Chapter 22
ALESSIA
I hadn’t heard from Luca since he’d forced his way into my apartment the day before.
I’d spent all evening thinking, but the only decision I’d made was that it was time to bring Giada into the fold.
It wasn’t an easy call to make. Telling her might endanger her, and I didn’t want to get myself into trouble for spreading information.
However, there were any number of counter-arguments.
I could count on her to keep her mouth shut, plus, she deserved to know what was happening in our family.
In a much more selfish vein, I needed to tell her so she could help me figure out what the hell I was supposed to do.
She had helped me through every major life decision until that point, and I floundered at the idea of forging ahead without her on this front.
Telling Giada was one thing, my sister Sofia was entirely different.
She had been so insistent on paving her own path; I hated to disrupt her progress by throwing our family secrets at her feet.
Hypocritical, I know, but she was my little sister, and I felt protective.
This type of information changed things.
Once you knew, there was no going back.
Giada and I decided to meet for lunch at a small pizza place near her apartment.
I normally tried to eat healthy, but the stress of my current situation called for carbs.
Lots of carbs. When Giada arrived, we ordered our oversized slices of pizza, then found a table on the patio outside for privacy.
“What’s the latest news?” she asked, completely oblivious to the bomb I was about to drop in her lap.
“This talk is going to call for another warning.”
“I got it—you, me, no one else. Spill,” she said as she waved her hand at me passively.
“Jeeze, alright. So, I decided it would be best to break up with Luca. We fought—it was ugly. Then he told me something that changed everything, and the only reason I’m telling you is because it involves you too.”
“Me?” she balked.
I glanced around, ensuring there were no prying ears nearby. “Yes. Luca isn’t the only one who’s in the mafia—practically our entire family is … connected. Giada, my dad is the boss—a bonafide godfather.”
She lowered her pizza to her paper plate, her brows drawn tightly together. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“I know it sounds crazy. I didn’t believe it at first either, but I confronted my dad, and he admitted it. Mom knows, Maria’s one of them, and Uncle Edoardo—your dad—he’s mafia too.” I let the information sink in, taking a bite of pizza as Giada stared at hers.
Her eyes slowly rose to meet mine, none of the horror I thought I might see present. “Well, I’ll be damned,” she whispered. “We’re like the real-life Sopranos.” Her voice was awed as if she had just learned Jason Mamoa was her long-lost brother.
“You’re taking this awfully well.”
“Are you kidding me?” she blurted. “This is fucking amazing! Do you know how many times I’ve watched the Godfather? Scarface? Carlito’s Way? Pretty much any mob show ever made. You know I love that shit.”
“G, our lives could be in danger because of this—it’s not some movie.”
“I figure it’s been this way since we were born. If it were dangerous, we would have seen some of that by now.”
“Like my brother getting killed?” Every ounce of levity vanished from my voice.
Giada’s eyes rounded in surprise. “Holy shit.”
“Yeah. Our lives are a lot more dangerous than we ever realized. This isn’t TV, and it’s not a game.”
“I’m sorry, honey. I didn’t mean to make light of it.”
“You don’t have to be sorry. I get why it sounds exciting, but there’s a much darker side to mob life. I don’t want that to touch either of us.”
“What about a sexy mafia man?” she teased with a questioning smile. “Can one of those touch us? Cause that guy of yours is sexy as fuck.”
I shook my head, rolling my eyes as I took another bite of pizza. “You’re crazy, you know that?”
“Don’t judge.”
“Whatever. Just keep your mouth shut about it. You promise?” I gave her a piercing stare, hoping she’d understand the severity of the situation.
“Trust me, if I have learned anything from all the shows, it’s that talking gets you dead. I’m not saying a word.” She dug into her pizza as if I hadn’t just rocked her world. Giada always did roll with the punches, but her nonchalant attitude toward our mafia connections had surprised me.
As we finished eating and our conversation wound down to evening plans and pedicure appointments, I noticed that feeling of being watched had come back.
I lifted my eyes, and they were drawn straight to Luca.
He stood across the street, two storefronts down, leaning against the building and watching us—watching me.
“G, I have to go. I’ll text you later, okay?” I murmured distractedly as I stood from the table.
“Sounds good.” Head down, she scrolled through her phone, hardly noticing my departure.
