Mafia Men: Nikolai's Inferno - Chapter 35: Chapter 35

.Evangeline.
I scrubbed it again and again and again but it just won't get cleaned. The stubborn bloodstains were starting to get on my nerves.
I didn't go to sleep last night. I couldn't, I kept thinking and thinking and thinking about so many things, so, now here I was. Cleaning. I decided to tidy up the house myself. And for the last hour, I have been trying to remove the bloodstain from the floor.
Ugh!
Annoyedly, I threw the washcloth onto the stain and held my head in my hands. "I hate this..."
"Woah!" Scott strolled down the stairs, looking at me with confused eyes. "What the fuck are you doing?"
"Cleaning..." I mumbled
He frowned. "Why?"
"Because..." I heaved a sigh. "I couldn't sleep... I just wanted to do something and turns out I suck at cleaning!"
His eyes lit up with amusement and he laughed "Niko has sent me your bank details, I'll hire a team of cleaners to take care of this, replace the furniture and I think it's time I buy a new cell phone." Hearing his name did something to me like someone had stabbed me in my chest. Then I remembered that I promised myself that I won't cry for Nikolai Costello anymore. I will forget about him and focus on myself from now on.
No more lust-filled dirty thoughts about Nikolai Costello, Evangeline.
I nodded. "I'd like that... but right now I haven't slept a wink, I am so damn hungry, and I don't know how to cook."
A hint of a smile pulled on his lips. "Come on, we'll go out for breakfast."
I looked down at my dirty pajamas. "I need to take a shower real quick and then we'll leave."
He glanced at his outrageously expensive wristwatch, "Hurry while you're at it, I need to be at Niko's place in an hour."
I immediately got off the floor and ran up the stairs. I freshened up and wore fresh clothes that I had laundered myself. I dressed up in jeans and a t-shirt and went back downstairs.
"Yes, I stayed the night..." Scott was busy talking to someone on the phone. I decided to eavesdrop as I felt like he was talking about me. "She's not safe here alone. Security, Niko, lots of it. Yes. Yes. I'm taking her out for breakfast. I need to hire an entire household staff, Niko, trusted ones. I'll be there in an hour. Yes, alright," he hung up and put his cell phone into his pocket.
My chest constricted. I didn't think I'd ever felt this frustrated. Why was Scott telling him anything about me? I get it that he is his boss but he isn't mine and what I do in my life has nothing to do with him now. I cleared my throat and Scott's attention turned to me. "How long have you been here?"
"Long enough," I answered smoothly.
I walked out of the house and tugged at the door handle of his car door. "Open it!"
He pushed a button on his keys and the car unlocked. I settled inside acting completely indifferent to the phone call I heard. Scott would glance at me every second as he started to drive.
"What?" I asked
"Nothing... It's just you seem happy"
I frowned. "Isn't that a good thing?"
"Considering how you sobbed in the backseat of my car last night, nope. It makes you look crazy," he laughed.
I rolled my eyes. "Well, that was last night. This morning, I realized that now I'm a free woman. I can do whatever I want to do and I don't need anyone's permission for anything. For the first time in my life, Scott, I am free... It's like a heavyweight is lifted off my chest, I feel happier, lighter..."
He let out a dry breath of amusement. "Free, huh?"
"Yup!"
"You're never free in the Cosa Nostra" he mumbled under his breath.
"What?" I asked although I knew what he had said.
He gave his head a shake. "Nothing"
We stopped outside a small bakery and stepped out of the car. A bell on the door above our head rang when we entered. I held onto Scott's arm and grinned, looking around with excited eyes. "You know this is the first time I have been in a bakery?"
"Okay, weirdo, calm down, it's just a fucking bakery," he said and walked to the counter. 2
The bakery had high ceilings, wide plank floors, and wooden walls. It was warm inside due to all the beautifully prepared sweets. It smelt like rising yeast, fresh cinnamon, hot frying fat, and richly brewed coffee. I looked over the glass counters, there were bagels in shiny layered rows, topped with seeds. White bread, in big round loaves. It offered custom designs to satisfy people's specific needs. All we had to do was call and let them know what we needed. Scott and I sat at a table in the corner. They served us with the utmost care, providing a memorable experience and a tasteful breakfast. All this combined with their culinary superiority, I felt like I had walked into heaven.
