Chapter 47 – Penelope
“ Y ou’re fidgeting,” Serena grumbled.
I wouldn’t blame her if she was seconds away from smacking me.
“Sorry,” I muttered.
We were close to the docks. The air is thick with the murky, stagnant scent of the lake, mingled with the faint smell of diesel fuel and the musty odor of old wooden piers. Boats of all shapes and sizes bobbed in the harbor. I scanned the area for the best place to slip away unnoticed.
The moment was coming. Jillian already knew where to meet so it was up to fate if we made it to the rental company without interference.
“What has gotten you so worked up?” Serena pushed. “It’s like you’re expecting a fight. Oh, Santa Maria, you’re planning something!”
My sister-in-law gripped my shoulders hard. I gave her a smile, but she likely saw right through it.
“Talk.” She was a force of nature, much like her brother.
“I’m not going back with you,” I whispered.
“I guessed as much,” Serena said, surprising me.
“How did you—”
“Please,” she drawled. “Ever since my brother acted like an A-class dick, I’ve been hoping and praying you left. I figured when you went to the airport, you’d slip away. I thought meeting your sisters was a decoy.”
She wrapped her arms around herself.
“I wasn’t missing the boat party.” I stepped closer, wondering if she’d let me reach out and hug her.
A raw and real emotion filled her voice. She sounded vulnerable. “I’m glad you didn’t. I’m glad we had one fun memory together, even if my brother’s goons watched us like hawks.”
“I am too.” I laughed, because I was seconds away from crying myself. “I’ll be back, S.”
She blinked at me. “Why?”
“Sshhh, keep your voice down.” I looked back, but there was no sign of the mysterious third Mancini. There was no time—and this wasn’t the place—to sate my curiosity on the subject.
“You have a chance to escape,” Serena insisted.
That was the thing. I didn’t want to, and it wasn’t because a pair of black eyes haunted my dreams and the memory of his touch was a ghostly presence that stalked my days. “My place is here.”
I held up my freshly bandaged palm. It was the only part of me that was cleaned from the lake water.
“That’s fucked up.”
“It is,” I agreed. “I can’t explain it, but for the first time in my life, I feel like I belong.”
“My brother will turn this city upside down looking for you.” There was a hint of dark amusement in the woman’s voice.
“Give him a message from me?” I shifted back and forth. When she nodded, I still didn’t have the words.
“I’ll tell him you disappeared to teach him a lesson.”
I smacked my forehead. “Don’t do that,” I moaned. “I’ve written a note; it was in my purse. If you can’t find it, just tell him I’m safe and I’ll see him in a couple weeks.”
He could lock me up again, this time for good. Part of me hoped it wouldn’t come to that. He made me a member of the famiglia. I hoped he’d honor that, if only to save face with his men.
But I was willing to risk his wrath. I had to be there. For my mom and siblings—for my dad. I missed him the most. That man was always able to make the worst days better.
We were going to go through her surgery as a family, just like we’d done with every crisis. Dad was the stable rock we would lean on, and I was the voice of determination that kept the others in line.
The perfect team.
“I’ll go distract Leonardo while you slip off the yacht,” Serena offered.
And then she surprised me again. She threw her arms around my shoulders and squeezed.
As I hugged her back, I caught the faintest scent of her perfume—sweet and spicy, the same one she always wore. It was comforting and familiar, like a warm embrace on a chilly day. Underneath the floral notes, there was a subtle hint of musk, adding a touch of sensuality and mystery. In that moment, I felt safe and loved. If I came back, it was partially for her.
She was just as much a prisoner in this life, and I wasn’t leaving her behind.
The crew shouted and threw ropes to the dock attendants.
“Now’s your chance,” Serena whispered in my ear. “Hurry!”
Serena helped me over the railing and then disappeared to find her brother. My bare feet hit the dock with a soft thud. I slid past the crew, ducking under a rope as they secured the yacht to the pier. My heart hammered in my chest, but years of slipping out of my bedroom window after curfew had trained me well. Stay low, move quick, don’t look back.
The wooden planks creaked beneath my feet as I darted between stacked crates and coiled ropes. A seagull screeched overhead, making me flinch. I forced myself not to look over my shoulder, knowing Leonardo’s or the don’s men might be around.
“Watch it!” a weathered dock worker growled as I nearly collided with him.
“Sorry,” I mumbled, lowering my eyes and hoping he didn’t get a good look at my face.
Once on the road, I took a deep breath. The first hurdle was over. But I didn’t settle down until I turned the corner. The rental kiosk was just ahead—a weathered blue shack with peeling paint and a hand-painted sign. Jillian was already there, pacing nervously in front of a battered Fiat.
They’d slipped the guards.
The cops showing up had to be the best thing to happen to us. It solved the problem of sneaking away from Mancini’s men.
“I thought you weren’t coming,” she hissed when I reached her, relief flooding her features. “The guy’s getting antsy about the paperwork.”
“Just had to say goodbye,” I whispered, taking the keys she thrust into my palm. “How did you two sneak away?”
“The boys were arrested. But Annaliese dropped us here,” Karen pouted. “I really liked that guy, Nico. You think you could get me his number?”
Over my dead body was my sister dating a Made Man. They were too much trouble—the bad kind of trouble.
The kind that left a girl wanting more.
The rental agent—a squat man with a cigarette dangling from his lips—barely looked up as we finalized the transaction. Five minutes later, we were pulling away from the marina.