“No. No. Not even. If you think they are going to let you back into the family, you’re crazy.”
“I’ll tell them I was taken by the FBI and I want to come back, come home.” She waggled her eyebrows. “They’ll love that.”
“Yes, they will, because they’ll have found you and will shoot you on sight.”
20
“No. They won’t do that,” Kate said. “I’m a Bellini.” She looked at her grandparents.
“Have you forgotten how you ran at the airport? Have you forgotten what they did to your mother and what they planned to do to you?”
Her face went cold, the memory of fighting off Galtem, one of the Marconi goons at the airport, left a bitter taste in her mouth. She sucked in a sharp breath thinking of Ricco on top of her only a short while ago and the picture in her mind of her mother, sitting unknowing, in front of the fountain in the backyard, sent a shiver up her spine. Duran stared at her, but continued.
“Yeah. I know all about it. You ran. Had you not run and the FBI took you screaming and kicking, it would be a different story. No. There is no return for you.”
Kate bit her lip. She knew he was right on one level, but there had to be a way.
“And, I’m glad you can’t go back. The terrible thing is they’ve most surely tracked you to where you are staying in Bologna and are waiting for your return. Veronica has to have talked by now, and I guarantee it won’t take long for her to find out you weren’t supposed to be there. I’m betting she already knows.”
“Impossible.” She was just glad that Veronica hadn’t seen her with her friends. Then she remembered Martino. He’d seen both Colby and Ellie at the party.
“Did you take a taxi while you were there?”
“No. We had a driver.”
Duran threw his head back in frustration. “Let me guess. His last name was Marconi.”
“How did you…” Kate covered her mouth and then said, “Colby! Ellie! Do you think they’ve hurt them?” She grabbed out her phone and started to dial Ellie.
Duran snatched it from her. “If they have, they are waiting for your call. They’d have her phone.”
“I’ll block the number so they can’t see it’s me.” She took her phone back and dialed. When Ellie answered, Kate could hear loud music playing in the background. Her heart slowed its hammering. “You at a party? Not at the house? You’re safe?”
“Yes.”
“Have you noticed anyone following you?”
“Wait, what? I can’t hear.” Kate heard shuffling and brushing noises. A door shut and she said, “What did you say?” Ellie asked.
“Have you noticed anyone following you?”
“Following me? No.”
“Don’t go back to the apartment. The Marconis know I’m here and they might know where I’ve been staying.”
“What? The Marconis found us?”
“Most likely. Long story.” Kate brushed a hand through her hair. Neither Ellie nor Colby were going to like what she had to say. “In any case, you shouldn’t go back to the apartment just in case.”
“I’ll have Colby and the guys check everything out before we let anyone go back in there. Don’t worry.”
“No. I don’t want you to check it out,” Kate’s voice got a little shrill. “I want you to stay far away from there.”
“Where are we supposed to go? I mean all our…”
“To a hotel,” Kate interrupted. “A friend’s. Anywhere but there. Just be safe, Ellie. Keep everyone safe.” She would call Johansen as soon as she hung up.
“Shouldn’t we just call the police?”
“Not sure, but we can’t just call the cops in Bologna, not when the Marconis own the town.” She’d seen how powerful the Bellinis had been in Jersey. They owned the cops there. She was sure the Marconis had the same power in Bologna. “I’ll have to try Johansen again and see if he knows any cops we can trust. Let me know where you end up. Don’t let Colby or any of his friends go back to that apartment until it is searched.” Kate looked at her grandparents who now had worried expressions on their faces.
“Okay.”
“I’ve got to go. Be safe. Please.”
“No worries. We’ll go to a hotel. Bye.”
Kate scowled. “I have to do something, Duran. I have to. Look at what they are doing to my friends. To you. To them.” She looked away from her grandparents who were staring at Kate and Duran now.
