Page 19 of Runaway in the Mafia
Then I took him with me to get the job done. His hand shook like he was holding an electric drill. Not an ancient screwdriver that might have belonged to Caesar. I didn’t even raise my voice. Not my fault that people get intimidated by me. Still, I didn’t want him to do a shoddy job, so I let him be and walked around in her room. Opened a drawer, checked out her underwear,all fucking lace and satin, peeped in her shower, nicked a tiny sample of a perfume that hadFrangipaniwritten all over it. All because I was bored. Nothing else.
By the time I strolled back into the room, the door had a brass lock and key in it, and the shaky hands were still intact.
Just like that. The job was done within the hour. She asked. I obeyed. She would be happy. A smile tugged on my lips, scaring the man trembling before me. A hum of satisfaction coursed through my body as I pocketed the spare key. She only wanted a lock.
Annoyance grated under my skin when I strolled into the kitchen. It was like a sardine can in here. Overflowing with uninvited people. Privacy or some alone time with a certain sexy nemesis was hard to find in this place.
“What’s the scowl for,nipote?”
‘Nephew’ grated on my skin as smoothly as hard old cheese on a wartime grater. Of all my uncles, Endrigo annoyed me the most. He was like an infected wound full of pus.
I ignored him and took my seat. The one at the head of the table. Coincidentally, right across from her chair on the other end. Her head was tipped as she listened intently to something another one of my cousins, Anna, was telling her. She was a sweet girl, Endrigo’s eldest, but couldn’t be that interesting because runaway girl was clearly not listening to a word. The tight line on her shoulder and her hand absently circling her wrist told me she was remembering another time, another place, perhaps another voice whispered to her.
“Have you signed it now?”Fucking Endrigo.He was put on earth for the sole purpose of getting on my nerves.
“No,” I bit out, my gaze on something black, long and silky. She’d let go of her hand to run her fingers through her hair. The way she was fingering it made me feel like it was right between my legs, grazing along my inner thigh.
“You better get to it, son.”Son?I wasn’t his son. Of all of Carlo’s brothers, he resembled Carlo the most. But this one not only disrespected his wife by fucking around, but he had to go and fuck his sister-in-law. I looked at him to find his sleezy gaze on my aunt. Not his wife. ButZiaMarana. Marco’s wife. Infidelity ran so thick and dense in this family, I couldn’t pull it apart without pulling the family apart.
“I’m not your son, and I’ll get to it when I do.”
His eyes skidded back to me at my sharp tone. Indecision crossed his face. He couldn’t tell if I was angry or simplyannoyed. That was his first mistake. Neither was a good idea when it came to me. He would have known that if he hadn’t been fucking his sister-in-law. Mamma put the plate of warm spaghetti in front of me. “Did you get it done?”
“Fuck’s sake, Ada, can’t you see we are in the middle of a convo?”
Her actions had been normal, his loud and bombastic.Unnecessary.The room thinned in volume, but the ringing in my ears screamed. My skin bristled like that open wound had burst. He melted at my death glare. Second mistake. No one gets to disrespect Mamma. “We were talking,” he mumbled.
“We were done.” My light tone betrayed the heat behind it. I brought my glance to Mamma. She looked startled. I wasn’t sure if it was because of Endrigo’s tone or my defence. I hoped it was the former because she should know I would always have her back. “It’s done, Mamma,” I told her softly.
“Grazie, figlio mio.”
I nodded and brought my glare to the annoyance to my left and found his beady eyes on something across from me.Someoneacross from me. Disgust scraped along my spine like an icy knife to my veins. Something dark slithered into my chest. I didn’t like his eyes on her. My nostrils flared even as I tried to calm down. The burn from across the table made me shift my focus to her to find hers on my hand. The one clenched around my fork.
Third fucking mistake. Going after what was mine.
CHAPTER TEN
VITALE
Insanity. That was the only valid reason that had brought me here. My back heated on my matte black Ferrari Purosangue. The green leather of my Santoni shoes fumed on the gravel road. Agitation coiled in my stomach. A puff of pure, hundred per cent, unadulterated tobacco did nothing to soothe me. My gaze dropped in disgust to the hand-rolled cigar in my hand. Brown, but I was consistently obsessed with another kind of brown.
It wasn’t me. It was her. And fucking curiosity. I needed to know what she was hiding and who she was running from. Because shewasrunning. That was obvious. If it wasn’t for the fact that she’d come from the shelter, the unguarded moments when her eyes sank into her soul told me of a dark past. A painful one. And I didn’t fucking care for it. But it had nothing to do with her. Just a mundane interest to know about anyone really who was living under my roof. Even though there was no stray Mamma could have brought home, prettier than this one.
My gaze flicked to the wooden door. Still firmly shut. She’d let me in through the gates but told me she was in a meeting. I’d have to wait.Bullshit.I’d bet my sailboat in Santorini that Martina was currently on a call with Mamma.
Mamma thought I knew nothing about her little escapades. A rough laugh escaped me as I scanned the terracotta-textured building and the black wrought iron fencing. As if I didn’t know where Papa’s hard-earned… stolen money had gone. But couldn’t say it bothered me. It brought her happiness andChrist,if there ever was a woman who deserved some kind of happiness; it was her after putting up with the shit that fucker threw at her.
I rocked forward on the balls of my feet and stamped the cigar out with the heel of my shoe. I thought an addiction was supposed to bring me relief. I was dumping this one because it didn’t fucking work.
I recognised Mamma’s work as I strolled through the gardens leading to the steps. Most of the gardens in Sicily were dressed in dusty green, dull brown and hay colours. One, brown wasn’t dull, and two, this one was all bright and vibrant. Violetbougainvilleasand multicolouredLantanaslined the path. A week ago, I couldn’t give a shit about flowers. Now I’d done my research.Guess what?We had fuckingPlumeriasin Sicily. I wasn’t sure if I should get them planted all over my streamlined garden or banish them from my existence. The jury was still out on that.
Just as my footstep landed on the bottom stair, the front door swung open. What a little coincidence. I kept my shades on to hide the agitation in my eyes. But it was too late. I only had to take one look at Martina’s tight lip to know she wasn’t spilling anything.
Fuck Mamma!
AHANA
I came in through the back door because Ada had told me family came through the back door, and I was family. Her words had warmed my soul with the abandon of her love and the unconditionality of it. It was in stark contrast to Maa’s love, which was tightly tied to her reputation and... well, that was about it.
