Chapter 49 - Forty Eight: Wine

After sending Becca the bracelet, Leo flew back to America. He had nothing keeping him in Italy anymore so why should he remain there? 

After landing in America, Leo got off his jet, took out his phone to check something on it, and let out a sigh.

Work... Again as usual was the first thing to greet him.

Since Trex corp wasn't the only company he owned, it meant Leo had a shit load of stress on his head and though Leo made most of his money from doing illegal businesses, he still had a lot of legitimate companies. The family company, Kane Enterprise, for example, was completely legal but was just a means to cover up his tracks, to avoid drawing unwanted attention to the heinous amount of money he made every year.

He inherited the family company right after he got his hands on the mafia, a two-in-one package, but the company was just a mere diversion, alongside Trex corp and the others, they were owned to make the money he made look like it was legally acquired. Because in the dangerous world he traded in, keeping at least one side business was a necessity if you didn't want to attract suspicion, not having one would just be stupidity.

Leo slipped his phone back into his pocket and walked towards the car that was parked waiting for him. On seeing the approaching figure of the boss, the driver immediately opened the backseat door for him. The driver got into the car as well and started it but waited for the boss's orders before driving anywhere.

Leaning his head back on the seat, Leo closed his eyes, his chest heaving as he inhaled and exhaled short breaths. Things had been getting to him these days, the stress, the workload, everything. It was driving him nuts, draining him more than he thought it would. Though he looked calm, he was struggling to keep his shit together, trying his best not to show how everything affected him mentally. 

He opened his eyes slightly and looked around his car, it was luxurious, one of the most expensive things he owned. It was what he always wanted, what he always craved for, money and power. In the past, he thought they were the only things that could ever make him happy but now that he had them all, they didn't. 

And it made him want more, the more he wanted more, the more he got and the more miserable he became. A lonely sad rich man who was yet to realize that money wasn't everything, at least it couldn't be everything. If it was then sadness wouldn't be his most loyal companion, would it?

Then his mind drifted off to Becca, his little kitten. He missed her so much that it was killing him. He received word of her little stunt at the mall, he instantly knew what she was up to but chose to play along with her, give her what she wanted. Becca doubted his words to her, she didn't believe him when he said he would keep a watchful eye on her and wanted to test him but now she knew that Leo Kane was a man of his words. He always kept his promises, fulfilled his duties, and also pushes through with his threats. 

As the car remained on the spot, Leo knew the driver was waiting for his order but the thing was he didn't know where he wanted to go. Despite home being the most reasonable place for a person who just returned from a trip to go, Leo didn't want to go to his house, the place was too depressing, even for him.

" Drive to Johnny's villa." Leo's order finally came and the driver immediately did as he was told. The car accelerated on the road and after a while, they approached the villa. As the car reach the gate, it was automatically granted access, letting it roll smoothly into the place.

Without even waiting for the driver to open the door for him, Leo got out of the car and strode towards Johnny's front door. Leo saw all the bodyguards in the place hanging their heads low in greeting as he passed them and nodded in response. 

It was as if he was royalty or something, but then again, the Kanes were kinda considered royalty in the mafia world. They were the richest mafia family in both Italy and America combined and ever since Leo became the mafia king, he had been given the respect of a true king by everyone in the mafia. Well except for some pests like Lazzerro who were yet to learn their place in the hierarchy.

Leo knocked and stood in front of the door with two ripped men as muscular as he was behind him. On normal days, Leo only carried at most two visibly bodyguards, the rest would be snippers hidden in out of sight. The times he went along with a massive amount of bodyguards were when he would be meeting people he knew wouldn't behave themselves and he would use his bodyguards to intimidate them a little before actually doing anything truly horrible to them.

The door was opened by Johnny who had a smile on his face but on seeing who stood in front of the door, his smile turned into a glare. He narrowed his blue eyes at Leo who just stood there looking unfazed by the dagger glares being shot his way.

" Aren't you going to let me in?" Leo raised his brow at Johnny who stood in front of the door, intentionally blocking him from stepping in.

" Why the fuck are you here?" A frown settled on Johnny's forehead as he stared at Leo, wondering what brought him to his house.

" Are you seriously asking me that question? Of course, I'm here to drink all your liquor as I always do, why? Do you have company?" Without even waiting for a response from Johnny, Leo pushed him aside and stepped into the place, leaving the bodyguards outside. Johnny closed the door and turned around but couldn't find Leo anymore.

He then headed to the wine cellar because he knew he would find Leo there and he was right. He saw Leo going through his collection of expensive alcohol, trying to pick out which one fits his taste best, causing Johnny to sigh and shake his head at his friend.

Leo finally picked a bottle then turned to look at Johnny and uncorked the expensive-looking bottle of wine. Without even using a glass, not that he even wanted one, Leo brought the bottle to his lips and gulped down its delicious content.

" Johnny, have I ever told how impeccable your taste is when it comes to wine? I mean look at this place." Leo said after gulping down a generous amount of the wine, gesturing to the variety of bottles neatly arranged on different shelves.

" Yes, you say it whenever you come here to hijack a bottle." Johnny sassed and walked past Leo to grab a bottle for himself. 

It seemed like mother and son had a thing for expensive wine brands because Johnny's wine cellar was full of them. Several shelves holding bottles of alcohol that were older than both their parents combined and all worth thousands of dollars. One of which Leo was currently devouring like an uncultured caveman.

Like a gentleman, Johnny pick up a bottle of whiskey and a glass then took a seat on one of the armchairs that were in the room. He uncapped his bottle and poured himself a glass, gently sipping it while Leo just stared at him with his brow raised. Leo shrugged his shoulder and gulped down his remaining wine then placed the bottle on the table in front of where Johnny sat.

