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Nova
Ilisten to Gia talk on her phone to her girlfriend, telling her how wonderful Aldo is, as I drive her home for the night. She doesn’t mention how he eye-fucked all the waitresses or how he spoke to the staff like they were pieces of shit. To Gia, Aldo is the prize catch, and nothing I say will change that.
Spending the night watching him makes me glad I haven’t been forced into a marriage yet. Gia can mock me all she wants for it, but my bodyguard status gives me an element of freedom that the other women in the Mafia don’t have.
I pull up outside her house and follow her as she continues talking. When we pass the sitting room, I see the don sitting in one of the armchairs, his head in his hands. For a fleeting moment, I feel a crushing weight of responsibility coming from him. More than that, though, are the echoes of loneliness that accompany it. I keep moving before he notices me, but the image stays with me the whole way upstairs.
When Gia closes the door in my face, I roll my eyes before turning and heading down to the staff quarters. There are always empty rooms available for times like this. On my way, I send a text to the perimeter guards and those watching the gate saying that Gia is home for the evening and that if she attempts to leave to call me.
It’s almost midnight, and I’ve been on my feet since four a.m. I take the last room at the end of the hallway, which usually remains empty because it has no window. Sitting on the bed, I sigh as my stomach growls. Covering tonight after doing a full shift means I haven’t had a chance to eat, but I don’t have the energy to go find something now.
I slip off my boots and leave them next to the bed, ready in case I need them. After hanging up my jacket, I slide my shirt off and place it on the back of the desk chair before slipping my pants off. I didn’t think to bring anything to sleep in because I usually head home, so my sports bra and boy shorts will have to do. Setting the alarm on my cell, I fall asleep the moment my head hits the pillow.
It feels like I’ve been out for minutes when my cell phone rings. I squint at the screen and see that the call is coming from the gatehouse. “Hello?”
“Miss Fiore would like to leave.”
“Of course she would.” I sigh, climbing out of bed and dressing once more. “Did she give you a reason why it’s so important to leave now at…” I check my watch and see it’s just past one a.m. “…one a.m.?”
“She said it’s of a personal nature.”
“Let me guess: she said she needed tampons.” Why men getweird about periods is beyond me. They’re a natural thing. If women didn’t have periods, they never would have been born.
“That is correct, yes,” he answers politely.
“Alright, I’ll be there in a second. Don’t let her leave.”
I hang up, slip my boots and jacket on, and head out. I jump in the car and head for the gatehouse, pulling up behind Gia’s Mercedes. I climb out and knock on her window.
She snarls at me when she opens it. “What are you doing here?”
“Keeping you safe. Why are you trying to leave the property without guards?”
“I don’t answer to you, Nova. You answer to me.”
“I answer to your father,” I remind her, crossing my arms over my chest.
“I don’t need fucking guards to grab a box of tampons. I’m more than capable.”
“You’re the don’s only living child. You are his one weakness, and you know that,” I tell her quietly, not wanting the guards to overhear us.
Once upon a time, Gia and I used to be friends. If the stories are true, we used to play together all the time before we grew up, and our roles pushed us into positions that would drive a wedge between us.
For a second, she looks ashamed before she frowns at me and sighs. “Fine, come with me.”
“That won’t be necessary. I’ll send someone out to get them for you. Which brand and strength would you like?”
“Fuck you,” she snaps before reversing and smashing into the front of my car.
Resisting the urge to wrap my hands around her neck, I walk to her car door and yank it open before pulling her out.
“Oops.” She grins. “Guess you won’t be chasing me now.”
“Don’t worry, it’s not my car, remember? It’s just the one your father has me drive you around in. Once I explain what happened, I’m sure he’ll understand.”
Her face pales. She knows, just as well as I do, that her father doesn’t tolerate this type of shit. If he finds out she not only reversed into the car on purpose but tried to sneak out at night without guards, he’ll lock her down.
“Fine. Whatever.”
