Innocent (Omertà Book 1)

by Anna Widzisz

  Severo laughed bitterly at the stupidity of his associate. How could he even go into business with someone like that?

  ”Diego said that Anderson is in Seattle now. Get some information from him, would you?” The Boss asked, giving the phone back to his Consigliere.

  ”I will.” Jason agreed. ”Is there something else? I still need to get some things done with the senator’s campaign.”

  ”Sì, exactly, how was the meeting yesterday?”

  ”Boring as always. You know I hate this politics shit. She is rather an incompetent woman for the position but at least she’s too scared to say ’no’ to us. So, if there was a time when one of our people would get caught, they won’t get long sentences. As long as she wins the elections.”

  ”That’s marvelous. I don’t want to worry about my men ratting me out to the police. Just finish this first part and then I will take the matter off of your hands and give it to someone who is more associated with the whole campaign planning. Finance is still your main field of work.” Severo promised, smiling slightly to his Consigliere. ”Before you go there’s one more thing I need of you.” He added.

  Jason chimed in. ”Whatever you need, boss.”

  ”I want you to take over driving Lynette from Ricci.” He said.

  Carnovale frowned. Even though he was close with his Capo’s daughter, Severo had never liked it much and wouldn’t give him such task out of the goodness of his heart. The less time they spent together, the better.

  ”Why?”

  ”I have suspicions that Mailo Venas’ associates are not all as dead as we believed. There are many people who did business with him but swore loyalty to me, however, I can never be too careful with this. I dealt with his family, so it’s only wise to protect my own as best as I can. And you’re the safe choice.” Said Severo. ”Besides, making one of Lynette’s requests coming true can only help me to get on her good side again. And she’s been asking me for this way too long.”

  ”Alright. I don’t mind.” Jason indicated quickly.

  The Capo sized his Consigliere up. ”Don’t disappoint me, Jason. One step out of line and you will regret it.” He warned him.

  He loved his daughter enough to trust her, and treated Jason as his son, putting his daughter’s safety in his hands. It was an honorable and respected thing to do.

  CHAPTER 8

  This day was getting weirder by the second. Ever since the visit of the policemen students hadn’t talked about anything else. The situation affected even the teachers, most of whom actually really liked David, so the thought of him disappearing got to them as much as it got to others. Classes were less strict and no one had any problem when someone wanted to go out of the classroom during the period. As if they assumed that, just maybe, there was one student who actually wanted to go to the principal’s office and help the police figure out what had happened to their friend. But most of them were too scared to do anything about it. They all presumed that Lynette had something to do with it. At this point, everyone knew what had transpired during Spanish class. However, they didn’t care enough to go against Selvaggio for David. As much as the teachers liked him, the students didn’t feel the same.

  When it came to Drew, he didn’t believe a thing anyone said about the auburn-haired girl. There was such a thing as a coincidence, and since no one could prove Lynette’s involvement she remained innocent.

  “Could you stop talking for just a moment, Francisco? I already said that you might be right. Can’t that be enough?”

  Inéz was on the verge of a freak-out. There was no doubt about it. Since the whole police announcement, she couldn’t deny that there was a possibility that she’d been wrong about the sixteen-year-old, but it didn’t mean that she wasn’t annoyed with her brother for trying to force an apology out of her. She wouldn’t go that far. Not even when all the signs were pointing towards Lynette’s guilt. It still wasn’t a known, proven fact.

  “Whatever.”

  “Have you heard that Lynette was called to the principal’s office?” asked Isaac, coming up to his friends with a shocked expression.

  All three of them looked at each other, realizing that Henderson hadn’t been in the cafeteria during lunch hour so he didn’t know about David. They tried to fill him in on the news, their minds elsewhere, not knowing who would actually go and talk to the police.

  “Someone has a death wish, it appears,” said Francisco, becoming increasingly scared.

  The most obvious answer would be that the twins went to tell on Lynette, even though they did no such thing. As much as they were scared out of their minds, they wouldn’t dare to tell the policemen about anything that could get them in trouble with Selvaggio.

  “I hope you are joking because I just spent most of the day trying to pin down the phone that has been sending Lynette some kind of messages. She asked me for help this morning.”

  “Another idiot,” mumbled Francisco, rolling his eyes at his friend.

  “Well, it’s not like I was going to turn down Lynette freaking Selvaggio and the two hundred dollars which I would have if I had been successful with the task.”

  “Why did she come to you? It’s not like the mafia doesn’t have the resources to do the exact same thing, right? They can probably do more than you can. What’s in those messages?” asked Inéz, grabbing Lynette’s phone out of the boy’s hand.

  “I’m not sure. She asked me not to look at them and I would prefer to stay alive. So, if you don’t mind, I will just return the phone to her without reading them. Thank you very much.”

  “Aren’t you a little bit curious what was in there that made her come to you?”

  “Alright guys, stop it right now. This phone belongs to Lynette and we shouldn’t be looking through it. Not because she might or might not be the daughter of a mafia boss, but because it’s her private possession. We have no right to do that. You’d better just give it back to her,” said Drew, getting annoyed with the speculations.

