AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Just a few weeks, I think.” I didn’t want any attention until I’d processed it myself, and the longer I could keep it from the family, the better off I’d be. “Could you help me with something, Oscar?”
“Yes,” he stepped back, “anything.”
“Can you help me get my brother here? I’m not sure I can do this without him.”
“Of course.” He sat me on the bed. “Like I said, I’ll do anything you ask.”
A hand suddenly landed on my shoulder. Oscar brought my memory to an end, and I blinked the images away. “The car is ready.”
“Thank you,” I answered with such emotion that his face scrunched in confusion. I patted his shoulder and led the way out of the nasty dive of a bar.
I was tired and hungry, but all things considered, things went in our favor. I unlocked the front door and tossed my keys on the side table. I shrugged out of my jacket and rolled my sleeves up my forearms as I headed for the bar, needing anything to take the edge off.
“Hey, there.” Papa pulled off his glasses and closed one of Sienna’s journals, placing it on the table. “How did it go?”
“Good.” I tugged the crystal top off the rum decanter and poured a double for him and the same for myself. I handed him one, and we tapped glasses. I took a seat on the couch across from him. “They played right into it. We drove the car into the courtyard, and Roman played his part perfectly. Just as the transaction was done and the car was pulling out, one of Stefano’s Jeeps showed up.”
“Was he there?”
“No, it was Salvo.” Papa made a sound of disgust. Salvo was a snake, though he was better at hiding it than Stefano. We’d had a few run-ins over the years, and I knew enough not to trust anyone who was associated with him. Especially the women he kept close. “The Jeep followed our car, and they led them on a long, wild chase up north. They only lost them about an hour ago.”
“Do you think it worked?”
“Time will tell.” I leaned forward and rubbed my stomach, hating the uneasy feeling that sat directly in the center of my gut.
“How was she?” he finally asked after a few moments had passed. I had shared Sienna’s plans with my father and Francesco. They needed to understand what was happening so we could all plan accordingly.
“I don’t know.” I rested my hands behind my head and leaned back. “She sure wasn’t falling apart, but Salvo has his sights on her.”
Papa chuckled as he sipped his drink. “What I wouldn’t do to see her go head-to-head with him.”
“Or head to sheets.” I couldn’t help my gloomy tone.
“Oh, son,” he shook his head, “that’s the Capri curse you’re battling with right there.”
“The what?”
“The male side of this family lets jealousy run amok when we’re in love. I’ve never seen you jealous of anyone but her, and I understand that feeling firsthand. I’ve taken out my fair share of men who’ve so much as looked in your mother’s direction.”
“Is this supposed to make me feel better?”
“Coppola blood or not, Sienna loves you. Yes, she’s upset, but she’s still here after everything that’s happened, and that alone speaks volumes.”
“She mentioned about going home after all of this.”
“Yeah, she’s hurting, again, and I’m shocked she even wants to do this. You know she’s still in love with you.”
“I know, but what am I supposed to do with all those men sniffing around what’s mine?”
“Fight for her.” He held up a finger. “But no one can know that you are. So, you need to get creative. Nothing could ever stand in the way of my love for your mother, but if I was being tested like you are, I’d go to great lengths to show her how I felt.”
“You’re right.” Hewasright, if we were going to spend our life together, I needed to start to repair it now and not wait.
“Son, we all love that girl. Do you think, if she was anyone else, we’d let her live after what we found out? No. She’d be dumped in a river somewhere, joining the other members of her family.”
“I don’t know, Papa, she’s getting in really deep with them.”
“Which is what she needs to do.”
