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Rome was a gorgeous city at night and a place I had always wanted to spend more time. Wyatt and I had driven through it while chasing a story, but we were always on a deadline and never got to stop and explore.
The climb up the hill seemed to go on forever, but we finally reached the top and stopped before a pair of gates with armed guards out front. One of the men flashed a light in my eyes when the driver held up an ID and demanded they open the gates immediately. As they slowly pulled back on their tracks, I leaned forward to get a better look at what seemed like a castle. It sat in the middle of an open area that was all covered in concrete. A few trees were placed here and there, but someone seriously lacked a green thumb. As we moved around the driveway, I saw there were little buildings at the back. I wondered if that might be where the staff was required to live.
It certainly wasn’t the same kind of feel the Capri property had, except for the fact that it was also behind secure gates and had soldiers everywhere. It was much more intense. The Coppola property was in the heart of Rome, however, and not on the outskirts like the Capris property where they had lush, green grass, trees of all sorts, and gardens and wineries for miles. This place reminded me more of a prison, or maybe my view was just tainted since I knew what Stefano Coppola, the Don of the syndicate, was capable of.
“Sienna?” Ugo tapped my arm to get my attention when the driver hopped out. “Look, if anything happens, anything at all that makes you think your life is in danger, there are tunnels under the house that lead underneath the gates and out into the city. When you can, call me, and I’ll find you or arrange a pickup, if I can’t get away.”
“Where was this conversation last night? Or a week or two ago?”
“It’s been a long time.” He undid his safety belt. “Things have slipped over time.”
“How do you know they are still there and not sealed off?”
“I don’t, but the Coppolas are paranoid people. They’ll always have an escape route.”
“Care to tell me where one of these entrances is?”
“There’s a small room across from the second bathroom on the main floor. It’s a laundry room for the staff. Behind the ironing board, there’s a small door that leads down to the first tunnel. When we’re alone next, I’ll try to sneak you down. Don’t look for it on your own. Wait for me to show you the way. It’s confusing, and you can get lost pretty easily.”
I nodded to show I understood the risk.
“All right, let’s go.” He opened his door and slipped out, while I took an extra minute to calm my pounding chest. This was my idea, but it didn’t mean I wasn’t a half a second away from pulling back and running. The only thing keeping me here was the thought that if I was going to leave the Capris with anything, before I disappeared back into my old life, was that I am and have always been loyal to their family. This would be proof that I was always on their side, no matter what it took.
The driver moved ahead of us with our bags, and I tried not to stare at the scary-looking sculptures that lined the walkway up to the front door. It didn’t help that the lights that shone on them cast shadows in all the wrong places.
I stopped a few feet from the door and looked up at the four-story, very old mansion looming above me.
Deep breaths.
Once inside, I was greeted by a staff member who took my sweater and my bag then ushered me into a massive common room filled with people who all stopped and stared. Ugo joined my side, and I felt a bit better knowing he was right there. A soldier with a tattooed row of crosses along his neck stared at me. He gave me the creeps. I stood tall but leaned closer to my cousin.
The silence was deafening until I heard the click of a cane, and the crowd slowly parted to reveal Nonna Rosa Coppola, dressed in nearly all black with only a little pop of color in the blouse she wore under her masculine jacket.
“Alessia. Welcome home.”
Run.
“Everyone,” Nonna Rosa addressed the room, “I would like you to meet Theo’s daughter, my granddaughter, Alessia Coppola, and by birthright, our mafia princess.”
The hairs on my arms stood as she reached for my hand and held it up to show off my family ring. There was a collective gasp as the crowd sucked in a sharp breath, while mine whooshed out as I tried to look confident. Then three older men slowly approached me, all similar in height and build. They took turns as they admired the ring up close. Each nodded as though satisfied it was legit. The smiles and looks at my face were brief as they completed their task, then they all huddled, muttering together. Who in the world were they?
“Thank you, Nonna Rosa.” I finally found my voice as I tried to remember my manners and all that Ugo told me to do. I straightened my shoulders. “If it’s all right with you, I’d rather be addressed as Sienna.”
Nonna Rosa’s eyes bugged out as she gave a quick glance to the three men, but I didn’t care. I wasn’t Alessia. She was someone else, and I wouldn’t let them take the only name I’d known from me. Ugo did say to show a little confidence when I could, and this seemed like the best time.
“Well.” Nonna Rosa shot me a stiff smile, and her hand, which still held mine, squeezed painfully. As I looked at her, her small eyes bored into mine like I just murdered someone in front of them all. “We will address that later. Come, now, child.”
I shot her a look. I wasn’t a child, and when I actually had been, I was hardly allowed to be one.
“You have lots of people to meet before you go to bed tonight. We will discuss your new life in the morning.” She took my arm and cleared her throat at the three old men. They all stood tall and seemed to try to read me as they eyed me from head to toe.
“Alessia, these three gentlemen and I are the elders of the family, the oldest ranking members of our syndicate. I’m not sure how much knowledge you have about our family’s lifestyle, but if you remember even one thing from tonight, it’s this. Nothing happens in this family without all of us knowing about it. If there’s a problem, we all figure it out together. No one outranks the others.” I noticed her face went to stone at that last part.
“Lovely to meet you…” I waited for their names.
“You may call us,” the one on the left pointed to himself then the others in turn, “Pippo, Betto, and Lotto.” He ended with the man on the right who looked like he might be the youngest.
Seriously? How was I going to keep that straight?
