Page 18 of Vicious Redemption

“Put your hands up!”

The chorus of threatening commands stops me in my tracks, and I obey on instinct as I stand stunned. Men armed with guns step out from the brick walls surrounding my family’s property to level them at me through the gates.

“I’m just here to see my family,” I say, stunned by the hostile greeting.

My family must be on guard if the gate is being manned, even in the middle of the day.

“Tia?”

One of the men lowers his gun as he recognizes me, and I roll my eyes as I identify my cousin Vinny.

“Who put you in charge of front-gate security? Father must be pretty desperate,” I tease as he gestures for the other man to lower his gun.

“Nah, he didn’t put me in charge, but I guess we need all hands on deck right now.” Vinny drags one side of the gate open just enough to let me in.

Slipping inside, I press a quick kiss on his cheek as he closes the gate again.

“Don’t call up to the house. I want to surprise my sisters, okay? Or will I have more armed gunmen ready to mow me down just for breathing air the wrong way?”

“It’s probably better if I call ahead,” Vinny says. “But I’ll let the guys know you’re here to surprise them. I’m sure they’ll be willing to keep a secret from your sisters at least.”

My joke was an attempt to lighten the mood a little, but tensions are clearly high if everyone here is so jumpy, and it makes me realize that the line I’m walking might be a very thin one.

“Thanks, Vinny,” I say, giving him a quick wave as I head down the drive.

Bennie and Matteo are far more friendly as I reach the house, each giving me a warm welcome with a smile. Then I slip inside, heading straight for the library, where I know Maria will be doing her afternoon studies.

Opening the door just a crack, I peer inside to get my sister’s attention. And like a magnet drawn to its polar opposite, Maria’s eyes shift over her tutor’s shoulder to find mine. Anna, Vienna, and Sofia, on the other hand, stare with glazed eyes out the window, fiddle with their notebooks, or focus on their studies, none noticing my appearance.

“Excuse me. I have to go to the bathroom,” Maria says immediately, cutting off her tutor midsentence as she rises from her chair. Leaving our three younger sisters to occupy the teacher, Maria rushes out into the hall and pulls me into a fierce hug.

“What are you doing here?” she says excitedly, keeping her voice low so as not to attract her tutor’s attention and earn a scolding.

“I came to talk to you,” I say, trying not to sound too anxious. “Can you spare a minute?”

“Please, take me all afternoon,” she pleads, twining her fingers with mine as she leads the way toward her room.

We settle onto her bed, and it feels so nice to be back in the familiar home of my childhood, sharing a moment with my closest sister and confidant. Though Maria’s been making a point of visiting me at the Moretti estate, I have a feeling that’s all going to change now that our families are feuding once again. Only this time, I’ll be stuck behind enemy lines…

Except Leo doesn’t really feel like the enemy anymore.

“How are you? Is everything okay?” Maria asks, her eyes worried.

“What have you heard?” I ask, surprised that my sister would know anything when my father always made a point of keeping us in the dark when I lived here.

“Nothing, really. I just figured something must have happened at the mayor’s charity ball from the way our parents came home last night. And I know you and Leo were supposed to be there. I’ve been hoping you would call. Father’s been in meetings all morning over whatever happened, and Mother’s been unusually tense.” Maria glances toward her bedroom door, as if expecting one or the other to come barging in at any moment.

Things must be very tense to have Maria so on edge, but all I feel is relief to know that Maria didn’t have anything to do with Father’s plans. In the back of my mind, I’ve been plagued by the thought that Maria knew and hadn’t warned me.

“Oh, Maria, it was terrible. I guess Father learned about Leo’s intention to use the ball to get in close with the mayor and make a business arrangement as his security. He sent a bunch of armed men right through the front doors to show Leo up, had them attempt to steal the silent auction items, shot Don Moretti, and then let themselves get captured to antagonize Leo into threatening them.”

I shake my head, hanging it as I consider just how horribly I played into my father’s hands. “Of course, I knew nothing about it, so I tried to protect Maury when Leo pulled a gun on him?—”

“You what?” my sister demands, her face suddenly furious. “Tia, you’re pregnant—not to mention my sister, who I happen to care for very much. You can’t be putting yourself in danger like that.”

“Leo wasn’t going to shoot me, Maria. He wouldn’t.”

Maria falls silent, though her eyes are still filled with worry.

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