressed in a black suit with a white shirt and a black vest underneath. Tattoos peeked out from his wrists. He slowly appraised me up and down before dark amusement hinted over his face.
"How was college, Evangeline?" he asked, keeping his heated gaze locked with mine.
The Mob Boss...
Mafia...
Don Nikolai Costello...
The Devil...
El Padrino...
All the words flowed around in my mind as I looked at him. There was only one way to find out if it was all true.
Mustering up some courage, I said. "Can I ask you something?"