I close my eyes and try to rein in my emotions. I need to pull it together.
Somehow, I manage to prepare myself for the day, slipping back into the mask I’m so used to wearing. But, apparently, I still look terrible. When I bump into Nonna in the primary kitchen, she frowns.
“You look pale,tesoro.” She presses the back of her palm to my forehead. “Are you unwell?”
“No.” I force a smile for her benefit. “I’m just tired. Is Angelo here?”
She shakes her head. “I haven’t seen him this morning. Come, I made breakfast.”
“I can’t today, Nonna,” I tell her. “I have to get to work.”
“You need to eat,” she insists. “For thebambino.”
She offers me an encouraging smile when I swallow, and I realize that everyone in this house will be wondering the same thing every time they look at me now.Is she pregnant yet? Has she done what’s required of her?
I know it’s not their fault. None of us agreed to this treaty that we’re all bound by. It was passed down through inheritance. But the weight of that responsibility makes it hard to breathe.
“Nonna, I have to go.” I kiss her on the cheek and ignore her protests as I head for the door at warp speed.
Outside, I find Nicky and all five of my guards already waiting for me.
“We’ll escort you to work today,” Nicky tells me.
I nod and follow them to the waiting car, and then onto the water taxi that takes us into the city. Usually, I’d spend thecommute preparing for work. But today, I find myself zoning out for the entire ride.
Nobody bothers me, and when we reach the city, the entire fleet of guards follows me into work. I don’t miss the strange glances from passersby. This building is exclusive to members of IVI-owned businesses, and they’re familiar with security protocols, but even to them, this is overkill.
Thankfully, when we reach my office floor, Nicky directs the guards to disperse to their posts. I feel like I can breathe a little easier when he performs a sweep of my office and gives me the all-clear.
“I don’t suppose you’ll tell me where my husband is?” I ask.
“Don’t know.” Nicky shrugs. “Haven’t seen him.”
“Okay.” I offer him a weak smile.
“I’m sure you’ll hear from him soon,” he says. “Have a nice day, Mrs. Vitale.”
35
ABELLA
Angelo doesn’t return that night, and by the third day, I’m irritable and on edge. Much to Nonna’s dismay, I turned down two additional meals in that span of time, and only then did I receive a text from Angelo.
Eat.
One word. No other explanations. That’s all I get.
I ignore it and try to focus on work, which is usually my escape, but even that doesn’t seem to be helping right now.
By the time I’m ready to leave the office on Wednesday evening, I feel completely checked out. But when I step out into the hall, an unfamiliar guard greets me. I try to recall if he was one of those ten guards I met the night we boarded the yacht, but I can’t remember.
“Mrs. Vitale.” He nods at me. “Ready to go?”
“Yes.” A flicker of uncertainty passes over me as I scan the hall. “Where are the rest of the guards?”
“Downstairs,” he says. “There’s been a minor security breach today, and we’ll be using the service entrance to leave.”
“Is everything okay?” I follow him into the elevator.
