Page 50 of A Debt to Pay
Nonna has dropped her hands from my face and Elio replaces hers. Similar to his hugs, his touch is gentle, filled with affection. “What I said outside is true. I’ll take care of you, Luci. This baby will be ours and I’ll raise it like my own. I won’t let this baby be raised without a father. Will you let me help you?”
“Of course, she will! Caterina was lucky to have us, but Luci needs a man to help her, not just family. Elio, you will help Luci with anything she needs, and Luci, you will let Elio help you.”
A mix of emotions flash through me at Nonno’s words, anger coming out first. “Stop talking about me like I’m not here. Nonno, you say you hate Alessandro and his family for what he wanted Nonna and me to do, but you’re the same! I don’t want anyone forcing me to be with someone.” Elio grabs me before I have a full chance to take two steps.
“Let me show you to your bedroom. You’ll be across the hall from me. You must be tired. How about we all sleep and addressthis in the morning?” I let Elio lead me upstairs into the room I’ll be sleeping in as I hear conversations in the background. I overhear Nonna and Mamma from the living room as I walk upstairs. Mamma is intentionally shaming me while Nonna reminds her about when she was in my position. I would have thought Mamma would be more empathetic.
“I raised her to be better than me.”
The words she says, filled with defeat and disappointment hurt like a knife to the heart. I continue listening to their now muffled voices while tears pour down my face and I muffle my cries by holding my hand to my mouth. I rush into the bedroom Elio shows me and I shut the door so he doesn’t see my tears.
He knocks once before Nonno stops him, speaking in the hallway between the door I’m behind and what is supposedly Elio’s room. Their conversation is more about what their plan is versus shaming me for what I’ve already done.
“You need to protect her. I spent years keeping the three of them away from the Leones and it still happened to my family. Be better than me.”
“I know I ruined your trust as a teenager. My biggest regret in life is letting things go too far and having to leave her. Now that I have the opportunity to have her again. I’ll do everything I can to keep her. I love Luciana.”
“Good man. We’ll figure out the rest tomorrow.”
I lay down, crying and whispering to my baby, even though he or she can’t hear me yet. “It’ll be okay, baby. I’ll get us back to your papa.”
The sun shines through the window before I realize I’ve fallen asleep. In my dazed state, the first thing I comprehend is that Alessandro’s body isn’t wrapped around me and the lack of his citrus and amber cologne. I open my eyes and my heart sinks when I wake up from what I was hoping was a nightmare.
If you had told me in high school I would be sleeping in Elio’s home, I would have said that would be my dream. Now having that as my reality, I would give anything to be back in Pennsylvania with Alessandro. My love, my fiancé, and the father to my unborn baby.
Chapter 46
Alessandro
The Next Day
Blood runs hot in my veins as I pace around my basement. Enzo and other security members are tied to chairs, some bloodier than others as I let my anger out on the men who failed me. Marco straddles a chair behind me, his only job making sure I don’t kill any of his staff.
“Now Enzo, remind me. How did you let my pregnant fiancé escape through a window and down old vines from the third floor?” His swollen cheek and busted lip stay strong while his eyes express the fear his face doesn’t share.
“I-I-I.” I’ve never seen the man flustered, but he understands the severity of the situation.
“You what? Spit it the fuck out already!”
“I thought she was asleep because I didn’t hear her moving around anymore. I knew you wouldn’t want me opening the bedroom door and checking on her. You had security around the property and me at the door. I assumed no one would be able to get in.” In a flash decision, instead of answering him, I swing around, punching Enzo so hard he tips over along with his chair. I’m sick and tired of people blaming me.
“KO!” Marco lets out a childish laugh as I scowl at him. “What? It’s from the video game we played as a kid. And last week.”
“I know where it’s fucking from, I’m wondering why you’re quoting it.”
“I’m bored, and the opportunity presented itself. Is he alive? I like Enzo.” Enzo’s breath comes out hot as I check if he’s alive. Once I confirm, I nod to Marco before turning to my other staff, seeing who’s brave enough to answer.
“Who’s next to tell me how my team failed me?”
Domenico, a senior member of our staff, someone I brought from Italy who’s worked for Geno since I was a kid speaks up. “We closed the gambling rooms, bringing in all members of our staff for the night before your wedding along with the wedding itself. The only way someone could have gotten by is by studying us. Looking for patterns in what areas are normally missed and at what times while examining the fence for any weaknesses. With extra staff on duty, we should have had a pattern where every part of the property always had eyes on it.”
Our eyes connect, close enough that we can feel each other breathing as my hands are rested on my knees. “Who left their area unattended?”
He catches my eyes, moving his to the left three times, refusing to answer verbally. Eye signals are an old technique Geno used when Domenico was a new recruit almost twenty years ago. The young man he gave up is a fresh recruit, normallyat our gambling rooms as a bouncer. We brought him, along with other young recruits in as extra security for the wedding.
I stand straight, walking passed him before turning suddenly, putting a bullet between his eyes as his head bounces back. Marco’s plan be dammed, I’ll do what I want. After tucking the gun back into the waistband of my pants, I bolt out of the quiet room. As the door slams behind me, I leave him dead, Enzo unconscious, Marco straddling the chair, and the rest of my men tied up.
I spend the majority of the afternoon in my office re-watching the video footage of Luci leaving with Aldo. The son of a bitch hasn’t worked for my family since he was barely able to call himself a man. Yet, he still managed to turn off security cameras, sneak past my best men, and climb in and out of a third-story bedroom. If his actions didn’t make me this irate, I’d ask Aldo if he wanted to work for my family again.