Page 32 of Twisted Obsession

‘Well, my mama is lost to her “nervous state” and to the prescription medication she downs like they’re candy, and our papa,’ I watched him bristle as I spoke, ‘as you know alcohol is now his keeper… I’ve lost them in a way.’ I shrugged my shoulders.

‘You have—but death, it’s knell is final.’ I could see in his eyes that he was speaking about the loss of his own mama, when he was a small boy. ‘You must come to terms with the fact you will never see them again. Never share anything with them again. That sort of grief is hard to bear. You need to be kind to yourself and remember all you’ve lived through and shared together.’

‘I think there’s something wrong with me.’ I shook my head at my admission. ‘I just want to run away from it all.’

‘There is nothing wrong with you,’ he urged. ‘But you need to reconcile with yourself that running away is not the De Luca way, Gi.’

‘But what ofmyway?’ I insisted.

Salvatore brought me back into his mammoth arms and squeezed me tight. ‘There is no difference. This is our blood. This is who we are.’

I met his gaze with my own and was convinced he could see the many questions still swirling around inside my head.

‘I do have some good news. Mia is being brought home today.’ He changed the subject, effectively placing a full stop on me voicing those questions.

‘She is?’ I could feel the excitement building up inside me.

‘Yes. Gabriel and her brothers are escorting her home now.’

‘They are?’ I could hear the childlike glee in my tone.

That’s where he is.

‘Is she well enough to come home?’

‘We took medical advice, but in the end, I made the decision.’

I heard that when they’d first found Mia, they’d rushed with her to the hospital. Scans had revealed that she’d received a blow to the back of her head, probably from the rock her brothers had found her up against.

‘Is she still unconscious?’

‘She is. But after doing various tests, the consultants there aren’t overly concerned, as the tests showed that she has no obvious damage or bleeding to the brain. They think that after receiving the blow, she fell unconscious, and then slipped into a coma. She just needs time.’

I lifted a hand to cover my mouth, at the knowledge of the pain she had suffered. For the first time in days, I was being spoken to like an adult.

‘The past two days, she’s shown signs of brain activity, her eyelids have fluttered a few times and Mrs Giordano swears she saw her lift her right index finger momentarily.’

‘Oh, that’s good… It is good isn’t it, Salvatore?’ All I could think of was my friend, Mia, and how she didn’t deserve what had happened to her. Then my brother Gabriel and how happy he had to feel to be getting her back. And last, but very much not least, my heart was full to think of how Dante must be feeling at getting his sister home.

‘I think so, as does Serafina. Mia’s vital signs are stable. The consultants are happy she will eventually wake up. At home we can keep her safe until that happens.’

‘Safe,’ I repeated. There was that word again.

‘Yes, Gi, safe. Because when she does wake up, what we must deal with is the fact she has scarring to her face and was very likely sexually assaulted.’

I couldn’t help the small gasp that left me and the queasy stomach I could now feel at the thought of what had happened to her.

‘Now perhaps you can understand why I require you to stay home, where you’resafe?’ He bent down and placed a kiss to both of my cheeks.

‘Perhaps if you’d have told me all of this before, instead of treating me like a child, I would have,’ I replied assertively, as I stepped back.

‘You are our baby sister, Gi. We want to protect you.’

‘I understand, but I could be married with babies of my own by now. I want to be treated as the adult I am, especially by my brothers.’

Salvatore wasn’t a man to be questioned, and I could see him stand taller at my accusation. His eyes hardened and with the whole of his body tensing in front of me, he managed to nod just the once.

‘Ciao, bella.’

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