Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
Quinlan
I whip my head around to look at her.
“Do I know you?” I frown.
“No, you don’t. But I’d like you to hear me out if you have time.”
“I’m sorry, but no. Please stop following me.”
“This is important, Quinn. I know someone is threatening you and blackmailing your boyfriend. I can help.”
What the fuck.
“I don’t know who you are or what you want. But you need to leave me alone.”
I see Luciana and Chloe and start walking even faster towards them.
“Please, Quinn. I’m your mother.”
I will myself to keep moving. I have a mother and it’s not her.
Luciana grabs me and hugs me.
“What’s wrong, Quinny? Are you okay?”
I see her bodyguard, Amante, shielding us.
“That woman just said she’s my mother.” My voice is so shaky.
“What the actual fuck?” Chloe frowns.
“You three need to go into the building,” Amante says to us as he calls someone on his phone. Within minutes, Celestino and Francesco, Luciana’s older brothers, appear.
“Back off,” Celestino says to the woman.
“Please. I need to speak to Quinn. I have information that can help her.”
“Yeah, I’m sure you do. Why don’t you tell us and we’ll decide if it’s something she needs to hear.”
The woman starts sobbing.
“My name is Veronica Burrows. And I know who’s after Quinn.”
“What’s she talking about, Quinny? Someone stalking you?” Luciana whispers to me.
I quietly tell her about the letter Jagger got. And how no one knows about it but Jagger, his family and Salvatore. So I don’t know who this woman is and how she knows about any of it.
“I need to tell Amante so he understands.”
I nod. “Okay.”
“You stay here. I’ll be right back.”
I watch her go over to Amante and whisper to him. Then I watch his face go from concerned to angry. He nods at Luciana and motions for her to come back to me.
“You need to leave,” he says to Veronica.
“Please, Quinn. I can help you, let me explain why I left you on that church doorstep.”
That one sentence makes my whole world stop.
“H-how do you know where I was found?”
“I told you, I’m your mother. Just hear me out. Please.”
Something inside me wants to listen, but I also want to walk away. She fucking abandoned me. Why should I listen to her?
“I don’t want to hear anything you have to say. You made your choice that night you dumped me.”
“I didn’t have a choice. If I didn’t leave you there, they were going to kill you.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Luciana blurts out.
“I never wanted to leave you, Quinn. Please believe me. That day was the second-worst day of my life.”
“Shouldn’t that be the worst day?” Chloe snaps at her.
“That’s why I need to talk to you. But I don’t want to talk here. Is there somewhere we can go? Somewhere a little more private?”
As much as I don’t want to, something is telling me I need to hear her out. That it will bring closure to that part of my life.
“I need to call Jagger. Do you know anywhere we can take her?” I ask Luciana.
“Yes. We can go to Lake Renegade. I’ll call Mam and ask her if we can use the bakery.”
“Thank you.”
We all walk to the car, and Amante gets in to drive. It takes us a couple of hours to get to Lake Renegade. Jagger is going to meet us there and he’s bringing Salvatore. Apparently Jagger got another letter and he was just leaving Salvatore’s precinct when I called.
“I want to apolo?—”
“Not now,” I say to Veronica. She nods at me and stays quiet for the rest of the ride.
We arrive at the bakery at the same time as Jagger, the Mancinis and the Cimaruta MC. Luciana’s dad, Giacomo, leads everyone into the bakery.
“Okay. First of all, who are you?” Enea Mancini, head of the Chicago Mafia asks Veronica.
“I-I’m Veronica Burrows. My father is the head of the Portside Mafia in Oregon.”
Jagger
Right as I was leaving the precinct, I got the call from Quinn. She asked me to meet her in Lake Renegade. Then she said something about her birth mom being there. I don’t really understand what’s going on. But Salvatore and I are headed there now. I’m trying not to panic, but the fear and anxiety in Quinn’s voice worries me.
“Tell me again what Quinn said,” Salvatore says to me.
“She said this woman is claiming to be her birth mother and that she knows who’s behind the letters. And what they want.”
“Is Quinn doing okay?”
“I think she’s doing the best she can. I’m glad everyone is with her. I would hate it if she was alone when this happened.”
Salvatore nods. “Our family and the Bastianini family live by a different set of rules. I’m not sure if you know, but Lorenzo and Giovanna were kidnapped when we were really little. And that changed how our family did things. I mean, we were different already because our family is mafia. But their kidnapping made my uncle reassess our family’s security. And he decided we needed more protection.”
“Wow. But they’re back now. How did you find them?”
“We didn’t. They were gone for twenty-three years. It was pure coincidence that they came back to us.”
“That’s so crazy. I’m glad they’re back. I don’t know what I would do if I lost any of my siblings.”
“I was three when they were taken, so I don?t remember that part. They’ve been back with us for a few years now. They were raised by another mafia family and luckily they were raised with a lot of love. But because of their kidnapping, our women have guards. We don?t take chances with them. Or anyone in the family. Because Quinn is part of the MC family, I think it might be good for her to have one too. In fact it?s been brought up for all the girls to have one.”
Listening to Salvatore talk makes me wonder if he?s right. Hearing about mafias and MCs is so different from the way I was raised.
“My dad had security when he had gigs. But never for everyday life.”
“I have a feeling you?re going to need it like we do. Some mafia families don?t give up the grudge.”
I sigh. “I wanna know what they want my girl for.”
“I do too. I’ve been wanting to talk to you about Quinn. She?s become family to us and I?m glad you’ve found each other. I?m sure you got the big brother talk from Celestino and Francesco. But I have to throw my two cents in. Quinn’s a part of our families and I want to make sure you’re going to take care of her the way she deserves.”
I chuckle at him. “There’s nothing I won’t do for her. Nothing. I would take anyone out if they hurt her. And I’m not a violent man. But for her? I would burn the world down.”
Salvatore nods. “That’s good to know.”