Page 5 of In My Blood
“Fuck you too. You’re just like him!” she spat bitterly.
“Yeah, I am, so you better do what the fuck I say or I’ll end you. Do you understand?” It was a lie. I wasn’t like my father, or at least I hoped I wasn’t, but I would kill her if she didn’t take care of my sister the way I expected her to. That part was true.
“You can’t speak to your mother like that!” She moved to slap me, but I caught her hand mid-air and used it to pull her closer to me. I leaned into her menacingly and she finally seemed to see sense and recoiled from me as much as she could.
“Listen to me now,” I warned her, all of my rage coming out in that growl, “You will get on the fucking plane. When you land, you will be picked up and taken to a safe place. A secure house. There will be a housekeeper who will see you have what you need. Stay there and take care of your daughter. Fail to do any ofthose things and you will die. Anything happens to Cara, and you will die. Understand?”
She nodded vigorously, then tore her arm free of my grip, running away from me as much as she could in the state she was in. She sped past Dario near the door and went into the building.
Cara didn’t ask any questions or even speak to me as I took her hand and led her inside behind our mother. She just clung tightly to my hand and pushed herself against my leg as we moved.
“I’ll stay out here and keep my eyes open. I’ll call if I see anything,” Dario told me as he paused in the doorway. I just nodded gratefully. I trusted him to have my back.
Ten minutes later we were on the runway. My mother marched up the stairs of the private jet without turning to even give me a second glance, not that I expected anything else. No doubt she was already neck deep into the bar on board.
I had asked a favour of a friend I knew in college. He was from a family who were even wealthier than my own, but they were legitimately wealthy, not criminally. My father had no knowledge of George – my mate – so I felt like he wouldn’t make the connection to follow after Mum and Cara. He’d also arranged for a driver to pick them both up from the airport when they got to Florida, and take them to a beach house George’s family owned there. They should be safe there until I could figure this mess out and get there to Cara myself.
“Rafe?” Cara whimpered as we paused at the foot of the staircase up to the plane. I bent down so I was face to face with her and forced a sad smile. “Where are we going?”
“Far away, to the beach. It’s going to be so nice and warm there and there’s a pool too, I believe. You’re going to love it, and I bet the stars will look amazing at night,” I told her as I fought to keep my own emotions under wraps.
“And you’ll come soon, won’t you? To get me? You and Gia?”
“Yes,Tesorino. I promise. I’ll come as soon as I can, and then you, me, and Gia are all gonna live together, just us. I’ll find us a new house and we can have pizza for dinner every single night if that’s what you want, okay?”
“What about Mum and Dad? Dad won’t let you move away,” she sniffled.
“I’m going to find a way, Cara. I don’t want us to live like this anymore. I’m going to make things so much better for all of us. I just need a little time to do that though.”
“Okay. I…I c-can wait, and I’ll be good. Promise. But can Dio and Terza come with us too, when we move? And Louise too?”
“Of course they can, if that’s what they want. We’ll figure it all out, but we just need to spend a little time apart first. I hate that we have to, but I don’t know what else we can do. I need you to be safe.”
“I’ll be okay, Raffy,” she sniffled, looking so much stronger than I felt in that moment. “I’ll keep my bag packed, just like you said, and when you come, I’ll be all ready. I promise.”
“You’re such a brave girl. I love you so much,” I told her as I pulled her in close and hugged her tight.
“I love you too. I’ll see you soon,” she told me, and I had to fight back tears at how brave and strong she was being.
“See you soon,” I agreed.
She pulled away from me and I rose to my full height. I watched her as she climbed the steps of the plane, then when she turned back at the top I waved to her once more, mouthing that I loved her. She blew me a kiss and then she was gone. I stood frozen, just watching as the door of the plane closed and staff came in to move away the stairs. I watched it taxi away, waving the whole time, knowing Cara would be waving at me, even though I couldn’t see her from where I stood in the bright sun.
As the plane finally took off I breathed out a sigh of relief that Cara was away from our father and his goons. She wasn’t safe – not by a long way, not at the hands of our mother, but I had bought myself time. Now I needed to decide what the fuck I was going to do next.
I was twenty years old, but I felt so much older. Cara and Gia felt like they were my own children, and it had been that way since they were both born. I certainly couldn’t have loved either of them more if they were my children. They were my everything, and it was time I did something to ensure they were truly safe for good. They were my responsibility. I was the only one who could protect them now, especially Cara in this situation.
My father was the type of monster who never let anything go, especially not something he was sure to deem as a slight against him and his power. He would never stop hunting down my mother, and likely my sister too. The only way Cara would ever be safe from Marcello De Santis was if I ended him.
That was all I could think as I drove back home. I wanted to keep my promise to Cara to bring her home to a place where she and Gia could live a life of freedom and happiness. I wanted that formyself too. I didn’t want to be the monster my father was trying to turn me into. Maybe it was time I took charge of my own life for once. Maybe it was time I made the future safe for the ones I loved, once and for all.
CHAPTER 1
CARA
11 YEARS LATER…
I knew I had to stop watching the clock, but I couldn’t stop myself from glancing up at it again. Three minutes. That’s how much time had passed since the last time I checked. Three fucking minutes! I hated the place I sat in. I hated the job that I found myself trapped in. It was monotonous and mind numbing. But I didn’t have any other choice but to sit there, day after day, week after week, just as I had for almost two years now.
