AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The guard standing there stiffens when I approach, and the action hits me like a ton of bricks. I wasn’t crazy, thinking I was being looked at with suspicion. What kept me with Alessio and Marcello was loyalty to my family. My father spoke of it often, told me on numerous occasions that he and I are the only ones left. With our deaths, our entire family dies. It’s the ultimate insult for us, and the biggest victory for those wiping us from the face of the earth. Maybe it’s pride and the sense of family instilled in me by my mother that has kept me standing strong rather than giving in to the same urges that took my brother away.
I look up at Julio, but his eyes are over my shoulder, across the room in Alessio’s direction.
He doesn’t have to tell me that it’s more than a vow that’s now holding me prisoner.
Instead of pressing an issue I know I’ll never win, I turn back in the other direction, avoiding eye contact with Alessio, and step inside the bedroom designated to me. I close the door softly, wondering if it will trigger the beast in Alessio. I don’t know if he’ll translate it to mean I’m giving him privacy or demanding some of my own. He could take it either way. It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve closed the door and been accused of hiding things. Leaving it open could also bring on accusations of being nosy. I’ve been called my father’s spy more times than I can count.
I can literally do nothing right because they’ll twist my behaviors to suit their moods.
I sit on the bed, waiting for the door to swing open, but it never does.
I spend the first couple of hours terrified about what will happen, and although I calm some after that, I never settle into a false sense of security.
Adrenaline keeps me awake until the early hours of the evening, but eventually the exhaustion carries me into sleep.
I spend the next two days in that room, my meals being brought to me wordlessly by Julio.
I don’t know what to think of Alessio’s absence, but I know better than to think that it means he’s given up whatever assumptions he’s made about me.
From inside the room, I can tell from chatter and the rise and fall of voices that reinforcements have arrived from the States.
It’s the morning of the second day when my door opens, but Julio doesn’t have a tray from room service in his hands as he steps inside uninvited.
My jaw clenches, a threat I doubt would be valid now on the tip of my tongue. He wouldn’t test Alessio in this way, stepping into my space, if he didn’t feel like it was allowed, as if I’ve lost all protection.
My skin pebbles with gooseflesh as I watch his eyes scan the room.
“You need to pack your things.”
“Are we going home?”
I don’t have the illusion that I’m safe in either location.
Instead of answering, he simply turns around and walks out, leaving the door standing open for the first time in two days.
I consider that maybe this was Alessio’s goal the entire time as I try to pack my things with shaking hands. My nerves are tattered, my thoughts racing as I zip up my small suitcase. We’ve already been here longer than I expected, meaning I’m running dangerously low on clothes. I know better than to bring up such a trivial thing at a time like this. If we were back home, I’d place an order online and not a single eye would be batted at things being delivered. I’m supposed to look the part of a spoiled Mafia princess. Buying things has never once been a complaint of theirs, but I don’t even have access to do that here. My phone still hasn’t been returned, but its absence is more of an inconvenience than anything else. I would never message or call anyone I wasn’t allowed to. I’ve seen too often them following through with their threats to take that chance.
I see nothing but Alessio’s back as I leave the room, pulling my suitcase behind me. I know I’m going to be forced to face him eventually, so I know better than to feel grateful with the reprieve right now.
Chapter 9
Hollis
“Care to explain your email?”
Angel sighs on the other end of the line at my question. I don’t know if he’s upset with what he has to tell me or if it’s because I called him rather than responding in email like I normally would. I don’t have time for him to check his computer. I need fucking answers right now.
“What started as an intel gathering gig has now been changed.”
“I got that from the email,” I say, trying to keep the annoyance out of my voice. “Any idea why?”
