by Dee, Cara
The guy whose English was the best had introduced himself as Luca shortly after he’d found the Glock at the base of my spine.
I had nothing. No phone, no money, no weapon, not even a phone number to call. After months of using burners—the phones we had to throw away every now and then—I’d stopped trying to memorize any new digits.
My only option, if given the chance, would be to call Father O’Malley.
The irony… The single number this atheist knew by heart was for a priest.
What was I supposed to do? I was positive I could keep Autumn safe, and I had every intention of using Gio and Elena if I could. Hell, I’d demand it. But ensuring an escape? I had the clothes on my body, a hoodie and a pair of sweat pants, my running shoes, and the rubber band in my hair. Not even MacGyver could do something with that.
I would have to wait. When we arrived wherever we were going, I’d have to see if there was any rabbit I could pull out of my hat.
I was jostled awake by the uneven road we drove on and Autumn shaking my arm.
“Wake up,” she croaked.
I blinked and scrubbed at my face. “I’m here, sweetie. I’ve got you.”
“Are we stopping soon? I have to pee.”
I leaned forward and knocked on the partition. “Hey. We have to use the bathroom.”
We’d stopped once—in the middle of nowhere. Around dawn, the nameless goon had pulled over to the side of the road. We’d had no choice but to relieve ourselves right there. And afterward, Luca had ushered us into the car again and handed us two bottles of water and a bag of snacks.
Luca lowered the divider. “You can wait five minutes. We’re almost there.”
My gaze was stuck on the scenery before us. I’d seen this before, this kind of scenery, those cypress trees, the vineyards, and the villas. We were in Italy, which sparked some hope in me. Okay, a shitload of hope, because I knew Finnegan had all of Gio’s personal properties mapped out. Four of them, if I wasn’t mistaken, with a fifth location Eric was digging for info about. God, I hoped they were taking us to one of those. It would be so much easier for our family to find us.
Luca didn’t raise the partition again, and it wasn’t long before we were driving up another dirt road with only one villa in sight. Surrounded by green fields, the massive estate stood out with evident lavishness. A wrought-iron fence came together with two grand statues and a big gate with the monogram “GA” welded into the gleaming black metal. There was no way this property was a secret of his. Was there?
I’d seen the images of his villa in Cerveteri, and this one was probably bigger. Definitely more secluded.
I pressed a kiss to the top of Autumn’s head. “Remember what I said?”
She nodded hesitantly. “You’re gonna say mean stuff about…” Her whispering trailed off when I nodded back. I’d warned her that I would lie about our family, claim I wasn’t as invested as I was. And I’d explained why. Of course, Autumn wasn’t even ten years old yet, so I’d make sure to remind her of my reasoning often.
Two armed guards stepped up behind the gate.
Our driver rolled down the window, and I heard the mechanical whirr of the gate opening slowly.
“One more thing,” I whispered to Autumn. “Don’t tell anyone I speak a little Italian. Okay?”
“Okay,” she whispered in return. “Are you gonna eavesdrop?”
I smiled and kissed her forehead. “You’re so freaking smart. You’re damn right I will.”
It was the first grin she’d mustered since yesterday.
Once we were let through the gate, we drove up a narrow, winding path toward the side of the villa. There was a big garage, or what I guessed was a garage; part of the structure was a carport, anyway. It was like entering paradise. The sunlight danced between the tall cypress trees, perfectly manicured bushes, and big marble pots of colorful flowers. Spring was in full bloom. Vines, lemon trees, and some plants I couldn’t name hugged the wall of the villa. Three stories, the top two with terraces and balconies. The villa looked as if it’d caught fire in the afternoon sun.
Fresh air breezed through the car, carrying the scents of citrus, freshly cut grass, and jasmine.
It made me queasy. All of it. Not for some pregnancy-related reasons either. It was the betrayal. While I could be glad today that my upbringing had eventually given me Finnegan, this was what I could’ve had. This was what my mother surrounded herself with. This was the life she’d “saved” me from.
As soon as we pulled into a circular driveway, just between the main villa and the garage, a woman stormed out, and the sight of her knocked the air out of my lungs. Long, wavy brown hair, a heart-shaped face, an anxious smile…
It was her.
It was my mom.
31
Two months later
Emilia O’Shea
With my heart threatening to beat its way out of my chest, I hurried into the room I shared with Autumn and closed the door. A second later, my back hit the door, and I put a hand over my chest.
Holy crap. It was working.
Autumn was sitting in the middle of our bed, and she took off her earphones and cocked her head at me. “What’re you doing?”
I beamed and walked over to her. “Finnegan knows where we are.”
Her mouth popped open, and she stared at me in wonder.
Oh my God, I couldn’t believe it was finally happening. The relief was so immense that my eyes welled up. I plopped down on the bed and fell back. How many nights had I traced the intricate crown molding with a finger in the air while I struggled to come up with ways to reach out to Finnegan? Too many to count.
“Are we going home?” Autumn whispered pleadingly.
I turned my face to her and smiled. “You bet. It might be a while, but they’re coming for us.”