I charged straight for Luca, fists clenched at my sides. “Are you stalking me?” I hissed at him once I was close enough not to be overheard.
“I’m making sure you’re safe. Things are dangerous right now—I don’t want you going out without an escort.”
Oh. My anger ebbed as I glanced around, wondering just how much danger I might be in.
“I’ll call Leo for a ride home, but I don’t want you following me around like a creeper.
” I got out my phone and immediately texted Leo, not wanting Luca to have any reason to stick around.
“There, all set. You can be on your way now.” I turned my back and stalked over to the curb, intent on ignoring his presence.
I should have known my actions were irrelevant.
I could no more ignore Luca than I could will myself to stop breathing.
I didn’t even have to look behind me to sense him approaching—the electrical charge between us alerted me to his presence, heating the skin along my back where he now stood just inches away.
“You think that attitude pushes me away,” he rumbled from behind me, so close to my ear that the little hairs on my neck stood on edge.
“But all it does is make me want to see those sassy lips wrapped tight around my cock.” His mouth came closer before he clamped down gently on my earlobe with his teeth, then sucked on the flesh as he pulled away.
My breathing shuddered, and my head swam with a rush of dizziness.
My nipples were hard enough, every man, woman, and child on the street would be able to see them, but I was too disoriented to care.
Thankfully, Leo must have been nearby. His black SUV pulled in front of me, drawing me from my lust-filled haze.
Jumping into action, I opened the backseat door and leapt inside.
When I glanced at Leo, he was scowling over his shoulder to where Luca stood with a smirk.
“Just go,” I muttered.
Leo begrudgingly followed my instructions, dropping me at my apartment building and walking me to the elevator.
“I got it from here, thanks.”
“Your father wants to make sure you have someone with you whenever you’re out—just a temporary thing. You let me know whenever you need to leave your apartment, okay?”
“Yeah, I got the memo.” I gave him a tight smile, wondering just how long this increased supervision would last.
When I got off on the fourteenth floor, I found my Uncle Sal waiting for me outside my apartment. It was strange to look at him and know he wasn’t just my father’s best friend, he was in the mafia. I wasn’t sure if my father had told him I knew, so I decided not to broach the subject.
“Hey, Uncle Sal! This is a surprise—I hope you weren’t waiting long.” I gave him a hug and began to fish my keys out of my purse.
“Not at all. It’s my fault for not calling before I came up. I was nearby and needed to get a gift for my upcoming anniversary, so I thought I’d drop by and you could help me with some ideas. Us men are no good at these things,” he said with a chuckle.
“Sure, I’m happy to help. Come on in.” I held the door open for him, then set down my purse. “Can I get you a water or soda?”
“Nah, just come have a seat.” He walked toward the sofa and gestured for me to sit.
The entire situation was irregular. I couldn’t shake the feeling something was off—he was my uncle, and older people were strange sometimes, but his surprise visit notably coincided with my discovery about my family’s mob involvement.
Did he know that I knew? Was he trying to uncover how much I knew?
I suspected he had an ulterior motive, but I had no idea what it might be.
“You know,” he started in, hands in his pockets as he gazed out the window. “You’ve always been my favorite—so ambitious and eager to please. When you were little, you used to tickle my beard, your little fingers on my chin.”
“And you would call me a scamp and chase me away, making me laugh until I couldn’t breathe.”
“You remember,” he said with surprise.
“Yeah, we’ve had a lot of good memories together. Remember the time you took me and Sofia to see the Rockettes? Looking back, I think maybe that was a little for your own benefit,” I teased, remembering the gorgeous dancers and their long, beautiful legs.
He smiled at me, but there was a deep sadness behind those grey eyes. “That’s why this pains me so much. It wasn’t supposed to be this way, but plans change, and sometimes, we have to make sacrifices.”
Before I could ask what he was talking about, Sal pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and pressed the wet cloth against my face.
Unable to help a gasp of surprise, my lungs filled with a sickly-sweet smell.
Almost instantly, my vision blurred, and my flailing arms failed to respond to my muddled commands.
Not even terror-induced panic could overcome the numbing effects of whatever chemical soaked the cloth.
All I could do was plead in the silent recesses of my mind as I slipped deep into unconsciousness.