The entire car paused like it didn’t quite believe me, and then, she roared to life with a simple, “Adriano Sansone, have a nice journey.”
My mouth dropped open. I’d done it,on my own,in a pink car, nonetheless.
I felt high and jittery as I slapped my hands onto the wheel and released the brake, just a little, letting it roll toward the garage door which shot open immediately, obviously recognizing Adriano’s car, not the driver, and I swallowed heavily as the dark skies engulfed my visibility.
Releasing the pedal forced the car to jolt forward, almost crashing us straight into the gate at the end of the road. The two guards stationed there gestured for me to roll down the window as I pulled up, and I prepared to be sent back into the house in a body bag, but they simply said, “Evening, Mrs. Lucca. Mr. Lucca didn’t mention anyone would be leaving tonight. Is everything okay?”
Mrs. Lucca.
It still gave me the heebie-jeebies.
I swished my hair that was almost dry and plastered a smile onto my lips. “Just fine.”
“Why’re you leaving?” he asked a little uncomfortably. “It’s rather late… Can we get something for you?”
These guys were too good at their jobs to believe my lies.
“No, no, I’ll go myself. Don’t trouble yourselves.” I grinned as if that would make me less suspicious.
The soldier laughed awkwardly. “That’s our job, Mrs. Lucca.”
The rumbling car began to sound far too loud, like it could wake an entire neighborhood, let alone alert the two Made Men inside my own house, and the digital clock suddenly had an impossible ticking to it, counting down each minute that I wasn’t using to get to my sister.
I didn’t want to be horrible to these guys, and I’d send them a gift basket or something tomorrow, but I needed to get Fiore, and enough time had been wasted.
“What would your Capo say if I told him that his wife couldn’t leave her house?”
The second guard poked his head closer to the window, his face remaining firmer than the first, whose face had blanched. “We’re just protecting you, Ma’am.That’swhat our Capo would want. Shall I call him and ask him to approve you leaving?”
My stomach knotted, though they probably deserved a promotion. It wasn’t like I could say,No, absolutely do not call my highly strung husband in case he beats me to death for sneaking out… Oh, by the way, do you happen to know if he did that to his own mother and sister?
Instead, I kept my fake smile plastered onto my lips, holding back the annoyed groan that wanted to slip free. “He’s sleeping. He doesn’t feel well. Do you want to wake him?”
“No…” he said slowly, frowning. “I just spoke to him earlier and?—”
“People can get sick in twenty minutes!” I hadn’t meant to raise my voice, but it silenced the guard and his disapproval. I let out a long sigh, clutching the wheel like it could save me. “Be my guest if you want to wake him from sleeping off his bad,badbout of food poisoning, or we could all save ourselves his temper, and you could just let me leave.”
They shared a look that was more a frown than anything else before the first nodded to the second, and he walked across the driveway to the control unit.
“I hope he feels better soon,” the second said as he cleared the path of the opening gate just in time for me to release the brake, slam the accelerator, and tear through the streets of New York.
The Gioffres’penthouse was nothing like what Francesco’s was. This building felt old and retired with cracking paint and slightly musty windows, but with the music blasting from the top floor and the neon lights pulsing, I couldn’t blame the walls for wanting to give up.
Sighing deeply, I locked the car and pushed open the front door, and was immediately greeted with the scent of booze, sex, and the unfortunate sight too. It was like an orgy in the stairwell; at least six couples were screwing, right in front of meandeach other, all either wasted, high, or both.
I had no doubt that Fiore had attended a thousand parties like this; she was reckless and enjoyed the thrill of knowing that what she was doing was wrong. I’d rescued her too many times from parties in dilapidated houses, construction sites, andhouses of men who were too old to be in her company, but I’d still end her life tonight if I saw her like that.
The staircase was endless as I climbed it, but I was glad I chose the extra effort over deciding to see if there was a porno being filmed in the elevator.
I could barely see through the thick, muggy darkness that shrouded the inner hallways. It was pitch-black, the only light coming from the moon outside the tall windows and the strobe lighting that I was certain would cause me a seizure if I stayed too long.
It was little relief when I found the main floor of the party.
Drunken, near-naked bodies, red plastic cups, empty condom packets, and bottles of booze were littered everywhere from the kitchen counters to the pool. The house seemed clutteredwithoutthe thousands of teenagers here, and it all felt too close, too busy, too overwhelming.
My breath panted as I shoved through the crowd of dancers, though dancing was a strong word to describe what was occurring there, and it only halted when I caught sight of my sister, mylittlesister, sandwiched between two identical boys beside the penthouse’s internal staircase.
My mouth gaped open when the first shoved his tongue down her throat, and the other, taller,piercedone, held her steady against his chest.
