Page 15 of Surrender (Angels Halo MC Next Gen)

Cursing, he stumbled back. “Jesus Christ, Elias!”

“You ever talk about her like that again, and I’ll bury your ass.”

CHAPTERSEVEN

samara

After a daythat had been better than I could have ever hoped for, I tried not to be let down after Elias left me at my door with nothing more than a forehead kiss.

Although I should have been grateful. Especially when my phone blew up not long after I kicked off my shoes. Tears burned my eyes as soon as I saw it was Papa calling again.

There were days I ached to talk to him, tell him every one of my problems so he could solve them for me. Then there were days I dreaded seeing his name pop up on my screen because it hurt too much.

Knowing I couldn’t ignore him for long without sending all of New York into a tailspin, I pasted on a grin and answered. “Hi, Papa!”

“Samara,” he hissed, his voice strained. “You better get your ass home in the next twenty minutes, or we will both suffer your mother’s wrath.”

“Okay, Papa,” I soothed, putting him on speaker so I could text Mom. She must have been at Iron Hand. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so confused. “I’ll be home soon.”

“Do you need me to send my men?”

“No, Papa,” I assured him as I walked through the apartment, texting as I went. “I’m safe. I was just out with a friend.”

“A boy?” he asked suspiciously.

“No, Papa. I don’t like any boys.” Not a lie. I’d never liked boys, not even as a kid. They were too immature. “I’m with a friend from school.”

Me: Papa thinks I snuck out of the house.

Mom: I’m leaving the club now. If there hadn’t been an issue with a patron, I would have been home hours ago. Is he upset?

Me: Just worried about me. Should I call Ryan? Have him bring Wren up to the house to pretend to be me?

Mom: I tried that last week when he had a bad day. It worked until she forgot and took off the sunglasses. His confusion scared her, so we won’t be trying that again anytime soon.

I swiped my hand over my cheek when a few tears escaped. I hated this. Alzheimer’s was stealing my dad away from us little by little. It had started out almost two years before with him blanking, stumbling over basic words in both English and Italian, forgetting how to do simple tasks. But it got worse each passing month, with more frequent days of his confusion. His doctor had sent us to a specialist who’d diagnosed Alzheimer’s and placed him on medication that was recently approved.

When he’d started confusing me for Mom, that was when we knew the meds weren’t working. Several different trials and errors later, each with their own disastrous consequences, we all decided that it was better for Papa if we stopped trying to treat this with pharmaceuticals.

Now, because I looked so similar to Mom when she was younger, it not only confused him but made him irate. A few times, he’d gotten borderline violent. Lately, he was trapped in the past. He thought I was a little girl or in my teens.

What nearly broke me, though, was when he forgot me completely. Although, it was easier to handle than when he couldn’t find me, even when I was standing right in front of him.

For the moment, we were trying to keep his early-onset dementia a secret. Very few people knew. My brother and sister-in-law were aware of his condition, but Mom hadn’t told my aunts and uncles yet. It was safer for everyone in case it was leaked to someone within our family’s staff and they decided to sell that information. Considering how many times we’d had moles in what was supposed to be a closed-net organization, it was difficult not to be suspicious of every person who wasn’t blood.

If our enemies found out Cristiano Vitucci was losing his mind, they would all attempt to take his seat.

Until Ryan was fully in control of every aspect of the family business, we had to hide what was going on with Papa.

Which was why I’d gone to Budapest to fulfill my mom’s favor instead of her doing it personally.

“Samara?”

I flopped down on my bed, making sure the smile was back on my face so it would come across in my voice. “Papa?”

“I love you,figlia.”

More tears spilled out of the corners of my eyes, but I kept on smiling. “I love you too, Papa.”

---