Autumn became emotional too, and she glued herself to me as she sniffled and said that going home was at the top of her wish list.
I kissed her hair and stroked her back. “What else is on your wish list?”
If it was anything materialistic, Gio would undoubtedly give it to her. He wouldn’t give us the Wi-Fi password or let us use the phone, but he could give us clothes, gadgets, makeup, toys, magazines, jewelry, and entertainment. I’d told Autumn to go nuts. I had no freaking qualms and used Gio’s “hospitality” for my gain as often as I could too. So while Autumn had accumulated an impressive collection of DVDs, books, dolls, pool toys, games, and clothes, I had developed a taste for virtually anything innocuous that could be used as a weapon.
Under supervision, we were allowed to visit certain websites to shop till we dropped, and we did.
When Autumn turned ten a couple weeks ago, she’d received a mountain of gifts.
My birthday back in April had been equally lavish.
She sniffled and tapped her chin, thinking hard. “Oh, I know! I want the doctor to be wrong.”
I choked out a little laugh and patted my belly. “Aww, you don’t think a boy will be fun?”
She scrunched her nose and shrugged. “Girls are better.”
Well. I knew one man who would be thrilled for his firstborn to be a son. Not that Finnegan would’ve been any less excited to have a girl, but boys were, in his opinion, easier.
I didn’t have a preference. I was just happy the baby was healthy and growing. I’d gained some weight, but the doctor assured me I was in the range of what was normal.
It was the only outing I’d had in two months. No one had been surprised to learn I was pregnant, something that still puzzled me, and Elena had made me an appointment through their family doctor’s office last month.
It wasn’t an ordinary hostage situation, I guess. I hated every person in this villa—outside this room—but I couldn’t claim I’d been scared. Angry, worried, nervous, enraged, upset, sad…but not afraid. Most of all, it was exhausting to put on a charade.
And that charade had to continue right now.
I brushed some hair from Autumn’
s beautiful face. “We should head downstairs. Dinner was almost ready last time I checked.”
Gio was here four or five nights a week, and that necessitated what he called “family” breakfast and dinner.
Autumn huffed and flopped onto her back. “I don’t like dinners here.”
“I know, sweetie. Me either. But they’ll be over soon, I promise.”
One tedious thing I was looking forward to being over was having to search through our room every time we’d both been outside. I didn’t trust these fuckers one bit, and it wouldn’t surprise me if they planted a bug somewhere. So whenever Autumn and I came back from a meal downstairs or we’d been to the pool, I had to go through everything.
The only thing dinner was good for, other than feeding the next O’Shea generation growing inside me, was that Gio spoke fairly plainly and openly about things happening. Although he spoke in Italian and my understanding was basic at best, I got the gist.
Finnegan was wreaking havoc all over Europe.
“There you are.” Elena smiled widely as Autumn and I walked out onto the terrace.
I managed a small smile in return.
It helped to fantasize about stabbing her in the eye with a rusty fork.
This woman wasn’t my mom at all. She’d never be my mom.
“Dinner looks good.” I took my seat, and Autumn sat down next to me.
Elena always sat at one head of the table, and Gio would sit at the other. Across from me, two from Gio’s security crew would sit. For the most part, Luca was one of them.
“I still have to pinch myself to make sure you’re really here with us.” Elena sat down, all smiles and twinkling eyes, and patted my hand on the table. “I never thought our time would come.”
I swallowed uneasily and forced another smile, weak as it was. Not even the pretend version of me could forgive her too quickly.
The betrayal burned hotter than ever, and it was taking its toll on me, holding back everything I wanted to say to her.
Our very first day here, she’d fallen apart with her arms wrapped around me. She’d sobbed excuses and begged for forgiveness. She’d told me how beautiful I was, how I’d blossomed into a stunning young woman, and she’d cried tears of joy when she’d noticed my stomach.
I’d almost broken down right then and there in the driveway.
Gio joined us, as did Luca and someone new. Gio introduced him; he was young and worked as a guard at the Cerveteri villa, I learned.
To any outsider, this had to be the image of perfection. A family dinner by the pool, the sun setting behind the trees, light music pouring out from the house.
I offered Autumn the bowl of roasted potatoes once Gio had plated a steak for himself.
He wasn’t in a great mood.
That was good news to me.
“How was your day, ladies?” Gio asked.
“Great.” Elena smiled warmly and passed me the salad bowl. “I think we made progress here, didn’t we?”
Not really. “Yes.” I nodded and put some salad on my plate, then on Autumn’s. “It’s…getting easier, I guess.”
“Very glad to hear it,” Gio replied approvingly. “It helps to talk. My sister—she’s prayed for this for years. But we understand, it takes time. You were hurt.”
I’d been more than hurt, motherfucker.
“I told her what cravings I had when I was pregnant with her.” Elena chuckled and took a sip of her wine. “Nothing healthy like the grapes Emilia craves. Just chocolate, chocolate, chocolate.”
Those grapes weren’t a pregnancy craving. I ordered them because the farm that produced them was called “Emilia’s Dream,” though in Italian. And the name of the grape showed up in the itemized section of their grocery account. Every item I ordered, Eric and Finnegan could see.
