The Sweetest Temptation
Chapter 297: Found him

Chapter 297: Found him

"Plier." He called out to no one in particular and within a few moments, one of the guards returned with a plier presented on a royal purple silk-clad pillow. The old man, knowing the intent of the device that Remo now wielded, roused back to life, whimpering and pleading earnestly.

"I took it upon myself to take you in, and make your life comfortable, and this is how you decide to repay me," Remo began, inching towards the man who hurtled into a corner, shaking violently.

"Please, spare me, sir Alfonso, somebody, help me, please,"

"If you knew what was going to happen, why did you go ahead and disobey my order?" Remo continued, completely waving off his screams, as if no one outside would pick up on whatever was happening in the bookshop.

Well, he had made sure of that. The guards had secured the lock and turned the closed sign to the public, so no one could enter. Plus, the bastard had taken it upon himself to make the place sound proof. At least he did something that’d come in handy when they had to discuss business.

"I will have it ready, twenty-four hours, sir. I’ll provide everything within twenty-four hours. I give you my word, sir."

"Your word is not enough. I need something valuable." A greedy glint flashed in Remo’s eyes as he locked his focus on the gold nose ring that adorned the old man’s nose. Pietro, sensing the direction of his gaze, began to thrash wildly, and punched Remo in the process.

Just as he was about to turn and make a run, Remo pulled out a dagger from his trouser and thrusted its six-inch blade in his stomach continuously, not minding the blood that splattered from his consistent attack in one spot. He went on plunging his blade until he could clearly see the eyes of the cunning bastard rolling behind his sockets.

By the time he’d decided to stop, he’d counted up to fifty thrusts—the first two numbers of the returns he was expecting from him.

"Sir Alfonso," one of the body guards called suddenly, holding out an old flip cellphone. Remo received it.

"Speak."

"They’ve found him."

That was all he needed, to know who ’him’ represented—Nolan. Staring absently at the now dead body that was folded before him, he reached forward with the plier, seized the nose ring in a tight grip and yanked continuously until it pulled off with a healthy mass of his skin hanging from the curve.

"Someone, get rid of the body. Sweep the entire place, and burn it down." After Remo had given the order, he walked out the back door of the shop, where a car had already parked, waiting for him. The chauffeur pulled the door open for him, and after he’d settled in, they began their journey to the destination where Nolan was.

****

Remo’s car parked before a grand casino, with the entrance bubbling with men and women of all kinds. Places like these were believed to be the homes of the poor, but then, it was the rich, or the seemingly rich that frequented the establishment.

Ironically, what it truly meant was, there were a lot of losses and many of them so huge that the casino would be able to make grand changes in as little as one month. It was a lucrative idea for a business enterprise, and it leveraged very much on the weaknesses of the people’s hope for a win.

However, Remo had far too much money to need another source. But for the fun of it, he had begun to consider, and by the time he’d made his way into the luxuriously fashioned space, he’d made up his mind to know everything there was to know about owning and running one.

Three guards followed closely behind him, maintaining a three feet distance between him and the bustling crowd as he made his way further into the fascinating establishment.

Suddenly, they were halted by an impeccably dressed young man, likely in his middle twenties. For one as young as he was, he had an odd air of authority about him, like that of a master, or a lord of his craft, whatever it was.

And a conspicuous scar that ran through his left eye, like a blade cut from a long time ago, added to his overall mystique and age-old maturity, causing Remo to smile despite himself.

"Welcome to Giovanni Casino."

Remo noted the ’sir’ in his greeting and was immediately able to tell that the seemingly young man knew more than he showed.

It made Remo admire him even more.

"Why do you honor me and leave out my comrades?" He asked out of curiosity, obviously intrigued by his use of advanced ’common’ sense.

"Well, sir, your ’comrades’ are hardly a reflection of what you truly portray." The young man stated with a smoothly delivered cunning smile, highly emphasized by the slight wrinkling of his scar. He was genuinely humored.

"Explain." Remo ordered.

The moment he gave the order, the young man flinched and locked stern eyes with his, still maintaining that chivalrous smile, characteristic of a businessman with years of experience.

"I spotted you quite easily from a distance, the moment I saw you walk through the main entrance. It was clear from the air you carried, sir, that you were not just any person. You are a man that commands attention merely by appearing in the room, and if you just take your time to observe your surroundings, you will get the testament to what I’ve just said."

"I don’t care for things like that, but I appreciate your notice. And what about my comrades."

"Their bodies help them stand out, but other than that, it’s very clear that they’re here to keep watch over the moves of others against you."

The whole time, Remo couldn’t seem to read through the young man’s ennui. When he thought he was making progress in studying his tone, he would go on to say something catchy and rouse his attention once again, to his smoothly deposited words.

He was a master of his craft alright.

"Who are you?" Remo asked, with genuine interest lighting up in his gaze.