“I’ll tell you what you are going to do. You are going to go home, finish high school with amazing grades and then you are going to go to college to become an attorney, just like Vinny suggested. Instead of being a defense attorney, you are going to become a prosecutor. Then you are going to use proper channels to bring down the mafia and all its appendages.”
“That will take too long and they’ll probably find me before then.”
“Maybe, but it’s the only way you are going to be able to do anything about the mafia without getting killed as soon as you arrive in the States.”
He was right. She was only one girl. One girl without any resources. “There has to be a faster way. What about all the people who need to get out now, that have had their lives threatened?”
“They are just going to have to wait until DA Ham…I mean DA, whatever you’re going to change your name to, because you have to change your name, comes to town and frees them. I can’t believe you haven’t already changed your name. I can’t believe they haven’t found you already.”
“They never knew my last name as far as I know. My ticket was to Dallas and we live a little over two hours outside of there. Besides, Special Agent Johansen is watching out for me, too. Come back with me. Leave this life with me. Be with me.”
“It won’t work. If I come with you, we’ll just both end up dead sooner. For now, you change your name and go to school, and I continue doing what is expected of me.”
“Please.” She slouched forward, pleading.
“I can’t do that. Do you know what would happen to Vinny? It would reflect poorly on him and his bid for head of the family. Believe me that would not be a good thing for anyone. When Vinny ascends to the throne, I’m hoping things are going to get a lot better in mafia land.” He looked at her, deep in her eyes and she had to look away. “Kate. I need you to promise me you will go to school and become a prosecuting attorney. That you will stay away from the Bellinis and all things mafia until you have the power to make a difference.”
She looked away.
“Kate.”
“It’s so long. I can’t promise…”
“Yes. Yes, you can and you will or I’ll just turn you into Vinny today.”
“Do it.”
Duran growled. “Stop it. I didn’t go through everything I did in Jersey just to have you get killed.”
“Fine. School. D.A. But, if something sure comes along—”
“It won’t. Now, I’m out of here.” He looked at his watch and swore. “It’s already midnight.”
He kissed her, his hands running down her back, leaving a trail of fireworks as they went. He reached for the door. “Oh, and take a water taxi to the train. Don’t leave for twenty to thirty minutes, okay?”
He returned to her and pulled her close. He motioned toward the knife still in her waistband. “And keep this close.” His eyes rounded as he looked down at the blood spotting her clothing. “You’re bleeding.”
She followed his gaze, only now realizing what he was talking about. “No. It’s not my blood.” Memories of the feel of the knife entering her attacker’s body filled her and her mouth went dry, her stomach immediately feeling queasy.
“Well, whose blood is it?”
“Some guy who tried to grab me.”
“What?” Duran threw his hands wide and took a step back. “And when were you going to tell me about this?”
“Sorry. I—I.” She didn’t know what to say.
He grabbed her and held her, squeezing her tight, almost too tight. “Why didn’t you tell me?�
�� He looked her straight in the eye.
“I wanted to after it happened, but then I got distracted wanting to know the truth and all and really, it sounds stupid, but I forgot once you came in and started talking to my grandparents. I have no idea who it was.”
He pulled her tight again, her face snuggled into that sweet spot right under his shoulder. “You’re going to have to stay here tonight. I don’t dare have you go anywhere.”
“I can’t stay here. You said yourself that I put them in danger by being here. Whoever it was, they are long gone. In the hospital. Besides, Martino traced my call earlier.” She looked at her phone. “They’re most likely already here looking for me. I’ve got to get out of here. I should go straight to the airport for sure. No Bologna for me.”
“Who is Martino?”
“Martino Gatti.”
Duran’s muscles tensed. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“No. And he knows I’m a Bellini.”
“Okay, we’ll go with your plan. The Gattis are very dangerous. You go straight to the airport. If someone was sent to snatch you and were unsuccessful, they will send someone else. Guaranteed. That’s three groups after you: Gattis, Bellinis, and Marconis. This couldn’t be worse.”
