Twenty Eight
DARIO
“Yeah, you’re not in touch with your artistic side, are you?” I joke, pouring Apollo and Ace a glass of water.
“We told you that,” Ace says, his tone somewhat sarcastic in nature. “But we’ve given you options because it’s impossible to replicate from memory, especially since it’s been so long.”
“Anything is better than nothing,” I say with a shrug. They both hand me their pieces of paper with sketches on either side and very little spare space left. “And you’re dedicated to finding him as much as we are… Why?”
“That bastard put us here,” Apollo scoffs. “And if I knew then what I do now, I never would’ve fucking done it. Or maybe I would’ve, but I would’ve done shit differently.”
His response catches me off guard. It’s like he has an internal conflict between his beliefs and his actions, which isn’t what I expected.
“You’re doing right by her, aren’t you?” he asks, breaking the silence.
“By whom, Liana?” He nods. “She knows what kind of man I am and what I’m capable of. She knows I won’t change— can’t change. It’s in my blood to be who I am and do what I do. But I will never, ever hurt her and I’ll do everything within my power to keep her out of harm’s way. You have my word.”
He shakes his head. “She’s all I have left, Dario. I swear to God, if anything happens to her, I will always blame you, and maybe, just maybe, I’ll follow through on my initial mission here.” He flashes me a smile to show me he means well with his threat. “She’s been in danger since she was born. My father made alliances and loyal friends of the wrong people, so much so, that nobody dared touch any of us. But if he betrayed her, she’s fair game to anyone now.”
“What kind of ‘wrong people’ did your father associate himself with? Is there any one person I should be wary of more than the rest?” He narrows his eyes as he stares at me, confusion filling them. “I want to make sure there’s no one looking to hurt her. I have my hands full most days with my own search for someone that doesn’t deserve to breathe the same air as us; the last thing I need is another ghost I can’t find.”
Ace and Apollo share a knowing glance. “Antonio Bianchi?” they question in unison.
“How did you know?”
“Know what?” They ask simultaneously.
“He’s been a thorn in my side since I was born. That man knows no boundaries and he’s ruined my family once. He’s bound to do it again, to finish what he started.”
“Since you were born? What does a grown man have against a child?” Savio asks, his brows pinching together.
“It’s a long story. The real question is, how do you two know him?”
“You asked who you should be wary of, we answered. Antonio Bianchi is a bastard. He led us to the man that landed us in here.”
“So I don’t need to watch out for anyone new, then?” I sigh, rubbing my hands down my face in defeat. “I was already searching for that cunt. Seven years and no sign of him here until recently.”
“He’s in New York?” Apollo reaches to swat my chest and my eyes fall down, landing on his hand. He pulls it away. “I’m sorry, I guess some habits don’t die in here. Why is he here?”
“We don’t know. He could have business here, but it’s more plausible that he’s here for personal reasons. The last known sighting of him was before he fled seven years ago. He wreaked havoc to the point that he gained more enemies than he could ever imagine. I’m not the only person who wants his head on a pike, believe me.”
“Then you have to keep Liana on a short leash, Dario. If he’s capable of disappearing without a trace and knows people who can too, what’s to say he won’t make her follow him into the shadows?”
“Consider it done,” I reply. “He wouldn’t make it onto the compound, but if he tries, he’ll end up in the same place as you, enduring more hurt than you ever did.”
Turning to Ace, I watch as his face contorts as if dissecting my words, and I remember what I wanted to ask him. “She calls you Ace, but also Savio; why? Is it like a hyphenated name or something?”
He laughs, shrugging his shoulders. “I’ve known Liana for as long as I can remember. She was five and struggled to say my name because my accent was still quite strong. She couldn’t understand what I was saying; I gave her something easier to work with.”
“So where does ‘Ace’ come from?”
“Savio Accardi. She also couldn’t pronounce my last name at first—”
Apollo laughs. “‘Aceardee’, she used to say. It was the cutest little thing.”
A light laugh escapes me. “How could she have gotten it so wrong?”
“I have no idea, but ‘Ace’ kinda stuck for us. It was like our little thing, the three of us.”
“Ares too, when he came into our lives,” Apollo chimes in as if it’s a vital piece of information.
“And he was your… boyfriend, right?” I ask, squinting my eyes as if that’ll save me from any backlash if I’ve misspoken.
“Yeah. I kinda fucked things up between him and me.”
“I mean, I don’t think you getting locked up in here has helped.”
He shakes his head with a soft laugh. “It didn’t, no. The only reason you found me was because I frequented his house like three times a day, lingering around for hours on end. I couldn’t go in and see him because it made it all too real for me and it was still so raw. I couldn’t face the fact that he moved on so quickly.”
“I could… I could look into him for you if you’d like? You know, make sure he’s doing well?”
He shakes his head, but the look in his eye is enough to tell me he needs this. “I won’t be the person to disrupt the cushy life he’s made for himself. He’s moved on and I should be fucking happy, not wishing for the demise of his new boyfriend.”
“But you are, Apollo, and it’s okay to grieve what once was. It makes you human, and in here, you need to be in touch with your humanity if you ever want to make it out alive with your sanity in check. Give me his name, would you? Don’t be as stubborn as your sister.”
“Where do you think she got it from?” he queries with a pleased smile. “His name is Ares Aiello. He lives in Manhattan, or he did four years ago.”
“Got it.”
“If he’s married or has more than one child, I really don’t want to know. You can keep that piece of information to yourself.”
“And you, Savio? Is there anyone you want to check up on?” As soon as the words leave my lips, his head shakes.
“No. I wasn’t in a relationship and didn’t make a big enough impact on anyone’s life that they’d care about me.”
“Family? Friends? An old acquaintance? There has to be someone.”
“There’s no one. Like I said, not enough of an impact on anyone’s life.” He swallows. “Why do you care?”
“In some sense, you’re family now. Apollo, you’re Liana’s brother, and Savio, you’re, well… You’re a big part of her life. I don’t want to keep you here any longer than necessary, but until I get the evidence correlating with your innocence, I can’t let you leave. If, for some reason, you decided to retaliate against me and harm my family, it would be my fault.”
“You’re not how I pictured you to be, Dario Vitale,” Apollo says, his voice soft and his eyes squinting as if dissecting me. “You’re… different from who Aldo said you were. Not as big of an asshole as he painted you to be.”
“Take it from me, to get somewhere in this world, you will do almost anything to diminish your competition and accomplish your dreams.”
“Yeah, I kind of got that when I went on my first mission, but even Silas refused to harm an innocent.”
I laugh half-heartedly. “Yeah, even a man like him has boundaries.” And that’s fucking saying something. “I’ll come back with your information either tonight or tomorrow,” I add, rising to my feet. “And I’ll look into these scars. Hopefully, we can find something to get you out of here.”
“We’re not leaving anytime soon,” Savio says, with a dark, knowing look.
I give him a firm nod before leaving.
The cold air swirls around me as I step back into the corridor and a shiver rocks through me. It reminds me of my nights on the roof and the fact I haven’t needed one in a while. It’s like even though I’m stressed, pushing myself to the absolute limit every single day, with Liana around, I don’t need to be alone. She’s all I need in this world of chaos. She is my escape.