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Underground Hearts Club Eight
Eight “I don’t think you should go.” Laura’s response to being invited to a party surprised me. Normally, Laura was always the one that was trying to get me to do something rash. The two of us sat on the couch, eating the remains of the brownies we’d baked the night before. I glared at her. “Come on. You’re the one that is always telling me that I need to get out more.” Laura sighed. “I know. But that was before.” “Before what?” she’d been acting weird since her fathers visit yesterday. After the lecture he’d given my class, apparently, he’d showed up at the apartment and told her some family news. Since then, Laura had been strangely quiet. When I got home from class, she’d begrudgingly joined me to bake. I tried getting her to talk but mostly she just hummed along to the music I played in the background. Laura made a face. “I just…I mean…” she shoved the rest of her brownie into her mouth. I squinted. “You are h
Underground Hearts Club Nine
Nine My phone wouldn’t stop vibrating. That was unusual for me. I only had a few friends and my first thought was that maybe Gemma had been worried about where I was. I got up from where I had fallen asleep on my couch, my head in Laura’s lap. She had fallen asleep using the sofa armrest as a pillow.“What the hell?” I stared at my phone.The first few messages were from my cousin, Nero. The second was Gemma. And the third was my uncle, Titus. I also had a bunch of pictures from Instagram that I couldn’t understand. I barely posted on there.The first message from Nero said FUCKING CALL ME.If my older cousin, who was twenty-one, and lived in New York was calling me, I was in deep shit. He was an extension of my uncle. He handled the family business in the U.S. When I got into trouble freshman year, he was the one who helped me hide everything. He convinced my uncle to let me come to Italy and take care of the situation I had found myself in.I called him. “Nero, what’s wrong?”“Are
Underground Hearts Club Ten
TenA lot of the people I tutored were usually athletes. At the moment, I was sitting at a café, with one of the quarterbacks. A shadow fell over me. “Another conquest, Emmi?” I looked up and standing there was Nero.He was tall with jet black hair and had a scar over his eye. I sighed and glanced up at Carter, the blond football player I’d been helping. “Hey, how about I call you later and we can try this again?” I said.Carter raised an eyebrow. “Boyfriend?”I made a face. “Gross. Cousin.”“Ah. Family business.” Carter stood up and packed his things. “No worries, teach. I’ll see you later. Let me know when you’re free.”He left and Nero slid into the seat that Carter had been sitting in.“Tell me that’s not someone else you’re fucking,” Nero said.I shook my head. “No. I’m not fucking anyone. I’m not even fucking Cesare. I told you; I’ve been good.”“Then why is Cesare Luna suddenly posting pictures about you?” Nero asked.I sighed. “He’s obsessed and delusional. I’ve never done any
Underground Hearts Club Eleven
ElevenAfter I talked with Nero, I didn’t go to the apartment. Instead, I took a bus home and texted Laura that I would be staying with my mom. When I got there, I told mom everything. She hugged me, pulled me inside, and then made me some Ribollita. I sat with her on my old bed and cried into her arms.“You know, your father wouldn’t have wanted this,” said Mama, “you going after that boy…”“I know,” I said, “I shouldn’t have done it…I shouldn’t have been with him. But I was so angry after he died…nothing made sense anymore. That accident took away the last part of my senior year. It should have gone so differently. When I saw Cesare at that welcome back party, all I could think about was revenge.”“So, you let him take your virginity as what? A consolation prize?” Mama said.I glared at her. “I didn’t plan on getting pregnant. I’ve been on the pill since I was a teenager because of my acne. Tori just…happened.”Mama sighed. “I know. I love my granddaughter too, don’t for one second
Underground Hearts Club Twelve
TwelveI stayed at my mothers for a few days. When she went to work, I studied, and did work online. I cleaned up a little. I cooked and made her dinner when she came home. It had been almost a week and I hadn’t answered any calls or messages from anyone. Finally, one afternoon, there was a knock on the brownstone’s door.I flinched at the sound of it. “Shit.” I went to the door and I peaked through the hole. I opened the door and realized that it was actually Nero. “What are you doing here?”“You wouldn’t answer,” he said, “I’ve been trying to get in touch with you for days.”I gripped the door tightly. “I’m sorry. I wanted to stay away from the drama. I thought that it was better that I not be around the two of them right now.”“Call Laura,” he told me.I blinked. “Um…okay. Why?”“Because she’s worried about you, and just because her brother is an asshole, that doesn’t mean that you should be pushing her away. She’s good people.”I glared accusatorily had him. “Did you do something
Underground Hearts Club Thirteen
ThirteenI was in a moving car. That was the first thing I noticed when I woke up. I looked out the window, trying to figure out where I was. I heard music playing on the radio, a song I didn’t recognize. I glanced over to the side and my heart pounded against my chest when I realized that I was with Cesare.“Hello, Emmilia.”I shivered. “Cesare…” I blinked. “What happened?”Cesare smiled. The kind of smile that made him look like the devil come to collect. “You’re running away from me, Emmilia. I can’t let that happened.”I groaned. “I already told you…I don’t want you.”He laughed. “You’re lying.”“I’m not,” I insisted.He reached out and traced my arm. I shivered again. Fuck. He smiled even wider. “I barely did anything that time. Imagine all of the noises that I could have you making if you let me.”“Where are you taking me?” I asked.“I’ve already taken you there.”“What are you talking about?”“I wanted alone time with you to talk. So, I took you to my family’s house in The Hamp
