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I keep my eyes fixed on his as I climb out, making sure to let him know that I’m not scared of him. I don’t look away until I have to round the back of the SUV, and my attention is then quickly grabbed by Nonna who is waiting on the pavement to link her arm through mine and drag me to the store directly in front of us.
It’s a high-end store, because the outfits in the window are somewhat familiar. I’m not out of my comfort zone in a place like this, not at all, but as we step inside and the luxurious scent fills my nostrils and the perfect lighting hits us from above, I wonder why she would bring a so-called captive here?
Nonna must see the skepticism on my face as I glance around at the separate areas laid out for each designer. “This is my favorite pastime, so we’re going to have some fun. Don’t worry about a thing,” she states, and I smile.
If I’m going to die, at least I’ll be wearing something cute.
* * *
“I can afford to pay for this, you know,” I grumble, giving Nonna a pointed glare as she wags her finger at me in front of the cashier.
We’ve been in here for hours, and although she may have picked out a few items for herself, the majority of the items in the bags are for me. It’s laughable, the amount that’s there, it looks like I don't plan on dying at all, but I just couldn’t help myself. While staying in Philadelphia, I kept my head down and never entertained the idea of going shopping, so I’ve definitely made up for it.
“You shouldn’thaveto pay for it, Wren, that’s my point. Like you said, it’s not your fault you're in this situation to begin with.” She winks at me before mumbling to the cashier something about the purchases being settled on the De Luca account.
I can’t argue with a statement like that, especially when I know it’s not her paying but them. It makes a small smile tease the corner of my mouth as I turn to face the door, watching as the driver/bodyguard, who hasn’t left our side the entire time, takes the last of the bags out to the vehicle.
Nonna links her arm through mine once more before dragging me to the SUV. Climbing in, I sink back in my seat, exhausted from trying so many clothes on as she turns to face me.
“Shall we have lunch?” Her voice is eager, and it makes me feel like there isn’t usually a female presence around for this kind of thing.
It’s on the tip of my tongue to agree with her, when the driver takes his seat up front, slamming the door shut behind him as he shakes his head. “No can do, Ms. De Luca, I have a call for you.”
Her lips pinch in irritation as she takes the cellphone from his hand, pressing it to her ear with a huff.
“What?… No, we’re busy actually… doing none of your business…” Her eyebrows knit as she sighs. “Fine, but you owe me.” She ends the call without another word before tossing it into the empty front seat as the driver joins the traffic. “It seems we’ll have lunch at home, but not to worry, I have the perfect idea for us.” She smiles wide, like her plans haven’t just been changed, and I nod, still slightly caught up on the fact the driver called herMs. De Luca.
How have I not yet considered who she is? With a name like Nonna, you would assume she’s their grandmother, but she really doesn’t look old enough for that.
Could she be their mother?
Something tells me it’s not quite that.
“Tell me what’s on your mind, dear. You’re pinching your brows so tight we may have to do emergency botox to relax the damn muscles.” There’s a shimmer of humor in her eyes as I shake my head at her dramatics with a glint of a smile touching my lips.
“Who are you to them?”
Understanding washes over her face as she nods lightly in response before speaking. “They bestowed me with the name Ms. De Luca six years ago when their father died. It was the first order of business they put through when Matteo became the head of the family.” She glances off almost wistfully, her eyes tracking the world as it flies by us before she turns to look at me again. “I was their nanny until Enzo was fourteen, then I was no longer needed. But those boys… they never knew their mother, not even Matteo seems to have a memory of her, and their father… Well, he was a different kind of mafia man altogether.” Her eyes then draw to the driver, like she’s aware he’s listening and she doesn’t want to give too much. “They came to me years later, pleading for me to come home, and honestly, I had no true life of my own without them. I had spent so much of my time dedicated to those boys that I didn’t have a family of my own. So, as they get lost in the world of violence, blood, and gore, I provide stability, safety, and a home.”
Her words melt my frozen fucking heart.
How are they so lucky to have her in their life? For her to seemingly drop whatever it is she was doing when they reappeared in her life. The love they must feel between them… God, I can only imagine what it would feel like.
I press my lips together, not wanting to show any hint of vulnerability or weakness in my response, so I choose to offer none at all as I turn my attention out the window.
I’ve technically been held hostage for over twenty-four hours now, and I feel less trapped than I did as a child. Being in the care of my parents didn’t offer me any kind of stability or safety, never knowing what a true home feels like. Under the rule of my mother and the almighty asshole, Totem, I spent every waking day imprisoned under their thumb. A version of a daughter they wanted to mold perfectly in their image as opposed to being who I wanted to be.
My bloodline, my heritage, that placed me in Featherstone Academy, was highly regarded because of my mother’s family, but they were just as treacherous as my father’s. No morals, no values. Just greed, death, and destruction.
Who knew there was another way?
Soon, the SUV pauses at the iron gates and we make our way up the dirt path, coming to a stop outside the beautiful home.
I make sure to climb out and shut my door before the driver even gets a chance to place a foot on the ground, and I round the back of the SUV in time to head inside with Nonna. “We’ll get the bags in a little while, let's eat first,” she declares. My stomach grumbles in response too, giving her my answer as we head inside, straight for the kitchen.
I’m frozen in place as we enter the open space that seems like the heart of the entire house. A gathering space, a family hotspot, a room that has an atmosphere that continues to catch me off guard, but worse this time, as I spot two out of the three De Luca brothers sitting at the dining table.
Vito and Enzo.
