Furrowing my brows, I tell him what I think. “I didn’t see any cameras.”
“And that is exactly why I work for the Mackenzies. You might not see them, but they’re around.” He has a point. Only the best of the best work for families within the mafia realm.
“Where is my sister?” I ask, not sure which direction I should go. The right leads to some sort of dining room, and going straight back where Luca came in must lead to a stairwell but I can see a door leading outside and part of a kitchen. To the left, I see another archway with a large wooden door that is closed. This house is confusing me.
“She’s upstairs in our flat.”
“Don’t you mean room?” I question, not understanding how this works.
“No, flat. We have two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a living area, but we share the kitchen, dining room, and game room with the other security guys. In total, there are four men in this house.” They only have four men on their security team? “I’m afraid I can’t tell you where the rest are. It’s top-secret,” Luca teases, adding a wink at the end. He waves his hand, urging me to go upstairs with him.
“Luca will take you upstairs and then I’ll be back later today to bring you back to the house. Alright?” Liam says, and I give him a nod.
“Okay, see you later,” I say, following Luca through the archway. Just as I thought, the stairwell is on the other side of the wall. We both go up the stairs and walk down a hallway. A heavy door like the one I saw downstairs is at the end of it. Luca punches a few numbers into a keypad and the door opens.
“Alessandra is inside. She knows the code to get back into the flat. Please don’t leave this house. Liam and I haven’t briefed everyone on the team yet that we have two new faces on the property. Going into the shared areas are fine, but otherwise, wait for Liam before you leave.”
“You got it,” I mutter, walking inside Luca and Alessandra’s flat. He shuts the door firmly and I hear a deadbolt locking behind me.
I venture further into the flat and see the same white walls I saw only a few minutes before. There’s a small fireplace with wood next to the hot stove. A piece of barn wood acts as a mantle, where there sits photos of him, a cat, and him with a woman. I see something else which causes me to become concerned— a sonogram picture.
A small modern coffee table with metal legs sits in the center of the geometric light green carpet which matches the two couches that sit on either side of it. A lavender candle burns in the center of the table. Everyone here seems to love lavender scents.
I stare at the picture of the red-headed woman in the photo with Luca. They’re both smiling like they’re the happiest people on the planet. As footsteps approach behind me, I spot the sparkler on this woman’s finger. Nothing makes sense anymore. Was Luca engaged?
“I asked him about the photographs last night,” Alessandra tells me. I turn around to face her, seeing her eyes are swollen. From the looks of it, she’s been crying all night. Out of every woman in my family, she’s the most delicate, like a flower.
From the corner of my eye, I spot movement and see the biggest cat I’ve ever seen in my entire life. “Is that a panther?” I screech out, backing up. This thing has to be three feet long. It sits on the bay window, overlooking the back of the property. But at my screech, it hops down and comes toward me. This is no doubt the type of cat that could kill its owner.
Alessandra looks back and giggles. While it's refreshing to see her laugh, I’m not amused right now.
“No, this is Sylvester. He’s Luca’s Maine Coon.” Sylvester comes toward me, stalking with the grace of a lion. He has bronze eyes with a dash of green and is covered in gray, black, and brown fur. His mouth down to his chest is covered in white fur, and he has a few speckles of white along his toes. He brushes his body against my leg and I scratch under his jaw. As his eyes meet my own, I see he isn’t so terrifying after all. He’s just one hell of an oversized house cat.
Since I’m not as scared as I was before, Alessandra and I need to dive into more important things. Lord knows she’s going to put up a fight, but we have to talk.
18
I was quiet, but I was not blind.
~ Unknown
Caprice
Sucking in a deep breath, I prepare to ask my sister the question that woke me up last night. One I hope she doesn’t have the answer to . . . because if she doesn’t, it means she wasn’t the one who put us in danger. Is it wrong I’m praying Alessandra doesn’t know? Some would want to know the truth, but I’d rather be able to keep the trust I have in her, not to break it.
“Luca was engaged a year ago to a woman he’d known since they were children. She was six months pregnant when someone crashed into her vehicle on the interstate. The person who hit her left the scene, and the accident was during the middle of the night. No one found her until it was too late.”
“Oh my God.” I bring my hand up to cover my mouth, imagining how difficult that must’ve been. Luca lost his woman and his child at the same time.
“Yeah, so it’s been horrific to be in the house he was supposed to be sharing with someone else. The second bedroom still has all the nursery stuff in it, Caprice. The closet is still filled with her clothes. I feel so uncomfortable here.”
“You need to get comfortable because you’re not going anywhere, Al. This is the one place where you’re safe— with your husband. People grieve on different spectrums. The only person who could ever imagine the type of loss Luca has experienced is someone who’s gone through the same,” I tell her. I don’t know what Alessandra is trying to achieve by admitting she’s uncomfortable, but it won’t help her. She just needs to grow up and be an adult. I know she’s not used to it yet, but the girl needs to learn quickly.
“We could’ve found another way. Why did we both have to get married? I just became an adult and I’m already locked down when I was supposed to have freedom,” she cries from the other side of the room.