  “Right now, it’s not my desire to go up to her without any of the answers that she asked me for.”

  “Are you telling me that you are scared of a sixteen-year-old girl?” asked Ryder ironically, failing to hold back the laughter.

  It was ridiculous for guys to be so afraid of one teenage girl who was said to be bad. It hadn’t even been proven in any way. If it had been, they would probably pack their things and fly out of the country at the smallest chance of encountering her. Which was even funnier for Drew to imagine.

  He held out his hand to Inéz, who was still gripping the phone.

  “I will give it to her,” he announced, drawing his friends’ eyes to him as if he’d just said the most ludicrous thing. “It’s not like I haven’t talked to her before, and I’m not even a little bit concerned about being around her. If you had any common sense, you would form your own opinion about her based on actually having a conversation.”

  “Just because she was nice to you a year ago, that one time, doesn’t mean she will be nice right now. And even if she’s not that bad when it comes to character, the bloodline is something she can’t change,” said Francisco.

  “Who said that was the only time I've actually talked to Lynette?"

  “Have you?” asked Inéz. “Talked to her after that, I mean.”

  “Of course I have. A few times. Try to get out of your comfort zone for once and you might even be surprised by the outcome.” Drew answered, ready to go by the principal’s office to wait for the girl but stopped at once. “And one more thing, do you know the saying: innocent until proven otherwise? Get acquainted with it.”

  That very moment the group heard the door being opened, footsteps and voices coming out of the corridor just around the corner. They hadn’t even realized that the bell announcing classes had rung a few minutes before.

  It wasn’t long till they figured out who the voice belonged to.

  As soon as they were getting louder, Francisco dragged his friends to hide right next to the locker
s on both sides of the corridor, hoping the brunette wouldn't actually turn left towards them.

  The girl stopped just as she was supposed to choose which way to go and turned around looking kind of angry. She crossed her arms as a tall dark-haired man appeared in front of her. He was doing something on his phone, not paying attention to the girl.

  All of them realized soon enough that it was her new driver, which they’d had the opportunity to see outside the school, in the parking lot.

  “Jason, for fuck’s sake, can you look at me? Say something!” she yelled, ready to actually grab the phone from his hands and viciously throw it to the floor. That’s how mad it made her.

  The man looked down at her with a calm expression. Almost too calm for Drew’s taste. It was like he had not just come to school to find out that Lynette had been accused of kidnapping her schoolmate. Or worse.

  And who the hell was he that they let him take her? Because sure as hell he wasn’t her father or even brother. They looked nothing alike. While she was short, he was really tall, something around six feet three if Drew was to guess. She had reddish colored hair while his was black. She looked petite, almost breakable, with her jeans and a jumper while his body was covered in tattoos, scars, and a crisp leather jacket hung from his shoulder. Almost like two different worlds colliding.

  “Easy there, tiger. The kid has probably just run away from home or is partying somewhere. Besides, taking into account the way those cops were fishing for an answer, they have no evidence to connect you to the disappearance, whatsoever. You did nothing wrong.”

  “I’ve never even talked to him,” she added relaxing a little.

  Jason nodded. “Exactly. What bothers me more is the gossip about you. Why on earth haven’t you told me any of this? Sco, if your father came here instead of me, you would be out of this school in no time and you know it.”

  “It’s not a big deal. They can talk all they want. Doesn’t really matter because they’ve never heard my side of the story. And they never will. Two more years and I’ll be out of here.”

  “But you are to tell me everything. Even if you don’t trust your father, you need to trust me. You might be a teenager and they are supposed to have secrets and all that, but I don’t appreciate you keeping things from me. I already told you this when you skipped classes.”

  “So you would tell padre if something was out of place?”

  “We just want to protect you. And you don’t make it easy. I would tell your father if I was sure that it could help.”

  Lynette shrugged. “At least you aren’t lying about telling him.”

  “As if you wouldn’t be able to tell when I lie to you,” he said, rolling his eyes.

  “Finally something we can agree on.” Lynette smiled slightly but the man didn’t return the gesture. He looked at his watch instead.

  “Alright, Sco. I have a few things to take care of and you have two more classes, so go now. I will be here when you’re done,” he said, gripping the back of her head and kissing her forehead.

  They went their separate ways, leaving Drew with Isaac and the twins alone. There went the belief that the girl had something to do with David’s disappearance. From the conversation they’d overheard that was the only thing to be sure of. However, a lot of questions remained and even more had appeared.

  After the final bell rang, Drew came out of the classroom as fast as he was able to. He was still supposed to give Lynette back her phone and this was his last opportunity to catch her before she went home. Thankfully, the teacher held back her students, so he reached his destination before any of them came out.

  A minute later, Lynette’s small figure caught his gaze. He came up to her before she got the chance to disappear again. The same way she’d left him in the park. To say that the brunette wasn’t expecting him to be waiting for her, would be an understatement. Her eyes focused on him questioningly.

  “Hi, what are you doing here?” she asked because Drew was evidently more focused on looking at her than talking to her. As if he’d suddenly become shy, which surely couldn’t be the case.