“But the Gattis don’t know where I went after the trace. They don’t know I came here. I can still get out of here and keep my grandparents safe. I’m just not sure where to go to catch the train and stay hidden.”
Duran was silent for a few seconds, obviously thinking. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll leave and go show my face at home. Find out if it was a Bellini who was following you. Then I’ll sneak back out and double back to keep guard over you. Give me a good half hour. You go out the back door, through the neighbor’s backyard. When you get to the street, turn right and head straight for the water. Walk along the edge until you find a water taxi. Take it to the train station. I’ll be in the background watching you, making sure you make it safely. Tomorrow, get the heck out of Italy. Don’t use the Marconi airport.”
She nodded.
“Please don’t take this the wrong way,” he said. “But I better not get this close to you again until you’re that prosecutor, taking them down. Promise me.”
“I’m a terrible promise keeper, but I can tell you this, I will take them down.”
“You cannot return to the Bellinis or Marconis.”
She nodded. Duran hugged and kissed her one last time and then he whispered into her ear, “I love you, Kate Hamilton. Stay alive,” and he was gone, out the front door.
Kate was numb as she sat down next to her grandparents, pulling a chair close. She showed them pictures of her life in Texas. That she had a happy life. She pointed to and named her family members and using an online translation tool, she explained their relationship to her, keeping an eye on the clock as she did.
When fifteen minutes had passed, she wished she’d asked Duran to tell her grandparents her goodbyes before he left. Now she had no Italian words. Instead she hugged them. They kissed on both cheeks. Then she asked to see her mother. Kate followed her grandma into her mom’s room and Kate kissed Carmela on the forehead before giving her a hug. “I’ll miss you, Mom. I’ll pray for you, and I hope we can be together again one day. I love you.” A hard ball of anger at the unfairness of everything seemed to slam her in the chest as she kissed her mother one last time before leaving out the back door.
Kate wiped at the tears that streamed down her cheeks as she locked the gate and jumped the back wall again. Her mind churned with dark gray and black thoughts. Revenge ravaged through her blood and her mind worked overtime to find a way to get back at the Marconis and Bellinis sooner than the twenty-year plan Duran had espoused. The only way she could think of was to help those marked for death, for whatever reason, to escape that life. She kept circling around to that idea, but no solution presented itself. She walked along the road, heading for the water taxis.
Kate took in a heavy breath and for the first time was truly aware of her surroundings. She felt the darkness press on her and the feeling she was not alone hit her. Her eyes darted from side to side. Was she being paranoid? No one was around, but she couldn’t shake the feeling of eyes on her. She could see the water. Should she run? Then she thought of Duran. It had to be Duran. He was the one watching her. She turned the corner at the water’s edge, but no water taxis were there. She heard something and whipped around. She screamed as arms encircled her and a hand with a cloth covered her mouth and nose, stifling her scream and making her head go fuzzy. She tried to maneuver her pinned hands to her waist to grab her knife, but she couldn’t think anymore. She was so tired and only a moment later she was out.
21
Kate woke in a frilly, girly room. Soft and hard hues of purple and yellow surrounded her. She jolted upright and grabbed at her waist. The knife was gone. She searched her pockets for a phone that was no longer there. Pictures of horses, a young girl, and the girl playing on the beach, decorated the walls. Kate pushed the large, soft stuffed animals off the bed as she swung her legs off and hopped down, running to the window. She shoved it up, happy to find it opened without any great effort. When she looked out and saw the waves crashing onto the sheer edge of the cliff hundreds of feet below, vertigo set in and she immediately pulled back. The house practically hugged the cliff’s edge, and she must have been three levels up from the ground. What was going on?
She passed the white desk and scrambled to the door, completely prepared to find it locked. When she yanked on the doorknob after turning it, it jerked open. Kate peered out. No one was standing guard. “Huh,” the sound slipped out of her mouth as she moved down the hall. “Not very good kidnappers,” she murmured to herself. She walked down the hall, taking little, quick steps and then hurried down a grand staircase. This was a home. Whose home? Clanking and voices, the sounds of people eating breakfast filled the hall. She moved toward the sounds, peeking around the corner when she got to the entryway. Six or eight people sat at a long, wooden farm table. Her kidnappers. She’d steal away before they even had a chance to finish their fancy meal.
