AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I squeezed my eyes closed, taking a deep breath, hoping I could pretend that she hadn’t asked that. “She’s…” I cleared my throat as I turned to face her, seeing the hope in her eyes but the confusion plastered all over her face. Romeo never brought anyone here—ever. “That’s Bailey.”
She blinked, realization setting in. “Bailey…his girlfriend?” She paused, taking a step closer. “Why is she here, then? They’re handling business in the…” She trailed off, probably putting two and two together and creating four. Mom had been born into the Mafia, her father controlling part of Italy before her older brother—Luca, Lorenzo’s dad—moved to America to start a new life. She knew how this worked better than most of us inside the organization.
I nodded. I had no idea what Dad and Romeo had told Mom about the entire situation, which was why I probably should have kept my mouth shut, but dammit, when it came to my mom, I couldn’t. She’d been my best friend growing up. She and I were as thick as thieves when we were together—which was almost all of the time.
“She got hurt,” I blurted out, instantly regretting it when Mom’s face dropped, all of the color draining out of her. Her Italian tanned skin only got darker in the summer, but right now it was lighter than usual, which only served to showcase her face turning paler as the blood drained from it.
“What do you mean she got hurt?” She stepped forward, her shaking hand reaching out to me. “Raf?” I stayed silent, wincing at having confessed something that she clearly didn’t know. This was yet another one of the times when people decided not to tell me the ins and outs and still expected me to know who knew what. Communication was key, the problem was, no one ever communicatedwith me.
“Gio Pozzi.” Mom’s eyes widened at the name. I couldn’t help it. I couldn’t keep secrets from her. “He took Bailey, and Romeo got her out.” There was no point in keeping any of it back now. She may as well know almost all of it. “But Gio came back and tried to hurt her again.”
Mom’s throat bobbed, her feet shuffling on the floor. Her body swayed, so I reached out, grabbing on to her arms to keep her steady. “When you say she got hurt…”
“He…” I hated admitting what had happened to Bailey. Over the time that I’d been at Romeo’s house, keeping constant watch, I’d created a friendship with her. She was part of the family now. So I knew this wasn’t my place, but…my frustration was getting the better of me. “He raped her.”
Mom gasped, the sound so otherworldly I was sure I’d imagined it. “And that’s who is in the brick shed?” I nodded, not finding the words to say because this was a side of Mom that I’d never seen. She looked terrified but also ready to go to battle all at the same time. “We need to go down there.”
She tried to move past me, but I kept my grip firmly on her arms, not letting her move. It was one thing Romeo bringing Bailey here, but Mom couldn’t go down there when Dad was in the middle of business. She knew that, and she always abided by it.
“You can’t,” I told her, keeping my tone low.
“Yes, I can.” She stared up at me, her brown eyes welling up with tears. “Romeo brought Bailey here for a reason, and your father…” Mom paused, pulling in a stuttering breath. “He won’t allow it. But he has to.” She placed her hand on my face, smiling sadly. “He has to let her see it.”
I didn’t disagree, whatever reason Romeo had brought Bailey here for was good enough for me. But she was right, Dad wouldn’t like it. He was old fashioned, of the old ways, and this wouldn’t stand, especially not in his house.
So, I let her arm go and followed her through the house and out into the backyard. I caught sight of Dante as he reached the back gate. Dante Beretta was my cousin, he was also the younger brother of Lorenzo, the boss. His dad was my mom’s brother. He raised his hand, about to step toward us, but I shook my head.
Mom was in a world of her own, heading straight for the brick shed. She was already halfway there by the time Dante had pushed through the back gate and clicked it shut behind him.
“Mom,” I called, trying to keep my voice down, but it was no use because she was already at the door.
She reached out to open it, but paused as Dad’s voice roared from inside, “She needs to go.”
Mom turned to face me, pushing her shoulders back and schooling her features. This was the mom that I remembered, the strong version, the one who went to bat for us no matter what. I just hated that she barely made an appearance.
We stepped inside and I surveyed the room. Dad was standing across from Romeo and Bailey, two sides opposing each other, and off to the left was Gio Pozzi, the man who had broken the rules, the man who had tried to take us down from the inside out, the man who had hurt Bailey in unimaginable ways.
“Antonio,” Mom said, walking toward Dad. I stayed a little behind, coming in line with Romeo and Bailey. “She needs to stay.”
“Not now, Vivianna,” Dad growled, not looking away from Romeo for a single second.
“Yes,now,” Mom told him. She glanced around the room, stopping for the briefest second on Bailey. I frowned at the silent conversation happening between them, then raised my brows when Bailey stepped toward Mom. “She needs to see it, Antonio,” Mom continued, finally turning her attention back to Dad.
“She doesn’t.” Dad stepped forward, rage vibrating off of him. “No woman should ever—”
“What?” Mom interrupted, and I took a step forward too, not knowing how Dad would react. Mom never spoke to him like that—ever. “Get hurt? Get raped?” My stomach flipped at her words. “Newsflash, Antonio, she was hurt…Iwas hurt.” Mom placed her hand against her stomach and Dad’s gaze flipped down to it, a murderous look in his eyes. I screwed my face up, feeling the atmosphere completely change.What was happening?“She was raped…Iwas raped.”
“What?” Romeo whispered. “What did you say?”
My entire body shut down at her words, the room spinning, my ears popping and making it feel like everything was being said from three buildings away. Did I hear her right? I couldn’t have heard her right. I opened my mouth, but nothing came out as her words repeated like a broken record inside my head.
I was raped.I was raped.I was raped.
She was raped. Bailey was raped…Momwas raped.
No.No, no, no.
Not my mom. Not my sweet mom who tried to care for everyone. Not the woman who raised me to treat a woman with respect and kindness. Not the woman who rescued abandoned baby birds from the yard and kept them alive.
