Chapter 24
Chapter
Twenty-Four
Isabella
A little while earlier
I found Mia sitting at the kitchen island looking at her laptop. “Hey,” I said.
Mia spun around and scanned me from head to toe. “Tell me you’re okay.”
My smile couldn’t be hidden. “I’m good. Why?”
She got down from the stool. “You shouldn’t be with Em unaccompanied.”
“I was safe. Heck, he’s deadlier than anyone else out there.”
“Come” —she motioned toward the counter and stools— “sit down and tell me what happened. What made you want to do something so reckless?”
I went to the refrigerator and got myself a bottle of water. Sitting with a stool between us, I unscrewed the cap, trying to compose my response. Finally, I laid my hands out on the counter. “I’m sorry if you thought Em showing me around San Diego was reckless. I went because he asked. He even asked your husband first.”
“He didn’t ask Jano to take you without Horace. You have a bodyguard for a reason.”
I scoffed. “I’m certain that Em is as capable of protecting me as Horace.”
She lowered her voice. “Do you know what your mother and father would say if they knew you spent the evening unaccompanied with Catalina’s brother—a member of the cartel?”
“I wasn’t planning on mentioning it to them.”
“Then you should have answered your phone when she called you.”
My phone.
Shit .
I pulled my purse from where I’d draped the strap over the kitchen stool. Opening the zipper, I removed my phone. After entering the passcode, my stomach sank at the sight of eight missed calls. “Oh no. Mom called me this afternoon, and after that call, I turned off the volume. With it being in my purse, I must not have felt it vibrate.” I met Mia’s stare. “Should I call them?” I looked at the clock. Nine thirty in California meant eleven thirty in Kansas City.
“Yes, but wait a minute. The whole ordeal was a shit show. Apparently, Aunt Aurora was upset about her call with you earlier. Then the more she consequently tried to call you and you didn’t answer, the more upset she became. She told Uncle Carmine that she wanted you back in Missouri. I guess I’m a bad influence.” She shrugged. “Anyway, Uncle Carmine called Dario.”
With my elbows on the counter, I held my head in my hands. “This is ridiculous.” I looked up. “Papà called the capo. Then what happened?”
“Dario called me, asking me what I was doing with you, exposing you to…basically saying that working in the apartments has corrupted you in only two weeks.”
Tears prickled the back of my eyes. “Mia, I’m sorry. You haven’t corrupted me.” I gestured toward el Patr?n’s office. “Em hasn’t corrupted me or done anything reckless. I told him I wished the lockdown was over and I could see San Diego. This is my first time here without my family, and all I’ve seen is your house and the apartments.”
“Jano told me. A tour ?” She wiggled her eyebrows.
“A tour. First, he took me to Little Italy.”
“Oh, I love that neighborhood.”
My smile returned. “We had a fabulous dinner that was way too much food. And then we bought cannoli.” I looked around. “Shoot. I must have left those in his car.” I met her gaze. “And then he took me to Imperial Beach.”
“The pier?”
I nodded.
“Did you see the sunset?”
“Yeah, it was magnificent. I guess I haven’t been paying that close of attention to the setting sun from your pool deck or my bedroom window. Being out there with all those people. It was spectacular.”
“Your tour sounds very much like a date.”
I let my forehead drop to the counter. “I -I.” I looked up. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry the capo was upset with you.”
“Don’t worry about Dario and me. We have a love-hate sibling thing going on. But….” Her smile lessened. “It was when Aunt Aurora called that I made a decision.”
“Mom called you, too. Jeez.”
“I decided to lie. When you call them, you can tell them the truth, or you can stick with my story. You were at Liliana’s apartment watching a movie. You had the volume to your phone off.”
I opened my eyes wide. That was a good alibi. “Why would you lie for me?”
Her nose scrunched. “I was you. I was eighteen, sheltered, and scared.”
“You were scared?”
Mia nodded. “I already knew I was marrying Rocco, and I’d accepted that. We’d known each other for most of our childhood. It wasn’t really a fall-in-love thing. More like a get-used-to-each-other thing. My father was mostly concerned about Dario and Dante, but when his attention did come my way, it was stifling. Every decision was made for me. My mother didn’t intervene because my life had been hers when she was eighteen. It’s a fucking vicious circle, and it needs to stop.”
“What were you scared about? Getting married?”
Mia let out a long breath. “I don’t think so. I was too young to have any idea about marriage except what I’d seen from my parents. Their marriage wasn’t the best example, and I was na?ve to think Rocco’s and mine would be different. What I feared more than anything was a future in which I had no say. I’d always thought I might want to go to college. My dad and then Rocco said no. I watched movies and read books and dreamed about traveling the world.” She leaned closer. “Here’s a secret. Except for a trip to New York for a big celebration involving famiglias from all over the country, and moving here, I’d never ventured far from Kansas City.”
“I’m sorry that none of your dreams have come true.”
Her smile was back. “Don’t be. Currently, my dream is to continue what Jano and I have built. He’s ten—no, one hundred—times the man my first husband was. Jano can be a strong man to the world and a kind, loving man with Jorge and me. That’s what a real man is. He’s not someone who bullies you into his way of thinking.”
“Like my papà.”
