Page 6 of Runaway in the Mafia
“You have stuff to do?”
Well, I was on the run and looking for a job. Because financial stability was a must when you were lying to both your husband and Papa. Other than that… “Not really.”
“Good.” She sat up on my bed. Her sister’s bed. “I’m sad, and I need cheering up.”
She was sitting cross-legged, rocking on the bed. She looked happy enough. “What’s wrong?”
“Daria was supposed to come over this weekend because it’s a long weekend in New York, but apparently she has to study.”
The lucky sister with the loving husband was allowed to study? How did some people end up with all the luck? “I’m sorry.”
“Honestly, I don’t think it’s the exams.”
“Oh?”
“Lorenzo is so obsessed with her. The man probably tied her to a bed or something.”
“What?” I croaked.
“They are always on each other, you know. They think I’m too young to notice, but I know what goes on.”
Her sister got into an arranged marriage, fell for her husband, was allowed to study, and he desired her?Someone kill me now.
“Anyway, now Mamma has time. She wants to teach me cooking, and I don’t want to learn how to cook boring food. I thought you could teach me to cook a curry.”
I laughed. “You’re weird. How’s Italian food boring?”
She shrugged, a slight twinge of colour appearing on her cheeks.
I walked gingerly to the bed and looked at her earnestly. “Do you have any idea how extensive Indian food is? You’ll be stuck in the kitchen for hours.”
“Doesn’t matter. It’s delicious. Besides,” she paused guiltily, casting her eyes towards the door. “Mamma needs cheering up. I think she’s upset with Vitale.”
I frowned. I hadn’t known Ada for long. But the woman brought me, a stranger, into her home and kept me safe. My loyalty was very much undeniable. She was also where similarities ended with my family. She was what a mother should be. She defended her children. From the way she was with Lia and the conversations I heard with Daria, I wanted her to adopt me.
“Maybe we can cheer her up by learning how to cook your boring food?” I suggested to Lia’s violent shake of her head.
“Nah. Vitale can fix it himself.”
Well, that was the extent of her sacrifice. Not everyone can be expected to put their life on hold for family.
I thought Ada had another daughter, but I didn’t know for sure. I avoided asking too many questions because I never knew when they would be turned back on me. Most times, it was a pity, though, because I was a curious person. But Lia caught the question in my gaze and misunderstood it.
“She’s just annoyed that Vitale doesn’t visit us more.”
Vitale, the son that I’d heard whispers about. Apparently, he was also the don of theCosa Nostra,as they called it. Minor point for some perhaps, but major for me. That was like one of those big red flags on the beach that helped kids find their way. Except this one should make you run for your life.
I picked up bits and pieces about him during this week. As if it wasn’t enough that Lia called her brother a control freak and Ada had a weird look on her face when his name came up, the family and the help had plenty of things to talk about. A young don that everyone had expected to crumble in his shoes. But he’d apparently taken over like a duck to water. I pretended not to hear the quiet conversations in the house. But when one cousin was talking about the don of theCosa Nostrasetting fire to some Albanian’s house because that man was the reason his father was dead, well, obviously, I leaned in closer to listen. I was a smart girl, but still curious enough to risk it. I’d thought that was bad enough until I heard that said Albanian and some of his goons had been inside the house when he set fire to it.
I’d thought Rajesh was evil, but this man might bring evil to a whole new level. Given the reputation that followed the man, the respect but also the fear that coated his cousins’ voices when they spoke about him, I couldn’t say I was disappointed that I hadn’t set eyes on him yet.
CHAPTER THREE
VITALE
It took a week of Mamma’s nagging before I dragged myself back home. The one where I caught my father stuck between the legs of a woman. Not once. Not twice. Too many times to count on my hands or erase from my fucking memory. I only came in for the bare necessities and fled the moment I could. But that was the thing about Sicilian Mammas. They were like a dog with a bone. The nagging only stopped when they got what they wanted. Then they found something else to nag about.
My lungs gasped for air as I moved. My footsteps were light, concealing my heavy thoughts. I walked quietly through the house, fully intent on avoiding Mamma. Even though I ignored Carlo’s office to my right, as I passed it, I couldn’t stop the suffocation in my chest. Hell would have to freeze over before I stepped in there. If Mamma would allow me, I would demolish the place with a wrecking ball or, at the very least, call the centre for disease control. The number of times and women he’d fucked in there had to have left several contagious diseases clamberingup the walls and stuck to the floor. But Mamma was anything if not adamant. She loved the man even in death.
