Chapter 17
Sofia
The penthouse is still in disarray from the attack on my birthday, but Dante insists I wait while he meets with Vito and the inner circle.
When Rafa stumbles out of the study bleeding, Rina quickly works at cleaning him up.
Marco rushes out and starts making hushed phone calls in the other room only a couple minutes later.
Bored and on my own—minus the guards at all the exits to prevent me from leaving or anyone else from entering—I count bullet holes in the walls. I'm almost to forty by the time Dante and Vito emerge from the study.
"Come on," Dante nods toward the elevator as Vito heads to find my sister.
"Where are we going?" I raise an eyebrow from my spot on the torn-up couch.
"To pack a bag and head upstate."
"What's upstate?"
"A safehouse. We'll be on the move until Vito handles the situation with the Costellos."
"What?" My shout mirrors Rina's from the kitchen.
The next few minutes are filled with arguing—Rina demanding Vito let her stay behind and me protesting the entire idea. All our arguments are to no avail; Vito made a decision, Marco made the call, and Dante's here to enforce it.
Is this Vito's move now? Send me away so he can finalize the deal and hand me over to them at a secondary location where nobody knows where I am? My only solace is knowing Mamma, Rina, Elena, and Gianna are all being sequestered away with me.
Now, Rina and I sit in the back of the Rolls-Royce, arms crossed, glaring at Dante in the driver's seat.
Typically, we would be transported separately, but she told Vito she'd go more willingly if she could travel in the same car, presumably to try to smooth things over with me.
Even though Vito agreed, she's not happy.
She only glares at Dante because Vito isn't here for her to continue their argument.
Dante's eyes find mine in the rearview mirror, but after seeing my glare, he turns them back to the road.
"Any chance you have an ounce of power to tell him to turn the car around?" I lean over and whisper in Rina's ear. She looks at me through narrowed eyes before leaning against the window. It appears not. After a moment, a sly grin creeps across her face.
"Maybe not," she whispers, "but I do have the power to do this." She clears her throat before leaning toward Dante. "Once we're out of the city, find the first coffee shop. We're making a pitstop."
"Donna—"
"If my husband is making us travel upstate to stay at an undisclosed location, I will be making us stop for coffee on the way. We have plenty of cash to remain untraceable, and God knows when we'll get decent coffee again."
Dante nods wordlessly before tightening his hands on the wheel. Rina wiggles her eyebrows and gives me another grin before settling back in her seat, and I have to stifle my laugh.
We arrive at the safehouse in intervals; Elena and Gianna arrive first, Mamma arrives second, and Rina and I stumble up the walkway arm-in-arm like a party of two.
Much to Dante's displeasure, once we got to the coffee shop, Rina flashed the tiny bottles she'd snuck in her purse.
Quickly, our mochas had a healthy dose of Bailey's stirred into them.
Our mission rapidly turned from "survive the drive" to "annoy Dante enough that maybe he'll leave us on the side of the road.
" His resolve is strong though, and the longer he drives, the more we drink.
"Well, I'm glad to see you two have made up," Mamma starts, her hands on her hips as she pulls us into the house and guides us to the couch. Rina and I giggle like schoolgirls, kicking our shoes off as Dante comes through the doorway with our bags.
"I may be guilty of many things, but supplying alcohol to an underage adult is not one of them," Dante assures Mamma with a huff and a shake of his head. "Enzo, get some strong coffee started!"
"On it."
"Caterina Rosso." Mamma reaches to pull the crooked sunglasses off Rina's face.
"Ooh, you're in trouble," I laugh, leaning into her. "She used your full name!"
"Shh," Rina pushes me away. "Mamma, we were just having a little fun while stuck in the car. It's a shitty situation for all of us to be in, and besides, Dante has to listen to me—"
"Unless you tell him to turn the car around," I slur. "He won't listen to you then."
"Technically, the words never left her mouth. You, on the other hand, princess, I don't listen to when you say it."
I gasp, leaning away from my sister with blurry eyes. "You could have told him to turn around?"
"It wouldn't have done any good. Vito would have ordered him to get us back on the road."
"I smell coffee—whoa, looks like the party started without us." Elena struts in, Gianna not far behind her. "What kind of trouble did you two get into now?"
"Just some light day drinking," I answer as Enzo places steaming mugs in front of Rina and me on the coffee table.
Frustrated, Dante stands on the other side of the coffee table, glowering down at us. "You both have an hour to sober up, then we're having a ground rules meeting."
