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“No,” I whispered in a shaky voice, and he smiled widely.
“Come on. Let’s go and say hello to my papi.”
“What?” I whisper- yelled in his ear as I took his arm and we followed the escort down a narrow stone corridor to the back of the building.
“My papi is the Buccini representative. He was a soldier who worked his way up the ranks for years, then ended up marrying my mamma who is Sal’s sister and then was elected a member of the commission.”
“Wow. That’s… impressive.”
Max chuckled deeply and I could see the pride in his smile. “Yes. He is my inspiration.”
After climbing an ancient staircase where the walls were decorated with enormous antique, renaissance paintings, we approached double doors with gold framed detail and I squeezed Max’s arm with nerves. He gave me a reassuring smile just as the doors were opened by two beefy men in black and we walked into an exquisite room full of paintings, statues and art. There in the middle of the room was a long, mahogany table with around twenty or so men all wearing expensive, designer suits.
Max walked us to the head of the table and bowed his head at them all in respect. I quickly copied him and as I looked up, I saw that all of their curious and very intimidating eyes were on me and not Max.
“Who is this? It is not every day we have a beautiful woman visit us?” One middle-aged man asked. I was relieved that they were talking in English. Before Max could answer I let go of his arm and stood up a little taller.
“My name is Olivia Jones and I am Giovanni Buccini’s girlfriend. I am here in his place.”
Silence fell around the room. Some of the men seemed surprised or shocked by my confident introduction while others narrowed their eyes and looked me up and down with suspicion.
“And why has Giovanni sent his woman and Capo instead of seeing us himself?” Another asked. As my eyes darted around the room, I tried to work out who was Max’s dad and representing the Buccini family. No one stood out.
“He is currently meeting with Riccardo and Lorenzo Leone alone,” Max said calmly.
“What?” One man stood up abruptly and Max smiled. “Alone? That is suicidal!” This man had the same green eyes as Max and I guessed it was his father from the evident concern he had for Gio.
“No it is not. Our family signed the treaty just like yours. Riccardo would be a fool to kill Giovanni.” Another man shouted. Clearly a member of the Leones.
“That is why we are here. To inform you of what is happening so if for whatever reason Giovanni does not make it out of this meeting, you all know who is responsible.” Max opened his bag and threw the pictures of me and Gio onto the table as well as an image of some Italian writing on a napkin and a map with the location they are currently meeting at. “Two weeks ago, the Leones cornered Olivia and threatened her life unless she delivered Giovanni a message to meet with them alone without informing Salvatore. Riccardo had been sighted in Verona multiple times, sending discreet messages to Giovanni like this one here.” Max lifted the photo of the napkin as all the men studied it.
“Why?” Another man asked.
“We don’t know. That is why Giovanni has decided to meet them. To hear what they have to say.”
“We want to be kept informed of this development, Maximus. Whatever the outcome of this meeting.” Max’s father said firmly, and he nodded. “You call me the moment you hear from Giovanni.”
After a few more questions from the commission about the meeting, we were sent on our way. As soon as we climbed back into the SUV with the two soldiers who had been waiting for us in the bar, I checked my phone for anything from Gio. My heart plummeted when I saw I had nothing. Glancing over at Max, I saw he was doing the same. When he felt my gaze on him, he turned his head and gave me a reassuring smile.
“I am sure he is fine. No news is good news, right?”
I nodded slowly as I watched the beautiful landscape zoom past my window, repeating those words over and over in my head.
A Close Encounter
Camilla
“Cami! I’m hungry,” Sani moaned from the floor where he was playing with his train set. I glanced down at my watch and saw it was gone one pm and it was probably time for their lunch. I had never really been the maternal type. I didn’t have a lot of experience around children so Sani and Raya being left in my care today was daunting to say the least. But I was going with the approach of giving them what they want to make them happy and keep the peace.
“Ok. What would you like? I will go and make you something.”
He paused his play, eyes rolling up to the ceiling and finger tapping his chin. “Finger sandwiches like Liv makes them. And chocolate. And apple juice. And some melon.”
I repeated the list back to him and he nodded. Ok. I could do that. I had never made finger sandwiches before, but I am sure it is not rocket science. Standing up from their playroom carpet, I brushed down my light blue sundress.
“What about you Raya?”
“The same please,” she smiled sweetly. She was such an angel. I grinned back before making my way to the door. After asking Marco to go inside and play with them while I made their lunch, I found myself hunting around in the spacious, modern kitchen that I swear was barely used by any of the family members. It took me forever before I even found any plates, but I was determined to be of some use today. Max and Liv had left to visit the commission hours ago and Gio was meeting the Leones. I felt slightly useless in this whole mess but if I could at least do a good job of taking care of these kids, then I was at least doing something.
