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“No, he didn’t,” Marcus says in a clipped tone.
“Typical Michael, that is.” My mum rolls her eyes, “Charlie, how's your mum doing? Has she got her cast off yet?”
Right on time, Hannah comes walking over. She’s giving me one of her looks that says I'm coming to save you and I don't think I've ever been so grateful.
“Nat, I’ve come to steal my godson. I’m in dire need of cuddles.” Hannah exclaims. My mum doesn’t waste any time, she passes a still-sleeping Ares over. “Cas, Enzo, come sit at our table. James needs some company he barely knows anyone.”
“Nice to see you again, Charlie,” I say as I get up to follow Hannah over to her table. I don't say anything to Marcus, I just give him a once over with my most condescending expression. His attitude is pissing me off. Enzo takes his drink from the table, puts his hand on my lower back and guides me forward.
“Thank you, babe,” I say turning to Hannah when we sit down.
Her lip curls up as she looks back at the table. “No worries. That Marcus is a sly prick. Wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him.”
I look at Enzo and he’s pissed. His jaw is clenched tight whilst he’s looking over to where my mum is still speaking to Charlie and Marcus. “This was a bad idea,” I say. I can feel the anxiety starting to crawl over me. I should have left Ares back in New York. What the fuck was I thinking?
“They can think what they like, I won’t let anything happen to him,” Enzo says, turning his gaze on me and it settles me. He brings our faces closer together, eyes hard. “Or you.”
46
Enzo
Brixton, London
The conversation with Charlie and Marcus has me irritated; I’d like for nothing more than to rip their eyes out for even looking in our direction but for obvious reasons, I had to restrain myself. I don’t enjoy restraining myself. It's one of the only things as a boss that I really can’t stand. I wouldn’t even break a sweat ripping both of those morons to shreds, they’re goldfish in the grand scheme of things. I've stepped over worse when I was half their age.
Casimira tries to enjoy herself as much as she can after the encounter but, I can tell she’s anxious. That has me out for blood. I want her to enjoy this time with her family. I don’t want her worrying, because if Tom comes within a mile of her, I will quite literally remove every body part of his that has ever touched her. Starting with his hands. God, I'm almost salivating at the thought of hurting him. I’ve respected her wishes to leave him be but I won’t control myself if I ever get my sights on him. I’m not sure I've ever thought about someone's death in so much detail before, not even my father's.
It's taking a monumental amount of self-control not to find those two morons and rip their heads off. The more I see Casimira looking anxious and uncomfortable the more riled up I get and I’m near snapping. She was having the best time earlier. Her face was so bright and carefree whilst we were dancing. I hadn’t seen that side of her for so long.
I didn’t realise how hard I was gripping my glass until Casimira put her hand on my arm. “Can we leave?”
“Of course.” Usually, when I look into her eyes, I calm down but tonight it's just reigniting the fury. I don’t like seeing worry in her eyes. I never want her to worry about anything in life. That's my job.
We say our goodbyes but the majority of people are so drunk, they’ll be beyond remembering the conversation tomorrow. Hannah is still on the dancefloor, barefoot and jumping around with the energy of a rocket. James looks bored and ready to leave but her night is clearly far from over.
We load into the car and Ares falls back asleep, obviously exhausted from the last two days. We leave London the day after tomorrow. Casimira wants to see her grandma before we go. She’s excited for her to finally meet Ares and me.
“You okay?” Casimira asks, concern lining her features.
“Just irritated and tired.” I offer her a tight smile.
She sighs, turning towards the windscreen. “Me too, I’ll be glad to be back home.”
I cock an eyebrow, my chest warming and the irritation starting to slip away. “Home? I thought this was your home.”
She smiles warmly as she stares out at the dark road. “You and Ares are my home and New York is where we feel most comfortable.”
I take her hand in mine and press a kiss to her knuckles. I love how comfortable she’s become in my city. It makes me happy to hear she loves it as much as I do.
∞
The next morning we arrive at Casimira’s grandmother's house to spend some time with her and pick her up for Sunday lunch with the rest of her family. It’s a short journey away from Natalia's house and it's very similar. I’m starting to realise most houses in this estate are built the same. The only difference is the garden. A few flower beds crowd the outside of her windows and ivy crawls across the exterior almost covering the brick completely.
A short frail woman opens the door. Her long grey hair pulled back in a thick braid. She’s got a warm smile on her face and the same piercing green eyes as Casimira and Ares. You would think with age they would have dulled but they're still sharp like Cas’.
“Casimira, spójrz na siebie. Piekniejsza niz kiedykolwiek!”
Cas runs to her, wrapping her arms around her carefully. “Tak bardzo za toba tesknilam.” Casimira says in a teary voice.
