“Both of us,” Alessandra said. “Marcello.”
Chiara grinned. “Savio.”
The four Bonifacio siblings found themselves embroiled with the Cavetti siblings. Somewhere, deep inside of me, there was a bead of doubt. Had it really just been serendipitous that they each took an interest in us?
Then again, it was me that first made a move on Natalia.
“I can see what you’re thinking,” Chiara said. “You’ve always been slow to see the good in others, but these four… they’re different from their father. Trust me on this.”
Alessandra nodded in agreement, and Natalia’s smile slipped across my mind and I believed that to be true as well, but if we all were entering into our own affairs with the Cavettis, what did that mean for our futures? Were we just going to continue to be their captive lovers, as Lucia had been for Romeo, or did some semblance of freedom await us at the end of this rope?
And what of Angelo?
If the brothers were prepared to prove that they truly cared for my sisters, there was a certain level of forgiveness that could be afforded them, but Angelo Cavetti was a man I could neither forgive nor allow to live. When I cut the head off the Cavetti snake, what would the others do? Would they turn their backs on us? Break my sisters’ hearts and attempt to bring our family more destruction, or would they understand my reasoning and stand at our side?
“Just be careful. Both of you,” I said. “Our family has seen too much death already.”
“Yeah,” they said in unison, and I stood up again so I could pull them into another hefty hug.
The time that passed felt both like an eternity and the blink of an eye. Those who actually showed some concern for the situation and hung around after the shot came back into the chapel and stood in wait. It was an interesting sight to see. Men and women in the best clothes they had, also holding guns casually in their hands. Ready to react at a moment’s notice. They were the few who’d proven they afforded the Cavettissomeloyalty. And though it was difficult to imagine any of them holding Angelo in high regard, they mentioned his sons, concern for Lucia, and a couple of them even approached the twins and I and offered belated condolences for our parents, and bowed their heads to hear of Antonio’s loss. It was our generation of our families that had earned these allies. They wouldn’t weep when Angelo was gone.
Good to know.
Eventually, the doors to the chapel opened, and Alessandra, Chiara, and I were relieved to see Lucia, though bloody, standing alive and well next to Romeo. He was held up by Savio on one side and Marcello on the other, and I could see the tension in Chiara’s shoulders release slightly as he walked past to help Romeo to the altar. Natalia came in from the other side and set a hand on my shoulder.
“The wedding is proceeding,” she said simply.
“What? Her dress is covered in blood, he can barely stand? Is it that important? Can’t they postpone for a bit?”
Chiara stood up and moved to my other side, motioning for Natalia to sit next to me, which she did. “Lucia wants this. Romeo confessed his true feelings for her. I’ve never been more certain that the feelings between them are true.”
The sincerity in Natalia’s eyes was convincing enough, but then I looked up at Lucia, holding Romeo’s face, shedding happy tears as the minister rushed his way through the nuptials. She looked the happiest I’d ever seen her. I sat back in the pew, and Alessandra reached over and grabbed my hand, grabbing Chiara’s with the other, bringing them together in her lap.
With my left hand, in spite of the risk, I grabbed Natalia’s hand and held it in mine.
For a brief moment, I imagined running once again. Taking Alessandra, Chiara, Lucia – Natalia too – and escaping for good, but then Lucia and Romeo’s lips locked, their hands settling over her stomach and I knew that escape was a dream I’d never see. This enmeshed life with the Cavettis was our reality now.
Lucia may be the first Bonifacio turned Cavetti, but I had a feeling she would not be the last.
19
Natalia
The moon was only just beginning to curve over the apex of the night sky when my eyes fluttered open. It was the fifth or sixth time in about three hours that falling asleep had only resulted in about twenty minutes of rest before I was coming to again.
I couldn’t sleep.
Sure, I could blame it on the hectic events of the wedding, learning that Gianni was dead for good this time, the fact that Giorgio had nearly run into the face of danger unprepared, but the truth of the matter was, my body had been behaving strangely as of late. I was officially late about a week after Romeo and Lucia’s wedding, and the three weeks since had only confirmed for me what I already believed to be true.
I was pregnant.
Still, I couldn’t bring myself to take the pregnancy test I’d purchased at the same time I’d bought the morning after pill and condoms. It wasn’t as if I didn’t already know what it was going to say, but I didn’t want to confirm it to be true just yet. I’d yet to mention anything about it to Giorgio. Things happened one right after the other after we were together that first time, and apart from our kiss at the wedding, we hadn’t been able to get back to one another. I could still visit his room and talk with him, but that was it.
I no longer needed to sneak him food or medical supplies, as those things were coming to him at regular intervals by the house staff now. Lucia, Chiara, and Alessandra were all regularly allowed to visit whenever they wanted. A few times, I found myself spying on their conversations, a habit I’d developed from years on the outside of the Cavetti operation. All I’d ever caught, though, was Lucia trying to coax Giorgio into discussing what had happened down in the dungeon, and the twins sharing happy stories about their late brother and parents.
More than anything, I was jealous of them.
They were allowed to walk in whenever they wanted, but all I had was standing and staring at him from outside the door.