Gio laughed. “The love of chocolate runs in the family.” He patted his belly.
I suppressed a shudder. It sickened me that they could sit there and act like we were family. Like everything was well in the world. Like Autumn and I weren’t hostages.
To make an outgoing phone call, I needed a code. Leaving the premises was out of the question. I had a babysitter—actually, two—whenever I ordered something online. Because I had to do it on the computer in the kitchen, and the housekeeper was always there. The lock had been removed from our bedroom, and our bathroom was stripped down to only the essentials. They were one rule away from telling me I couldn’t have my fucking nail clippers to myself.
Autumn and I ate in silence for a while, and Gio switched to Italian to ask Luca and the other guy for updates and news.
Safe to say, I listened in and did my best to put the words I understood into context.
The new guy spoke about the dogs that guarded the villa in Cerveteri. Something about their behavior, and whatever it was didn’t please Gio. Other than that, the guy seemed happy to report…fuck, I wasn’t sure what that meant. I had to resort to reading his body language. The guy, who looked to be around my age, was relaxed. If he’d had more bad news to share, he wouldn’t look so at ease.
Luca was relaxed too, and he shouldn’t be. He’d let something slip through his fingers today.
I’d learned that he was the one who screened the mail each day. Whatever he deemed safe, or not related or addressed to Gio, landed on the kitchen counter for Elena to go through. It was a pattern I’d noticed quickly, and ever since, I’d found a reason to be in the kitchen when the mail arrived.
Today, there’d been a postcard. Typical vacation theme, like the cards some old people still sent, from a man who wrote to his friend about how beautiful the shores of Portugal were. Elena had said they must’ve used the wrong address, and she’d shrugged and thrown it out. It wasn’t anyone they knew.
But I knew my husband’s handwriting when I saw it.
Not only had he understood the messages I’d sent through the groceries I ordered, but I had it confirmed that they knew where we were.
It was that fifth location that Eric thankfully kept track of.
Outside of Naples.
Something Gio said caught my attention. He’d mentioned the name of his club in Amsterdam.
Oh my God, there’d been another attack, and he was still blaming the Russians.
The nights were the hardest.
Once Autumn was asleep, my internal walls crumbled, and I buried my face in my pillow and let the grief take over.
My heart ached with how much I missed Finnegan.
He’d missed our son’s first kicks, and it was this delusional family’s fault.
I couldn’t describe how much I hated them.
I caressed my stomach under the covers, feeling the flutters from our boy’s feet.
Two months to go…
I exhaled shakily and wiped my cheeks.
Elena had walked away from this. After carrying me for nine months, she’d just walked away. She claimed there was no “just” about it, but to me, it was simple. I would definitely sacrifice my own happiness and walk away if it ensured the safety of my son, but I’d be back as soon as possible. I’d never let him believe I’d abandoned him.
“You must understand, my sweet child… We were at war when Gio told me to come home. I never wanted this life for you—not even for myself—but I have responsibilities here. I’d outrun them for too long.”
Elena had shown me newspaper clippings from back then. “Local mafia war escalates.” Another mafia family had wanted to move in on Avellino turf, claiming Naples didn’t belong to Gio anymore because he’d made his organization global.
I didn’t care. The war had ended when I was three years old. By then, Elena had made the decision that it was better I grew up with my dad. She’d washed her hands clean and stayed away.
She’d known that my dad had told me she’d died.
Luca came out on the terrace the following day. “Your catalogue is here, Emilia.”
“How long do you think my arms are?” I didn’t get up from my lounger, so he shot
me an annoyed look and walked over with the catalogue. “Thank you.” I accepted the catalogue.
“I’m head of security, not your errand boy,” he said.
I waved him off and flipped open the catalogue. The one thing I needed, a glue gun, would look suspicious on its own, so I picked up a pen from the table next to me and started circling a bunch of supplies for an arts and crafts project I’d never finish.
“Emilia, look how long I can swim underwater,” Autumn hollered from the pool.
“I’m looking, honey.” I smiled at her, glad she was having a good day.
A while later, when she was hungry, I took her inside for a snack in the kitchen. Elena was chatting with the housekeeper about…dinner, I was fairly sure. She lit up at the sight of me and switched to English.
“Are you having a nice pool day, girls?” she asked.
Pool days were all we had. I went swimming every morning to keep my physical strength up, and I enjoyed getting some sun. But there wasn’t much else we could do. Elena became anxious when Autumn and I stayed in our room too much.
“Yes,” Autumn replied curtly. “Uncle Eric times me when I swim sometimes. I miss him, you know.”
I smiled to myself as I raided the fridge. Autumn was turning into a little ballbuster with a sharp tongue, and I was fucking proud of her.
Elena’s own smile had faded by the time I turned around to prepare a sandwich for Autumn.
A loud thud came from upstairs, causing Autumn to startle, and it was followed by Gio cursing up a storm. I struggled with Italian since I didn’t have any books to keep learning from, but I’d become fluent in the curses.