Freedom. Freedom? This girl wants to preach to me about freedom. I don’t fucking think so. I march over to where she is and wrap my hand around her throat, forcing her to back up until her back is pressed against the wall. “I hate to break this to you, Alessandra, but life isn’t fair. If you didn’t marry Luca, you would’ve married Sergei, who would kill you within a year, and that would’ve happened after he ripped your ovaries out like he did to his last wife. He punished her for not giving him a child when it was convenient for him. Is that the type of man you wanted to marry? A monster who would love nothing more than to see you cry, scream, become bloodied and bruised? I saved you from an impossibly worse fate and you’re here complaining about not having freedom? Isn’t it better than being dead?” I scream, tearing my hand from around her neck. Taking a few steps away from her, I try to gather myself, to bring myself back into this moment instead of being absorbed by my anger.
There’s no doubt in my mind Alessandra had a vision of what her life would look like when she turned eighteen. I’m sure she wanted to go to college, obtain a degree, and work for the family. In fact, I heard our father promise her all these things. But he was only tricking her. Not one woman in our family has ever gone to college because the women are only here for one thing— to use as pawns. Whether it’s marrying someone who benefits our family, becoming a breeder, or being used in situations like my father put me in. Alessandra is a dreamer, but there’s a huge difference between that and what her reality would’ve been.
Screw me for thinking this way, but I’m pretty certain her future will be magnitudes better than if Father had his way.
“I hate you! I hate you so much! You will never understand me, Caprice. It’s why I called Francesca to come get me, but all this happened and now I’m sure she won’t come at all.”
Almost as if I can physically feel the steam coming from my ears, rage takes ahold of me. “What did you say?” I ask her, speaking in a monotone voice. This is the only behavior I inherited from my father. Whenever he’s pissed, he’ll speak to who
mever he’s talking to in the exact same way.
“To dumb it down for you, I called my favorite sister to help me get out of this clusterfuck,” she states, crossing her arms in front of her chest.
“When?” I seethe, glaring at her as I clench my jaw.
“A couple of days ago.” She shrugs.
“Are you fucking stupid?” I roar, charging her. I swing back my fist, ready to hit her but instead slam it into the wall. A cracking sound greets me and I’m not sure if it’s a bone in my hand or the wall, but as I take my hand away I see there’s a small dent in the sheetrock.
“No, I’m not stupid. I’m smart, doing what I could to get out of this situation before it turned to . . . this.”
“No, you are stupid, Al. Francesca is a jealous bitch, the evilest of us all. She’s the one who told Sergei where we were! If you had just kept your fucking mouth shut, none of this would’ve had to happen. What the fuck is wrong with you?” I can’t help myself. I pull back my other fist and do the same thing, crashing it into the wall instead of my sister’s face.
Francesca is our only other sister and the one I shared a womb with. Francesca, Matteo, and I are triplets. While Matteo and I get along, Francesca and I are polar opposites. She’s the closest in personality to our father outside of our brother Giovanni. They’re practically Satan himself. She was the only one I told when Father started pawning me off. I will never forget the day I told her, how she laughed in my face and told me her plan worked. She told me Father was going to do it to her, but she had to prove her value to him and stated I would be more beneficial to ruin, that she was the most beautiful of all the DiGiovanni women and when her marriage proposal comes through, it would be tarnished by being touched by another man. She’s just like our father, a fucking con artist.
“She wouldn’t have done that! Francesca said she was going to come get me,” Alessandra whines, and I don’t know what's sadder, the fact she believed Francesca or her betraying my trust.
“You are a naïve little girl. I’m glad you married Luca because Sergei would’ve chewed you up and spit you out. You might not realize it now, Al, but you’re lucky,” I seethe yet again, trying not to speak with such venom.
Alessandra whips her hand back and slaps me across the face. I burn from the impact and completely miss the fact we’re not alone. That is until two pairs of hands rip us away from the other.
19
I can’t wait to love the fuck out of somebody and not look stupid.
~ Unknown
Liam
“I still can’t believe I’m doing this for you,” Father O’Sullivan grumbles as he signs my marriage certificate to Caprice.
“I can because you’re a dear family friend and you know the stakes of what will happen if you don’t sign,” I state, playing the obligation card. While he bitches about the favors he does for us, he doesn’t complain too much. I want to believe that in his heart he knows we’re not bad people. He’s never admitted to me he thinks we are, but I’ve shielded our dear friend from the horrific parts of the mafia. There are certain things even he doesn’t need to know about or see. Many families in the mob will invite their family priests over to business occasions. And in these situations, you’ll discover these men aren’t as holy as they declare.
I had gone to a party in Tokyo for the previous leader of the Yakuza. His shinshoku, which is essentially their priest in the Shinto religion, partook in raping a virgin girl alongside other crime lords. These are the types of things I’d rather Father O’Sullivan avoid. He doesn’t need to cross paths with anyone of that nature. Out of all the mafia families, mine is one of the most respected, solely because we’re not demented motherfuckers who enjoy the suffering of others.
“I expect you to honor not only God, and your family, but the woman you have tied yourself to. If I understand correctly, she is in a dire situation, one where you need to be cautious as well. Protect Caprice, Liam.”
