Chapter 5
FIVE
VANESSA
Juliet and I work side by side in the kitchen, getting dinner ready. She decides on baked chicken, potatoes, and vegetables. According to her, it’s the easiest thing to make when you’re feeding a crowd.
“So, was that your first gunfight?” Juliet asks casually.
“Um… yeah, I guess. I’ve shot guns before and all, but I’ve never been in an active gunfight before.” I stop what I’m doing to face her. “Why did I think most mafia homes are crawling with people, but there seems to be barely anyone here?”
“Gino doesn’t really want a lot of people here. He likes his space.”
“Isn’t that unsafe, considering anyone could just show up?”
“Yes, but there’s a standing agreement between the families not to come to each other’s houses. Normally there are one or two bodyguards nearby—not always on the property, but close enough to get here if something happens. That’s what Drew and Ryan were doing before they got here.”
“Uh huh.”
She studies me for a moment. “How much did you know about all of this before today?”
“Bits and pieces,” I say.
Juliet turns to look at me as I continue.
“My father told me he worked for a mafia family, but I didn’t realize how important he really was. He had Uncle Kevin teach me how to fight and shoot—a few basics, you know.”
I take a deep breath and exhale slowly. “Dad also told me that one day I’d work with him.
That’s obviously not happening now. But I became a nurse because I wanted to help people—and maybe help him, if something ever went wrong.
From what I’ve seen in movies and read in books, mafia guys tend to get shot a lot. ”
“You could say that,” Juliet snickers.
“Yeah. After my mom died, I wanted a job where I could help people,” I admit. “Since I couldn’t help her.”
Juliet hesitates. “How did she die?” She quickly follows up with, “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”
“Kidney failure, when I was two.”
“That sucks. I’m sorry,” she says softly.
I give her a small smile. “Thanks.”
For the next hour or so, we talk about our favorite things. I tell her about running cross-country and how much I love the lake and the beach. I learn that she loves to read and that Gino has given her full access to the massive library in the house.
By the time we finish, I realize I could be friends with her.
Voices drift in from outside. Uncle Kevin and Aunt Lucy are talking to Gino. Juliet and I walk over to the entryway, both of us start giggling softly at the interaction in front of us.
Aunt Lucy stands squarely in front of Gino, Mateo, Gabe, Jake, and Marco. She’s smaller than me, but next to them she looks downright tiny, yet somehow completely unbothered by the fact that she’s facing down a wall of men.
“Gino, is that you?” Lucy exclaims, her face lighting up. “Well, of course it’s you—you’re not a baby anymore.”
Lucy has a wide smile on her face as she shifts her focus to the next man. “Mateo, you don’t have those chubby cheeks anymore. Look at you, you’re so handsome.” She reaches up, pinches his cheeks anyway, and pulls him into a sweet hug.
Then she looks over at Gabe, Jake, and Marco, smiling knowingly. “And let me guess, you are the Cambio brothers.”
They nod in unison.
“It’s good to see you boys all grown up,” Uncle Kevin says, his gaze flicking to the shattered glass and faint traces of blood still being cleaned up. “Looks like you’ve had an interesting day.”
“Yes, we have,” Gino replies. He steps aside and gestures them in. “Come on inside. I think we need to have a chat about what’s happened over the last couple decades.”
Uncle Kevin and Aunt Lucy step inside, and all I can think about are the countless times they told me that one day, everything would make sense.
Growing up, I spent so many days—and nights—angry with them. Hurt. Frustrated by the fact that they couldn’t tell me anything, no matter how much I begged or pushed. But after these strange, chaotic twenty-four hours, I finally understand. At least a little.
They made a promise to my father. One they took seriously. And in keeping it, they gave up more than I ever realized.
They gave up the chance to have their own family. To live their lives together without constantly worrying about protecting me. About hiding the truth. About keeping me safe from things I was never meant to see.
I’ve spent countless sleepless nights turning that over in my head, wondering why they chose not to say anything. But I never asked. I was too angry most of the time to see past my own hurt.
Then it hits me—they were like parents to me. And I never really gave them the chance to be that. Not fully.
They never had children of their own. Not that I ever asked if they wanted any. But I can’t help assuming they thought about it. Maybe even wanted it.
“You okay?” Juliet asks, her voice gentle.
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“I’m going to finish up dinner,” Juliet adds before heading back toward the kitchen, leaving me alone in the entryway.
Uncle Kevin and the rest of the men disappear into another room. Aunt Lucy steps over to me instead.
