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I briefly clutched the rosary, praying for protection. That Holly and Gabriel and Muriella would be safe, and I would be granted another day with them. I thanked my mother for what time I'd had because these past few weeks had been the best of my life.
I crossed myself and stepped out of the car onto wet pavement, darkness surrounding me, sucking me into its cocoon. This was it. The beginning or the end.
Chapter Fifty-Three
Holly
Please come home.Please come home.
I paced the foyer of the monstrosity of a house, wearing a path in the marble flooring. Carlos would be out late, yet I couldn’t stop myself from waiting by the door.
“I made some tea.” Valentina set a serving tray on a table between two wingback chairs positioned near the staircase.
She poured each of us a cup and sat. “I’ve spent more nights in this foyer than I care to admit.”
I stopped, and she offered me a teacup.
“Why do you think I put a seating area right here?” She pointed toward the parlor just off the foyer. “From this position, I have a perfect view of the driveway.”
I looked out the window and found she was right. Standing, it wasn’t as clear, but when I took a seat, I’d see headlights as soon as they were visible.
“How do you stand this?” I blew on my tea before I took a sip.
“It never gets any easier. Sometimes I wish I would’ve gone through with the arranged marriage my father set up. Then I wouldn’t have cared if he came home or not.” She winked, and I wasn’t sure if she was serious.
“Your father arranged a marriage?” That was something from distant history, wasn’t it?
She smirked. “He should’ve known I never did what I was told. I warned him not to pay for a wedding. Did he listen? No. It’s not my fault all of it went to waste.”
“You left him at the altar?”
“For that, I would’ve had to show up. My parents were furious when I told them I was already married . . . until they found out who their new son-in-law was.” She casually sipped her tea, though there was a youthful mischief in her eyes.
I wondered what it was like to have a family who was there, even if they were doing meddlesome things like arranging a marriage.
“Carlos doesn’t want this world, but he’s stuck. It’s all he’s ever known. But you can help him get out.” She spoke as if she knew him well, though I supposed in a way all men in organized crime had similar traits.
“Does it bother you? The things Donato has to do?” I didn’t really know what those things were, but I had my assumptions.
“I trust him with my life, our family’s safety, and to do what’s best. When we go to bed at night, it’s the boy I fell in love with who holds me and the world is a better place because he’s in it.”
When I was with Carlos, it was the same. If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t be with him. For some reason, I felt I should have more of a conscience about what he’d confided in me about the past. And he hadn’t spelled out what was happening at this moment, but I knew. If it would make us safer, I wasn’t sure how much I cared, and I didn’t know how to come to terms with that.
My phone vibrated in my lap. An unknown number flashed on the screen, but I answered immediately in case it was Carlos.
“Holly, it’s me.”
A pit formed in my stomach. “Where are you? You need to turn yourself in and get some help.”
“I can’t. They’ll kill me.” There was less swagger in Jason’s voice than usual. He didn’t have that angry edge either. “I can’t talk long. I wanted you to know I’m okay, but I have to disappear for a while.”
Where was the demanding attitude? He almost sounded sober.
“You have to stop this,” I said. “It’s not too late to start over.” I wished he would.
“I’ll call when I can,” he said, glazing over my advice. “Give Gabriel a kiss for me.”
Who was this person? He sounded nothing like my brother of recent years.
