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She gasped and lifted her head, nodding. She didn’t even seem out of sorts with my hand on her shoulder. “Thank you. I need someone who cares.”
A man entered the foyer, one with dark hair and a lean build. He had a predatory way of walking that instantly made me uneasy. “Is this the new guard?”
“Yes, Franco,” Giulia said.
Franco sniffed, looking me over. “He’ll do. But make sure he knows his job is to remain silent and keep an eye out for any enemies that come knocking on our door. Nothing else.”
Giulia nodded, but that didn’t seem to please Franco. He gripped her arm, making her wince. I tensed. “You understand, Giulia?”
“Yes, I do,” she whispered.
Franco looked at her for so long, I wondered what he would do. I felt my body tensing, getting ready to strike, when he let her go. “Good. Remember that.” With one finale glance at me, he walked away.
I turned to Giulia. “Are you ok, ma’am?”
She chuckled without any humor to it. “You don’t need to call me ma’am. Giulia is fine. But I’m fine.”
“You hired me to protect your children from outside threats, but it seems you have an inside threat, too.”
She shook her head frantically. “No, no. Don’t worry about Franco. There’s nothing you can do about him. Please, just help keep my children safe.”
I wanted to object, but I was there to do my job, and if Giulia didn’t want my protection from Franco, there wasn’t much else I could do.
She showed me into the living room where her children were. Francesca was reading a book. Mia was playing with a Barbie doll. Lucia and Luca were trying to get up and walk, but as babies, they were having a hard time. Antonio was brooding in a corner. And lastly, there was Cecilia.
She was kneeling beside the couch, saying a silent prayer. She was so tiny and young. I found it admirable how she had the courage to pray. I never had God in my life. Never understood. Never cared to. But she looked so confident in herself; I found it inspiring, even though she was only twelve.
“Kids,” Giulia said, “this is Theo. He’ll be our new bodyguard.”
They all greeted me, but it was Cecilia who stood up and approached me. “You’re tall,” she commented, looking up at me.
“I am.”
“I prayed my family would be ok. Did God send you to us?”
I tensed and shared a look with Giulia. She nodded for me to answer. “I don’t know,” I told her. “Your mom hired me.”
Cecilia frowned. “But God had something to do with it, right?” I could see the desperation behind her eyes. It was clear she was clinging on to God for help.
I kneeled to meet her at her eye-level. “I’m really not sure,” I said. “But I can promise I’m here to help keep you safe. Ok?”
That appeased her, and she nodded and resumed her spot on the floor, praying again. From then on, I always found Cecilia to be fascinating. The way she had such conviction in her belief, even in the toughest of times, was truly admirable.
Now, back in the present, I look over the entire Moretti family, having dinner together again. Franco is dead, which puts me at relief just as much as the rest of them. I knew he’d abusedGiulia for years, but every time I asked her if she wanted my help, she declined, telling me he had too much power.
I didn’t know when took this job that the Moretti was a crime family, but I quickly learned. I didn’t have any other job prospects so I stuck around, but then I ended up caring for this family and knew I couldn’t leave.
So, when Giulia told me how much Franco had, I knew she was telling me I didn’t stand a chance against him. Not as a lowly, ex-military man with no other connections.
“Luca,” Giulia says tiredly, grabbing the now-empty glass from his hands. “You can’t be fighting over things with your sister. You just spilled this all over Cecilia.”
Luca shrugs. “I wanted soda.”
Giulia sighs, covering her face with her hands.
“I can go get him some,” Francesca offers, starting to stand up, but Giulia holds up a hand, stopping her.
“No enabling him. He didn’t get soda, and he still doesn’t get soda.”
