Chapter 31
Chapter Thirty-One
Coincidence My Ass
Chiara
“You were incredible today, Chiara,” Natalia praises, handing me her camera to put away for her. “That was a good call to pull in tighter on that shot and bounce the light off the dress to create a flare effect.”
“Thank you,” I say. “I’m just glad it worked out. I would’ve looked like a fool in front of all these fabulous people otherwise.”
“That’s not true. Getting unicorn shots like that only happens if you take a risk.
Of course, sometimes it fails, but the magic happens when you try and it works.
Never doubt your intuition. It’s our guiding light as creatives and artists—and in life,” she reminds me with a soft smile.
“Once you finish packing my camera, you get out of here. You were first on set this morning; the other assistants can finish packing down.”
I wonder if Mama brought Natalia into my life to be a reassuring, calming presence in my life. God knows it’s the break I need from the overprotective, testosterone-filled antics I have to put up with.
I nod my understanding, and Natalia squeezes my shoulder as she passes me and says her goodbyes to everyone else.
I can’t wait to go home. Home. It’s funny that within one day of being at Raf’s, the word subconsciously falls from my lips.
Especially when I consider that, for the entire time I lived with Uncle Gino, I’ve never once referred to his house as home.
It’s a bittersweet realization that I’ve come to feel a permanence in a situation that is very temporary.
I grab my stuff and put on my big coat. I check my phone to see Avery has dropped me a pin to where he’s waiting with my driver on the street level.
I quickly text him back to let him know I’ll be down within the next five to ten minutes and pop my phone in my coat pocket so I can say goodbye to the rest of the crew.
Just as I step out of the studio, my phone vibrates with an incoming call.
AJ. I consider hitting Ignore but think better of it after all that’s transpired.
“Cousin dearest, to what do I owe the pleasure?”
“Hey, Chiara. I need you here within the hour.”
“Can it wait? I’ve been on set all day and—”
“Look, I’m going to be straight with you, especially since it seems you have no issues shooting me if you need to. Julian Rizzo is coming to see me. He told me he has intel on Marco’s shooter…but he’s insisting you’re present too.”
I breathe out heavily. “Here I am trying to carve my way out of Mafia life and you’re trying to pull me further into it. I thought you were going to make this arranged marriage shit go away, AJ.”
“I promise you, I am going to make it right. But he wants to meet you before he hands over the intel he has.”
“Fucking hell, AJ. This nightmare just keeps getting worse.”
He grunts, then says, “I’ll drop you a pin to La Rosa. Avery will know where to find me. And please, Chiara, just let me do the talking.”
I hang up on him, not bothering to acknowledge his last sentence.
I’m fucking tired of all these men doing the talking.
Arabella is right. We need to break this cycle.
I wish I knew how she was doing with her mission.
It stings that I still haven’t heard from her.
It makes me question if she considers me a true friend she can trust or if it was just a convenient friendship.
I pocket my phone and walk towards the elevator, mulling over the details of the conversation.
“Ah! Sorry,” I say as I collide full force with someone walking out of the studio to my right.
“That’s okay, Bella Mia,” says the voice belonging to the body I collided with. His hands are now steadying me by the shoulders. I stiffen, and my heart rate spikes to dangerous levels.
What’s that saying—you should always listen to your gut? Raf will be pleased I didn’t fuck that one up, I think as I snap my eyes up to meet the stranger’s, though I already know it’s him.
I keep walking towards the elevator, and Alessandro falls into step with me. His presence doesn’t feel menacing, but Raf’s words ring in my ears: Do you also think it’s a coincidence that just weeks after he sees you and Marco together in L.A., Marco gets shot at an event you’re attending?
I finally stop and turn to look at the man I once trusted implicitly.
“You shouldn’t hide this pretty face from the world,” Alessandro murmurs.
Once upon a time that line from that man would have sent shivers through my body for completely different reasons, but right now it’s like ice dripping in my veins. Talk about one big fucking coincidence.
He’s wearing a beanie and layered a hoodie over the top so I can’t see if his hair is the same as it was in L.A. or if he’s switched up his appearance again. Even if he’s trying to disguise his identity for everyone else, he wants me to know it’s him.
I reach the elevator but don’t press the button just yet. This might be my only chance to get answers.
“What do you want from me, Alessandro?” I hiss. “You manage to disappear for years without a word, and now you just happen to randomly run into me, twice in two different cities?”
