Chapter Thirty Nine
Carly
I was grateful to Gio for fixing breakfast. It gave me a small reprieve before I had to sit Eli down and explain to him what was going on. How do you tell your eight year old that, thanks to your job, you have a crazy stalker after you?
“Eli,Amato, there is something I need to tell you.”
“What’s wrong, Mama?”
I saw his eyes cut over to Gio as if he was worried he’d done something. I sat on the sofa and pulled him onto my lap. “You know that before I became manager I danced on a stage. Sometimes, doing that can cause some people to get the wrong idea.” I closed my eyes a moment before I continued. “Do you know what it means to stalk something?” When he shook his head no, I explained the concept to him. “It means follow, even when doing so scares whatever you are following. Someone has started doing that to me. It’s a very scary thing, and I want us to be safe. So does Gio. He asked us to stay at his house until the police can find the man who is following me. You can take anything you want with you, even your game system.”
“Is he gonna try to hurt you, Mama?”
I knew he meant the stalker. “I don’t know,Amato.” I glanced at Gio before I turned my attention back to my son. “Let’s get packed. We can act like we’re going on vacation.”
“Cool!”
“I even have a swimming pool of my own.”
If Eli had any trepidation about going to Gio’s, hearing there was a swimming pool erased it. I watched him rush off to his room to pack. “Dio. That was so hard to do.”
“I know,Bella, but you did well.”
When Gio wrapped his arms around me, I leaned into him and rested my head on his chest. “Thank you for being here this morning.”
“Haven’t you figured out yet,Tesoro? I don’t want to be anywhere else but with you. Take today off. I will have Tony keep an eye on things at the club. You need to take a day to let go of the stress.”
I could have argued. Maybe I should have. But I didn’t want to. “I think you’re right. I need to just...not think about it for one day. Maybe I’ll get lucky and they’ll find him today and I won’t have to worry anymore.”
I left Gio in the kitchen to clean up the dishes while I went to pack a bag for Eli and I. I took enough for just a few days. If I needed to get more, I could always come back for it.
The last thing I did before we left was call Risa. She needed to know, too. To say she was pissed at me for not telling her about the letter when I first got it was putting it lightly. Still, she understood why I was going to stay at Gio’s house.
“Just keep me posted about what’s going on, okay? You’re like family.”
“I will, Risa.” I hung up the phone and nodded at Gio. I was ready to go.
Having already been in Gio’s home, I knew what to expect when we pulled up to the gate. I turned in my seat to watch my son’s face. The wide-eyed stare made me laugh. “You’ll have plenty of space to ride your scooter in the backyard. Just be careful around the pool.”
“I will, Mama. Can I pick my own room?”
The hopeful look on his face when he looked to Gio made my heart ache.
“Of course. There are five guest rooms to pick from.”
“Yes!”
Ah, to be a child again. It didn’t take much to make them happy.
Stepping into the foyer, I was startled to find the house wasn’t empty. Gio’s mother, Carmella, was there with several of he children that had been at the anniversary party.
“Eli!”
“Matteo! What are you doing here? I got my PlayStation with me, wanna play?”
“I hope you don’t mind. I asked Mama to come by so Eli could have someone to play with.”
“Mind? Gio, that was so sweet of you. Of course I don’t mind.”
