Chapter 28 – Penelope
“ H e’s definitely feeling better.” Serena set the tray down on the island. “He nearly bit my head off for not telling him where we hid his phone. Don’t be surprised if he hobbles down here and yells at us.”
Snorting, I put the lid on the fresh batch of soup. It was the fourth in as many days. Everyone, including the patient, was eating it like it was the only thing that would keep us well.
I gingerly sat down on the barstool and scooted the cheesy bread ring to her. “It’s still hot.”
“Dio, this is so good,” she moaned around the bite. “You’re bad for my waistline, Penelope.”
It seemed the truce between us was growing stronger. If I played my cards right, it might even be permanent. One less thing to worry about. I didn’t want Serena as an enemy for the remainder of my sojourn here.
“It’s Penny or Pen,” I offered.
Serena arched a brow. “Is my brother going to like that I call you that?”
I shrugged. “I don’t care. It’s my name, not his. He doesn’t have to control everything.”
It was her turn to laugh. “Then you don’t know him well yet.”
Stretching, I tested the muscles. I hadn’t overdone it by being on my feet all day, which was a good sign. None of the staff bothered me about spending so much time in here. The last few days had felt more like a fairytale than all the glitter and shopping from the first few days of my captivity. The huge kitchen was feeling more homey. It was where I spent my time when not reading or looking up possible career paths. While it was in need of some color and cheer, I loved the extra room to bake and cook. And there was no shortage of ingredients or gizmos, gadgets, and tools. I was in my element. If only I could add some more personal décor to the space, make it less sterile….
I hadn’t been alone in here either. Serena made excuses to pop in from time to time. It wasn’t clear what reason made her like me. Perhaps because I wasn’t a gold digger who expected the staff to wait on me or at least clean up after me. And me standing up for the butler probably won me brownie points too.
Serena popped another bite in her mouth. “To tell you the truth, it’s nice to have another woman in the house again.”
“Again?” I snapped my head up. A double thump beat in my chest.
The other woman paled. “Merda! You didn’t hear that from me!”
“Fine, I didn’t.” I waved my hand. “But what do you mean?”
She cleared her throat. “ That is not my story, and I’m not going to risk the ire of my brother to tell it.”
One of the skeletons in the don’s closet. My heart skipped again, this time with a note of pain, and maybe something greener.
“And so you’ll let me imagine the worst,” I grumbled.
“It’s not that bad. Plus! It was over a decade ago.” Serena dismissed the conversation. “Ancient history.”
“How old is your brother?” I asked.
“You don’t know that either?” She cocked her head. I gave her a withering look. “Mid-thirties, twelve years older than me.”
A banging and bumping ended our conversation and announced the arrival of company. Three burly figures pushed into the kitchen. I immediately felt my guard go up. These weren’t good men. Not that Made Men were good-good. But these ones seemed like they would slide a knife between my ribs because the humor struck.
My instinct was to reach for a weapon.
Serena hopped off her seat to stand beside me. The quick look she shot me blazed with fury, and the energy of a fight crackled around her, confirming my own instinct.
“Joe Adonis, long time no see,” she said coolly. “I can’t believe Shepherd let you in.”
I casually scanned our surroundings. The knife block was out of reach, plus these men probably had guns.
“Told that old fart that we needed to see the boss. He’s been M.I.A. too long.” The man in the center of the group tapped his fingers against the island. He was the shortest and had the smallest build. But the glint in his eye sent a shiver down my spine. “Where’s Alessandro, girl?”
Serena tipped her chin up. “Signor Mancini is indisposed.”
The man with greasy hair plucked the whole loaf of cheese braid, tore off a huge chunk, and began eating. I suppressed a groan of dismay. There was no way those thick fingers were clean, touching and ruining our dinner.
“Shouldn’t you be offering us a bowl?” the greasy one garbled around the bite of food and jerked his chin to our soup bowls.
Serena’s impending explosion radiated off her. Perhaps it was what the men wanted. Hating that I didn’t know the dynamics of this organization, I didn’t know if I should back her outburst or pacify the intruders.
“There isn’t much left, but you’re welcome to a bowl of soup,” I hurried to say, deciding that peace was the better course of action. I plucked clean bowls from the cupboard, wishing that they would contract whatever illness the don had just by breathing the air in here.
When I was sure they weren’t looking, I used the patient’s dirty spoon in one of the bowls—just for good measure.
“Penny,” my sister-in-law hissed. “They know they’re not supposed to be here without the don’s permission. You can’t feed them.”
“Ah, so you’re the boss’s new piece of ass,” the leader sneered. “Where’s your husband, donna?”
