Page 51 of Vincenzo
Armando lets out a sigh and shakes his head, his grip on the steering wheel tightening when he comes to a stop in the garage. He puts the car in park and looks over at me. “If this is true, what the fuck are you doing back here? Miami is the last place you should be.”
“I can’t just be on the run for the rest of my life. I need to figure out the truth.”
“Yes, you figure out the truth, but that’s when you call me and have me help you. You coming back to the city is dangerous and fucking stupid. You should’ve stayed in New York.”
I turn to face him. “I’m not going to run from my problems. You know that’s not what we do.”
“Amalia—”
“No. Hiding is not the answer. I need to figure out if he’s the one responsible for my parents’ deaths.”
“This is a bad fucking idea,” Armando says, and his disapproving tone doesn’t go unnoticed. “I should turn this car around and bring your ass straight back to the airport.”
“But you’re not going to do that.” He stares at me quietly, so I continue. “I need to outsmart him, and I can’t do that if I’m hiding in NYC. Now that Carlos is dead, he’s going to demand answers, and he’s going to come after me. I have to play this right, or I’ll end up in the ground like my parents.”
Armando continues to stare at me as if he’s trying to figure out the plan I haven’t quite put together yet. It’s dangerous to be back in Miami, but if I can play this off right, I can find out what Felipe meant that night and hopefully spare my life in the process. I won’t spend the rest of my days on the run. That’s unrealistic.
After a few silent moments, Armando finally says, “I don’t like this.”
“I know you don’t, but I have to find out what Felipe meant that night, because if it’s what I think it is, then you know what that means.”
Armando lets out a long sigh and nods. “I know,” he mumbles. “I know.”
He drops his gaze, finally coming to terms with my decision and understanding what all of this means for him too.
Armando’s just looking out for me. It’s what he’s done ever since his dad took me in. He’s a few years older than me andhas always treated me like the little sister he never had. But as much as he wants to look out for me, he’s also coming to terms with what needs to be done… because finding out the truth is as necessary for him as it is for me.
“If your dad played a part in my parents’ deaths…”
“Then that means he played a part in my mom’s too,” Armando finishes, his jaw clenching. “I’m with you, Amalia. I need to know the truth about that night too, but if we’re going to do this, we’re going to need a solid fucking plan.”
“I know,” I say with a nod. “I’m going to go to your dad later today and let him know about Carlos before he starts asking questions. I’m going to tell him exactly what happened; that Enzo killed him. That the DiMaggios came after us when they found out about our plan to kidnap Luxtyn and Isabella. They killed Carlos, but I was able to escape, hop on a flight, and get out of there before they were able to do the same to me.”
“That’s not going to work,” he says, which causes my heart to drop. I know I need to come up with a better plan, but with the amount of time I’ve been given, I haven’t been able to think of anything else.
“You know him,” he says. “He won’t buy that you conveniently escaped.”
I give him a few short nods while thinking of a solution. “You’re right, but what if I tell him theyletme escape?”
Armando lifts a brow at me. “Letyou escape?”
“What if I make itseemlike they let me escape so I could come back here as a message to him on what will happen if we try to cross them again. I just need to buy us a little bit of time.”
“It could work, but I don’t know. It doesn’t seem… convincing enough. They justletyou go?”
“Okay, so what if you hit me? Rough me up a bit. That would really make it seem like they were trying to send a message. KillCarlos, send me back a little bruised … That would actually work perfectly.”
“What the… Absolutely fucking not, Amalia. What is wrong with you?” Armando admonishes me.
“It’s a perfect plan. You said it yourself. Me being sent back as a warning isn’tconvincingenough, but if I come back a little scuffed up, that’ll seem a lot more convincing.”
“Absolutely not. I’m not going to fuck you up.”
“Just hit me a couple times, it’ll be fine. Come on, we’ve sparred plenty of times before. It’s not like you’ve never hit me.”
Armando looks over at me with his eyebrows raised to his hairline. “You have lost your damn mind, Amalia. I’m not laying a fucking finger on you.”
“Obviously not at full force, but?—”
