Chapter 13 – Sara
Trunk loaded with more pumpkins than I knew what to do with, I said goodbye to my parents and mercifully escaped.
But no sooner did I turn down the main street than a black speck flicked in my rearview mirror.
Since my thoughts were occupied by my mother’s vapid musings about dress shopping and cake tasting, it took more than one turn to realize the boxy shape was following me.
I glared at the Dodge Challenger. Only one Made Man drove the SRT Demon. The only reason I recognized the vehicle was that I’d seen it clear the quarter mile of country road in nine seconds. That had been the last time I was home.
A smile tipped my lips. It might have been a cold December day about two years ago, but us girls had bundled up to watch the boys race. Lucian had finally found a car worthy enough to beat his brother’s vivid red fury.
Cam had been there, at the finish line to judge the race. We hadn’t spoken. He’d simply stood by the tailgate, ignoring the clucking hens shivering in the truck bed as we’d huddled together to watch the boys and their toys.
I wonder if he liked me then.
We’d always been friendly. To hear the don speak this afternoon in my parents’ house, it sounded like it was more than amicable on Cam’s part.
I hadn’t noticed he had feelings for me.
Or maybe, I just didn’t want to see them since I lived in New York.
At least we’d both given into the pull over the last few weeks.
Which made me wonder why Don Ravello was tailing me now.
I clenched my teeth, accelerated on the back county road, and sped toward the cabin. Lucian didn’t turn at any of the exits for his properties.
He followed me.
Or so it seemed, until five minutes later, he romped on the engine. The black demon darted past my sedan and sped away.
I let out a long breath. “What the hell was that about?”
Shaking my head, I dialed a number from the car screen.
Ivry’s voice came through the speakers a few seconds later. “Sara! Hi, you! How’s it going?”
“I was just in town. Sorry I didn’t stop by the Salted Biscoff,” I responded quickly.
“Oh! I wasn’t working today.” She laughed lightly. “I’ve been baking at home.”
There was a rustle on the other end of the line. I frowned at the screen before cutting my gaze back to the road.
“You baking? Unheard of!” I teased. Ivry giggled. I smiled at the road. “You should really open a shop, Ives!”
“You know I only like to bake for friends and family. Selling stuff would just make me sad.”
I bit my lip so as not to laugh. She would feel remorse for the cookies that didn’t sell. As if it was an insult that her creations weren’t chosen. No…the bubbly ray of sunshine wouldn’t make a good businesswoman.
“I met someone.” Her words interrupted my thoughts. “You should come over for dinner some night. I want you to meet him!”
“Ives, that’s great!” A trickle of guilt slithered through me. Of all my friends here in the Cove, she was the one I stayed in touch with. But that didn’t mean I was ready to tell her I was in the same boat. My mother’s enthusiasm was enough for now.
Plus, until Cam ‘took off the mask’ so to speak, our relationship wasn’t even official.
Which I’d drilled into my mother. Thankfully, Mamma liked the idea of a secret relationship.
It was a temporary fix. I chewed the inside of my cheek.
I was going to have to drill it into my mother’s head to keep things quiet.
“Sara? You there?”
I was too distracted to give my friend the attention she deserved. I gave myself a mental shake, and then forced my mind to focus.
“What’s he like?” I asked.
“Well, Demyan is tall,” Ivry giggled. “Very scary looking.”
“Typical mobster,” I mumbled.
“Oh, no! He’s worse.” Ivry’s voice turned hushed. “He was sent to kill Lucian.”
The blood drained from my face. The clatter of rumble strips made me jerk the wheel to straighten out the car.
“WHAT!” I gasped.
“Don’t worry! He didn’t,” my friend rushed to add. “He canceled the contract, and he’ll be an asset to the famiglia.”
There was a mutter in the background on Ivry’s end. “Not likely.”
Mamma mia, her beau was listening to this conversation.
“Does Lucian know?” I choked out, taking the exit for the lake house. Gravel spluttered behind the back tires as I sped onto the dirt road faster than was safe. I lifted my foot from the gas as the trees blurred by.
“Yep! I told him that if he didn’t butt out, I was going to make his life hell,” Ivry chuckled. “It’s all good.”
My forefingers began to tap on the steering wheel. It seemed like there was a lot of that going around. I had been firm with the don, but he’d left thinking he still had power in the situation.
As I rounded the corner, it seemed like the Fates were giving me a second chance.
That stupid Dodge was parked in front of the cabin.