I wrap my arms around the old man in a hug. “I will, with my life, Father O’Sullivan. Caprice is a Mackenzie now and if there’s one thing we don’t do, it’s turn our backs on each other.”
“Yes, that is true. Since you brought up not turning your back on the others in your family, I am a bit curious about your sisters. Have you spoken to them lately?”
I laugh because my answer has always been the same. “I haven’t spoken to them since I was a boy. You know this.”
“Hmm, yes, you do tell me this every time. I must admit . . . I’m not sure if I believe you or your father.”
“If we try to contact them, Volkolv could figure out where they are. He’s continuously made threats against Greer and Sloane. Father and I would rather not speak to them and know they have a long, happy life than be selfish and put the twins in danger.”
Father O’Sullivan hands me both marriage certificates in a manila envelope. “Liam, I highly doubt you will both go through your lives without your sisters’ presence. God sometimes speaks to me and told me you’d be reunited. I have a feeling that danger will accompany their arrival back into your lives.”
“Of course, it would. The big man upstairs wouldn’t make it easy for us in any way.” I chuckle, wishing we could have it easy for once. God, I miss my sisters and hope one day we can be reunited. The last I heard, Greer was close to graduating fashion school and Sloane was being accepted into residency programs. I tell whatever I can to our father whenever he has a bad day. Hearing about the girls is one of the only ways to cheer him up.
My phone begins to buzz out of nowhere, so I stick my hand in the pocket of my trousers and put it to my ear. What I’m told is enough to make me furious. I hang up and look to Father O’Sullivan.
“Is everything alright, Liam?”
“It will be, but I have something which requires my attention. Thank you for doing this for us, Father. I can’t tell you how much the family appreciates this.”
“Don’t thank me, Liam. Instead, pick a day for your wedding so I can officiate it.”
I laugh, nodding as I walk away from him and head back to the family estate. It seems Caprice and Alessandra have gotten themselves into some trouble.
I arrive back to the family grounds and enter the security team’s house through the front door, heading upstairs where Luca now lives with Alessandra. Luca is a few steps behind me. I filled him in on the way here. Needless to say, he’s not amused either.
“Oh look, your men have arrived to deal with your petty asses,” Shaun, another member of the family security detail, comments. He’s obviously pissed he’s had to babysit two women this afternoon.
I glance right over to Caprice, who’s seated on the couch, while Alessandra is across the room sitting in one of the armchairs that look out the window. Bishop is sitting across from her, handing her tissues. “Now would be the time to explain what the hell happened here,” I hiss, looking to my men. Alessandra bursts into tears at the sound of my voice and Caprice rolls her eyes.
I can’t help but wonder if this is what sisters are like— at each other’s throat.
“We heard hootin’ and hollerin’ from our own flats. Met on the damned stairwell and charged our asses in here. Saw the little one slap her.” Shaun points to Alessandra and then to Caprice.
I look at my now-wife, scanning over her body. Her face is a little red but I’m more concerned with her knuckles, which are split open and bloody. “What happened to your hands?” I ask her while Luca goes over to Alessandra.
“I might’ve punched the walls because my sister is fucking stupid. She’s the reason Sergei came after us. She called my evil womb sharer and she pointed Sergei in our direction.”
“What the hell is a womb sharer?” Bishop asks, chuckling from his position across from Alessandra.
“She’s one of the triplets,” Alessandra comments. Ah, yes. Caprice, Matteo, and Francesca are the DiGiovanni triplets.
“She’s also an evil fucking queen who wants nothing more than to save her own ass. You know she
traded information with our father. She only stays safe because she plays his fucking game. You called Francesca because she said all the right fucking things to you as a kid to get you to instill your faith in her, hoping for a day like this where she could rip your entire world apart. She will only ever look out for herself, Al. Trust me, she doesn’t care what happens to you.”
“And you do? I was perfectly fine in New York and you lugged me around the world, had me pretending to be someone I wasn’t, then married me off to this guy.” Alessandra looks over to Luca, crying her bloody eyes out. “I didn’t ask for any of this!”
“Well, I didn’t ask for it either, but I’d rather be married to a good looking, sweet man than being chained up in a basement. I’m so angry with you. Do you even know how pissed I am? I was protecting you, Al . . . and you . . . ugh!” Caprice stands up, grunting like a frustrated child. It’s obvious the tension is thick here and I can’t help but want to diffuse the situation and separate these two.
“You two can go now,” I tell Bishop and Shaun. “Thank you for checking on the ladies and staying with them until we got here. I appreciate it.”
“It’s no problem, Liam. Yours is a biter though, so count your fingers.” Shaun chuckles, walking past me. Bishop moves a little slower, rubbing Alessandra’s shoulder as she cries into another tissue. The way he touched her even caused me to look at him a bit differently. I hear the door shut behind us from where Shaun left and Bishop walks in my direction with Luca heavy on his heels.
Luca grabs ahold of Bishop’s shoulder and turns him around. “I won’t say this to you again, but that woman over there is my wife. You might’ve been fucking my fiancé before she died, but you won’t ruin this for me. Find your own woman.”
Leave Me Breathless: The Black Rose Collection Page 53
