AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I knoweverythingabout your life, cara. I’ve done my homework. You need to move on with your life, and you can do that by letting me in and letting me love you instead of fighting me every step of the way.”
“You think you’re an expert on my life now because you had one of your men investigate me and pry into my affairs?” I snapped.
“They are my affairs now that you’re my wife.”
“I’m not a possession,” I yelled at him before running upstairs and collapsing on the bed, letting my tears of frustration out.
***
As another week slowly went past, I knew I couldn’t do this anymore.
It terrified me every time Alessio told me that he loved me.
Made Men were obsessive in everything they did. He kept trying to break down my resistance, trying to make me his.
I desperately needed to escape from him before he became any more possessive of me. I knew I had to get away from him before he sucked me in any further.
His need for me was like a savage hunger—and that scared me more than everything else he had done to me.
I didn’t want to be part of his life in the criminal world, and the longer I stayed, the more Alessio was getting a hold over me. He kept trying to convince me that he loved me by giving me affection and attention, making me believe that he cared about me.
The tender side of himself that he had shown me was just a fantasy world. I had to remind myself that Alessio was like every other Made Man—underneath the surface lay a monster who needed violence to feed off and thrive, a monster who was trying to drag me into his lair so that he could make me vulnerable again and destroy me all over again.
His obsession with me wasn’t bringing love into my life; it was bringing torment.
And after what had happened to my own family, I knew I could never go through something like that again.
That was why I had made a life for myself away from the Fratellanza, with my own job, apartment, and friends. My friends were there when I needed them and I was there for them as well, but at the same time I could keep them at arm’s length, just far enough away that I wouldn’t end up caring for them too much, in case they got snatched away from me like my mom and brother had.
Alessio was Consigliere of the Fratellanza and that was never going to change, and life in the Mafia would always lead back to pain and destruction. I couldn’t do that again—I couldn’t go through the sort of pain again that I’d suffered after the deaths of my mom and brother. I needed to live my life where I felt safe and where I couldn’t be hurt again.
Our whole relationship was a disaster waiting to happen—he was a Made Man, a monster intent on killing and maiming, no matter the cost to those close to him. And I couldn’t let myself become one of those people close to him. I had to protect myself and protect my heart. All I wanted was to go back to my old life and to be left alone.
I had been carefully thinking about what I would need to take with me to make my escape. Alessio had my passport, and I couldn’t ask him for it, not even in a casual way—that would definitely arouse his suspicions, and I didn’t want that.
I knew that if I was to get away from Alessio, I needed to get to a police station and then to the American Embassy.
I had figured out how to get away—via the fire exit at the grocery store. Now I just had to figure out the best time to do it.
When Camillo was too busy to take me grocery shopping, one of the soldiers would take me instead. Alessio and Marco had both made it clear that they had no interest in shopping for groceries and that they preferred that I go with either Camillo or a soldier.
I decided I would put my escape plan into action on a day I was taken shopping by a soldier instead of Camillo. When Camillo wasn’t with me, I was given cash to pay for the groceries—that money would give me a way to pay for a cab to the nearest police station.
A cab would be quicker and less conspicuous than walking around asking for directions. I needed to get to the police station and in touch with the American Embassy before Alessio got in touch with the local police.
***
A week later, Marco and Juliana went to a private hospital for their baby scan. Juliana was really excited; however, Marco was preoccupied with security for their hospital visit.
Alessio and Camillo were out visiting their connections about business matters and would be gone most of the day, so I was spending some time laying out by the pool. The only other people here were the soldiers guarding the villa, but they kept their distance, so for all intents and purposes, I was by myself for the first time since coming to Italy.
It was intense being around everyone all the time, and I really needed some time to myself. But it wasn’t really relaxing today—because in a couple of hours I was going to put my escape plan into action.
After laying in the sun for an hour and a half, constantly checking the time on my watch, I went upstairs to get dressed to go grocery shopping with one of the soldiers. I had wanted to go as soon as the others had left the villa, but as I always went later in the day, I didn’t want to arouse suspicion by altering my routine today.
As we drove to the store, I fidgeted with the shopping list in my hands, thinking about what I would need to do and attempting to focus my mind.
All too soon, we pulled up outside the store and made our way inside. Today I was supposed to cookmelanzane alla parmigiana—aubergine with tomatoes and parmesan—served with roasted meats.
