Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
Rayna
The crowded dinner table quickly becomes scarce after Emilio storms off after his wife. I don’t know whether he’s upset with her, or pissed off at me for insulting her.
“Try not to reveal any more closely held secrets while I’m gone,” Apollo says sharply, phone in hand. He glances at me with something akin to hurt in his eye before leaving the dining room.
“Rayna,” Yordan starts, sounding hesitant.
“I need to call Sienna,” I say, cutting off anything else he might have to say. “I’ll be back.”
“Come on,” Javier encourages, clapping Yordan on the back. “We can go outside. Armani has a shooting range set up. We’ll escape the awkwardness with good old fashioned gunfire.”
I don’t have the energy or the focus to warn him about being careful. I’m too occupied removing myself from the table and beginning to search for a quiet, unoccupied room. My hands shake as I open Sienna’s contact, teeth capturing my bottom lip in a nervous bite.
Typing frantically, I blindly step into a small sitting room, shutting myself inside.
Rayna
Is this the right number for Rachel? My friend says you take emergency hair appointments.
Rachel, same fake name as usual. And emergency hair appointment, our code phrase for needing a quick call. An urgent call.
We’ve rarely used this method in the past, but the circumstances seem to fit this time around. I need to warn her that Elio is coming, but mostly, I need to apologize profusely and hope that she can forgive me one day.
My phone vibrates in my hand, and I suck in a breath, seeing that she’s calling. Clearing my throat, I prepare to answer cryptically in case someone has found her secret stash of contraband.
“Rachel?” I ask, attempting to sound chipper. “Please tell me you can fit me in for a bleach and tone.”
“Regina,” her soft voice returns over the line. “My best client.” A sweet giggle follows, and I breathe out, relieved to know she’s safe and available to talk.
“Alone in the salon are you?” I question weakly, feeling my eyes begin to sting. Tonight has been too much, and it seems that wine still makes my emotions run high.
She snorts happily. “Yeah, no need for theatrics. The jailers are out for dinner and won’t be back for hours. What’s up? We haven’t had an emergency call in ages. You and Yordan okay?”
“We’re okay.” I swallow.
“I can hear the trepidation in your voice, Rayna,” she replies, tone becoming serious. “Are you sure you’re okay? It’s not Apollo, is it? He’s not stopped treating you both well, has he?”
“No, no.” I shake my head, even though she can’t see me. “This is actually…this is actually about you.”
“Me? How?”
“I’m so sorry,” I rasp, tears silently falling down my cheeks.
“Sorry?” Sienna echoes. “What do you possibly have to be sorry for?”
“I’m the worst friend in the world—”
“Hey! Don’t talk shit about my best friend like that,” she chastises. “You’re the best, R. Whatever it is, we can work it out.”
“I don’t deserve you,” I tell her, lip wobbling. “I really am so sorry.”
“Sorry for what? Please just tell me, you’re stressing me out,” she pleads.
I sniffle, exhaling hard.
“They all know.”
“W-what?”
The sound of her voice wavering on that one word makes me wish I could reach through the phone and comfort her. To wrap my arms around her and smother her with an embrace that could take away all her fear.
“Apollo forced me to attend a family dinner with them all, Sienna. All of them,” I blurt out, voice trembling.
“I tried to get out of it. I knew it was a bad idea and I tried to stay home but Yordan was relentless. And once I was forced into the Moretti home I told myself I could bite my tongue. I always keep my mouth shut when it’s important, you know that, but I couldn’t. I saw her and I—”
“Rayna, slow down,” she says quickly, cutting off my ramble. “You’re not making any sense. What happened?”
“They sat me across from her at dinner, S,” I rasp.
“I was staring at her face, silently raging about how much I missed yours. She was talking about some charity she was working with for abused women, saying how it was a Moretti family tradition to take care of those who truly need it. I had too many glasses of wine and I couldn’t hide my snort.
And she looked at me like I didn’t deserve to be there. ”
“Oh…Rayna.”
“I’m so sorry, it just all came out,” I confess, throat feeling tight.