He ahead and sat on the seat opposite to Johnny, crossed one ankle over his knee in a pose that made him look like a king after he had just finished drinking like a barbarian.

" So you return from your two weeks vacation and the first thing you thought of doing was breaking into my wine cellar and drinking an entire bottle from my collection?" Johnny took a sip from his glass while Leo squinted his eyes at him, not liking the sarcastic tone Johnny was using with him.

" It's my collection as much as it is yours." Leo declared, almost making Johnny choke in the process.

" I don't remember using your money to buy a single bottle in here but I do remember how many bottles you have assaulted in the name of your not-so-pleasant visits." Johnny clapped back and poured himself another glass.

" But I helped you acquire this property, remember that?" Leo grinned, showing off his perfect whites and Johnny snorted at him.

" What did you do? It was still my money that bought it." Johnny gulped down the whiskey in his glass, still wondering what Leo was doing in his house or if he was just there to annoy him and drink his wine for free as he always did.

" Does it matter whose money bought what? All I wanted was to drink a quality fine wine and you have it. Now that I have drunk what I wanted, I say thank you." Leo took off his coat and drooped it on the arm of the chair. " Anything happen when I was gone?"

" Why are you asking me? It's not like you haven't been informed about every single detail by your henchmen." Johnny served up another round of sass but instead of Leo getting offended, he placed his hand dramatically on his chest and wiped an invisible tear from his eyes.

" You know me so well, I truly touched." Leo wiped another invisible teardrop, making Johnny's eye twitch in annoyance. Leo just had his special way of annoying the fuck out of people around him and Johnny being his friend didn't make him an exception.

" What the fuck are you doing here, Leo?" Johnny, who was getting tired of seeing the smug grin on Leo's face, asked.

" Hey, easy on the cusses." Leo laughed and Johnny started massaging his temple, trying to fight the urge of throwing Leo off a cliff.

" Like you don't cuss," Johnny said and saw Leo giving him a disbelieving look.

" Me? Never! I have never cussed in my life, in fact, I cover my ears when I hear cuss words." Leo lied with a straight face and Johnny sighed helplessly at him. But while Johnny was about to reach for his bottle of whiskey, his hand accidentally knocked over his glass and it fell, shattering to pieces on the floor.

" Fuck!" Johnny swore when he tried to pick up the broken glass pieces and got a cut but instead of Leo helping out his friend, he just sat there with a mocking grin on his face.

After clearing out all the broken glass pieces, Johnny sat back down on his chair and tried to remove the glass piece that got into his hand while Leo fought the urge to laugh at him. He leaned closer to Johnny and looked at his injured hand.

" Are you bleeding?" Leo asked in a mocking tone, earning himself a glare from Johnny.

" No, I'm not bleeding. I just have red paint spilling from my wound." Johnny retorted and ignored the roaring laughter Leo let out. He knew Leo was making fun of him and didn't like it even one bit. How would he when all Leo had done so far was to barge into his house, steal one bottle of wine from his cellar, and was now mocking him?

Unacceptable!

That was just how their friendship was, it was either one of them was annoyed the other and the annoyed planned to take his ultimate revenge Later or they just meet up and turn whatever conversation they were having into a drinking game. They never spoke seriously to each other or ever took each other seriously, to begin with. They never discussed work unless it was mafia-related and unlike other people Leo was acquainted with that would cower in fear in front of him, Johnny was different. Johnny never feared Leo, mostly because they met in college when Leo had nothing but the Kane surname. But despite that, things still would have been the same even if he had met Leo in a different condition.

" Okay, let's cut the crappy bullshit. I am here to tell you some good news." Leo adjust on his chair and could have sworn that he saw Johnny roll his eyes at him.

" What good news?" Johnny asked, still tending to his injured hand.

" Johnny, you know I'm your friend, right?" Leo started, flashing a blinding grin as shameless as the glint of mischief danced in his eyes.

" Unfortunately though." Johnny, who just seemed to be full of sarcasm, answered.

" Why do you ask?"

" Because only a true friend would tell you the truth no matter how bitter it is. Your wife died three years ago in a car accident, get over it. Stop blaming yourself for it when it wasn't even your fault to begin with." Now that hit Johnny hard because as soon as he heard Leo's words he stop what he was doing and lifted his eyes. 

" So you came here this evening to tell me that?" Johnny asked, trying to act like Leo's words didn't mean anything to him when they did.

" No, I'm actually here to tell you that I will be playing Cupid in your sorry excuse of a life," Leo announced and Johnny creased his brows in confusion.

" What the fuck are you talking about?" Johnny was now seriously asking himself how he even became friends with a crazy person like Leo.

" Your little sister's friend. God, what's her name again?" Leo snapped his fingers, trying to recall what Becca's friend's name was. " Navaya, yeah that's the one." 

Johnny raised a questioning brow on hearing Leo mention her name. " What about Navaya?"

" A little birdie told me that she is in a relationship now but the same birdie also told me that she would be single again in a few days. I hope you understand where I'm going with this?" Leo winked at Johnny whose ears instantly perked upon hearing the news but still tried his best not to show how happy he was about it.

" How do you know that and why should I even care?" Johnny asked, feigning indifference.

" Stop acting like you aren't happy about the news, I mean I just saw your eyes glistening with joy a few seconds ago," Leo said, exposing Johnny in the process.. "Remember eight years ago when you said that you liked your little sister's best friend but couldn't approach her about it because she was just fucking fifteen? Well, I remembered and guess what? She isn't fifteen anymore."