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“No.”
“Well, that speaks volumes, doesn't it?”
“What do you mean?” I was getting irritated with all these riddles she was using.
“Well, I am sure you had the opportunity to? And old Giovanni wouldn’t have thought twice about it. So, what made you hold back? Were you thinking about what might be best for her?” she smiled wickedly, and she knew she had me.
“It’s complicated, mamma. You wouldn’t understand.”
“As far as I can see. It is actually very simple. You like her and she likes you. You are good for each other, Giovanni. Don’t screw this up.”
I chuckled, which caused her to glare at me. “I am not good for her mamma. How can you even say that? She doesn’t even know who I am. Who we are and when she finds out she will leave.”
“You don’t know that. I was in her position once. You just have to be open with her Gio. Show her who you really are on the inside and who she is to you. Then she will see past the rest,” she said confidently, and I ran my hand down my face.
“I love your optimism but she has a dark past. One that she is still dealing with,” I glanced out of the window as the hotel we were meeting the French in came into view.
“We all have demons, Gio. But it all depends on whether she sees you as another one or as her saviour. Only you can help her make that choice.” The car pulled to a stop and mamma climbed out. I sat in the car for a few more seconds to clear my head of Olivia and pull down the mask of Giovanni Buccini, the ruthless underboss of Mala Del Brenta. To her I would always try to be her saviour, but right now, I was the devil in disguise. And we were one of the same.
Don't Be Late
Olivia
The late afternoon sun was starting to dip below the peaks of the jagged mountains in the distance and Sani, Raya and I were putting the final touches to our snowmen with the help of a reluctant Marco.
“Watch this Raya!” I exclaimed as I jumped back into a mountain of powdery snow and started moving my arms and legs back and forth, creating a perfect snow angel. I stood up and pointed as they both came over to see.
“Cool!” Sani said as he dived backwards and made his own. I helped Raya down before I climbed back into mine.
We giggled and stared up at the clear blue sky as we moved our arms and legs. “Do you think papi is an angel now?” Raya’s sweet little voice came from the pile of snow next to me. I couldn’t see either of them as the snow was so thick on the floor we had sunk down into it. Her words tugged at my heart strings, and I stared up at the sky.
“Yes. I believe he is, and he is watching over you all the time sweetie,” I replied.
“When I am older, I am going to kill the bad men that killed papi. Me and Gio will together,” Sani’s voice came from my left. I scrunched my face and sat up right, turning to look down at him.
“What do you mean, Sani?”
Just at that moment, a black SUV pulled up and Giovanni and Cecilia climbed out. Their meeting must have gone well as it wasn’t even five pm yet. The kids jumped up and ran towards them as I pulled myself a little more awkwardly out of the snow. Sani’s comment worried me a great deal. He had obviously been playing too many of those video games and it doesn’t help that he sees Giovanni and all these men walking around with guns for protection. I should probably broach the subject with Giovanni or Cecilia.
Suddenly, I felt a bolt of ice hit my coat and fall to crumbs on the floor. I glanced up and saw Giovanni grinning widely with mischief as Sani fell about laughing and pointing at me. I narrowed my eyes.
“Oh no, you didn’t!” I shouted as I leaned down and grabbed a handful of snow to make a hard snowball. Giovanni winked at me and pushed the kids' backs, shouting “Run!”
They all did, and I sent the ball flying towards Giovanni but missed his head by a mile. “Is that all you’ve got?” He shouted as he and Sani ducked behind a bush. Raya ran towards me and we hid behind a tree.
“Right Raya, we’ve got this! Roll this snow and make balls like this and try to hit them, okay?” She nodded her little head in her bobble hat with an excited grin. The first snowball aimed at us hit the tree and I chuckled.
“Pathetic!” I shouted over my shoulder with my back against the trunk. We screamed and laughed our way through ten minutes of an intense snowball war, darting in between trees and hiding places. Then it all fell silent.
“Okay Raya. Let’s make a run for it to the lodge.” I said, eyeing the steps that were about fifty metres away. I think we could make it. “One, two, three,” I whispered, and we both ran through the snow. Out of nowhere, a bulky body collided with mine and we fell back into the snow together, his hand under my head, protecting it from the fall. I stared up in shock as I peered into those dark brown eyes and a slow, cheeky smile spread across his face. My body was caged under the weight of his in the snow and instead of feeling the bitter cold from my landing, my body burned with the heat of his.
“Miss me?” he smirked as he looked down at my lips.
“Like a hole in the head,” I shot back, making him chuckle.
“There’s my girl,” he climbed off me and held his hand out to help me up. I glanced around for Raya and Sani, but it looked like they had already gone back inside with Marco. He kept my hand in his and pulled me to the side of the house, out of view, and pushed me up against the timber wall. His hands went straight into my hair and his lips found mine possessively and full of want. I grabbed the lapels of his suit jacket and pulled him into me more, needing to feel every inch of him covering my body. This kiss turned heated quickly as he lifted me with one arm gripping my ass and wedged me between his muscular frame and the lodge, as our tongues danced together. When we finally broke apart, we were both breathing heavily.
“I’ve been thinking about doing that all day,” he husked lowly, causing me to want to kiss him again.
