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It was the first time I’d heard it in years, and something about it pulled at my heartstrings. As much as I wanted to hate her because of the way she had neglected Carina and me, I couldn’t. Because deep down, she was still the woman that gave birth to me, that had given me the gift of life. The woman who would cradle me to sleep as a little girl when I had nightmares. Or run cool washcloths over my head when I had a fever. How could I hate that, despite how much I wanted to?
“I just… I wanted to speak with you,” she continued.
“Why?”
“Because I love you.”
I scoffed.
“This is a dangerous life we live.” Whatever my mother wanted to say, she seemed determined to get it out whether I wanted to hear it or not. Without any other alternatives, I listened.
“If…” She decided to use different words. “When you have his children, so many people will try to target that child, and sometimes there’s nothing you can do except…” I was tired of listening to her endless babble about how dangerous mafia families could be. We were one for gracious sake and knowing that my children might be the target of an attack wasn’t going to change if I married a Romano or stayed a Montrelli. I would always have a target on my back.
“Regardless of what happens in the future, I will never turn my back on the people that need me. Now, please excuse me.” I put my backpack around my shoulders. There was no point getting the rest of the suitcases myself. I knew some of the guards would do that for me. Besides, I needed to get away from my mother before I went off on her.
This could be Carina being sent away, and she would have been accepting this decision from our father in the same manner. Any loyalty I’d once had for him was long gone now he made that possible by making me a Romano.
I stepped out of the room, and she didn’t do anything to stop me, although I hadn’t thought she would.
Outside, the atmosphere was the complete opposite of what I was feeling inside. The sun was beaming down on us, reminding me that it was summer.
I had been free just yesterday. Today, I felt like someone else’s property. The feeling was unsettling, since I knew if I made any kind of problem for my father, he would submit Carina in my place.
There was a light breeze in the air but not enough to make it cold. My father was standing outside, and the spot my mother should have taken was occupied by my sister who was standing straight and looked as if she had just stopped crying.
I wanted to hug her, but I knew my father would disapprove, so I did it anyway. His opinions mattered little to me now.
My father was there with a good amount of our men, but it seemed the Romanos had sent more. I couldn’t believe my father had allowed Angelo Romano to arrange a car to pick me up. Did he not care to make sure that his precious bundle was delivered safely by our own men? The disrespect for me as his underboss was astounding but should I have been surprised. No, I didn’t think anything about my father would surprise me anymore.
My soon-to-be husband wasn’t among the men who were spreading out and surrounding the dark sedan. I found that to be a little disappointing when I’d been expecting to meet the man I was being saddled with for the rest of my life.
Although I knew I would soon be meeting him, I’d been hoping to get the meeting over with before I went to his home. To have the ball in my court for a moment. Any security I felt would be gone the moment the cars drove out past that gate. Then I would be on my own.
I was unarmed today, at least in the fact that my gun wasn’t strapped to my leg as per usual. Today it was in my backpack, I hoped they wouldn’t search me and retrieve it.
There were two cars: one for me, and then a backup for additional security. It seemed as if the Romanos wanted to make sure I arrived safely. I was their pawn at this point, a nice little token that signed over my family’s business. A mere contract to be fulfilled to make the business transaction go smoothly.
My bags were collected and put into the trunk as one of the men opened the door to the first car and gestured for me to get in. As much as I was exhausted with the day to day life I had been living, I hadn’t realized until then just how much I would miss it.
I would miss my sister and the feeling of safety and security she gave me. I would miss the purpose I’d found in working with my father. Would my new husband even consider letting me take an active role beside him?
I stared at my sister who gave a little wave before my dad snapped something into her ear that made her drop her hand. If he retaliated in any single way for her saying goodbye to me, I would personally find a way to shoot out his kneecaps.
Years ago when I’d stepped into the family role of underboss, I’d taken to having a separate burn phone for me and my twin. I never wanted a reason for Carina to not be able to get ahold of me. Our father could have cut either of us out of the family at any time. Plus, we might have been different, but we still didn’t want to get into trouble for the things we said about our father on our phones. It would have been stupid to think that he didn’t monitor them on a regular basis. If we wanted to keep him out of the loop, we had a code that let the other know to use the backup phone. We’d used the code numerous times over the years without getting caught. I just hoped we could continue this pattern during this separation and new part of our lives.
I stared ahead, not giving my father the satisfaction of witnessing my upset anger. As I contemplated more of the things I wanted to talk to my sister about, a man slid into the car beside me, leaving the middle space between us.
Two men sat rigidly in the front. They all had different appearances, but each of them oozed the classic Italian look: neatly combed, slicked-back hair, dark eyes. Wearing slacks with dark dress shirts, and a gun holster where it could be seen easily, these were all qualities to make a person think twice before messing with them.
As we drove, I thought about how my life would look. Would I be expected to take a role like my mother, or did Luciano’s mother treat her position differently?
Every crime family had different rules among them, women were virtually arm candy, or baby makers. That would definitely be expected of me. A marriage wasn’t enough, a child with combined blood would be the tie between us they expected. Soon, I would imagine.
* * *
It was the sound of screeching tires that alerted me and the men in the car to the fact that we were being attacked. My heart rate calmed down and my breathing got shallow, as my experience and training took root.
A large truck ran into the front of the vehicle, but only dented the reinforced metal.
