I stay sitting, and ten minutes later, the door opens. Turning, I look and see Elmay.“I was sent to sneak you past and to your room.” She laughs, and I stand by her by the door. I watch as she steps out and looks down the hall.Her hand waves, and we move quickly up the steps and to the bedroom. Hugh follows behind. I watch Elmay turn to leave.“Wait, can we talk?” I haven’t seen her much.“Okay.”I walk into the room, and she follows. She waits in the bedroom while I shower and change.Walking out, she is still waiting. “How have you been?”“Fine, great, just the usual stuff. How are you feeling now? I know a lot has happened. Kidnapped three times in a year has to be a record, you know.”Laughing, I nod. “You’re probably right, I’m fine though.” I am far better than I thought I would be.“How are things with Marco? We all heard him shouting. I tried not to hear, but he was very loud.” She looks at me.“We’re fine. I said I wouldn’t take it. I don’t get it. To me, it is no different
I watch as the men help Caiu stand; I can see he is about to walk to meet mee. So I move towards him and smile. He stops realising I am going to him.“Lucia.” He leans forward, kissing my cheeks. His eyes glance at Marco and back to me. “Hè cum’è un anghjulu hè risuscitatu.” He stares at me, and I feel uneasy.“Caiu? What do you mean it’s like an angel has risen?” Marco looks at him, confused. I’m glad he translated, as I was fucking lost.“Sorry, forgive me, sí.” He sits, visibly shaking. He glances from me to Marco. I watch as he reaches into his pocket, and Marco tenses, moving closer to me.He moves, pulling out a wallet. I watch as he takes something out of it and turns it.“I married for business. Something I regretted for life. There was one woman I loved, who, while I dated her, I could never have her. She married for business as well.” He places the picture down, and I stare. It looks like me.“Who is that?” Marco looks at it, confused. Caiu shifts, appearing slightly uncomfo
I sit in the bar. Not one I would usually be in, Mac stays close by, and I can see people’s stares. Me here, how unusual. I had to run. Sitting there and hearing him talk brought up so much emotion. There was no way I was sitting there and letting that show.When I told him about Lucia, he mentioned he may visit, but then it changed to him having to visit to meet her. Now I know why. Caiu isn’t one to leave his family behind. He keeps his family close. They all live within a gated community.So, where does that leave me? If he insists on her going there with him, living there, I have to choose between my family and Lucia. How can I choose?Finishing the drink, I pour another. If Lucia doesn’t go, then what? She is Ciraulo. None of the family lives in this country, and I know he won’t keep this a secret. So Lucia becomes a bigger target. She outranks even fucking me in this country.Finishing the drink, I refill it. Maybe she will be safer in Sicily with Caiu and her family.“Mr Pesci.
I wake still in the cinema room.“Nothing.” I hear Hugh and go to move but decide not to.“Then stop messaging him constantly, Hugh. If he isn’t replying, your constant messaging won’t fucking help.” Lorenzo sounds stressed.“Has he replied to you, Lorenzo?” I wait for Lorenzo’s answer. “I brought you up, kid, don’t even fucking try to hide it. Has he replied to you?”“Yes! I didn’t mention Lucia. I asked if he was fine. He replied. I messaged about someone trying to contact him about business, he replied. If he isn’t replying when you mention Lucia, take the fucking hint, Hugh.”My head lowers. Marco ran because of me.“Don’t swear at me, Lorenzo. It isn’t like him not to reply or ask for updates. If he’s replied saying he’s okay, fine, I will stop with the updates about Lucia.” I hear the door closing and wrap my arms around my legs.It’s late, and he’s still not back. I glance at my phone and notice he hasn’t replied to my messages. My eyes stay on the film as I cry silently. I get
Sitting in the office, I go through things. I know it will take Lucia ages to find a dress; hell, Roxy had searched for three months and still hadn’t found one. Maybe that’s a good thing, though. Had she found one, would we have been married now?Shaking the thoughts from my head, I looked around the room.“So when she has the dress?” Lorenzo looks at me.“There’s no point asking now, Lorenzo. Even you must know it will take weeks, if not months, for her to pick a damn dress.” We all laugh.“That’s what you think.” Matteo laughs.“That’s women; they take ages, and it has to be perfect.” Even I know picking a wedding dress isn’t as simple as ‘that looks nice.’ It is more like, ‘It doesn’t feel right,’ or ‘I don’t like the sleeves,’ or ‘It’s too much lace’. There’s always something wrong with them.“Let’s just say she finds a dress today or tomorrow, then what?” Dario looks at me.“Then it’s planned for this coming weekend.” I shrug, although I know it won’t happen that quickly.“So it’
I sit staring at my phone. I reached out to a few old friends on social media. Nearly all replied, grateful that I reached out. The issue is, now what? Many want to meet up and catch up.“Hugh.” I glance at him.“Yes, Miss Salvadore.”“Am I allowed to leave?” God, I’m an adult and shouldn’t need to ask that.“Marco has expressed he would rather you didn’t, but he is happy for you to. Where would you like to go?” He looks at me.“I want to go to El Manchino, if possible?” Most of my old friends are friends with each other, so I can meet them all together.“That is fine. When would you like to be there?” He takes out his phone. I glance at mine and confirm. “In an hour, if possible?” He looks at me.“Okay, I will get the cars and soldiers ready. Marco is busy. I have let him know, however.”“Thank you. I will get ready.” Walking to my room, I get changed. I know today will be hard. Many didn’t even know I was still alive and were shocked to see me messaging them.I open the door and wal
