Chapter 13 Charlie
Charlie
“RED!” Mattia’s voice bounces off the foyer walls. “Get your sexy ass down here. We’re going on a field trip!”
I chuck the latest journal I was reading on my bed, quickly grab my shoes, then race out of my room and down the hallway. The idea of leaving the estate fills me with excitement, but I pause when I hear the brothers’ conversation downstairs.
Stefano grumbles, “For once, can you behave yourself?”
Mattia laughs at him. “Can’t help it. ADHD, remember?”
Gabriele chimes in, “It is literally in his DNA.” I can’t help but giggle to myself. Always so straightforward Gabriele is.
“Yes, Gabriele, I’m not an idiot, but he can LEARN to behave sometimes,” Stefano shoots back.
“Where’s the fun in that?” I hear Mattia reply.
I can’t help myself as I shout down from the top of the stairs. “COMING!”
Stefano runs his hands over his face and lets out a frustrated, warning growl.
“Don’t,” he says as he jabs a finger towards Mattia.
Mattia huffs, stomping his feet like a toddler. “Come on, that would’ve been a good one,” he says, following Stefano out the front door.
“Where are we going?” I say excitedly, bouncing down the stairs behind them.
“Routine check at the farm,” Gabriele says.
I blink, slightly confused. “We own a farm? Like cows and horses?”
Mattia chuckles, slinging his arm around my shoulder and pulling me towards the back seat of the waiting SUV. “Not that kind of farm. You’ll see.” Just as I think I’ve gotten away, the back door beside me opens and in climbs Rocco.
“Oh, come on!” I sigh loudly. “I’m with the three of you, why does Rocco need to come?”
Stefano starts driving the car, and Gabriele sits in the passenger seat beside him. So I’m now squished in the backseat between Rocco and Mattia, two of the tallest men I have seen. I must look like a dwarf between them.
“Don orders: you don’t go anywhere without me,” Rocco tells me.
I poke my tongue out at him. There’s nothing I can say to stop him from following me.
Mattia snickers beside me. Stefano turns down a winding dirt road hidden by towering trees on the property.
We cross through two checkpoints guarded by soldiers, creating a division between the areas soldiers must be allowed to access.
I whisper to myself, folding my arms in front of me, “What don’t we have on the estate?” I’m slightly annoyed we aren’t actually leaving the property.
“A lot, Charlie,” Stefano answers from the front seat as an industrial shed comes into view, hidden in the overgrowth. It would be invisible from above.
Mattia’s grin is infectious. “Wait till you see it, Red.” He practically bounces in his chair from excitement.
As soon as the car rolls to a stop, Mattia is out the door and reaches his hand in for me to grab. When he pulls me out, I take a good look around. “Why do you call it a farm when there’s no paddocks or fields?”
Gabriele actually smirks for once. “Who said we don’t have fields?”
I wave my hands around the overgrown land in front of us. “Look around, Gabriele. There’s nothing but that giant shed.”
“Exactly.” Gabriele nods to the soldiers on guard as he punches in a code. The heavy door opens, and I step inside behind them. My breath catches at the sight in front of me.
Rows of lush marijuana plants stretch out ahead of us, their emerald leaves glowing under the soft grow lights. The workers are dressed in just their underwear and move carefully, pruning and inspecting the plants.
“Oh my God,” I whisper. It looks like a scene you only ever see in movies. “How come you guys never told me we have a marijuana farm on the property? This must be worth millions!” I squeal, clapping my hands.
All their eyes snap to me, including the workers now.
A frown crosses over Stefano’s already hardened face.
He looks at me like I’ve lost it. I knew we dealt the drugs in the New York area, but seeing it in person with my own eyes is something completely different. It’s such a hard feeling to describe.
Mattia’s eyes gleam excitedly. “This is just the start.” He grabs my hand to pull me along behind him.
“Calm down,” Stefano warns him. “This is why I don’t normally bring you with us.”
Mattia leads me deeper into the shed, through the dense rows of marijuana until we’re in front of another door. He opens it, revealing a stark room. Tables are lined up with white bricks, and a couple of workers are in here as well.
“Is that… cocaine?” I ask, my heart pounding harder from excitement. This might be my favorite day at the estate so far.
“Yes,” Stefano confirms, leaning on the door frame.
“Do we make it here as well?”
“No, it comes from overseas. This is where we repackage it for distribution. We distribute it through the businesses on our turf.”
“We are so hardcore,” I tease, my eyes flicking between the brothers.
They all shake their heads with different reactions: Mattia amused, Stefano and Gabriele unamused. Gabriele adds, “Our weed is the most organic on the coast, and the cocaine the purest. We charge top dollar.”
