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“There are some very dubious people living in this neighborhood,” he commented, no doubt referring to the rumors that had always circulated about my family being in the Mob.
I wished he would hurry up and gift me a lift—standing on the street like this was making my heart gallop in fear that one of my father’s men might drive past and see me. “I know, sir. I was visiting a friend here and just walking home when it happened.”
“Get in, miss. I’ll gladly take you to the main road. I could even drop you home or to the police station?”
“No, please, I couldn’t inconvenience you like that.” I couldn’t let him put himself in any more danger. If my father caught me now, he would kill this man too.
As soon as we got to the main road, after thanking the man for the lift and assuring him I would be alright, I flagged down a cab and asked it to take me downtown. It was busy there and I would be harder to find.
Once I was there, I would find a phone. I’d ring Marco, tell him where I was, and ask him to get me—if, that was, Marco was still talking to me.
When we reached the busy downtown, I sank down in my seat as we passed Matrix, a nightclub owned by the Società—one of their legal businesses that they laundered their dirty money through. I only sat up again when we had safely passed it. I had come this far, and I wasn’t going to take any unnecessary chances.
A couple of minutes later, the cab driver pulled over. After I paid him, I got out of the cab and looked around for a payphone. I spotted one and was about to head to it when I changed my mind.
I turned around and retraced the route the cab had driven. I headed toward Matrix.
It was Thursday night, and I knew that some of the guys held a weekly poker night in Matrix’s back office on Thursdays.
I had to see Gabriel Santino.
I was taking a chance. I knew he attended the poker night on occasion—Jake had mentioned it once—but there was no certainty that he would be here tonight.
I didn’t even know what I was planning to do if I saw him, but I had to try.
Reaching the club, I knew I wasn’t dressed appropriately and would stick out like a sore thumb. I definitely didn’t want anyone from the Società seeing me before I got to Gabriel.
I headed around the back of the club toward the car park.
There I found a black convertible which I recognized as belonging to Gabriel. Anticipation started to race in my heart.
He was here, inside the club right now. I knew I had to wait until he came back out. I couldn’t risk going inside and being seen by anyone but him.
I crouched down behind his car and hid in the darkness, praying no one would see me. If I got caught and handed back to my father, I knew he would punish me even harder after having the audacity to run from him. I prayed that my father wouldn’t find out that Jess helped me—I couldn’t bear for her to be hurt any further by my father’s cruel actions, not when she had already been shot and injured at my wedding.
The minutes ticked by slowly as I kept looking at my watch. I didn’t even know what I was going to say to him—how I was going to bring up what I needed to say.
I was freezing cold in my thin t-shirt, and I huddled into myself. I wished I could have walked around to keep myself warm, but I knew I had to stay hidden for now.
***
After a couple hours of waiting, I felt ice-cold and wondered if this was crazy.
Seeing Gabriel might not even make a difference: he might hate me as much as my parents.
I had seen various people coming and going from Matrix, including a couple of Società men. When I had seen them, I had crouched even lower and barely dared to breathe, silently pleading to God not to let them see me.
My heart leapt into my throat when I finally saw the man I wanted to see.
He strode toward his car with his long-legged stride. Even in the dark, I could sense his commanding presence.
I came out of the shadows. “Gabriel,” I said, my voice soft in the night air.
CHAPTER 34
JULIANA
Gabriel Santino. The future Capo of the Società Mafia.