Hunger, the most basic of human needs, was replaced with satisfaction as I bit into my baked donut. Happiness filled my belly as I finished my food.
"It was like heaven in my mouth" I explained the taste of the donut to Scott.
His eyes held a devilish glint and I knew whatever he was going to say wasn't gonna be PG-13. "You say that because you haven't tasted my c---" 2
I squinted my eyes at him and cut him off. "Don't even think about finishing that sentence"
He laughed wholeheartedly. "What happened to the girl who thought that sex meant gender"
"Nikolai killed her..." these words slipped from my mouth before I could stop them.
The playful expression on Scott's face was replaced by a serious one. He opened and closed his mouth a few times before looking out of the glass window. "Anyways, I have hired a team to redecorate and clean your entire house. They will be there once I drop you home. I'll take care of the other things too"
I nodded and bit the inside of my cheek. "Scott, if you go over to Nikolai's place, can you get something for me from there?"
He raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"There is an urn that Nikolai had given me. It has my parent's ashes. Can you get that for me?"
He frowned. "Your parent's ashes?"
"Yeah..."
"When did he give that to you?"
"Right after he threw me in that dark room for three days," I told him. "It was an apology gift" 1
Scott looked deep into his thoughts. "I'll check it out" 1
After breakfast, Scott dropped me home. I entered and saw that the whole house was crawling with workers. They were getting rid of all the furniture, cleaning, dusting, and doing god knows what. I cautiously walked around all of them and into the kitchen, which was also being cleaned. The bloodstains all over the place didn't faze them, I guess, they had worked for Nikolai Costello before.
A MONTH HAD PASSED in a blink of an eye. I settled into my new life quite well. Scott regularly came to check up on me and the house staff. I now had a driver, a cook, and security guards by the gates. Sometimes I felt like he was the one pulling everyone's string but then I would shake that thought away. 1
This is a Nikolai Costello free zone.
I had grown closer to Scott, he had been nothing but helpful, yes, he had his annoying moments but other than that, I was glad that I moved back to my place. Bianca had asked for forgiveness way too many times and I had forgiven her. If it wasn't for her I still might be stuck in that life... with him. 1
I will never accept the fact that a tiny, little part of me missed him.
I was trying to learn how to cook and right now I was busy preparing a birthday dinner for Scott. My cook was a middle-aged woman named Eleonora, she was Italian but knew how to make all types of cuisine. She was teaching me how to cook and right now she was the one helping me out preparing dinner and baking a cake.
Scott had told me that it was his birthday and that he had never celebrated it, not even once. His mother died when he was two and his father was murdered when he was only fourteen years old. The only real family he had was Nikolai, he loved him like a brother. 4
The doorbell rang and I wiped my hands with a handkerchief and headed toward the door. I opened it and Scott stood there with a bottle of wine in one hand and a bouquet in the other.
It was the first time someone had brought flowers for me.
"Is that for me?" I asked.
"Ah, yes..." he awkwardly handed the bouquet to me. 1
"Come on in..." I stepped aside to let him enter.
He took off his coat and tossed it on the coat hanger. There was a charming smile permanently etched on his lips. He knew his way around the house better than me and made himself comfortable. Returning to the kitchen, I placed the flowers on the countertop. I ordered the house help to set the table as I check to see if the steak had been perfectly cooked.
Once everything was perfect, I called Scott onto the dining table and pulled a chair out for him. He laughed but didn't say anything today. It was his birthday and he promised me that he will be good to me today and that meant no snarky and dirty comments.
When it was time for dessert I asked him to close his eyes. I went back into the kitchen and placed a birthday candle on top of the cake. It was juvenile for a man like him but I wanted to celebrate his birthday the right way.
I walked back to the dining table and placed the cake before him.
"Now open your eyes" I grinned excitedly.
He did and smiled. He gave his head a gentle shake and looked at me. "You made it?"
I nodded vigorously. "Of course, I did... I mean, Eleonora helped me a lot," mischief crossed his eyes and I pointed my finger at his face. "Don't you dare make a stupid comment, you promised me that you won't" He held his hands up. "Alright, I won't"
Placed my elbows on the table and rested my face over my hands. "Now make a wish and blow the candle"
He raised an eyebrow. "Blow the candle? You do have an idea how that sounds, right?"
"Scott!" I said his name in a scolding manner.