Page 10 of To Have and To Hold

I thought of my cousin Marisa. “If I stay here, Mom will have me attending all her club meetings, social engagements, and pet projects, pushing me into her society circle. I don’t want to be there. I want to get out of this bubble too. If I do what Mom has planned, I’ll be stuck.” My own words were bringing a seed of hope to life within me. “Instead of dreading California, maybe I should appreciate the opportunity. It’s an escape from here.” My gaze met Noemi’s. “You know, like Marisa was talking about?”

“But…the cartel.” She reached for my hand. “I’m scared for you.”

Tony was now standing at my side. I wrapped one arm around him and squeezed my sister’s hand. “I’ll make you a promise, both of you.” I inhaled. “I’m going to look at this month as an experience helping me to grow up and break free. Remember at Ariadna Gia’s party?” I asked Noemi. “We were talking about being sheltered. We have been. This trip is my chance to see at least a little more of the world.”

“Whores?” my sister asked with her nose wrinkled. “El Patr?n?”

“Papà and Mom have painted us their version of the cartel’s reality. Mia and Jasmine are happy. Mia even said I didn’t have to live with them. I could live with Liliana in an apartment. Papà would never permit that back here in Kansas City. Heck, he’d never let Mom make that decision. Maybeel Patr?nis different?” I feigned strength for my siblings. “Who knows, I may want to stay more than a month.”

“Don’t say that,” my brother said. “I’m going to miss you.”

“I’m going to miss both of you. You still have each other. Noemi is here for you, just like I would be.”

My sister nodded.

“When are you leaving?” Tony asked.

“Tomorrow morning. Rafaele is flying with me and delivering me to Mia. Papà said that Mia would arrange a bodyguard for while I’m out there.”

“After you finish packing,” Tony said, “could the three of us watch a movie in your room and eat popcorn?”

“You want to get popcorn crumbs in my bed?” I asked jokingly.

Tony nodded quickly. “Please.”

“I think it sounds like a great plan.”

Three hours later, after a tense dinner, Noemi, Tony, and I all lay on my bed watchingToy Storyfor what could very well be the hundredth time, when a knock came from my bedroom door. After climbing off the large bed, I opened the door and found Franco standing in the hallway.

“Miss Isabella, your father wants to see you in his office.”

A sense of dread rippled through me. I’d just shared a meal with my father, and he’d hardly said two words to me. My flight was set for ten the next morning. I tuned back to my siblings. “Don’t wait for me. I know what happens next.”

Wearing the comfy clothes I’d changed into after dinner—leggings, an oversized long-sleeved shirt, and footie socks—I followed Franco down the hallway and down the front stairs to Papà’s office. The door was slightly ajar and golden light spilled through the passage. Beyond the windows in the foyer, the summer sky was beginning to darken with impending nightfall.

“Mr. Luciano,” Franco announced my arrival.

His office smelled of tobacco and books. Papà looked up from his desk. His suit coat and tie he’d had on earlier during dinner were absent, and the sleeves of his shirt were rolled up to his elbows. There was a tiredness to his presence.

“You wanted to see me?” I asked, standing before him.

Papà’s dark eyes scanned me from my loose hair to my socks. His nostrils flared as he leaned back against his large leather chair. “I think it’s best for us to discuss the next month.”

“Since I’m leaving the house by seven thirty tomorrow morning, I guess it’s now or never.”

His jaw clenched. “Isabella, sit down and show some respect to your father.”

I sat on the edge of one of the two chairs facing his desk.

When I didn’t speak, he did. “You know your mother’s and my feelings regarding the Roríguez cartel.”

I nodded.

Crimson seeped from Papà’s collar. “I expect verbal answers, young lady.” His voice grew louder. “You will be representing the Luciano famiglia. That is a very important?—”

“Sacrifice?” I volunteered.

He stared at my interruption. “Responsibility was the word I was about to use.”

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