Fifty-eight:Emmilia Vitore I had no cell phone. I had no purse. When I left, the guards didn’t even follow me. Vera seemed to scare even them. I should have known she wasn’t as innocent as she looked. To survive in our world, you couldn’t be a wilting flower. You had to be as dangerous as the men in it. Vera had killed her own husband. I had no doubt that she would try and kill me if I didn’t leave. At least if I were alive, I could try to get Tori away later. I didn’t want to leave. But I didn’t want her to witness my death either. Vera had already killed her husband. I had no doubt that she would try and kill me. I went to the only place that I could think of where I would be safe. Victoria Mariano’s house. The woman I had thought was my mother…. I had no way to get there but walk. As I walked, I couldn’t help but feel the rage that was coursing through me. Everything had been taken once again. A ca
Fifty-nine: Cesara Luna There were too many people in Boston that knew who I was. But Marco had places that he could take me where people wouldn’t know. “Your family is mob, right?” I said. I didn’t use that word often. I always said ‘underground’ as though that somehow made it less frightening, less of a cliché. But that’s what we both were. Marco nodded. We were sitting at a bar called Allegra’s. It had been owned by the Allegra family, the same one that Giana----or Maria----depending on who were talking to, belonged to. “I’m a cousin. I think. Maybe a brother. Our parents were never very clear, and they did have a weird history together. Either way, we’ve known each other since we were little. Went to the same schools and everything. I made my bones when I was sixteen working for her father. Her father was trying to make his empire expand, and so he arranged a marriage for Maria to the Vitore family. But Maria always had a mind of her own and she ended up
One There were two, tall, burly men standing outside my dorm room. “Um….” I stared at them. “I’m sorry about the hot plate?” One of the men glanced down at me. He pulled out his cell phone and looked at it. “Are you Emmilia Marino?” I raised an eyebrow. “Who wants to know?” “We’re security guards for your roommate, Laura Luna. She’s one of the heirs to the Luna fortune. The college had you sign an NDA, remember?” My eyes widened. “Oh. That. I thought that was just because she was going to the same school as me. Did I do something wrong?” The man shook his head. “No. Miss Luna is going to be your roommate. You were deemed the best possible candidate based on your background check.” I raised an eyebrow. “Background check?” He nodded. “You have a perfect GPA; you would have been class speaker in high school if not for the car accident that killed your father and put you in a coma for most of t
Two Laura plopped down on my bed like she owned it. We had been at school almost two months. “You’re avoiding me,” Laura said. I was in the middle of studying. I coughed. “No, I’m not. It’s junior year. I’ve got a lot of things that I have to do. I’m sure you do too, and you told me that you switched majors.” She shook her head. “No. I know when someone is avoiding me. I get it, I’m sure I’m putting a major cramp in your style with the security guards. I also know not everybody is best friends with their roommate. But my brother’s kind of rule this campus, and it’s hard for me to make friends. So…what do you say?” I turned around from my desk and looked at her. “I swear I’m not avoiding you. I actually think you’re pretty great. As for the security guards, Giovani and Billy don’t bother me.” “They don’t?” said Laura. I nodded. “They don’t.” “So, why do you keep on ignoring me when I say we should hang
Three The nicest dress I had was a black, strappy dress. The same one that I’d worn to the welcome back party that I had gone to freshman year. The one that Cesare had noticed me in, and had so much fun tearing it off. The reason for my biggest mistake ever. I’d had to sew it back together when I got home. I had high-heeled shoes that I’d worn to my dads funeral years ago. I put on some makeup, and then grabbed my purse and cell phone. I met Laura in the living room of the apartment. She was wearing a red dress, with gold earrings, and Manolo Blahnik shoes. Her purse was a Saint Laurent, black, with a gold strap on her shoulder. Her blond hair was slightly curled and she had a red bow holding back some of her hair. She looked too pretty for words. I was aware of how simple I looked. Laura, to her credit, only smiled at me and looped her arm through mine. “Come on. Let’s go. I already told the boys. They’ve got the car ready for us.”
Four I found myself being dragged out onto the dance floor. “Cesare---I don’t think this is a good idea. I don’t really know how to do this.” Cesare flashed me a smile. “It’s okay. It’s all about following the lead. I happen to be an excellent leader.” He placed a hand on my hip, then held my other one tightly. He smelled of cologne and cigarettes which shouldn’t have attracted me but it did. “I did some research on you.” I looked up at him. “Oh? Did you find anything salacious?” “You went to Italy your freshman year,” he said, “you stayed for nine months, and you did the online program while you were there. Why were you in the Old Country?” “I have family there,” I said, “my Nonna was sick. She’d never met me before. The family wanted me to spend some time with her.” “Why haven’t you spent time with her before?” “It’s my father’s family,” I explained, “he died when in I was in high school. He wasn’t r
Five Someone was watching me. I knew it wasn’t Billy or Giovani because they were both with Laura at her art history class. I was sitting in the library when I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I looked across the way, and I saw Cesare talking to the librarian. He had leaned up against her desk like owned it, said something that made her laugh, and then she pointed in my direction. Damn it. I had spent all of freshman year worrying that he would find me again. Now, I was a junior, and he would be graduating in the spring. Of course, he would find me in his last year… My eighteen-year-old self would have given anything for him to notice me. But my twenty-year-old self knew better. Cesare Luna wasn’t the kind of guy that you wanted attention from. He was the kind of guy you thought you wanted attention from and then when you got it, you regretted it immediately. Cesare strode towards me like he was the
Six Not all of the family was back in the Old Country. I had an aunt named Thalia who came to visit at least once a month. She lived in New York, with her three sons, and her husband. I hadn’t met any of them. I wasn’t exactly invited to family events. But, because the family knew my secret, my uncle liked to send people to check in on me. I was unsurprised when I got a call from my Mama on Saturday morning. “Are you working today?” she asked. I sat up in bed. “No. Why?” “Your aunt is coming. She wants to have lunch with you.” I froze. “What? Why?” “I’m not sure,” said Mama, “but dress nicely, and get here before noon.” I groaned. “Okay.” I got up and showered. As I was in the middle of getting dressed, the door to my room opened. A low whistle made me jump. I turned around and was surprised to see Cesare standing there. He smirked. “You look gorgeous. Who are you seeing?”