Underground Hearts Club Fourteen
FourteenThe car had been a dream.Or a nightmare. I wasn’t sure anymore. Laura took me back to our dorm, with Billy and Giovani driving us. Mama said she would give me time to think about what I wanted to do. When I was alone with Laura at home, she asked, “Did my brother hurt you when you two were together?”I glanced at her. “What? Why would you think that?”She sighed. “Nero stopped by. He wouldn’t tell me everything that happened, but I knew it had something to do with that damned picture Cesare posted. He thinks because he’s named after an Emperor that he rules the world… he hasn’t yet learned that he doesn’t. It’s only that most girls when they see Cesare, they want him to fall in love with him. He’s totally helpless when it comes to you but you don’t seem to want anything to do with him.”“It’s not him,” I admitted, “It’s the underworld. You know what it’s like. You had to change your whole life because your family gets death threats…if you had it your way, would you even be h
Underground Hearts Club Fifteen
Fifteen“I want you to come with me,” said Donatello.I couldn’t wrap my mind around the news that he had told me. How had he been my father this whole time? I suppose it explained why I could never seem to escape the underground. I was exactly like Laura. A mafia princess. I didn’t like thinking about that idea.At least, when I had thought The Fixer was my father, he had been someone from the outside.“But…the man that I thought was my father…”“He’s your uncle,” Donatello said, “he stopped working for the mob a long time ago. He went freelance because he didn’t want to be associated with our family. I cleaned up the business a lot. It took time and he was part of that.”“What about the woman I thought was my mother?” I asked.Donatello walked over to the kitchen table and sat down without being asked. He gestured for me to sit down next to him. I did as told, the same way I always did for as long as he had been in my life. He was the kind of figure that you simply didn’t say no to.
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Underground Hearts Club Fifty-nine: Cesare Luna
Fifty-nine: Cesara Luna There were too many people in Boston that knew who I was. But Marco had places that he could take me where people wouldn’t know. “Your family is mob, right?” I said. I didn’t use that word often. I always said ‘underground’ as though that somehow made it less frightening, less of a cliché. But that’s what we both were. Marco nodded. We were sitting at a bar called Allegra’s. It had been owned by the Allegra family, the same one that Giana----or Maria----depending on who were talking to, belonged to. “I’m a cousin. I think. Maybe a brother. Our parents were never very clear, and they did have a weird history together. Either way, we’ve known each other since we were little. Went to the same schools and everything. I made my bones when I was sixteen working for her father. Her father was trying to make his empire expand, and so he arranged a marriage for Maria to the Vitore family. But Maria always had a mind of her own and she ended up
Underground Hearts Club Fifty-eight: Emmilia Vitore
Fifty-eight:Emmilia Vitore I had no cell phone. I had no purse. When I left, the guards didn’t even follow me. Vera seemed to scare even them. I should have known she wasn’t as innocent as she looked. To survive in our world, you couldn’t be a wilting flower. You had to be as dangerous as the men in it. Vera had killed her own husband. I had no doubt that she would try and kill me if I didn’t leave. At least if I were alive, I could try to get Tori away later. I didn’t want to leave. But I didn’t want her to witness my death either. Vera had already killed her husband. I had no doubt that she would try and kill me. I went to the only place that I could think of where I would be safe. Victoria Mariano’s house. The woman I had thought was my mother…. I had no way to get there but walk. As I walked, I couldn’t help but feel the rage that was coursing through me. Everything had been taken once again. A ca
Underground Hearts Club Fifty-seven: Cesare Luna
Fifty-seven:Cesare Luna “Pull over!” I demanded. Marco looked at me. “We’ve got to get to Las Vegas. We’re on a time crunch.” “Pull the fuck over!” I demanded. My uncle had told me the last thing that I wanted to hear. “Get out!” I shouted to my uncle. He got out and I did too. I took my gun out of the back of my pants and pointed it it at him. Uncle Augustus laughed. “Are you going to shoot an unarmed man?” “Why not?” I said. “It’s exactly the kind of thing that you would do.” “Ah, but you pride yourself on not being like me. You’re the next generation. You always told your mother that you were going to be better than me. You wouldn’t want to fail your mother, would you? Although, you’ve already failed because you fell for the daughter of the whore that ruined your parent’s marriage.” I thought of Emmilia. I hadn’t noticed that there was a resemblance between her and Maria. But I did re
Underground Hearts Club Fifty-six: Emmilia Vitore
