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I swipe my hand along the low-hanging trees as I continue my less than desirable path toward my house. When I look behind myself again, I can see the leaves rustling and someone pushing back branches. I can't see exactly who it is, but I'm not going to wait around to find out. I push myself as fast as I can to get home.
After all we've done to make sure that I'm off everyone's radar, someone manages to find Vitto and me here on the Cayman Islands. It seems impossible but...
"Shit." I groan as my foot gets caught on a raised root, and I stumble toward the ground. Catching my balance, I push myself to go faster. In the distance, I can see my house. Safety is right there.
"Oh god, oh god!" I pray, doing my best to make sure I don't fall again. The footsteps grow louder behind me. "No!" I whimper, feeling my lungs revolting in my chest. It's been a while since I've had to run and my body reminds me that I'm out of practice.
I'm tired of having to run. Tired of this life, especially when I thought it was all behind us.
I don't see Vitto on the porch or out in the yard, and I do the only thing I can think of. I scream for him.
"Vitto! Vitto, come!" My voice is loud and piercing through the tropical sky. "Vit-" A dirty hand grabs hold of my mouth and pulls me back into a hard chest. His smell is revolting as if he's been without a bath in weeks. I fight with all the strength I have trying to get out of his hold but it's too strong. My heart gallops in my chest as something metal is pressed up against my neck. I close my eyes waiting for the end to come.
They've found me.
The metal is removed from my neck for a second, and then I feel a hard jerk against me before I'm pulled forward and away from the person holding me. I stumble down to the ground, landing on my side. A cloud of dirt keeps me from seeing what's going on right away, but it's only for a second.
When I wipe my eyes, I see Vitto, standing next to a man in typical tourist clothing—dark brown cargo pants and a green T-shirt. There's no way I'd be able to pick him out of the crowd. Not that I'm going to have to anyway.
A knife, the same one that was just pressed against my throat, is now sticking out the side of the man's head as he lays dead in Vitto's arms.
"Are you okay?" Vitto questions, but I'm too shocked to answer. I just stare up at him, waiting for my body to catch up with the rest of what's going on around me.
"Stella!" he barks, and I'm shocked out of my stupor. "Yeah, I'm okay. I'm okay." I reply. "Go in the house, get Chance." He orders, and I'm up on my feet again running toward the house.
I don't need to see what else Vitto has to do with the body. He's going to take care of it. I have no doubt.
I burst into the door and rush straight to the back room where I find Chance still sleeping in his small toddler bed. I heave out a sigh of relief to see him unharmed.
A few moments later, Vitto barges into the house, his shirt and hands covered in the man's blood.
"How long was he following you?" He asks, and I shake my head trying to come up with an answer. I wasn't paying attention.
"I don't know. I didn't..." I shake my head from side to side, feeling foolish that I hadn't been more observant.
"I thought you said it was over. That I didn't have a price on my head anymore." Tears well up in my eyes as I look to Vitto for some form of explanation. We were supposed to be able to live in paradise free from all the violence.
"You don't. I don't know what that was about, but I have a feeling I know at least one person who does." He leans back against the door jam and closes his eyes. He clenches his jaw and his fists before he looks back at me with remorse in his eyes.
I don't want to hear what he's about to say, but I already know what's coming.
"We need to go back home. I need to talk to my sister."
Just when I thought we got out, turns out the Bianucci family isn't so quick to just let us leave.
Thirty-Four
Vitto
I'm not the person I tried to be yesterday. I thought by getting out of the city I'd be far enough away from the bullshit that is my family to keep Stella and Chance safe. I even tried to domesticate the beast prowling inside of me. Of course, it didn't work.
I should be grateful. After three months of being on the island, I was beginning to get stir-crazy. Not with Stella or the baby; they were the highlight of my day. But with any downtime I had, all I could think about was my next kill. The feel of new blood on my hands.
Honestly, when I heard Stella screaming for me, I was more than ready to spring into action. She may not think I'm made for this life, but I know I am.
The flight back to New York had me on edge the entire time. I tried to call my sister or one of my brothers for information before I stepped back on the main land. But, of course, everything was hush-hush. If I wanted to know something, then I was going to have to meet with them face to face. Meaning I was going to have to see my tyrant of a father again.
I rented a small safe house near where our family house is, just to make sure I didn't have to bring Stella and Chance around him anymore. Besides, if he really wanted to get to her, there's no amount of distance that is going to keep him away. That's just how Babbo is; he's determined like that.