“Have you tried it?” I ask, half joking, while moving closer to inspect the bricks.
The female workers in front of us look over at me curiously, unsure how to react around me.
I’m guessing Luciano still hasn’t told anyone who I am, otherwise they would be showing me the same respect they’re giving the brothers.
“On occasion,” Stefano says, turning on his heels and heading back toward the front of the shed. His energy demands we follow; a mini Luciano in motion. Walking back through, I spot the drying room to the side and have a peek inside. I sneak a bud into my pocket, hoping no one notices.
Back in the car, Stefano starts driving back down the dirt road but turns left instead of right like we came. “Wait, this isn’t the way back.”
“Good observation,” Gabriele says dryly from the front, eyes glued to his tablet.
“Where are we going now?” I ask. Rocco shifts uncomfortably next to me, practically sitting on the door so his body doesn’t touch me. I roll my eyes. Luciano must have told him not to touch me as well.
“Showing you the rest of the estate,” Stefano responds.
He turns down another dirt track and pulls up beside a shooting range.
Targets stand ready, their silhouettes moving in the breeze, spent shells scattered across the ground.
A pair of soldiers stand around the tables loaded with different guns, practicing shooting.
“This is our shooting range,” Stefano says.
“Yeah, I know, I ran here the other day with Carlo,” I mention to him, looking out the window at the soldiers. I flinch when a pistol is fired. Mattia drapes his arm around me protectively.
Stefano eyes me through the rearview mirror, purposely waiting a bit longer, taunting me. I glare daggers at him, and then he floors it, speeding past the bunker.
“That’s where we keep hostages for interrogation,” Stefano adds casually, like it’s a weekend hobby of theirs.
“Already been there too, Stefano,” I say sarcastically, trying to push it to the back of my mind.
Further along the dirt road, Stefano points out to their house. “This is where I, Mattia, Gabriele, and Carlo live.”
Mattia smirks, tugging at my shoulder. “Yeah, she’s already been here as well,” he says, earning myself a death glare from Stefano.
“So are you going to show me anything I haven’t already found myself?” I ask.
He grumbles, “Tour finite.” Tour’s over. He drives us back towards the main house, clearly not amused by my presence. What did they expect when they locked me up on the estate for over a month?
“How many soldiers do we have on the estate?” I ask, looking out the window at some soldiers walking past the car.
“Depends. Usually around thirty all up,” Stefano says. “They’re spread around the property.”
“Can they all come to the main house?”
“No. Only Capos and the patrolling soldiers are allowed. The other soldiers need permission.”
I look over to Rocco beside me. “Are you a Capo?”
“Si,” he says as he nods his head and looks out the window.
“What’s the difference between a Capo and soldier?”
“Capo is the leader of a group of soldiers. All the Capo’s report back to me,” Stefano states.
I turn back to Rocco. “So, you gave up leading a group of soldiers to watch over me? What did you do to piss off Luciano?” I question him. “This must feel like a demotion.”
“Yeah Rocco, what did you do?” Mattia chimes in, leaning around me to get a better view of Rocco, who’s squirming in his seat beside us.
“Come on, Rocco. Your future Donna asked you a question,” Mattia sneers beside me. It must be bad to cause a reaction like this.
Rocco tries to avoid my eye contact, and his voice is quiet when he says, “I was in charge of training Nico and Marco.”
I launch myself at Rocco, punching him in the jaw. His head collides with the car window, but I don’t stop; I keep hitting him over and over again. He doesn’t move or raise his arms. He just accepts it.
“Fuck’s sake. Mattia, stop her!” Stefano yells from the front. He slams on the brakes, causing me to jolt forward just as Mattia’s arms wrap around me like a straitjacket, pulling me onto his lap so I’m not sent flying through the front of the car.
“Let me go, Mattia,” I yell, kicking my feet out at Rocco to get a couple last hits in.
“I’m sorry, Charlotte,” Rocco says to me, his eyes filled with guilt. I wonder how bad his punishment was from Luciano. He doesn’t seem to have any bruises or broken bones that I can see.
“How long till Luciano and Carlo get back?” I hiss to Stefano as he restarts the car and drives around to the front of the mansion.
“Couple of hours,” Gabriele says.
“Great. Mattia, let’s ditch and watch a movie.” His arms are still wrapped around me, trapped on his lap, afraid that if he lets me go, I’ll attack Rocco again.
“Don’t have to twist my arm,” Mattia replies.
Stefano raises an eyebrow at us. “Aren’t you supposed to be teaching Charlie to shoot?”