I walk into the bedroom with Marco at my heels. My body jumps as I hear the door slamming. Ignoring his tantrum, I walked through to the bathroom.Getting showered quickly, I wrap the towel around my body and walk through to the walk-in wardrobe. His eyes follow me as I do. Grabbing underwear, I sit down. Using the towel, I begin to dry my hair.The air is thick with tension. I’m not ready to address the issues, though. Apparently, Marco is, I look up and see him approaching in the mirror.“You took off your fucking ring. Like it meant nothing!”“And you walked out on me.” The words hurt me to say.“That’s different. I didn’t make out like this engagement was nothing.” He moves and sits behind me. His hands take the towel from mine and rubs my hair between it. I glance at him, confused by his actions.“I am sorry, but I didn’t remove the ring because I felt the engagement was nothing. I was going to have to tell them my dad sold me to someone, and I was forced into an engagement. Havi
I can’t just do nothing. It isn’t who I am, so I left her in the shower and I went to the office and began to look through the things that I had been sent on them.Each file is named, I start with the girls, then go through the guys, and the last one is Harry. I don’t trust him, and I don’t know why. I also recognise him, and I don’t know why.Sighing, I flick through it but there’s not much. They need longer to get more in-depth information. So until I have it, I will keep a closer eye on Harry.“You’re fucking paranoid.” Lorenzo slouches back and laughs.“You know him from school, tell me about him.” He sighs and holds out his hand. I give him the file, his eyes widening and he laughs.“Don’t, joke.” I can’t do jokes right now.“Okay, so Harry was the boy in school who was seen as the toughest one. He was weak as shit. All the girls wanted to fuck him, but most were disappointed after.”“I don’t care about his fucking habits, Lorenzo. I need to know what sort of person he is.”“Why
I'm so fucking happy. This is the best Christmas ever. She's pregnant, Alex is officially ours, and she's marrying me! Tonight! I left her for a bit. Her dad is here, so they are talking everything out. I wanted to be there but knew she needed space to do it herself. I look across the chairs and other things. She wanted to come outside, but we banned her. She can't see this, not until later. "It's looking good." Lorenzo smiles at me. "Have you considered this, Dario?" Marco looks at me. "She said yes! She said she would marry me." She said yes. "I know, but I mean the whole surprise wedding; she said yes, but that doesn't mean now." "Yes, it does!" She wouldn't say yes if she weren't ready now. She's ready. She will say yes. She will love this. "Okay, calm down, you're too high." Marco chuckles, but I can't. I feel amazing right now. "How is it going with her dad?" Matteo looks at me. "No idea. I gave her space." I'm giving her space. "Matteo, he's staying at your house toni
I walked out of the room feeling sickened. Not so much that he had slept with my mother, more he slept with me purely because I looked like her. Like in his mind, I was her. I need to check on Alex. Walking into his room he's sat up on the bed looking at the book. "Read it?" He holds out the book, and I laugh. "Move over." I climb onto the bed, and he cuddles into me as I read it to him. Today is Christmas. I didn't realise, but Lucia had the baby on Christmas day! It's nearly three. I read to him, watching as he fell asleep. Slowly, my eyes slip closed. I wake feeling someone wrap their arms around me. Glancing behind me, I see Dario. I open my mouth to talk, and he shakes his head. "No. Leave it, little rabbit. Let's just sleep for a couple of hours." He holds onto me, and I fall asleep, with him and Alex cuddling me. I need to get answers later. I wake up in bed alone. Neither Alex nor Dario are here. Climbing from the bed, I go to our room and begin to get ready. "Little ra
So far, this guy hasn't been forthcoming. It's Christmas, and we're wasting time on him. Sure, we could just forget him and go to bed for as few hours as possible before getting up, but he's a risk. Alice came to get the baby, and Lucia is currently resting. So this needs sorting now. He's not someone who can be trusted alone, even with soldiers. "I never would have hurt her." I look up, confused. "Evaline, my plan was never to touch her or harm her. Weirdly, she is just like her mother. She's amazing." "How did you meet her mum?" I want to get her answers. "I had just taken down a target and was ready to leave when I saw her. I was twenty-eight, and she was thirty-nine. She was so different. She was so amazing I just went over and said hi, which is how it began. At that point, Evaline was born." "Did you see Evaline?" "No!" His head shakes. "I never did; we had been sleeping together for years. She wouldn't let me see Evaline. She spoke of her. He found out about the affair and
