Page 27 of Reign of Hope

“Is there a place I can put Marcella down? She’s finally asleep and my arms need a rest,” Olivia says wearily. She looks tired.

“She’s still not sleeping through the night. Is the spare bed okay? Will she roll off?” I ramble in a hushed whisper as I guide her through to the extra room.

“Oh, I know how to fix that.” Olivia takes the pillows and cocoons Marcella within them, then sets a baby monitor on the tall dresser aimed at the bed. She pulls an app up on her phone. “Voilà, instant baby monitor. I can keep an eye on her at all times,” Olivia says with a sigh.

Anna is unpacking the basket she brought, packed with assorted cold cuts and cheeses. She pulls out a wooden board and begins to assemble the prosciutto, dried sausage, and salami on it, adding olives, nuts, dried apricots, and figs. Then she adds some fresh strawberries and grapes.

Meanwhile, Elena finds the wineglasses in the cupboard and turns to me. “You don’t mind, do you? I prefer a nice glass over the plastic ones we brought.”

“Not at all.” I raise my hands, gesturing for them to put me to work. “What can I do?”

“We can use some plates and napkins,” Anna says.

“I’m putting my feet up.” Olivia yawns and rests her feet on the ottoman, tilting her head back onto the back of the armchair.

“I give her ten minutes before she nods off,” Elena teases.

“Let her sleep. A catnap is what she needs. Then she can wake up refreshed and enjoy our company,” Anna responds with a giggle.

Olivia mumbles incoherently, giving us all the middle finger before shutting her eyes. I laugh out loud, Elena and Anna joining in.

“I remember those days with Samuele and Simona. I was so tired, I just wanted to curl into a ball and cry. And I had help,” Anna tells us. “My mom came down for a month to give me a hand. Dad would join on weekends. Reno was wonderful and would get up in the middle of the night when both wanted feedings at the same time. Even Dante and Sebastian would come and spend the night from time to time.”

“The thing with Olivia is that she doesn’t want to miss a single minute of motherhood with Marcella. Remember, her mom wasn’t there, and I’m sure that’s part of the reason why she makes it her mission to spend most of her time with Marcella, every waking moment,” Elena chimes in.

I didn’t know that about Olivia.

“Yeah, but she’s so lucky to have her father. He loves her and his granddaughter more than life,” Anna adds. “I love her dad. He’s a sweetheart.” She grins.

That makes me feel better because Olivia might act tough, but she’s got a soft, gooey side. “Olivia’s wonderful, and she’s an awesome mom. So are you, Anna. The twins are adorable,” I say. “I hope I can be as good a mother as the two of you one day.”

“You’ve already had a lot of practice. You looked after Victorio,” Elena reminds me.

“I made a mess of it.” I sit in the corner of the sofa. “He was almost killed. I saw he was getting into trouble, but no matter what I said, he kept getting in deeper and deeper with the Skulls,” I say, lifting the glass to my lips and taking a sip.

“That’s not on you. A series of circumstances led to where Victorio ended up. It started with your father, and it’s hard for a young man to live down the reputation of having a traitor for a dad. And I’ll tell you this, Reno had his doubts about your brother being able to turn himself around, but Leo tells him Victorio works harder than anyone else to prove himself. That’s a good sign,” Anna tells us.

“You wouldn’t be here, drinking wine and eating great food, if destiny didn’t bring you to us,” Elena adds.

“This is true,” I admit, smiling.

An afternoon with friends is what I needed. Marcella, with her smiles and snuggles, has healing powers, and by the time they’re being picked up, I’m feeling like part of the girls. Anna and Olivia tell me how it was difficult for them to fit in at first because their families are fromLa Famiglia,and their journeys weren’t all flowers and sunshine either. Although both stories are frightening, Olivia being abducted to be sold as a sex slave and being found in the nick of time gives me chills. And from the moment Anna was promised to Reno, a traitor had her marked for death. Yet, both women have moved past this and are happy.

Elena is the last to leave. Dante is picking her up himself. As she helps me clean up, she says, “Zano almost died saving me.”

I abruptly turn to face her. “What?”

“I didn’t know I was promised to Dante yet and asked my father for one night out with my girlfriends from school before my future was spoken for. He agreed on the condition that I had Zano come along to watch over me. When Zano saw the Red Dragons, he knew there was going to be trouble. He hid me and held off the men sent to take me until help came. He was stabbed. He was hurt pretty badly, but he wouldn’t let them near me,” she says, lowering her eyes. “To this day, I wish I’d never asked to go out that night.”

“It wasn’t your fault. How could you know that was going to happen?” I shake my head and give her a hug. She hugs me back.

“In this Mafia life, we need to be prepared for anything. I was pretending to be a normal woman, out for a drink with friends, but I’m not. I’m part ofNostra Casaand a target for the enemy. I almost cost my brother his life. I’m only telling you this because I can understand that with all the craziness that brought you to us, you may crave what some people know as ‘normal.’ We can’t have that in the way we want. Our guards are meant to protect us, and we have to let them do their jobs. Please don’t take any chances.” Elena’s eyes plead with me.

“I won’t. I promise,” I vow.

“Thank you. I nearly lost Dante when the families went after an enemy. I was broken. Shattered. I prayed for Dante to come back to me, and my prayers were answered. I’ll never forget that feeling of helplessness both for Zano and Dante. I never want to feel that again,” she says.

“You won’t,” I state firmly.

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