Page 18 of The Hitman's Rose

Chapter Nine

Rosaline

Every ounce of my being wants to look at Ademaro to see his reaction; however, I manage to stare at the white pea gravel beneath my feet. I had already made a complete fool of myself by my childish tantrum about him going to Poland. I didn’t need to make things any worse.

“Would it be better if I went inside?” Ademaro asks.

I didn’t need to look up to know that his words are to me. There’s always a softness to his voice each time he speaks to me, unlike the harsh, coldness when he talks to the guys or the dutiful tone when he speaks to Giovanni.

“No,” I smile, shaking my head and looking up to meet his gaze.

He nods then sits up straight and places his hands on his lap… as though awaiting orders. He slowly turns his head to face Giovanni.

“You will go to Poland and see to it that this…” Giovanni glances at me then back to Ademaro. “You will see to it that this scumbag is handled.”

“No,” I blurt, gaining their attention. “I want to be the one to take care of it.”

The words are crazy. I know they are. I’ve thought long and hard about Mikolaj, the man who killed Papa. The man who broke my mother’s heart. My sisters and I are resilient; however, my mother is a broken-hearted widow. Adrianna says our mother barely leaves her room and cries at the drop of a hat.

I wasn’t close to Papa. Adrianna and Sofia kept me away from him. They knew he worked for the devil, had a nasty temper, and sheltered me from all of it. When he died, I was sad but only because of the pain and sorrow my mother expressed. I will never forget the sound in my mother’s voice the day she called to give me the news of my father’s death.

No, Mikolaj must pay.

“I must be the one to kill him. Please,” I say, letting out a deep breath.

“Rosaline,” Giovanni whispers, taking hold of my hand. I look down at his much larger hand and mine.

For being so ginormous– okay, tall and built– Giovanni is so gentle. He has always been that way with me. I don’t remember a time where he wasn’t kind or tender with me. My first memory of him was me shaking, terrified of his large size, bending down towards me; however, a split second later, he was handing me an Italian chocolate and giving me ahorsey-backride around the compound. He’s been in my good graces ever since.

“What has you smiling like that?” Giovanni nudges me playfully.

“Just thinking about the first time, I remember meeting you, Signore Tacchelli,” I admit in a whisper.

“It is a good memory?” he smiles as I nod.

“Well,” I giggle, “I was terrified of you at first because you’re… a giant.”

Ademaro chuckles, gaining a raised eyebrow from Giovanni.

“Sorry, Boss,” Ademaro replies. Giovanni rolls his eyes and laughs, then looks back at me.

“I remember you were three or so. I bent down to pick you up and you screamed bloody murder. I gave you chocolate to– um…”

“Shut me up,” I laugh.

“Ha! I sure did. It worked like a charm,” Giovanni smiles brightly. “Your mother scolded me. Told me I was spoiling you rotten, but Mario told her I was your godfather and it was okay for me to spoil you.” He laughs at the memory; however, there’s sadness in his eyes.

“Miss him?” I ask without thought.

“I do,” he sighs. “You?”

“Not really,” I admit in a whisper. His eyes widen and he seems confused.

“You don’t?”

“No. Not really,” I shrug. “He wasn’t the nicest person. And, honestly, Sofia and Adrianna kept me away from him.”

“He abused you guys?” he asks coldly. I quickly shake my head.

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