AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What waswhatlike?”
I don’t miss the way she rolls her eyes at me, shaking her head with a hint of a grin on her lips. “You’re a handful.”
A smile touches the corner of my mouth as I lift my free hand to my chest with a gasp. “Me? Never.” Nonna chuckles as I clear my throat, dropping my hand back to the onion. “I know I am, but I also don’t know how much you’re aware of, so this conversation is going to have to be led by you.”
Nonna turns to look at me head-on, and I’m not sure if it’s a dose of pride that flashes in her gaze, but she quickly blinks and it’s gone. “Okay then, what was it like going to an actual academy for criminals? I’ve seen mafia training, but you actually went to an academy and trained for that?”
A sense of relief washes through me as I release a small breath. I was worried we might start on topics a little more difficult, but this… this I can handle.
Keeping my focus on my knife work, I feel a tight smile touch my lips before I answer. “Nonna, I was training well before the academy. Shit, it was a more informative and controlled environment if anything,” I admit with a shrug. “I went to Featherstone High as well, but that was almost a safe haven amidst the crazy I was surrounded by. My father had plans for me before I was born. I had a role to play, so I played it.”
I feel Nonna’s eyes assessing me, but I don’t turn to look at her. I don’t know what I may see in her eyes and I’m not ready to find out. After a beat, Nonna clears her throat, and I catch a glimpse of her bracing her hands on the countertop out of the corner of my eye.
“It’s so crazy to me. The boys… they were trained from a young age too. Immediately knowing the ins and outs of how the De Luca family worked, but their sister… she was kept as far away from it all as possible. All the women were.” My eyebrows cock in surprise at the mention of a sister.
“They have a sister?”
I turn my attention to Nonna properly in time to see her shake her head at me again. “Of course that’s what you take away from that.”
I twirl the handle of the knife in my hand. “What do you expect? I’ve grown up learning how to kill, survive, and to reign supreme over everyone around me. It’s not a natural progression. We don’t all take our first breath in life and know how to do these things. They’re taught to us. I just happened to grow up in a world where the women were pushed just as hard. Something as mundane as having a sister I didn’t know about is far more informative than the trials and situations the De Luca brothers had to go through. They wouldn’t be the men they are so highly regarded to be if they didn’t come with a tough background. It’s all par for the course.”
Nonna’s eyebrows pinch ever so slightly, and I feel the initial bite of pity swirl between us, but the moment is broken by the sound of a deep raspy voice.
“What would you know about the course?”
My heart rate spikes at the interruption, and I act before I can think better of it. My hips shift to the left, gaining me a better stance as my hand tightens around the handle of the knife for a split second, before I throw it through the air. It’s only when the tip of the blade thrusts into the wall beside the open doorway that I finally cast my eyes over the cause for my surprise.
Vito.
His hands are tucked into his pockets, one eyebrow raised at me as he slowly looks to the handle of the knife sticking out of the wall. “You missed.”
I wipe my hands down the front of my apron as I shake my head. “I hit exactly where I was aiming. A threat isn’t a threat if I actually do it.”
“What’s there a threat for?” The next voice belongs to Enzo as he comes to a stop beside his brother, but it only takes him a few seconds to realize what has Vito’s attention.
Without missing a beat, Enzo grabs the knife and pulls the blade from the wall. He takes purposefully slow and calculated steps toward me, before offering me the handle of the knife. I take it, placing the everyday kitchen utensil down on the countertop before I answer him.
“The threat could be for many things. Creeping up on us while we were talking, tracking me while I was running. I’m sure I could think of some other things if you like?” I tilt my head to the side as I wait for either of them to respond, and it’s Enzo who makes the first noise.
With a small burst of a chuckle, he wags his finger at me as he steps backward toward the dining table. “I don’t recall hearing your warning because you’re being held here against your will as a prisoner. Care to add that?”
Vito moves to follow his brother too, and once they’re both seated, I scrunch up my face as I shake my head. “No, I’m good. While I’m still breathing, it’s not all that bad.”
Back in New York, I told them I didn’t want to run and I meant it. I felt something before that meeting, and I’m drawn to them now. That’s not going to change on my end, no matter how much they may feel betrayed.
Before either Enzo or Vito respond, Nonna claps her hands beside me with a laugh. “I love this girl. Imagine her and Valentina together?”
Enzo’s eyes widen with mock-horror for a moment before he shakes his head. “Do not put that fear in me.” His response only seems to make her laugh more while Vito stares straight at me.
Nonna must sense I have no idea who she’s talking about because she steps closer, hip-checking me as she grins. “Valentina is their sister.”
The reaction from Enzo has me ridiculously intrigued. “Now Ihaveto meet her,” I state, just as the third and final grizzly De Luca brother steps into the room.
His frown is locked in place as he glares at me, continuing toward Vito and Enzo. “You won’t be meeting anyone,” he tosses over his shoulder, before taking a seat and directing all of his attention at his brothers like I’m not here. “We have issues with the Russians.”
“When don’t we?” Vito grunts, folding his arms over his chest as he tears his gaze from me and turns to his brother.
“No, not like this.” Matteo’s tone says something isn’t right. While Nonna takes the ingredients from the chopping board and starts adding them to a pan, distracting herself, I assess the three of them.