“I kept looking at her and seeing you, the real you, not the person they’ve forced you to become.
I got so mad. I know you don’t want to cause trouble and I know you still love them in your own way.
But I really can’t help wanting to hurt them.
Seriously, I wanted to jump over the table and throttle her. ”
“I don’t know what to say—”
“I’m selfish to ask this but please don’t hate me, S.
You’re my best friend and it’s been eating me up to keep this secret, especially as I’ve become more and more entwined with this family.
The more Apollo helped me, the more I knew I couldn’t hate them for not helping you.
They had no idea, not even an inkling about your neglect or abuse in any way.
They would have helped, if she just spoke up.
If she even suggested your home life was unideal.
Dante would have probably snapped you up and made you one of his many unofficial children without blinking. ”
“You think so?” Her voice is quiet, soft and unsure.
“He looked murderous when I got it all out, Sienna. Like he was going to hop on the plane with Elio and go get you himself.”
A small gasp. “Elio is coming?”
“Of course he is,” I reply, chest filling with appreciation for my friend.
“He’s good, S. Really good. I consider him a friend, really.
And I know you do too. He doesn’t think you’re a burden, and he knows you don’t want your parents dead.
He’s coming to get you and he promised he wouldn’t hurt them. Only because you asked.”
“You’re sure?”
“He swore it,” I emphasize, nodding even though she can’t see my face. “Elio doesn’t take vows lightly. He’ll do this the way you need. He would have done it ages ago if you only asked.”
It’s quiet for a moment.
And then, she breathes a heavy sigh.
“I don’t know how he’s going to get me out of here without hurting my father. He’ll never let me leave. Mother will probably try to have him executed for daring to disrespect her authority as my parent. You should tell him not to bother. It’s too much to ask.”
“Trust me, S. I couldn’t convince him to change his mind even if I tried.
He’ll be there and he’ll get you out. I don’t know how, but these Moretti men are crafty.
Trust me, I know. I’ve been trying to despise them in your honor for over a week now and it feels like years.
Instead, I’ve befriended two of them, and allowed Yordan to become utterly attached to the whole lot of them. ”
“I want to hope that you’re right.” She gulps. “That he’s really coming and that everything is going to change now. But I can’t allow myself to believe it. The hope will crush me if you’re wrong.”
“You’re getting out of there,” I say firmly, wishing I could hug her. “You don’t need to hope. You don’t need to do anything but sit back and watch it happen. I can’t wait to see you again, S. I’m so happy that you don’t hate me and my big mouth.”
“Rayna, if you’re right and this is happening, I’ll kiss you and your big mouth.”
We’re both hit by a sharp laugh, chuckling into each other’s ear.
“I understand why you couldn’t stay quiet, because if the roles were reversed, I don’t think I could keep quiet either. I would be just as angry, and probably just as mouthy. That’s what friends do. We lash out at anyone who hurts the people we care about.”
Half of the weight in my gut eases, and I thank the stars that I have such an understanding best friend. Truly, Sienna might just be one of the strongest women I’ve ever met.
“I’m still so sorry,” I admit, whispering. “Even though I know this is going to work out for the best, and I’m so glad to get you away from them, I don’t know that I’ll ever get over this guilt. I promise I never meant to betray your trust, I just had to speak up.”
“It’s okay,” Sienna returns. “I…I think I’m excited. I don’t want to let myself hope but, I’m not sure I can help it.”
“If there’s any man to trust with your hope, it’s Elio,” I tell her gently. “He’s got this soft presence, S. I feel like he’s made himself my friend without requiring any effort on my part. And honestly? I think he might jump in front of a bullet for Yordan. He’s just good.”
Apollo is too, I add silently.
Not to mention Leon…
Really, I can’t deny that every Moretti has gone out of their way to make us feel safe and welcome. Melani and Cleo excluded, but Cleo hardly speaks and I came in with a preconceived hate for Melani.
“I think—” She hesitates, breathing hard. “I think I’m going to pack a bag. I’ll cry if I have to put everything back, but I want to be prepared.”