Kate crossed through the large living room and into a wide open reception area. The front doors stood only fifteen feet from her. Freedom was at her fingertips. She rushed to the grand double doors and swung one open. A part of her still expected it to be locked, but it wasn’t. The wide cement porch supported ten large columns, and she gasped as she looked out over the circular drive and the tree lined approach that seemed to go on for miles. Several moments passed before she could get her feet to move down the steps and onto the drive. She didn’t run, but walked at a rapid pace instead. She had a long way to go.
After about ten minutes, she heard the distant sound of horses’ hooves on the ground. Not looking back, she kept on a forward path, her heart thumping hard from her expended effort and the fear rising in her gut. An older lady atop a tall horse crossed fifteen feet or so in front of her, a second horse trailing behind, and stopped. When a rider on a horse went up against someone not on a horse, she was sure the rider always won.
“Hi.”
Kate did not stop or acknowledge the lady, she kept moving forward past the horse. Perhaps the horses and the lady would disappear if she pretended not to see them.
“I thought you might like a lift. It’s six kilometers to the gate, so I brought along a horsey friend you can use.”
“Six kilometers?” Kate stopped and huffed, letting her arms go stiff so they wouldn’t shake. She would not show fear. She refused to look at the lady. “Where are we?”
“Why, Italy, my dear.”
Kate started to walk again and the lady walked her horse beside Kate.
“I’m not your dear. I don’t know who you are, but you can’t just take people off the streets and hold them prisoner. I want to go home.” Beads of sweat formed on her hairline, and she brushed them away with a swipe of her arm.
“Even the crazy Italian police would be hard pressed to consider a grandmothe
r a kidnapper. Especially when the person she allegedly kidnapped was in so much danger.”
Kate stopped in her tracks and looked at the lady on the horse. She had long, wavy brown hair, and a vibrant aura surrounding her, so unlike an old grandmother.
“That’s right, take a good look.”
Kate glanced quickly away and clenched her jaw, fear rising in her gut. “What are you talking about?” Kate couldn’t deny that the lady’s voice did sound familiar despite the obvious Italian accent. Was she Vinny’s mom? The woman didn’t look anything like Vinny and Kate had already met Carmela’s parents.
“I’m sure you caught the resemblance. I’m your grandmother Donati, Kate.”
Pictures shuffled through her mind. Pictures of a cute couple on a horse. Pictures of mangled and dead bodies. Kate couldn’t help it, she screamed, turned, and ran as fast as she could toward the gate. She heard horses feet hit the pavement behind her. Kate ran faster, but she wasn’t fast enough. The woman rode the horse in front of Kate, jumped down, and grabbed Kate. Kate screamed again and jerked away from the woman. “Murderer!” she yelled. “Murderer!”
“I have no idea what you are talking about. You have nothing to fear from me.”
“Alessa Donati? You are Alessa Donati? You admit it?”
“Of course I admit it.”
“I saw the pictures. You disgust me. I am not your kin.”
“I don’t know what pictures you are talking about, Kate. Why don’t you fill me in?”
“The picture my mom, your daughter, has of you and Piero. The pictures of the all those dead people.”
Alessa sighed and looked at the ground. “Yes, Piero was my husband, but whatever your mom told you about us and those dead people, it simply isn’t true. I wondered what the trigger was for your mom to run away. I knew she wanted out, but I never understood her fervor. Her timing.”
“You’re saying you had nothing do with those murders? Those pictures?”
“This I can tell you without even seeing the pictures. Your grandfather and I never, never, killed anyone. If I’d have known that’s what your mother thought all this time, I would have set her straight.”
Kate Concealed Page 18
