Alonso's hand gripped the tea cup tightly enough to almost break it. A small crack sound broke the silence.
"Alonso, I thought that we had gotten over the hard feelings just the other day when we met. Why did you suddenly scurry away as though you saw a ghost." The right-hand man jerked away before the other could place a hand on his shoulder. Turning to face the mercenary who wore a taunting smirk despite his broken nose and rather swollen face.
"I know Jovani said you would be coming back, I didn't expect though that you would be bringing a guest along with you. Based on his face, I would guess the two of you are related. Kane pointed between the two cousins. Samuel kept his mouth shut despite watching the newcomer.
"Cat got your tongue or do you just need this one over here to answer you." Alonso placed a firm hand on the merch's shoulder when the other took a step towards the younger cousin. In no way would he allow Kane anywhere near the other.
"Relax Alonso. He might have caused you a few problems earlier. I don't think he's going to be doing that here though. Isn't that right?" Jovani gave Kane a polite smile. He received one in return though not quite as polite.
"Not at all. I didn't come here with any such intention of causing problems." Kane's confirmation came as he moved around the side of the table until Jovani stopped him.
"Kane, that doesn't mean I'm fine with you getting that close to my cousin." The edge to the other's voice made the mercenary pause, head cocking to one side.
"You don't want me to introduce my self to your younger cousin? I thought that would be the polite thing to do." Jovani's head shook slightly, mouth too full to be able to answer properly with words. Kane understood well enough though as he chose to go back to eying Alonso.
"Are the two of us going to have a proper talk?" The right-hand man's lip curled back as he gritted his teeth. The answer was an obvious no. No thought wouldn't get the mercenary to leave though. Jovani meddled far more than he should have in such matters.
"Who is he?" Kane lit up in response to the question, whipping back around to face the younger cousin, eyes sparking as he put a hand on the table. Unlike the other two, the young cousin didn't give off such dangerous vibes. To Kane, it felt more like he was a wolf pup or kitten, a fresh, young little thing that hadn't been trained properly yet.
"Great question. Now someone with a little common sense that makes it easier for me to introduce myself." Except, Kane didn't get the chance. Alonso made his move with purpose, grabbing ahold of the other's collar to drag him away from the table. The quick strike movement caught even the mercenary off guard.
"He's someone who has already managed to overstay his welcome. It's time for him to be leaving already as there isn't anything that I have to say to him." The right-hand man also shot Jovani a narrow-eyed look. The Vedova Nera boss might've feigned ignorance, but he knew well enough why Alonso made that.
"I don't think that right here is quite the right place to be starting a fight." Kane got ahold of the other's hand gripping his shirt collar only to realize the iron grip wouldn't be easy to remove. Alonso meant business.
"You're the one who has come here looking to cause problems. The kind that I have no interest in being any part of. As I said before, you've overstayed your welcome. It's time for you and the rest of them to leave." Alonso jerked the other in the direction of the room door, only letting go to shove the other's back to get him out of the room. Jovani would be getting an earful from him later about this whole ordeal.
"Come now, I don't think that it is fair to have him leave after he came all of this way to be able to talk to you. Why don't you two take a few minutes to get that out of the way first." Jovani pressed once more for the two of them to talk. Having finished his food meant that he could invest more into the situation at hand. Too bad the painkillers hadn't started to take effect already. He would be able to invest more into the situation if they had.
That didn't stop him from getting up to get between the two arguing men. Kane relaxed more than Alonso did. The right-hand man looked almost as though he was almost at the edge of his rope. Not willing to relent on letting Kane stay any longer than he already had been.
"If you want him to stay, that's up to you. You get to decide which of the two of us you want around here though. I didn't agree to any of this and I certainly won't be staying in the same room so long as he is here." Jovani let out a low whistle, the harsh tone very much unlike the Alonso he'd known for so many years. Did Kane have that impact on him? If so, he honestly must've disliked the mercenary and his crew as much if not more than he'd told Jovani.
"Jovani, you know that I will work with whatever you want me to do in most instances. There were some limitations to that, however. This happens to be one of those." Alonso took a deep breath before straightening his back to fully face his boss.
"It's up to you what will happen, but I will not be a part of this right now." Kane leaned against the door frame, a Cheshire cat smile on his lips as he took in the events playing. The supposedly loyal guard dog didn't seem so loyal at the current moment in time.
"Come now Alonso, you shouldn't be thinking about leaving so quickly. I already told you what I think you should do about this matter. Kane can go elsewhere but I think the two of you need to talk." Jovani stood up from his seat after stealing a biscuit from the plate in the middle of the table.
"Kane can excuse himself for the time being. You should take a few moments to breathe, eat and we can talk this over." Jovani held out the biscuit as some form of a peace offering as he got closer to Alonso. The right-hand man didn't have any kind of appetite at the current moment in time. Refusing to take it from the other, he chose instead to turn his back.
"I'm in no mood for this right now. There are other things that I need to be taking care of. I told you what my boundaries around this are. You can choose to do whatever you want about them." His gaze locked with that of Kane, the latter who while still obviously enjoying the show, wore a slightly different expression on his features.
"Where is the loyalty you told me about before that you supposedly held on to? I don't think you would have been so rash as to shed it this quickly." Alonso's right hand twitched in response to the taunt. He was not so considerate as to not punch a wounded man in the face a second. Good thing he'd put the teacup down earlier. It would've shattered into a million pieces under his current barely restrained temper.
"Kane, it isn't your place to be asking those types of questions right now. This hardly has anything to do with you." The mercenary being the kind of person he was wouldn't be able to fathom what Alonso felt. Kane only ever held loyalty for money. Everything else around him was moving pieces at his disposal to sacrifice to get what he desired most.
"I think that I have the right to be asking a few questions if I am going to be finding myself working between the two of you. Helping with a little problem that needs to be solved." Problem? The only problem that existed at the current moment in time came in the form of the mercenary himself.
"Isn't it better if we drop this matter for now? Although I don't exactly know who he is, I think that Kane should leave, not Alonso." Samuel spoke up before things could become even more heated than they already were.
"I don't know about the rest of you but I would rather not be dealing with another problem like this considering what already took place earlier." Jovani cast a curious look into Samuel's question. Alonso knew immediately what the other meant.
"I will stay but he has to escort himself out of here if that is going to happen." Alonso pointed in the direction of the mercenary who bore a slight pout on his rough features.