Mia nodded. “I lied to your mom because if I had told the truth, your papà would have had Piero or another of the famiglia’s guards on a plane to come out here and take you home. You’ve experienced a taste of freedom, even in lockdown. That is an opportunity I never had. Ever. When I called Liliana tonight, she raved about the way you’re interacting with the tenants.”
“Oh, that reminds me of something.”
She laid her hand on the counter. “Your father still wants to send someone to take you back. He said they would be here this Saturday.”
My eyes filled with tears. “Please, I don’t want to go back. I don’t want to go back to their rules and …” My thoughts were scattered. “Did you know that tonight with Em was the first time I can recall sitting in the front seat of a car? How fucked is that?”
Mia’s eyes opened wide. “I am a bad influence.”
“Is there anything you or el Patr?n can do to change his mind?”
Mia pressed her lips together.
“I’m scared of things too. I’m scared of going back. I asked to go to college. I even spoke to Catalina about it. My grades were good.” I sighed. “Papà said no. The whole story about wanting me to help Mom with her philanthropic endeavors was her blowing smoke because she didn’t want to admit to Catalina that they’d denied my request. I suppose I would have helped Mom if I were back in Kansas City. But she sits on committees, drinks coffee and then wine. What you’ve done at the apartments is real help. That’s what I want to do. I want to do more than raise money and gossip. You’re changing the tenants’ lives.”
“I’ll talk to Jano. I can even call my brother. Ultimately, the decision is his.”
“Thank you.” I took a breath. “Today one of the tenants came to my office.” I smiled. “She confided in me, and it felt good and bad.”
“Why bad?”
“Because she asked me to talk to you, and I want to help her. I don’t know how.” I went on to tell Mia what Isla had confided in me about Efrain, the new guard at Wanderland. I also mentioned what she’d said about punishment from Lieutenant Nicolas Ruiz. “He holds their assignments over their heads. If they don’t do what he says, they find themselves with the less desirable clients.”
Mia nodded as she listened. “I’ll do what I can.”
“Can you help?”
“I have a thin line to walk without the soldiers believing Jano can’t control his wife.”
I lifted my eyebrows. “Can he?”
She grinned. “He’ll listen to me. He’s also knowledgeable regarding the club and the workings within the cartel. I’ll ask his advice. He may choose to talk to Nicolas himself, or he could bring his son, Nick, in on it. One way or the other, it will be dealt with. I’m glad Isla told you. If you ask me, the men at the club know I’m currently on maternity leave and are trying to take advantage of my absence.” She reached out for my hand. “This is why I truly need you here.”
“I want to stay here. Maybe even longer than a month.”
“I have to ask,” Mia said softly. “Are the tenants and the apartments the only reason you want to stay in San Diego?”
Warmth filled my cheeks.
Before I could verbally reply, we turned to the sound of men’s voices and the opening of el Patr?n’s office door. Mia’s husband was speaking to Em very loudly in Spanish. Em appeared in the arch of the hallway, visibly agitated.
“What is it?” Mia and I asked in unison.
The room became quiet, like the flipping of a switch. Em’s jaw clenched and the muscles in the side of his face pulsated. “Your parents,” Em said, looking at me. “They’re sending a bodyguard Saturday to take you back to your home.”
I stood. “Mia told me. She said she’d try to stop them.”
El Patr?n ran his hand through his hair and made a growling noise.
Mia moved her gaze from Em to me and back. Then she turned to her husband. “Jano, has Emiliano come to you about something you haven’t mentioned?”
“I have a fucking war?—”
Mia smiled. “Of course. Why didn’t I see this?” She slapped her palms against her thighs. “Well, this changes everything.”
I watched in stunned silence as Mia walked to her husband and laid her hands on his shoulders. Something Liliana said to me came back. She’d said that all Mia had to do was smile and she would get her way. The two of them spoke low in a mixture of English and Spanish. Em stood at the other end of the kitchen island, staring at me as if he wanted to take me from this house this minute.
“Faith” I mouthed.
Em swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing as we both waited quietly. El Patr?n’s head shook from side to side as Mia continued speaking. She pushed up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek.
“Fuck. I’ll make the damn call.” His voice was strong and more measured than a moment ago. He ran his hand over his hair and stared directly at me. The intensity was intimidating. “Do you want to marry Emiliano?”
“I’m afraid my papà?—”
“No,” he said, cutting me off. “That was not what I asked. Do you want to marry Emiliano?”
Swallowing the dryness in my throat, I turned my gaze on Emiliano. I was young and naive, the same as Mia described; however, in the short time I’d gotten to know this man, I didn’t fear a future without choices if I became his wife. That future would come if I returned to Missouri. I stood taller as new tears streamed down my cheeks. “Yes, I want to marry Emiliano.”
“Fuck,” el Patr?n growled. “I’ll call the capo soon.” He pointed at me and at Em. “This won’t be a repeat of Camila and Dante. You must have the consent of the famiglia and the cartel.” He exhaled. “I need you here in San Diego, Em. That’s not debatable. I give my permission. The final decision rests with Dario.” He turned to Em. “Go. You have work to do.”
Em nodded. “Thank you, Mia.”
Her husband shook his head. “You’re not very good at knowing who you should ask or thank.”
Em’s lips curled. “Thank you, el Patr?n .” He turned to me and winked.