All the hurt and anger I’ve pushed down over time billows inside me like a flame exposed to gas.
He goes to cup my face, but I push his hand away. “Don’t you dare touch me.”
“Okay, okay,” he says, raising both hands in surrender. “But please, just let me explain.”
My phone vibrates with an incoming call. I quickly check to see it’s Avery, but I don’t answer. I know he’ll come looking for me, and it’s the out I need. I flash my phone at Alessandro, the man I once believed would keep me from danger. Now, he is the danger.
“That’s my security detail,” I warn. “Yeah, that’s what happens when your parents are murdered.”
“If you just give me a chance, I can explain everything,” he pleads. “I didn’t have a say back then. I was just the shitkicker running the girls, b—”
“Running the girls” I repeat. “What the fuck do you mean? Was I? Were you?” I can’t form a coherent thought.
I think back to underground clubs we’d meet at.
There was always other guys and girls there, but at the time it felt exciting.
Now I realize he was grooming me for something more sinister and illegal.
His sharp tone jolts me back to the present. “I have power now. I’m building my own empire, and I came for you. I want you by my side, Chiara. I need you. We’re cut from the same cloth.”
I believed that once, but now I see him for his true colors. He’s a sick predator.
The whirring of the elevator alerts us that someone is on the way up.
“That’ll be my security guard,” I say.
“I won’t stop chasing you until you’re mine,” Alessandro snarls before quickly turning and walking towards the emergency exit.
Seconds later, the doors open and Avery steps up to me immediately.
“Chiara. It’s been more than ten minutes, and you didn’t answer your phone,” he grumbles, scanning our surroundings, his eyes catching the last of Alessandro’s body as the emergency exit door slams behind him.
“Are you okay?” he asks, putting a protective hand on the small of my back and ushering me into the elevator.
He removes his hand briefly and pushes the button to take us down to ground level. I note how his other hand is casually draped behind his back, no doubt hovering over the piece I know he keeps on him.
Avery scrutinizes my face for a moment. “Chiara, did you know that guy?” he implores when I don’t respond, too caught up replaying Alessandro’s words, wondering how long it will be until I come face-to-face with my nightmares in broad daylight again.
“Yup!” I chirp, popping the p.
“You do know him?” he asks.
“What? No! I mean, yes I’m okay, and no I didn’t know him!” I ramble.
“Are you sure?”
I nod a little too enthusiastically.
“You know what else I am sure of?” I say, linking my arm through his as we step off the elevator on ground level. He tenses, because he’s my bodyguard not my bestie, but I really need something solid to hold on to right now.
“What?” he says, clearly not comfortable with my affection, but not pulling away either.
“A good Italian red wine. Maybe a Sangiovese or Chianti. Yes! A Chianti. That’s exactly what I feel like. Thank sweet baby Jesus that AJ told me to meet him at La Rosa—oh wait. I didn’t tell you that, did I?”
“No. I’ll just text the driver to let him know our movements.
” Avery tugs at his arm, but I don’t let go, too lost in my head.
Alessandro is here in New York, and out of all the places he could be, he’s in the same studio as me and somehow manages to run into me as well.
Not just that, it’s the second time he’s just happened to bump into me.
The fact he’s following me settles into my bones.
“Chiara, my arm?” Avery says, tapping on mine.
“Oh, shit! Sorry.”
I stand by him on the sidewalk as he texts our driver, who pulls up minutes later. Avery opens the door for me and follows me into the back.
He doesn’t say a word, just continues to work on his phone while letting silence swirl around us.
“Avery…”
He looks up at me, his big blue eyes behind his black-rimmed specs shining with concern and sincerity. “Yes, Chiara?” he responds, holding my gaze intently.
I almost crack and tell him everything. That’s what he’s being paid to do, after all. Protect me. But by default, that will put more people I care about in harm’s way. So, instead I tip my lips up into a playful smile.
“Will you have a wine with me? I don’t want to drink alone, and I won’t tell Big Bad Raf if you don’t,” I say conspiratorially, the words taking on a double meaning.
He snorts and just shakes his head at me.
“It’s the big boss I need to worry about.
Marco has strict rules about drinking on the job, I’m afraid.
But I tell you what, I’ll order one to keep you company.
If you finish yours and want another, then you can drink mine and call it done.
” He’s setting my parameters, reminding me not to get messy.