  Of course, students couldn’t pass the two of them without a handful of gossip already starting as to why the hell Ryder was having a conversation with the girl. It was an unusual event, after all.

  “Isaac asked me to give you back the phone. He apologizes but couldn’t find anything. Just that the person texting you was in Seattle. When he tried to track them down, there were a lot of phone signals appearing all around the city even though that’s impossible. Apparently, they know what they are doing or something,” he answered handing her the phone.

  “And he sent you to tell me this, even though I wanted it to stay between us?”

  “Yeah, he is busy and you can trust me. I’m not going to tell anyone, I promise."

  There was a minute of silence between them. Lynette wasn’t sure if she should laugh or be angry. It’s not like Isaac wasn’t the one who’d said those things about being discreet. Besides, what if she had some more questions? Unless Drew knew more about phones, computers, and stalking, a fact which the girl seriously doubted after his extremely comprehensive explanation, he most certainly wouldn’t be able to answer her.

  “Okay, cut the crap. I might not know anything about the things Isaac can actually do with a computer but I am not stupid. Next time, just say that he was scared to tell me that he couldn’t help. It’s not like I would be mad or something.”

  She reached into her bag and pulled out her wallet, giving Drew two hundred dollars. Even though Isaac hadn’t been able to accomplish much she appreciated that he’d tried.

  “Just give it to him and thank him on my behalf.”

  She was about to get away from Drew because Jason was probably already waiting for her but he stopped her.

  “Would you be interested in hanging out with me?” he asked.

  Lynette frowned. “As in a date?"

  That was something she would have never guessed in a million years. Who knew there was a boy in this hell of a school not afraid of talking to her, let alone asking her out?

  “Only if you want it to be.” He shrugged.

  Lynette sighed deeply. “Drew, I’m not sure it’s a good idea.”

  “Think about it. I put my number in your phone in case you change your mind,” he said, coming closer to her.

  Too close.

  That’s why she took a step back.

  Thankfully, Drew realized that he shouldn’t have done that. He was still kind of a stranger to her, and if there was a thing he was sure of, it was that Lynette had serious trust issues and it would take some time for her to actually trust him.

  “Bye, Lynette.” He smiled and left her standing in the corridor, mixed feelings simmering beneath the surface.

  § § §

  As soon as Drew came to the twins’ house that evening he was assaulted with questions about his encounter with Lynette. They wanted to know every single detail, even though there wasn’t that much to tell. And after tough basketball practice, he was completely out of it. But it wasn’t like any of his friends cared, which irritated him.

  “Was she mad?” asked Isaac with worry in his eyes. That was the first question and it was one that Drew knew he definitely needed to answer.

  He shook his head instantly.

  “Not at all, but she figured out that you were just scared to talk to her yourself. She said to thank you.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out the bills that Lynette had given to him. “Here you go.”

  “She actually paid me? I didn’t help her.”

  “But you tried and she appreciates it.”

  Isaac smiled hearing those words. As soon as he’d come back home he’d started to regret not taking care of the matter himself. Like a coward, he had allowed his friend to deliver the bad news to the girl. But there was nothing he could do since it had already happened. Maybe only not to act in the same way again.

  “I asked her out,” Drew said, unsure if he sh
ould have started the topic.

  “Are you out of your mind?!”

  There goes Francisco, trying to ruin it all.

  “I’m perfectly fine. Sane as ever. Thank you for asking.”

  “So what did she say?” asked Inéz curiously.

  They already knew that Lynette had nothing to do with David, so there was no use worrying about Selvaggio. If she was actually suspecting Inéz or her brother of going to the police, they would have known by now.

  “That it’s not a good idea. But she didn’t say no. That has to count for something, right?”

  “Why would you even want to go on a date with her? I mean, I get it, she’s pretty, but so are other girls in this God-forsaken school. Kendal has been flirting with you since the very beginning. And not just her. So why Selvaggio? What is it about her?”

  “Oh please, Francisco. I’m a girl and I can actually see the appeal when it comes to Lynette,” said Inéz.

  “She’s different,” added Drew, thinking about all those times when he’d been able to talk to her.

  “That’s what every boy says. Been there, done that, got the T-shirt. Move on before you get trapped in her life. Did you even stop to think about what you would do if the gossips were true? For God’s sake, your father is a cop! That’s a perfect recipe for a disaster.”

  Well, an FBI agent, actually.

  But Drew would never say it like that. He couldn’t just blab about his dad’s job to people. Even if they were his friends. Maybe one day.

  “You’re all talk but that’s it. Those fears that you have are based on stupid gossip that’s not true. You ask me what would happen if it was all real, but can you imagine your face when you find out it’s all fake? Because I can. Yours and everyone else’s in school. You pushed a girl away just because of rumors. She doesn’t have friends because of rumors. And you sit here and tell me about a recipe for a disaster? The disaster is all of you missing out on an amazing, passionate girl. She’s really smart and funny. Not just pretty. Actually beautiful. To be honest, I am anxiously waiting for the day when she’s had enough and puts all the gossips to rest by telling the truth.”