“I’m glad it worked out, but don’t go easy on the don,” I warned. “He’s a crafty old fox.”
“Yuck! He’s not old,” Ivry protested.
If he was old, she was ancient was what she meant.
“His soul, Ives, his soul is old.” I cut the engine. “We’ll have lunch. Soon.”
“No, come for dinner!” she insisted. “Then we can talk without being overheard by the fat-lipped town gossips.”
“Okay,” I agreed.
“Love ya!” Ivry chirped.
I smiled. This woman was the older sister I never had. “Love ya more.”
The call disconnected, and I was out of the car, marching to the cabin with a renewed sense of justice coursing through my veins. Only, the don wasn’t inside.
He was down on the dock, gazing over the waters of Lake Georgina.
I stalked forward. “What’s this? Didn’t say enough back in the Cove?”
Lucian canted his head to the side, not looking back at me, but not dismissing me either. “I’m worried about you and Cam.”
“And I told you, it’s none of your business,” I countered.
“Sara, you don’t deserve to be in this world.”
Those words were an icy shard twisting in my gut. I took a menacing step forward, but the slick dock sent my shoes slipping. I gripped a post and glared at the don’s back.
“I don’t deserve?”
Lucian shook his head, and with a growl, he rounded on me. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
I scoffed, but he kept talking.
“I mean that you’re better than us. My father was right; you don’t deserve a life sentence. You’ve been through hell and earned your freedom. Why would you saddle yourself to this slice of misery?”
Shoving my glasses up my nose, I looked over the glittering lake. The bright September sun made the top sparkle. It was inviting, but I knew it was a deception. That water was freezing.
“Look, Cam and I are still working things out. I don’t know where this is going, but if we decide to make it a thing, I’m all in.”
“And is that fair to him?” Lucian demanded.
“What does that mean?” I snapped and took a step forward.
Turning to look back over the waves, Lucian’s fists tightened at his sides. “When was your last blood panel?”
It always came back to this! Sara, the poor sick girl. It didn’t matter that I beat the scourge, that I was doing everything I could to stay healthy. I was a calculated risk.
Marching right up to him, I hissed. “You’re out of line, Signore.”
I didn’t mean to. My body moved of its own accord.
If I’d had time to analyze the situation, it would be obvious that all the fight scenes were still dancing around in the back of my mind. The part of my brain that was always living in the fictional world was violent. That had to be why I lunged and shoved the don into the lake.
I caught myself on the post, staring down in horror at the thrashing, writhing man bobbing up to the surface.
“Sara!” he roared.
“Don’t back down!” It was like Ivry was in my head, cheering me on.
Forcing my voice to sound stern, I barked, “Lucian Ravello, you crossed a line. You can’t forbid me being with one of your guys because I was sick once upon a time. That’s wrong.”
“It wrecked him, Sara!” Lucian slapped his hands on the water before pushing toward the dock.
I scuttled back as his hands gripped the ledge. With a grunt, he hauled himself over the edge. My heart jumped to my throat, and adrenaline coursed through my veins. If I had to run, I would. I might even make it to the car and drive off before he charged.
But Lucian just sat there. “Maybe…maybe I misjudged you.”
“You think?” I choked.
“It will break him if something happens to you. I don’t want him to go through that.”
“And if he had another girl? And he was fond of her—” I forced the words out, even though they made my chest ache “—and if she died in a car crash? Wouldn’t that wreck him?”
Lucian simply stared at me.
“Life’s a risk, Signore,” I ground out. “If your objection is that I might not be here someday, then you’re stupider than I thought. Because you might not be! Especially if you keep pissing off every woman in this town.”
Those black eyes narrowed to slits. “Meaning?”
I quickly changed the subject. “Look, if the concern is that Cam won’t be on his A-game because he’s got something else besides the mob in his life, I offer you a solution. Start training another enforcer.”
The wind swept over the lake, and Lucian shivered.
I resisted the urge to go get him a towel. Let him freeze for a bit longer.
“It would be smart to have someone younger training for the job anyhow. That person would be an under-enforcer,” I added, trying to sound enthusiastic, but my teeth chattered from more than cold.
Brushing his mop of wet hair back, Lucian pulled a face. “You know? You’re smarter than you look.”
“Thanks?” I hesitated.
“Don’t break my friend’s heart, Sara.”
The sun peeked out from behind the fluffy cloud. It started to chase the wind’s bite away.
“I don’t plan on it, Signore.”