“I’m Mrs. Mancini and this is my home. I’m happy to offer friends of the family whatever they require.” I scooped the soup into the dishes, hating my good upbringing. It would be so much more fun to yell at them. But I knew from past experiences that men like these were dangerous to lone females. It didn’t matter if they were backwoods hicks, trailer trash, or greaseballs dressed like actors from a bad mob movie.
If they were here when they knew they weren’t supposed to be and risked the wrath of the don, then I wasn’t taking any chances. Our status might not save us, and I wasn’t going to risk anything happening to Serena. So I served soup and said a little prayer to any saint listening that they left it at that.
“Where’s the boss?” the leader insisted.
“I told you, Joe, he’s not available.” Serena scowled.
The two men slurped down the soup, but the leader watched us. That shrewd gaze seemed to strip us bare, while the slimy mind no doubt planned all the heinous acts his sort would do.
“You can’t keep him locked away,” Joe hissed. The sound of his voice made my skin crawl. “If something’s happened—”
“Nothing has happened,” I countered. “Unless you count the fact that he married me just a week ago. Do I need to draw you a picture of what newlyweds spend their days doing?”
I stood firm against their glares. Those licentious looks were nothing new.
At least my clothing’s on. And they weren’t sticking bills in my G-string.
Joe pointed a finger at me, moving toward the door. “I’m going to find the boss. And if I find out you’ve been lying—if you two little donnacce are keeping his body somewhere—you’ll be sorry.”
He was bold calling us a pair of whores.
“How dare you!” Serena stormed after him.
“S! Don’t,” I gasped, moving too fast and making my slowly healing side ache.
But the goons stepped to block her.
The moment one reached those grubby sausage fingers at her, I saw red. We girls stood up for each other, period. I grabbed the first thing I could reach and hurled it at the goon.
He cackled. “Little missus has an arm.”
I continued to blindly snatch objects and launch them at the man as he came around the island, only taking my eyes off him to watch where Serena struggled in the other’s hold.
My fingers latched around the long, thick wooden length. Triumph surged in my veins as I swung the mattarello at his head. The rolling pin cracked against his skull with a satisfying thunk.
Unfortunately, there weren’t enough brains there. The blow didn’t faze him. The goon bellowed, leaping to snatch the weapon. We struggled. While I held tight, it was obvious he would win this.
A deafening pop reverberated through the room.
My heart jumped to my throat, beating wildly and making it nearly impossible to draw a proper breath. The second gunshot following rapidly made the damn organ stop beating altogether.
The goon staggered and fell. A tight red hole began to leak on the side of his head. The exit wound, however, was a garbled mess of bone and grey matter.
Gagging, I turned away.
This was worse than the jewelry store. That day, I’d been ushered away from the bloodbath, not wearing the corpses. I didn’t dare touch the sticky substance spritzed over my face, neck, and shirt. But it wasn’t the blood and gore that bothered me half as much as the deeper, emotional wounds this attack clawed open. That goon…nearly overpowered me.
If he had, he could have done whatever he wanted, and I wouldn’t have been able to stop him.
A raw, sickening shudder made me convulse.
He didn’t touch me. I’m okay.
Serena kicked the body off herself, looking nothing but beautiful and disgusted with the filth at her feet. I could feel the green taking over my skin palette. They’d been too close!
I staggered to the sink, slammed on the cold water, and shoved my head under it.
“Signore, that was my cousin and his brother-in-law,” Joe growled. “Two of my best men!”
Silence pulsed in the kitchen.
No…not silence. My pulse roared in my ears. Water rushed from the sink. And a deadly presence prowled through the space. That quiet whisper of sound was the loudest noise.
It stopped beside me.
“I’m okay,” I rasped, not trusting myself to open my eyes and meet Mancini’s gaze.
“Signore, this is uncalled for,” Joe protested. “All my years of loyalty and this is how you treat me?”
The lightest touch ran down my arm. I shuddered but managed to reach for the faucet to turn it off. A soft towel was placed in my hand. I fisted it, dabbing my face.
“Thanks,” I croaked.
“Get out, Adonis.” The don’s order sliced through the air.
“But, signore—”
“Consider you walking out the front door with your life the reward for your loyalty,” the don said coldly. “But if you ever allow a soldier under your command to touch my wife, your death will last weeks. Loyalty be damned.”
Joe spat on the floor. “I came to make sure you were alive, Alessandro! No one has heard from you in days.”
“You forget yourself.” The eerily calm way the don spoke was far more frightening than if he’d shouted.
Since he stood between me and the ghastly mess on the floor, I gazed at his face instead of the carnage.
A beautiful mask of wrath covered his features. My body instinctively stepped toward it, feeling the unspoken shelter coming off him. For today, and today only, he could be a rock I leaned on.