“Hi, sweetheart,” she says, her eyes sad but her smile soft.
“Hi, Auntie.”
“Come on,” she says gently. “Let’s go sit over there and talk, hmm?”
“Okay.”
I follow her into a small sitting area. She lowers herself into a white chair, and I take the one across from her.
She studies me for a moment before speaking.
“It’s been a wild day, huh?”
“Yeah,” I say quietly. “What do we do now? Do I stay here? Is that what Dad wanted?”
“I’m not sure. That decision is up to Gino. But your father wanted both of you to have independence. To be your own people. To be able to take care of yourselves.”
“But does this happen a lot? The shooting. The random people just showing up?”
“Not as often as you think,” she says, offering a soft smile and a wink.
“Then why did they show up?”
She hesitates. “I’m guessing here—and don’t take this the wrong way—but I wouldn’t be surprised if they saw you arrive and thought it was an opening.
” She gestures subtly toward my hair. “Your coloring makes people assume you’re Irish, but your last name is Italian.
Someone who doesn’t know better might think there’s an opportunity. An alliance.”
That explanation settles in slowly. And somehow, it makes everything feel even more dangerous.
“Hmm. I’ve wanted to ask you this for a long time, but never did. And right now… I just feel like I need to.”
I look at her. She meets my gaze, waiting patiently.
“Why didn’t you and Uncle Kevin ever have kids?”
She lets out a slow sigh. “Your Uncle and I never wanted any for ourselves. You were everything we wanted.”
She reaches for my hand. “We didn’t need our own child to justify our love.
Not for each other, and not for you. You’re perfect.
Everything I ever would have wanted in a daughter.
Just because I didn’t give birth to you doesn’t mean you aren’t mine.
I would never try to replace your mother—but you are still my daughter. ”
I look up at her with tears stinging my eyes.
“Oh, sweetheart,” she says, wiping away a tear. “I didn’t mean to make you cry.”
“Why didn’t you ever tell me that before?” I ask quietly.
“Because I never wanted you to feel like I was trying to replace your mother. From everything Kevin told me, she was kind and loving. She would’ve given you the world.”
I swallow. “How did Dad decide to send you and Uncle Kevin? You both said you’d never really met before you were sent to take care of me.”
“We met once, years before your mother died at a party. Your father noticed us talking, but I didn’t see your uncle again after that. Not until your father sent me to Salt Lake.”
She pauses, caught in a memory. “A few days after your mother’s funeral, your father made a comment before he left. He said he hoped we’d like each other. He had a habit of playing matchmaker with his friends,” she adds, with a bit of humor in her voice.
“What happened to Gino’s mom?” I ask, not sure I want to know the answer.
Lucy’s expression shifts. “She was killed in a gunfight—by the Irish.” She sighs. “I think that’s why your father couldn’t handle it after your mother died. Losing your mom reopened wounds he never really healed from.”
“Why didn’t he bring Gino with him?”
Lucy shakes her head slowly. “I honestly don’t know. He was grieving the loss of his wife, and I think he needed to be alone. Then he met your mother, and… well, then you happened. I think he was planning on it, but your mother got sick and it shattered him.”
I shift in my seat.
“Then why didn’t he ever want me here?”
Lucy’s expression grows serious. “Because shortly after your mother died, a major turf war broke out. It lasted nearly twenty years.”
I’m starting to understand, piece by piece, why my father tried so hard to protect me. From living on the other side of the country. To having Uncle Kevin train me in hand-to-hand combat. Keeping me just far enough away.
Everyone important to me now is in this house, and I have to do what I can to help them.
“How are my two favorite girls doing?” Uncle Kevin asks, peeking around the corner.
“We’re good, honey,” Lucy says gently.
“What did you all talk about in there?” I ask.
“Oh, nothing. Just the usual post-shootout talk.”
I raise my eyebrows. “Do you do that often?”
He grins at me. “I haven’t done one in over two decades—so no,” he snickers.
“Hey, dinner’s ready,” Jake says, turning the corner.
The three of us head into the dining room, where the table is already set and most of the guys are seated. I take a chair, with Aunt Lucy and Uncle Kevin settling in to my right. Juliet sits to my left.
Across from us, Drew, Gabe, Jake, Marco, and Ryan fill the other side of the table. Mateo takes the seat beside Uncle Kevin, and Gino claims the head of the table next to Juliet, which makes her shift slightly in her chair.
Dishes are passed from hand to hand as we start serving ourselves.