AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Fuck, that’s good.
American coffee and Italian coffee are definitely not the same thing. This tastes delicious. Like home.
“Now, with that taken care of, we need to discuss the shit that went down in New York, which has meant we’re home a few days earlier than planned.” A heavy quietness falls over the room as each man looks at Vito for him to continue. Even Torres has his brows quirked because he has no clue either. We got the fuck out of there as soon as possible while he was still in a meeting with our men who are permanently situated there, so he had to grab another flight home.
“With the Russians?” The man sitting beside Vito is the one to speak. I’m not too familiar with what he does. He’s one of Torres’ newer recruits called Antonio and he’s an absolute beast with his fists.
“Yes, but also with Featherstone.”
The gasps and grunts are audible around the table. We all know exactly how we felt when we learned of Totem’s passing, and how it felt to lose everything he promised us before he even harnessed it himself.
Torres knocks his fist on the table, leaning back in his seat with wide eyes as he looks from me to Vito, before settling on Matteo.
“Did you find the person responsible for Totem’s death?” His question guts me, the air stolen from my lungs as I blink at him.
We don’t keep our men in the loop on everything that happens within the business, but we kind of have a silent rule that when asked, we don’t lie.
But as that thought runs through my mind, I shake my head at the exact same time I give my answer in complete sync with my brothers.
“No.”
12
WREN
Aheavy sigh falls from my lips as I look up at the ceiling in a daze. In the same clothes as yesterday, with my hair pulled back into a slick ponytail at my neck, I’m freshly showered and bored.
My cellphone is on the nightstand, drained of battery and no longer useful, while my gun is two inches away from my hand in my blazer pocket. I have no idea what time it is, but the sun is shining outside and I’m refreshed from sleep. I’m not foolish, I’m very aware that everything isn’t perfectly okay and I am in danger here, but subconsciously, I think everything is fine because I slept hard.
The click of the lock from the bedroom door pulls me from my thoughts as I turn to see Nonna fill the space. I’m not sure when they actually locked it, but somebody did. I checked as soon as I woke up this morning, hoping I might have free rein of the house at least, but alas, I wasn’t that lucky.
Nonna’s smile spreads from ear to ear as she looks at me. She looks cute in a long-sleeved floral summer dress that falls all the way to her ankles, with sunglasses perched on top of her head.
“Come, I’ve got us somesaccottinosto eat on the way.” I blink at her in awe for a second, loving the way her voice switches between languages so effortlessly as she waits patiently for me to respond.
Slowly rising to my feet, I remain at the bottom of the bed as I cock my head to the side and meet her gaze. “On the way to where?”
Without missing a beat, she rolls her eyes at me dramatically, stepping out into the hallway as she waves her hand at me to follow. “Clothes shopping, obviously.”
I rush to catch up, falling into step beside her. “It’s not obvious at all. I’m here because they said so. Technically as a prisoner. My life is hanging in the balance and my survival instincts are heightened. So, when you’re nice to me, I’m left wondering if it’s because you really are that nice or whether the De Luca brothers have roped you into the darkside and are setting me up for something.”
She pauses mid-step, right by the front door with her hand resting on the handle as she meets my gaze. A chuckle falls from her lips as she shakes her head slightly at me. “I definitely like you.”
Without another word, she swings the door open and heads outside, leaving me to follow, again in a complete state of shock. She climbs into the waiting SUV, not checking if I’m still there, and I silently make my way around to the other side of the vehicle to join her.
A man dressed from head to toe in a black suit with a matching shirt and tie waits to close it behind me. I recognize him. I saw him in New York for the briefest of moments, but he’s never uttered a word to me. He still doesn’t when I climb in and he closes the door securely behind me before taking the driver's seat.
Nonna is buckled in already. Once I am buckled in, I turn to her, only to find her already looking at me. “Oddly enough, I seem to like you too,” I blurt, making her grin as she offers me a small platter of pastries to choose from.
Saccottinos.
I murmur my thanks as I take one, opting to nibble on it while I watch out of the window, the vehicle pulling away from the house as Nonna hums her response.
The SUV is quiet as we drive through the winding roads leading to the nearby town she plans on taking us to. Eventually, the greenery turns into small buildings before we arrive at a busy area and the SUV pulls over to the side of the road. Shop after shop lines the street to our right, big glass displays advertising what lies inside.
“Are you ready?” Nonna asks, a quirk to her brow. She climbs out as I nod.
Reaching for my own handle, I barely open it an inch before the driver is at the door doing it for me. It doesn’t feel like a polite gesture though. With the way he glares at me, his body tense as he points to follow after Nonna, it seems as if he’s just making sure I don’t run. There’s an underlying vibe from him that tells me he would love for me to do just that so he can put me in my place.