Fifty-six:Emmilia Vitore I couldn’t help but stare at Vera. “What do you mean, you know my mother? Do you mean the woman that raised me? Victoria?” Vera shook her head. “No, I’m talking about her sister. Victoria’s your aunt. She helped take care of you while your mother was in hiding.” “How do you know her?” She looked away from me. “The hardest part about growing up is realizing that your parents had whole lives before you. That maybe you haven’t known every version of them that you’ve ever been. But you must know…I didn’t have a choice.” “Didn’t have a choice in what?” “Octavious liked to tell our story like he was the greatest romantic of a century. It wasn’t romantic. I was forced to marry someone else. Octavious knew him and he became obsessed with me. He seduced me away from him. But there was a time where I hated him so much that I wanted to kill him. Even when I did finally marry him, I still harbored that. And of cou
Underground Hearts Club Fifty-five: Cesare Luna
Fifty-five:Cesare Luna I made the call I didn’t want to make. My family was planning my funeral, and I went to the New York state prison. I waited outside and a pair of guards brought out my uncle. He was almost an exact replica of my father. It was strange, like watching a clone come out. Marco, who had come with me, shivered a bit. “Why the fuck are we getting the worst man in the mob out of prison?” “Because, he knows where Emmilia’s mother is. And Emmilia’s mother is the one woman who is part of a family that is powerful enough that they can help take on my brother.” “Why haven’t you just asked me?” Marco said. “Are you really going to tell me where she is?” Marco shook his head. “No, because I’m more scared of her and her family then I am of you.” “See? That’s why I need the evil bastard. So that we can find her and help Emmilia. We haven’t been able to find The Fixer, and this is our last resort. Also, I’m starting
Underground Hearts Club Fifty-four: Emmilia Vitore
Fifty-four:Emmilia Vitore He had finally left me alone. I still had security guards with me. But he didn’t make me sleep in his bed when he realized I couldn’t remember what was happening. I stayed in a room with Tori. Galileo went to work on trying to find out what had happened with his father. On our third day back in the city, there was a knock on the door. “Emmilia? Are you there?” I recognized the voice. It was Vera, Galileo’s mother. I had been with Tori in the kitchen. I had made us sandwiches and drinks. We were sitting at the counter. “Who is that, Mommy?” Tori asked. I got up from the counter. “Give me a moment, honey. Stay right there.” I went to the door. “Vera, is that you?” “Yes,” she said, “can you open the door please? I don’t have a key and the security guards won’t open it for me. Which is ridiculous, because I’m Galileo’s mother.” “I would like to see her. She’s my daughter’s grandmother. Please, let her in.” I wa
Underground Hearts Club Fifty-three: Cesare Luna
Fifty-three:Cesare Luna “What happened?” I asked Laura when she got back. We were back home, in Boston. I needed to find Emmilia’s father and it was hard to do that when I was supposed to be dead. Laura was doing my errands for me. I had to stay in the house, like a ghost. It was horrible, especially when I should have been going after my brother to get my girl back. Emmilia wasn’t his. He was using her to try and take over the family fortune because my daughter was the heir to the Luna fortune. That was the only reason he wanted her. He didn’t care about her at all. But I was in love with Emmilia, and when I got her back, I would do whatever it took to make her mine. Laura’s face was drawn as if she had seen something terrible. “Cesare, you aren’t going to like what I saw.” “What did you see?” “Emmilia knows that you’re dead, but she…” “But what?” I asked. “She thinks th
Underground Hearts Club Fifty-two: Emmilia Vitore
Fifty-Two:Emmilia Vitore Galileo had to give me his cell phone. Mine had long since been taken from me. There was also no way that he would give me one. He couldn’t have me calling someone that would help me. But Nikos Balis and I had once had something special. He had tried to kill my father and that had been the end of our relationship. If it hadn’t been for that though, we might have still been together. He was incredibly possessive. If I could figure out a way to let Nikos know what was happening, maybe I could get away from Galileo. But I had to do it in a way that would let him know that there was something wrong without alerting Galileo about it. If Galileo knew that I was trying to get away, he would kill Nikos. I couldn’t have another person’s blood on my hands. “Call him,” Galileo said. “What do I say?” I asked. “Tell him that you’re worried because you’ve been hearing rumors about Cesare being dead. Te
Underground Hearts Club Fifty-one: Cesare Luna
Fifty-one:Cesare Luna “Are you sure you need to save her?” Laura asked me this as we were driving back to Boston. I looked at her. “Why would you ask that?” “I mean, as much as you hate to hear this, it is possible that she did fall in love with Galileo and they decided to get married. Besides, you always talk about how she was trying to kill you. You were hired to kill her first, even though you like to pretend that wasn’t the case.” I glared at my sister. “She’s not in love with Galileo. That’s not something she would ever do willingly.” “How do you know?” Laura said. “I mean, you never really saw the two of them together. I lived in the same apartment as her. I saw them. They had a certain something. I don’t think that Emmilia ever acted on it, but there was a chemistry between them. Maybe Emmilia didn’t want to marry you because she still hated you. She didn’t like that she was being forced into the wife role by her uncl
