Page 53 of Inescapable Ties
But after three courses, I couldn’t stand being in Gennaro and Rolando’s presence. Her mother and sister wouldn’t be going anywhere, so I didn’t have to worry about leaving her alone with her father.
“Excuse me,” I said, getting up to ‘use the restroom.’
The problem was the house was enormous, and without a maid to guide me, I got lost in the right wing of the house. I opened doors, figuring one of them would have to be a bathroom.
After my third door, I didn’t find a bathroom. What was hiding behind it was much more intriguing. It was a library, but nothing written was in a language known to man. The symbols were unfamiliar, almost like they belonged in an alien world rather than a human home.
“Huh,” I said aloud.
I quickly looked around to ensure no one was nearby before taking photos of the interior of the room. As I flipped through the pages of the books, I realized they were also written in the same language.
“What the fuck, Gennaro?” I said, snapping a few pictures of the open book.
I realized that I had been away for a while and I knew it was time to head back. What should have been a quick trip to the bathroom had turned into an extended absence. As I made my way back towards the dining room, I couldn’t help but wonder if Gennaro was on drugs or involved in some kind of shady activity. Or rather, shadier than usual.
I took a seat at the table and gave Luciana a peck on the cheek, determined not to let her see that anything was amiss.
Chapter twenty-eight
Luciana
LiriaandIhadbeen mending our friendship. It started out with a series of awkward texts, then phone calls with painful pauses, until finally we could talk to one another again. It seemed like our friendship might go back to how it used to be.
So naturally, when I saw her name on the caller ID, I picked up.
“Hello?” I said.
Liria responded, going into a jumbled and hurried response I couldn’t understand. It was very unlike her. She had always been quiet and sometimes hesitated when speaking.
“Slow down,” I said. “What’s going on?”
“My dad,” she said, the panic evident in her voice. “I think he had something to do with the shooting.”
“The charity dinner? That’s impossible. It was obviously political related.”
“Some men just came in here and shot two of the guards,” her voice went up an octave every sentence she spoke. “And I watched through the banister as they dragged my dad away. They were talking about his involvement.”
“Fucking Leone,” I muttered. “Ok, are they gone?”
“I don’t see the cars outside anymore. But Marco isn’t here so I can’t go anywhere.”
Marco was her bodyguard. He also doubled as her chauffer - Liria didn’t have her license.
I walked into the living room, where Tall Dino was sitting on the sofa. He was reading a gossip magazine, so engrossed in it he didn’t look up when I walked into the room.
“I need to leave,” I told him.
“Where are we going?”
Shoot. I wished Short Dino was here today. He barely asked any questions; just took me where I needed to go and waited. I couldn’t tell Tall Dino we were going on a rescue mission - there was no way he would let me go.
“To my friend’s house.”
I had asked if I could drive. Tall Dino might need his hands to be free to grab his gun. Hopefully not, but better safe than sorry.
As we made our way to our destination, Tall Dino’s lively chatter filled the air, a familiar soundtrack to our journey. He turned to me from the passenger seat and asked if we had any plans for the day. My mind raced as I tried to come up with a convincing response. In the end, I fabricated a white lie and told him that Liria and I were busy helping each other plan outfits for dates. A small part of me felt guilty for deceiving my friend, but I knew it was necessary to maintain our cover.
“Huh. You never told me she had a boyfriend,” he said.