I look at Marco. He's heard nothing. "It's Christmas. Maybe just leave it until after today?" Lorenzo looks at me. "I can't do much, Lorenzo." I can't do anything without information that we don't have. "This is your first official Christmas with Evaline, don't fuck it up." Our dad looks at me, and I know he's right. The gunshot has us all jump up and rush out. I watch as a window smashes and smoke begins to flood the hall. "Get the women and kids!" Marco screams, rushing upstairs; I grab Luciano, Lorenzo grabs Alice, and I see soldiers follow Marco up to Lucia and Evaline. Carrying Luciano down, I sit him in the safe room. Rushing up, I see someone carrying Alex. "Put it on." I see something throw a mask at me. Placing it on, I rush up and see Evaline fighting to get to Alex's room. "Alex is downstairs, little rabbit, go." I watch as she disappears. Rushing through, I get to our room and see him. Throwing myself at him, someone grabs me and stops, and I watch them grab him. "D
I wake hearing a bang, my eyes adjusting to the darkness. I reach out to Dario, but he isn't there. The sound of gunshots has my body jump up and out of bed. Rushing, I get the gown and wrap it around my body as the windows in the room smash, and smoke begins to fill the room. I rush for the door and hear something. Turning, I look behind me and see someone jump through the window. Running out the door, I get grabbed. Screaming, I go to hit him. "Evaline, go with him!" Marco? I feel them pull me, but I try to get to Alex. I need to get Alex. Screaming, I fight against him. "Alex is downstairs, little rabbit, go." I don't get a chance to respond. I'm just pulled further away. As we reach downstairs, I'm thrown into a room and the door locks. "Evaline, thank god you're okay!" Lucia rushes and hugs me. I look around, Alice, Lucia, Alex, and Luciano are in here, and I believe it's James. I'm not sure which soldier it is. "What is happening?" I look around us. This room has no windo
Dario's arms stay around me as we dance. He started out fine, but in the past week, he's been slowly drowning and getting lost in his mind. I know he's constantly overthinking what is happening. Everything I try fails. Sex works while we're having sex, and then he's back in his head. It's taking so much effort to keep him here and with us. The last thing we need is for something to happen and for him to slip away in his mind and not wait for answers. So, I need to keep his mind off Mad Hatter or Tim, as they haven't been able to find anything. Marco even tried to send a message out for my dad in the hope he would reply and give us something, but it's been silent. I lean up and kiss his lips. "We haven't spoken about how many kids you want." I smile, and he looks at me so damn confused. "Babies, Dario, how many do you want?" "I just want you." My eyes roll. "You have me. We have Alex. I want to know about us making babies. How many?" He seems to be considering it. "I would be hap
It's too quiet, and I don't like quiet, not in this way. Quiet in my head, fine, but this feels wrong. He's gone quiet. He's stopped sending messages out. He's ignoring us. He's planning, he's planning something, what is he planning? I pace the room. Today is Matteo's engagement party. Tomorrow is Christmas. It's too fucking quiet. Quietly, quietly, not a sound. I'm listening and listening. "Dario!" I turn, and Marco is staring at me. "You're singing." He holds out his hands. "We were waiting for you!" "I..." Something is wrong. Quietly, quietly, not a sound. I'm listening and listening. "Dario!" I glance at him. "Get out of your head, focus." I can't focus. It's too quiet. "Okay, tell me what is in your head. You keep singing quietly, quietly, so speak." "It's too quiet." It's too quiet. "Right, and I agree it is. It's unusual. He's gone quiet; he's not responding, but stay out of your head. It's been half an hour. How long have you been standing here pacing and singing in yo
I sit with Dario. His brothers and his dad are facing me. "You slept with him, just say." Marco laughs. "I did, but that isn't it. That time, I never returned; about a year into it, Dale had bought a holiday home. He sent me to it alone and told me not to leave as it wasn't safe. I stayed there for maybe six months. A few weeks after I got there, the guy showed up. He basically moved in with me." I see Carlos' mouth drop open. "He never stayed in one place!" "He stayed with me. Dale would send maybe one message a week saying I wasn't safe and to stay hidden. If I tried messaging him, it wouldn't go through. I told him I couldn't keep calling him Mad Hatter, so he said to call him Tim for now. That wasn't his name, I don't think. He confided in me, told me about his childhood and things, and I know I should have said, but I saw him as a friend." Which was stupid. "And now you don't? Why?" Marco looks at me, waiting. "Because now I realise he was trying to get information from me.
Dario pushes me to sit in a seat and faces me. He's looking at me like I'm about to blow everything up. I feel like I am. I didn't tell him everything, not because I didn't want him to know, but because I had no idea how or if he would handle this. Then, I just figured out things while he was getting Alex in bed. "Little rabbit, please." He looks at me, almost begging. "I didn't tell you everything. I stayed at a small holiday home without Dale for about six months. I have no idea where he went. Tim, or Mad Hatter as we know him, stayed with me." "You knew his fucking name!" "No! I told him I felt awkward calling him Mad Hatter, so he said to call him Tim, which could be his name for now. His name isn't Tim. It's just a name he said to call him, so I didn't have to call him Mad Hatter." "You don't know for sure, little rabbit, why the fuck did you live with him for six months!" "Dale was gone. I don't know where or why. He was just gone. Tim isn't a bad guy, or I thought. Dale h