CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN #2
"Even if she doesn’t fill this place with them, I will. They really do make this place look better," I told him.
“They remind me of home... I mean... of my mom’s place,” Marcel muttered. “She loves fresh flowers. She keeps them throughout the house, changing them out for new ones each week.”
As he talked, I could see the loneliness in his eyes. He missed home, his mom’s place. He missed his old life. Missed being the carefree college student who dreamed of owning his own business and not depending on the Cattaneo name to make it through life.
But he couldn’t get back to those goals because he wasn’t ready to emerge from his fortress yet. However, according to Cas, Marcel made good money from live streaming while playing video games.
He also did freelance web development for small businesses. Even in isolation, he was determined to make his own way.
"So..." He leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees. "How’s the Italy branch of the casino doing?"
I leaned back against the couch.
“It’s doing well. I was finally able to get our family there to cease trying to sabotage it.”
“Did you have to kill anyone to achieve that?” he asked.
“A few people,” I admitted.
He nodded. Then his smile disappeared completely, and he clasped his hands together.
“Did you... uh... learn anything new about my situation?” he mumbled.
“I did. That’s part of the reason I came today.”
His gaze met mine, and I noted the hope in his eyes. I gave him a brief rundown of what Terzo and I had uncovered. And then I told him of my plan to investigate a possible suspect who was already dead, along with The Circuit.
Marcel listened without interrupting me once. When I finished, silence settled over the room. His gaze dropped to the floor.
"I want to know who they are,” he whispered. “I don’t care if they’re dead or alive. I just want to know who did it. Who watched me? Who stalked me?” His jaw tightened. Through clenched teeth, he said, “I want to know if they chose me because I looked... weak.”
The pain in those last words hit me harder than anything else he'd said. Someone had quietly observed our family, then decided Marcel would be the easiest target. They’d stalked him. Learned his routines.
Then, they sold that information to our enemies. Those enemies were now dead. But the people who’d chosen him, the ones who’d violated his privacy, were still unknown. He couldn’t rest easily until, dead or alive, he knew who they were. Marcel rubbed his hands together.
"I still feel like someone's watching me sometimes,” he told me.
He gave a humorless laugh. "I know they're not. I mean, how could they?” He gestured toward the windows. “They can’t even see in. Even so, sometimes I look over my shoulder, feeling like someone is there, waiting for me to let my guard down.”
He clasped his hands together as he stared around the living room.
"I know I’m being irrational. And I know the family thinks I’m losing my mind. But no matter how hard I try, I can't shake the feeling that it’s not over. And I keep having these nightmares about... about... what they did to me? Sometimes I’m not even asleep when the nightmares strike."
I swallowed the lump in my throat, heart aching for the young man before me. Marcel wasn’t just preparing for another attack. He was trying to outrun the one he’d already survived. I leaned forward.
"I'm going to find out who supplied that intel to the Bianchis," I vowed. “And I’m going to make sure they’re never able to hurt you again.”
Marcel looked at me, but said nothing.
"I'm going to find every person involved,” I promised. “And I’m going to bring them to you, so you can see they’re no longer a threat. So you can see that you no longer have anything to fear.”
He stared down at the floor. “Do you think I’m... weak?” he asked.
“Hell no. Look at me, Marcel. Look at me.”
Lifting his head, he met my gaze again.
“If fear makes you weak, then all of us are weak. Fear is natural. If you feared nothing, that would worry me even more than you not wanting to leave the house. You have a right to be scared. I don’t like that your fear is controlling your life.
But I didn’t live through what you lived through.
I can sit here and say I understand what happened to you.
But until I’ve experienced it firsthand, I can never understand what you’ve endured.
So do whatever it takes to keep yourself from falling apart.
And I’ll handle finding the people responsible. Okay?”
For the first time since we'd started talking, something that resembled resolve flickered in Marcel's eyes.
"I can do that. Thank you, Rome."
I shook my head. "You don't have to thank me."
"I do."
He looked over at the peace lilies before speaking again.
"I think..." He paused. "I think finding the people who stalked me might help me start living again. I need to know who did this. The not knowing is the worst part. I want to live again. I want to feel the sun again. I want to go visit my mom, instead of having her come here and leave teary-eyed because she’s worried about me. I want to hang out with you and our family. I mean, I’m past drinking age now. You all promised to get me shit-faced once I was legal. Remember?”
I chuckled. “I remember.”
“I want to meet someone, to take her on dates, to laugh with someone special. First, I need to make sure whoever stalked me isn’t still out there watching me, waiting, ready to drag me back into that darkness again.
If I had someone special, and she got hurt because of me, I’d never forgive myself.
I want to start living again. I just... hate not knowing if it’s safe to live again. "
The room fell quiet. I wished I knew what to say. I wished I had the words that would ease his fears. I didn’t. Instead, I walked over and sat down beside him. I placed my hand on his shoulder.
"Thank you for not giving up," I told him, tears blurring my vision. “Thank you for holding strong despite your fears. Give me some more time. I’m going to help you get rid of these fears.”
Wiping his eyes, Marcel nodded slowly. Then, after a moment, he cleared his throat.
“I think those flowers got onions in them,” he joked.
I chuckled. “I agree. I may need to get a refund.”
That made him laugh.
“Hey,” he said. “You hungry? I can cook something. Mom always brings me tons of food. More than I can eat alone.”
"Yeah, I’m hungry,” I lied.
He smiled. "All right. I’ve been up for hours, so I ate breakfast around three a.m. This will be my lunch.”
"Lunch for breakfast is always good. Come on. I’ll help you cook. Let’s see which one of us is better at it."
That awakened his competitive spirit. We got so caught up in our competition that by the time lunch really rolled around, we had a table full of food at our disposal.
“We need to call in reinforcements to help finish this off,” I told him. “Do you want me to call over Raz and Cas?”
“Yeah. We may even need Julian and Bryceson, too. Just call all the cousins over,” he said, smiling.
I grinned as I watched him stare at the food, arms folded over his chest, a look of pride on his face. He may not realize it yet, but he was going to be just fine. No one would rush him.
He could heal at his own pace. In time, Marcel Cattaneo would step back into the light. In time, he’d be able to meet someone special, take her on nice dates, and show off his fortress to her.
I had a feeling one day soon, he’d be asking us to meet him in our private bar at the casino to talk about his girl troubles. I mean, that seemed to be something we all ended up doing at some point.
I just hoped he didn’t take the same path as the rest of us and continue the family tradition of kidnapping the woman he loved. With this fortress, the poor girl had no chance of escaping.
But that was the future. First, we had to take care of his present. And that meant getting rid of his fears. As soon as I had Blossom in my home where I could keep her with me, I’d be able to focus solely on taking down the people responsible for hurting Marcel.
Blossom first.
Then the intel providers.
That was the plan to ensure everyone got what they wanted.