“For once, I agree with Enzo,” Mamma said disdainfully. She reached for the box of tissues on the coffee table and tore one out to wipe her tears and ruined makeup. “You’re all we have. We won’t risk you, Gabriela. Your safety is not something to be gambled with.”
I started relenting under their beseeching.
Mamma and Papà conceived me when they were young and as a result, I felt like I grew up with them in a way where they were more like my older siblings than parents. But now, with their downturned lips, fear in their eyes, and ashen faces, they looked weary beyond their respective forty-one and forty-three years of age.
They were doing their best to stay strong, but this had shaken them to their core. They wouldn’t budge from their decision and there wasn’t much I could do to go against their wishes. Especially when I knew Papà would flex his muscles and have an army of his men barricading me if I refused.
I also wouldn’t be the one to put them through any form of stress if I could prevent it. I loved them too much. Therefore, closing my eyes, I whispered the word that sealed my fate, “Fine.”
Whereas Mamma’s and Papà’s postures deflated with relief, mine stiffened with vexation.
Needing to establish a game plan, I asked, “What comes next?”
“Starting tomorrow, I’ll drive you to school,” Mamma said. “And you’ll remain in public spaces with other students—never alone—until I finish work and can pick you up.”
“That’s not convenient.” And while I adored my parents, I could only handle them in smaller, healthy increments. Not such large doses. “My schedule isn’t compatible with your hours at the salon. It won’t work.”
“Then I’ll drive you, and on the days that I can’t, one of the guards will,” Papà stated, smoothing invisible lint from the sleeves of his suit jacket. “Nonetheless, you’re not travelling solo. And I’ll have a guard following you at all times even if it’s from a distance, Gabriela. That’s non-negotiable.”
It was my turn to stand up and pace, my teeth nervously chewing my thumbnail. I should have gotten my license months ago. “What if I carpool with Anna and Layla?” That way, I could keep some of my sanity. “And on the days when that’s not possible, a guard can drive me. Is that fair?”
“Fair.” Papà pulled out his phone to check the time. “I have a meeting tonight with the Remingtons and the De la Croixes. Once that’s adjourned, I’ll ask Josh to show me the security footage from the building. One way or another, we’re going to figure out who did this and make them pay. Understood?”
I was the apple of my parents’ eyes. Regardless of our differences and flaws, they’d do anything for me. “Understood, Papà.”
“Now that that’s settled…” Mamma rose from the sofa and came over to me, framed my face and planted a tear-stained kiss on my forehead. “I’m so happy you’re okay,cara mia.” Throwing a dirty look over her shoulder at Papà, she added, “Enzo, I’m going to start preparing dinner. Feel free to leave before I serve it.”
He scoffed, still scrolling on his phone. “Nice try. I didn’t drive all the way here to leave unfed,principessa.”
“Don’t call me your princess, Enzo.”
“What are you going to do about it, huh?” he goaded, going from a menacing mob man to a besotted fool for her. “Ask me for another divorce?”
“Dio mio, you grate on my nerves,” Mamma grumbled as she sashayed in front of him on her way to the kitchen.
“Do I grate on your nerves when I send you a hefty deposit so you can afford your designer shoes, purses, and clothes?” He threw her a shit-eating grin when she flipped him the bird before disappearing down the hallway. “Yeah, didn’t think so.”
Mamma did well for herself as a hairdresser and nail technician. Though they were more hobbies than jobs at this point. She didn’t really need to work. Not when her ex-husband kept her bank account well-padded and supported all her materialistic wishes. Mamma and I were similar in that sense. We both liked to spend Papà’s money. And he doted on us, never once complaining.
When she was no longer within earshot, Papà tapped the seat next to him. I went over and he put his arm around my shoulders, hugging me to his side. “It’s going to be okay, Gabriela. No one will ever hurt you on my watch.”
I had no doubt. Even when I was a little girl, I knew Papà was a ruthless mob man working with the Remingtons—one of Montardor’s dominating crime families—yet I’d never been afraid of him. I’d only been subjected to his loving and caring side. Come hell or high water, I knew he’d defend me with his dying breath.
“I know.” I rested my head against his shoulder, inhaling his familiar scent. It hadn’t changed since I was a kid and it always brought me a sense of comfort. “Thank you for always protecting me.”
His reply came in the form of a kiss against my temple. “Ti voglio bene, Gabriela.”
“Ti voglio bene anch’io, Papà.”
After a few seconds of silence, he gathered enough courage to ask, “How’s your mamma doing these days? Is she still dating those losers?”
“Please.” I leaned back to pin him with a chiding stare. “Don’t act like you haven’t kept tabs on your precious Lucia. You already know who your ex-wife is and isn’t dating. And if you want her to stop dating ‘those losers’, then maybeyoushould ask her out.”
He rubbed his forehead like he was the one tired of dealing with these dramatics. Hah. Try being in my shoes for a day. “You’re just like your mamma. Feisty and witty.”
“I also happen to have your temper.”
“And my good looks.” He cast a yearning glance in the direction of the kitchen, where we could hear the clanging of pots and pans as Mamma prepared us a meal. “Hers too. Don’t tell her I said that, though.”
