31. Alana
Alana
Her home smells like roses and garlic. The last time I was here, I thought we were going to bury her.
Nope, like a phoenix, Nonna rose from the ashes of an assassination attempt and spent two weeks in a villa in Naples.
She also recruited Teddy and his partner to do some handy work.
I’m not sure how or if she paid them, but he didn’t complain.
Of all the members of the Four Families, I’ve known her the longest. As a lifelong friend of the matriarch of the most powerful family in the world, Rhea Olympian, Nonna has her own life of secrets.
Far more than any mob wife should have. She had more power and money as well—but her husband only knew a fraction of it.
Roughly twenty years ago, give or take a few, the Irish and Italian mothers lost their children in a betrayal so heinous Nonna refused to speak of it.
Instead, she asked her best friend to help with vengeance.
Rhea waited for the right series of circumstances.
Enemies with common interests and weak alliances, united over a common goal of money and power.
A mid-tier generational crime family aligning with the outcasts of a crime superpower, and a drug that was a by-product of an untapped, energy-changing resource.
To seek vengeance on Rita, Nonna’s adoptive daughter who killed her own brother and his wife, making Joey an orphan, a plan needed to be made.
Step 1: Set the current ruling generation up with power.
Step 2: Ensure the next generation has a future.
Step 3: Seize power by the total annihilation of an enemy.
Step 4: Make it public and spread the word around the world.
Step 5: Kill all the enemies of the Four Families, or at least the ones who are dumb enough to make a move.
Step 6: Free the youngest members of the Four Families from the shackles of generational power and danger.
Rhea made good on her promise to her friend and helped drop a bomb on her enemies.
Hi. I’m the bomb. I came in for Steps 2 through 6… well, I’m still working it.
Two years ago, the Deviant's father was killed, and his only money-making venture was burnt to the ground in minutes. Was it business? Yes. Was it also personal? Fuck yeah. Then Rita was killed three months ago—that one I didn’t do, and I’m kinda pissed about it.
Now there’s only one loose end: the Deviant.
Once that’s done, I would walk away from the Four Families. Maybe I’ll even leave the Olympians too. But now, I don’t know what the hell I’m going to do.
“Alana, my dear, come sit down.” Nonna moves around her kitchen, making tea.
“How was the trip?”
“Loud, colorful, hot, and my legs hurt.” Her hair is in a scarf like she’s still living in 1950's Hollywood. Her smile is rare, and I feel blessed to see it. “Thank you for a wonderful family experience.”
She places a teacup on the table in front of me, and I pretend not to notice how it’s shaking in her hands, or the rattle it makes as the porcelain touches the table. She groans a little as she sits down. “The air is getting cooler. This might be my last autumn here.”
“Do you plan on dying soon?” I love a good plan, but this one I can’t get behind.
She lifts the tea to her lips. “Oh no. I plan on moving to Greece. Rhea has a private island, and that is where I want to spend my final years. Warm weather, beautiful scenery—and there's steady employment of young men.” Well, she knows how to live and how to die. I can’t complain. “I hear you have a gentleman caller?”
“‘Gentleman Caller?’ You’re not that old.” I take a sip of the tea. It’s nice and cuts through the hangover haze.
I haven’t talked to Grae since our big fight. He sent me a text this morning, thanking me for the chance to see the puppies and that he hopes we can talk soon. “He's only a temporary distraction.” I try to keep my voice even and devoid of emotion.
“Temporary? why?” She raises her eyebrow.
“Too many to list.”
“I’m old but not that old. I’ve got time to listen to your excuses.” Her glare reminds me of the power she still wields. The stern expression is like a billboard saying, “I’m not giving up, so it’s easier on both of us if you just tell me the truth.”
“My life is… chaotic and dangerous. He’s already been hurt by it.” He pushed me away twelve years ago to save me from a monster. And then he got caught in the Deviant's war against the Four Families—a civilian casualty in my battle. How can I prevent it from happening again?
She leans back in her chair and assesses me through squinted eyes.
“Fear masked by noble intentions.” She places her teacup back on the table and starts drumming her nails.
Each second is slow torture. “A few months ago, I asked you to deliver letters to my grandchildren. I’m well aware you completed that task.
But have you ever read the one I sent to you? ”
My eyes dart between the family pictures around the house. Meeting Nonna’s gaze feels impossible. “No.”
“Why not?”
“I try to avoid things that will hurt me,” I huff.
“And that’s why you are making this a fling instead of something serious.” Her lips purse. “You’ve been shot, stabbed and almost died. You’re doing a terrible job avoiding things which hurt you.”
Yep, I don't like this conversation.
“I’m not in the Four Families.” My shoulders straighten pressing hard against the back of the chair. “I shouldn’t be receiving letters from you. I have my own family.”
“You read what I wrote to my grandchildren, and you still think I wouldn’t include you?” She reaches for a short bread cookie and takes a bite, crumbs launching across the table, but she doesn’t care at all.
“I was hired by you.” The words burn in my throat. “This is a business relationship for me. To think otherwise is unprofessional.” And a false sense of hope and security which I couldn’t afford, no matter how I wanted it. But Nonna just scoffs.
“You are as much a part of this family as Jenny, Katya, Lance and Lukas. More so in some cases. You could have done your job and left, but this family is like barnacles. Once they get a hold of you, they’ll never let go.”
I blink, unsure of how to respond or feel about all of this. The bubble in my throat continues to grow, and my silence says all I can’t.
“If you don’t want to be family, I understand.” The old woman pats me on the hand. “But even then, you are a soldier for this family. And a soldier is only as strong as her conviction for what she’s fighting for. And when you fight with us, you fight for love.”
I raise my teacup and peer over it at her.
I need to change this conversation. I can’t take this sentimental attention from Nonna.
“Are you sure you aren’t trying to advocate for your grandson’s future?
” Donny is the only one who hasn’t romantically interacted with his soulmate yet. And I plan on keeping it that way.
Nonna smiles, reading through me. “You shouldn’t keep happiness away from yourself to protect your heart or someone else's."
“I’m not trying to be a heartless bitch.” There are at least two reasons for every one of my actions, she should know that by now. Unless… “Do you even really know who he’s been matched with?”
“I know her legal name,” Nonna says. I take out my phone, tap and scroll a few times and slide it over to her.
She glances down at the screen, then squints and brings it to her face. She makes the sign of the cross and hands the phone back to me. “Oh, he’s not ready.”
“I know! And she’s not ready for him.” Nonna is silent for a moment, then taps the table.
“Still, don’t let this be the reason you run away from love.”
But I’ve spent my entire adult life running, how do I suddenly stop?