7. Isa
ISA
It was getting late, and a lot of people were beginning to leave, but Dad and Valentino were still here, which meant I was still here.
I sat down in one of the chairs and looked around.
Valentino was by Elio’s side. The two were speaking in hushed tones, and for a moment, I was afraid Elio might have been telling him about what happened earlier on the balcony, but judging by Valentino’s tensed face, I thought it might be something else.
Work-related stuff, perhaps.
Dad was surrounded by the group of traditionalist men he belonged to. There were seven men altogether, including Dad. There were Aldo and Dario, along with Federico Accardi, Mattia Amato, Giuseppe Bruno, and Marco Conti.
Of the seven men, it was Marco I was most wary of. While Dad and Federico were the only ones considered “retired,” the others were still very active in the life, with Marco Conti being considered the so-called leader of the group.
While I didn’t know much about the dynamics of the group, I knew enough from seeing them come and go from Dad’s house and the way they interacted. Marco was close to Enzo De Luca, Elio’s uncle. So close, Enzo even named his only son after him.
But unlike the man he was named after, Marco De Luca was a careless man who was desperate for even a little bit of power. He let that desperation get to his head and made a big mistake when Massimo and Elio discovered he had been working with the Bratva in New York.
I hadn’t been there for Marco’s punishment, but from the bits and pieces I heard, Massimo killed Marco with his bare hands in front of his men, Enzo included.
Enzo was found to have been helping the Bratva along with Andre Lombardi, Luna’s stepfather, who had been betraying his capo dei capi in Chicago.
Both men were no longer alive.
The only reason Marco Conti was still alive now was that there was nothing connecting him to Enzo’s betrayal. But I didn’t believe it was because he was innocent. It was because he was smart.
And I knew Massimo didn’t think Marco was innocent either. And sure enough, I could see Massimo looking over at the group of traditionalist men with an impassive look on his face.
I shivered from the coldness of his gaze, even if he wasn’t directing it at me. Massimo wasn’t someone anyone should ever want to cross.
Even if he was Elio’s brother, there had always been something… inhuman about him that made me want to stay as far away from him as possible.
A shadow fell, and I looked up to see Dad standing in front of me. He surprised me enough that, for a brief moment, I wasn’t able to hide my facial expression.
He smirked at the obvious fear on my face. “Come on, Isa. We’re going home.”
I nodded and stood up. Dad grabbed my bicep and tried to lead me toward the door. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from making any sound. Valentino came up to us then.
“I’ll take her home,” he said to Dad, his voice brooking no room for argument.
Dad hesitated, and I tensed, wondering if this would be the moment Dad lost it on Valentino.
He would be no match for my brother. Surely there was a part of him that knew that to be true.
Dad tightened his grip on me marginally, and I bit down harder.
I let out a small sigh of relief when he finally let me go.
I slowly moved over to Valentino’s side.
Dad looked at me once, his gaze making my blood run cold, before he turned and walked away.
“Has he always been like that with you?” Valentino asked.
“Like what?” I said casually.
He frowned at me. “I don’t know. Hostile.”
I shook my head. “You know how it is with him.”
He looked like he wanted to say something more to that when I feigned a yawn. “Can we go?”
His face softened. “Yeah, sweetheart. Let’s go home.”
I nodded and followed him out. Just as I was about to cross over the entryway leading out of the ballroom, movement from my left caught my attention, and I turned to see Elio talking to a server in the corner.
She was standing with her back against the wall while he stood close to her, his face bent toward her. The position was an intimate one.
He said something to her, and she nodded before he led her out the back. Just before he turned and disappeared from my sight, he looked up suddenly, and our eyes met and held. I felt my heart shattering into a million little pieces. It was obvious where he was taking her and why.
I looked away from him first, no longer wanting to see any more.
I wished I didn’t care. I wished it didn’t hurt so badly.
And there was a part of me that hated the fact that he could still be so free to do whatever he wanted, whereas I was…
I was still trapped and unable to get out.
A week had passed since the night of Luna’s birthday party.
It was past midnight, and I was wide awake.
In the main level of the house, I could hear Dad stumbling around the kitchen, the clinking of beer bottles as they clanged against each other, loud in my ears.
If he wasn’t drunk already, he was well on his way.
The door to my room was locked, but I knew that wouldn’t stop him if he really wanted to get in. Luckily, when Dad got like this, he usually just wanted to be alone with his drinks. As long as I stayed in my room for the rest of the night, I should be safe, right?
I didn’t know anymore.
A part of me wanted to sneak out through my window and walk over to Valentino’s apartment, but I was trying hard to resist the urge to escape over there so often.
I wanted to give Valentino a break from me. And things hadn’t been awful today. Dad usually wasn’t so bad to deal with. It was only when he drank?—
I flinched when I heard the beer bottle falling to the kitchen floor and breaking.
Dad let out a loud curse. I closed my eyes and stayed where I was for only a few long seconds before I flung the blanket away from me and stood up.
I walked over to the closet, changed out of my pajamas, and threw on my shoes.
I moved over to the window without thinking.
The old tree there was good enough for me to climb out onto.
As soon as my feet touched the grass, I ran.
I didn’t know where I was running off to, and at this point, it didn’t matter. I just wanted to be as far away from the house as possible.
I took in the glimmering lights of Las Vegas at night.
More specifically, the strip. Surrounded by glitz and glamour, I was able to go unnoticed.
It helped that most people were probably too drunk out of their minds to notice me, and that no one even knew who I was. Out here, I was just another person wandering around on the strip.
There was something freeing about it.
I wished I had the good sense to bring more than the little cash I had with me. I stopped in front of a convenience store. It was still open. Most of the businesses on the strip were open, despite the late hours. If I spent this cash, I wouldn’t have enough to call for a ride to get me home.
By the time I needed to head back, I would either have to call Tommaso to come pick me up or would be walking the six miles back to the house.
Or I could save the cash for when I would need it later to pay for a ride.
That would be the smart thing to do.
I wasn’t feeling smart these past days. I didn’t really care that much. Not anymore.
I walked into the convenience store. The man working the cash register looked up from his book when the bell dinged, his eyes honing in on me and staying, as if he thought I was here to rob him.
I ignored that and headed straight to the back and took out a case of beer, then walked over to the register. I placed it down on the counter and looked up, smiling at the man.
“I would like to purchase this.”