Chapter Six
Ana
“T hey’re here!” I holler as I watch the two black vans park in front of the house.
I don’t know why my heart is racing, but seeing Victor pace back and forth isn’t helping. Everything is set. I haven’t seen Vida since we finished in the kitchen. I’ve been struggling a lot with how to face her. I know that her going through with this is the only way to keep her and everyone else safe, but Vida has looked like a ghost the past few days and it breaks my heart seeing her like that.
“Girls, come down please!” Victor yells, adjusting his shirt and taking one last look around the house, making sure everything is set.
“Coming!” Isabella calls back.
“Did they have to come with so many guards?” Victor whispers to Luca loud enough for me to hear.
“Wouldn’t you?” he replies, turning to Victor with a brow raised.
“It’ll be over soon, Victor,” he assures his friend with a pat on the shoulder.
“Let’s get this over with,” Victor replies, giving a nod.
“Hi, welcome!” I say enthusiastically as I open the door and greet our guests.
The first person I see looks like a carbon copy of Luca. If I didn’t already know Luca was in the house, I would’ve thought he was the one staring right back at me. My eyes trail over him, spotting the tattoos covering his neck and admiring his well-kept beard. I’m sure the sight of Matteo Ballera should scare me, his tattoos and black outfit giving that dark and mysterious edge to him, but the fact that he looks so much like Luca makes me feel almost comfortable.
“I’m Matteo Ballera,” he smiles at me, his thick Italian accent filling the air.
“Ah yes! Please come in,” I say, ushering for him to come in.
As he steps inside, I watch as men in black suits position themselves in front of the house like they already know their surroundings.
“My children,” Matteo says, turning to face the two people who had followed him inside.
“Hi, I’m Ana. This is my husband Victor,” I say, turning to Victor, who is standing next to Luca.
“My brother has told me many nice things about you. It’s nice to meet you,” Matteo says, stretching out his hand to shake Victor’s. When all Victor does is stare at Matteo’s hand, tension settles in the air around us, and I get the feeling he’s all in his head, wishing that we didn’t have to go through this.
“I’m guessing cops don’t shake hands with criminals?” Matteo asks in an attempt at a joke to lighten the mood. From the way Victor grinds his teeth, I can tell it didn’t go over well.
“I never said anything,” Victor says defensively.
“Gentlemen,” I call, getting the men’s attention. This isn’t the atmosphere I worked all day to achieve, and I need to get things back on track so this can be a good dinner. Vida deserves it.
“Keep the hormones for later, now we’ll talk and have dinner,” I instruct, my voice firm.
I can see Luca watching Matteo out of the corner of my eye as Matteo looks at me. The smile on Luca’s face makes me wonder what he’s seeing that I don’t, but the sight of it helps calm me enough to know I haven’t crossed any lines.
Matteo’s eyes going warm, and a smile gracing his face, only confirms that. “Yes ma’am, please forgive my manners.”
“Forgiven. And who may these two be?” I ask as I turn to his children who have been standing by the door, just watching and saying nothing.
“My children. This is Carmela,” he says with a smile as he looks at his daughter with what can only be described as love in his eyes.
Carmela smiles at me before quickly stretching out her hand for me to shake. “Hi, it’s nice to meet you. Your home is beautiful.”
“You’re so sweet, thank you, Carmela,” I say, already loving how kind and genuine she seems.
“And this is Ciro, my son,” Matteo adds.
“Ciro, hello,” I say, turning to face him. His stare is cold and unbothered as our eyes meet, so unlike his sister’s who had seemed warm and caring.
“Welcome,” I smile at him, trying to break some of the tension, but only receive a nod and a dismissing smirk in return.
“I’ll go get the girls,” Luca says when his nephew continues to remain silent. He disappears, leaving us all to get acquainted.
Isabella
“Izzy, Vee,” Luca calls a s he knocks on the door lightly.
“We’re coming, Luca, sorry,” I reply, hugging my sister one more time before I get up and head for the door.
“Alright then, I’ll just wait here,” he adds in that tone he uses when he doesn’t believe me. When we’ve said we’re ready before, he’s learned that that’s not always the truth. This is just his way of making sure we actually come.
“She’ll be down soon, she just needs a minute to breathe,” I tell him after stepping into the hallway and closing the door behind me without my sister.
“Is she alright?” he asks, concern shining in his eyes.
“She will be, she just needs some time alone. Shall we?” I ask, gesturing for us to go as I smile up at him. He looks into my eyes like he’s trying to tell if I’m telling him the truth, and then nods.
“You look beautiful, Isabella,” he says, his complement coming out sincerely.
“I know. I have great genes,” I say with a wink, taking his hand and leading him towards the stairs.
“Hi!” I say as I walk into the living room, getting everyone’s attention.
“Oh sweetie, you look beautiful,” Mom says, smiling at me.
“She’s got great genes,” Luca says teasingly, making me giggle.
“Thanks, Mom,” I say as I sit beside her and kiss her cheek.
“Where’s your sister, Mija ?” Dad asks, looking back in the direction we came from.
“She’s in her room. She’ll be down soon.”
“This is Matteo, he’s . . .”
“Luca’s brother?” I state, finishing Mom’s sentence as I look at the almost carbon copy of Luca. The only real difference between the two was the amount of tattoos Matteo had covering his exposed skin. “It’s not hard to see the resemblance. It’s nice to meet you, Matteo.”
His returned smile was genuine, and I can tell as his eyes sweep to Luca’s for a moment that Luca must have told him about us. By the understanding look he gives me next, it’s not hard to guess that he’s used to being around people like us.
“It’s nice to meet you, Isabella,” he responds.
“This is Carmela and Ciro,” Mom continues, bringing my attention to the black-haired duo sitting next to Matteo.
“Hi, your dress is drop-dead gorgeous!” Carmela says with a smile.
“And those boots of yours, yes please!” I gush with a smile.
“I think we’ll get along perfectly!” Carmela squeals in excitement, her energy so infectious I can’t help but smile like she is.
“Does your brother always brood?” I whisper loudly, earning a smack on my arm from Mom.
“All the time, it’s annoying,” Carmela says as she rolls her eyes and laughs.
“Let’s start with dinner, Vida won’t mind,” Mom says, trying to stop us from talking about Ciro.
“Sounds perfect. Mom makes the best meals,” I say excitedly, smiling at our guests as we all stand, hoping that if we can keep them distracted with dinner, it’ll give Vida the time she needs to get up the strength to get through this dinner.
“Can I go and get her?” Ciro asks, catching everyone by surprise.
“What?” Dad asks, looking at him like he’s never heard Ciro talk before.
“My future wife, can I go and get her?” he repeats, not seeming impressed at all that he’s had to ask again. I’m starting to wonder if his face is just permanently stuck like that.
“She can come down on her own, Ciro. Come eat,” Carmela whispers, grabbing his arm.
“I’ll find her room, you can start dinner without us,” he says as he turns and begins to head in the direction Luca and I had come from, not seeming bothered that everyone is staring at him like he’s crazy.
“It’s the room with the flowers on the door,” Mom calls as we watch him climb the stairs.
“Thank you,” he says without stopping or turning to look at her.
He was a man clearly on a mission, and by the way he’s acting, it isn’t hard to guess that he wants this dinner over with as much as my sister does.