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He smiles, giving my hand a reassuring squeeze. I return the smile, my heart feeling like it might explode.
Sometime after he tells me about his folks and Italy, he dozes off. But the magic of the moment stays with me. I know that something extraordinary has just unfolded between us. The nerves and shyness are gone, replaced by the realization that he is the one I’ve been searching for my entire life.
CHAPTERNINE
MARCELLO
I raisethe glass to my lips while moving my token across the board. Daniella stacks her money, keeping her eyes on my token. We’re playing a game of Monopoly to pass the time. And to my surprise, Daniella won the first game. After winning the second game, we’re on the last game to determine the winner of the session.
For now, I own most of the properties on the board. It’s only a matter of time before she goes bankrupt. After setting my token on the board, Daniella takes the die and rolls it. She counts the steps and lands on my property. A smile tugs at my lips as Daniella sets her token on my property.
“That will be two-fifty,” I spread my hand for the paper money.
“How about I pay in kind?” Daniella winks.
“Not a bad idea,” I chuckle. She leans in and kisses me. I reach out to deepen the kiss, but she wriggles out of my grasp. “What? That’s all for two-fifty?”
“You got a real kiss for paper money, that’s something.”
“That’s not how I run my business.”
Daniella folds her arms across her chest. “How exactly do you run your business?”
“By being ruthless. Not allowing sentiment to becloud my reasoning. Not to allow payment in kind.”
Daniella rolls her eyes and passes me the dice. “Your turn.”
“We’ll talk about that payment later—”
An explosion booms, rattling the foundation beneath us. Surprise takes a second to register, and then my eyes lock with hers. I reach to protect her as furniture and debris flies around us. We huddle on the floor, my body covering hers as we wait for everything to stop splintering and falling.
Gunshots ring out, bullets zipping over my head. “We have to get out of here. Stay low and close. Understand?”
She nods and I scramble to my feet in a crab crawl. Daniella mimics my stance and remains in my peripheral vision as we quickly cross the room.
“This Giorgio?” she mutters. Her face is a mask of fear.
“Yeah, we have to get away.”
I lead her toward the underground escape route, while looking over my shoulder repeatedly. The gunshots sound closer. It appears Giorgio’s men are at the door. I would have loved nothing more than to fight back, but the time isn’t right to face Giorgio’s forces.
“Freeze!” a voice booms far behind us.
“Run!” I yell at Daniella, and she does just that. She runs down the passageway, and I follow suit. I turn around and see an armed man with his pistol pointing at us. He fires at me, and I duck. The fear of getting gunned down in my own home overtakes my thoughts, but I keep moving.
My life flashes before my eyes. The decision to come to America and build a business with Giorgio. Watching him change from a sound businessman to a ruthless mafia don. I should have walked away long ago. But I didn’t. And now I’m here. Running for my life.
Daniella vanishes into the secret door, and I sweep in too. My wrist bangs against the door frame on my way in. Pain shoots up my hand, making me wince. I slam the door close and lean against it. For a moment, I’m able to breathe easily. The door is bulletproof.
“Let’s keep going. My car is in the garage. This path leads there. Ugh!”
“What’s wrong?”
"I injured my wrist." I raise it up, and she assesses it. “Fuck! That hurts.”
“We’ll take care of it…”
The loud banging on the trapdoor cuts her short. We hurry down the path, our way lit by tiny yellow lightbulbs.