I smile softly, proud of her vulnerable words. “You should definitely pack that bag. Why don’t I let you go? I’ll check in with Apollo and see if he can give me an ETA for you, okay? I’ll keep you updated with texts, and you call me if you need anything, okay?”
“Okay.” She breathes shakily.
“I mean it, anything, S. I’ll have my phone attached to my side at all times. I’m here for you, Yordan too. I’m sure he’d love to hear from you.”
“Will do, Regina.”
I smile into the phone. “Speak soon, Rachel.”
She hangs up after a beat of silence, and I do the same. Leaning back, I slide down the wall, softly falling to my butt.
“She doesn’t hate me,” I whisper to myself, wiping my face with the back of my hands. “I didn’t ruin everything.”
I’ve sufficiently dried my eyes when I hear the door creek open. I open my mouth to tell Apollo I need a minute, when I see blonde hair.
“Hey,” Leon greets softly.
“Hey,” I return, feeling relieved that he doesn’t appear pissed off.
“Mind if I join you?” he asks, nodding to the empty floor beside me.
“You’re asking me if you can sit on the floor of your childhood home?”
He chuckles at the confused look on my face. “It’s always nice to ask.” Without further invitation needed, he sits next to me against the wall, leaving about a foot of space between our thighs.
“So, that was a lot,” he starts, and I chuckle at his awkward wince. “I won’t lie, I overheard a bit of your phone call. You picked one of the few rooms that wasn’t soundproofed, unfortunately. Are you okay?”
“I think so,” I admit, attempting a half-smile. And of course I would end up in a room with thin walls. Just my luck.
“Sienna doesn’t hate me for airing her business, and Elio is going with Nico to get her out of that godforsaken house so, I can’t deny this turned out well. I’ve been trying to convince her to reach out for years. She didn’t want things to go this way, but I couldn’t stay quiet any longer.”
“You care for her,” Leon says with a smile. “I understand. And Armani has decided to tag along, by the way. He’s quite good at redirecting Nico’s more murderous moods.”
“Well, I’m glad he’s tagging along then.” I sigh. “Honestly, I wish Sienna hated her parents as much as I do, because we could have totally poisoned them with pastries years ago.”
Leon laughs.
“Also, are you crazy? I just accused most of your family of negligence, screamed at the dinner table, ruined the night, and you understand?” I ask with a grin. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you like the thrill of the drama, Leon Moretti.”
“I would be upset too,” he reasons, shrugging.
“Melani isn’t truly an evil monster, I know you know that, even if you despise her.
She’s a good wife and mother, but she hurt someone you care for.
She ignored her sister when she could have saved her.
I’m sure now that the rose colored glasses have been lifted, she’ll live with this guilt for the rest of her life. ”
Maybe. But is that enough?
“Is it bad that I hope that’s true?”
“No.” His head shakes. “Just means you’re human.”
“A human who had four glasses of wine and not nearly enough food to soak it up.”
Leon gives an understanding chuckle. “Been there, Rayna. Been there.”
“Is your father angry with me? I would hate for him to dislike Yordan because of me.”
“He’s only upset that Sienna has been hurt when he could have helped. Since finding Jade, he’s grown even more of a fierce soft spot for abused young girls. He sees all of them as his daughter and he can’t help it. If anything, he’ll be glad you were angry enough to speak up.”
“If you say so,” I accept, though I do feel slightly better. “Dante Moretti is not the kind of man I mean to make an enemy of.”
“You definitely haven’t made an enemy of him, or any of us.”
Besides Melani, I imagine.
“I should find Apollo,” I say regretfully. “I told Sienna I would get her a time to look out for Elio if I could.”
He nods, head dipping twice. “He’s in his office. I can take you up.”
“Thank you,” I reply sincerely.
As we get to our feet, Leon pauses before heading for the door.
“It was nice to hear you speak so highly of Elio. He doesn’t have many friends, and I can tell that you two have built a quiet bond recently. He’s a good ally to have in your corner.”
I look down at my feet. “You are too.”
A beat passes between us.
“Allies, then.”
My lips twitch. “Yeah, allies.”