As it turns out, a ground rules meeting is really Dante lecturing us while Enzo and a handful of nameless soldiers scurry around the house, making sure all the safeguards are in place.
"Not that I think this applies to most of you," he says, narrowing his eyes at me, "but no sneaking out, no defiance, no nonsense."
Elena raises her hand before Dante can say anything else. "What counts as nonsense?"
Dante takes a deep breath, realizing he's been tasked with guarding a group of sassy women all related to each other in some way.
Gianna and I repress giggles as his slight frown disappears and he presses his lips into a tight line.
"No dosing your coffee with alcohol, no luring people into closets to knock them out, and no scheming. "
A wide grin on her face, Rina raises her hand next. Dante takes a deep breath and pinches the bridge of his nose. "What counts as scheming?"
"Caterina," Mamma swats Rina's leg. "Quit giving the man a hard time."
Shortly after giving us the property overview and telling us to stay within the gates, we're dismissed, and I beeline for the bathroom.
All the coffee and water I've had in the last hour has finally caught up with me.
After taking care of business, I notice a thin window above the bathtub.
I precariously balance on the edge of the porcelain tub to get a better look.
I don't have any plans of making an escape right now—Dante and the others will be expecting it—but his speech about no scheming certainly isn't going to stop me from plotting my next move.
The gray sky darkens over the horizon, storm clouds rolling in.
Other than the poor weather, the window gives me a clear view of the backyard: a rectangular pool has its winter cover on, and a stone birdbath is situated in the middle of a small garden.
The entire yard is fenced in by tall iron posts, making them not impossible—but extremely difficult—to climb.
Armed Rosso soldiers walk the fence line, keeping an eye on both sides.
Nobody is going to make an escape easy for me, that's for sure.
Discouraged but not defeated, I leave the bathroom and wander down the hall, poking my head into each cracked door to see which room my bag was tossed in. When I find it, Elena lies on her stomach on the bed, feet kicked in the air, while Gianna sits by the window. They both look up when I enter.
"So, Sofia," Gianna pulls the curtains closed and turns around with a grin. "What's the escape plan?"
"What?"
"We're going to help you get the fuck out of here." Elena states matter-of-factly, a grin mirroring Gianna's stretching across her lips as she sits up.
"Why?" I question. "What's in it for you?"
"Does there have to be something in it for us?" Elena counters. "I'm pissed our names were thrown into the ring."
Gianna nods. "It's all bullshit. From what I've heard, there haven't been any discussions of finding other virgins. Everyone is only focused on you, Sofia. The demands started with the three of us, and between the three of us—we're going to get you out of this."
Uneasy gratitude fills me as my eyes flicker between the two women.
I want to trust them. I want to accept their help, but accepting their help makes them complicit and destroys any claim they might have to plausible deniability.
Ignoring the uncertainty bubbling in my stomach, I move to the edge of my bed. "What do you have in mind?"
Gianna starts. "I don't think tonight will be smart, but under protocol, Dante is only going to keep us here for two days—three days tops. I think we surveil today, plot tonight, and execute tomorrow."
I nod, motioning for her to continue.
"I'll work on drawing a map, but I think our best chance will be during the changing of the guard. They won't be at their posts all night, and there should be a few moments where Dante and Enzo rely on the main security system to monitor the property."
"Aren't there cameras?" I ask. "If they see me on the cameras, they're going to catch me even if there aren't any soldiers outside."
Elena shakes her head. "Normally yes, but not if we cut the power."
Gianna snaps, pointing at Elena. "Exactly. We have about ninety seconds before the generator kicks in for backup power. There's going to be at least one car parked outside. We'll cut the power, create a diversion, I'll open the gate, you'll get to the car and be gone before the sun comes up."
"You know the code to the gate?"
"Comes with the Rosso name."
Nodding slowly, Gianna's plan whirls through my brain like well-oiled gears. "What happens when they realize I'm gone?"
"How fast can you drive? Are we talking they find out in five minutes or five hours?"
"Elena," Gianna groans. "That is the opposite of building her confidence."
"What?" Elena gets defensive, throwing her hands up. "I'm just being realistic."
Gianna sighs and moves across the room to rest a hand on my arm. "Let us worry about that. You just focus on getting in the car and getting through the gates."
For the first time since this nightmare began, I'm not planning an escape alone. The thought should be comforting, but all I can think about is what will happen to Elena and Gianna when Dante realizes they helped me.
What will happen to all of them when I'm gone and the Costellos come looking for their prize.
But I push that thought away. I can't save everyone, but maybe I can save myself.