Dad snarls and fires four more shots, emptying the chamber. I hear a few empty clicks before he finally lowers the weapon.Cursing loudly, my father turns and walks back inside. Crisis resolved, I hurry to follow him.
Dante meets my eyes, wanting to know more, but smart enough not to ask. I shake my head, letting him know I can’t explain. Inside, Dad goes straight for the kitchen. He sets the gun down on the counter and hugs Marlena.
Without being asked, I sneak around the two of them and pick up the gun. I take it back to my father’s office and return it to the drawer. Marlena doesn’t like to see firearms in the house, especially not ones that have been recently fired. I’ll let my father deal with cleaning it and reloading it when he’s ready. The most important thing is that only the tree was hurt. We have time to sort things out before the situation gets any more serious.
I realize that everything I’ve dealt with today is just the beginning. That was business at its best, not business at its worst. As the leader of the family, I’ll have to deal with people like Andretti, or risk becoming a casualty myself.
I know Carlo Andretti pretty well. Before he went into hiding, he had occasion to talk to my father regularly. They were never friends, but they each operated large businesses in the same town, so there was a certain amount of cooperation. I never liked Andretti, but I know that he’s not going to risk his own life just to mock my father. The man is planning something. This card he sent is more of a warning than anything else.
We’re going to have to be extra careful from now on. My guess is that Marlena isn’t going to go anywhere on her own until after the baby is born. Maybe this will mean heightened security for all of us. Who knows? I’ll have to see what my father says whenhe’s feeling up to the task of debriefing his men. Until then, I’m still exhausted.
I head upstairs to take my shower and change my clothes. The life of a mafia prince isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. I’m incredibly jealous of all the normal law students out there, who only have to focus on passing the bar exam. At this rate, I’ll be lucky if I get any studying done at all.
I open my suite and walk inside, closing out all the drama when I lock the door. Inside, I’m finally able to relax, with no witnesses other than my conscience. I set my phone down on the dresser and stare at it for a second. Part of me wants to text Sofia, but it’s a small part. The rest of me just wants to bury my head in the sand.
I sigh, knowing that I can’t possibly pretend to be a normal person tonight. I’ll have to wait until tomorrow to contact her. Maybe by then, I’ll be thinking straight, and I can find a silver lining in everything that’s happened today. It’s hard to imagine what that might be, but I’m determined not to give up on my chance for happiness. Sofia is the one good thing that’s happened to me recently, and I won’t turn my back on her. But for the moment, I’m exhausted, so I tug my shoes off and go to bed.
CHAPTER 18
SOFIA
I’m surprised by Frankie’s text when I wake up, but even more surprised by my reaction to it. It’s been a couple of days since I’ve heard from him, and I was starting to worry. Of course, I didn’t let myself recognize the fact that I was worried, but all the same, receiving that text puts my mind at ease.
He doesn’t say much
Frankie: Thinking about you. Can we get together?
My heart speeds up, and I don’t waste any time responding.
Me: Sure. Dinner?
Frankie: I’m actually tired of eating out. Could we play golf or go for a walk?
I have to laugh, looking down at my phone. I’m still in bed, and a quick check of the clock in the corner tells me it’s 6:30 in the morning. I’m surprised he’s even up at this time, although witha new sibling on the way, maybe it’s a good thing he’s getting a jump on an early schedule.
Me: I’ve never played golf.
Frankie: Great! I’ll pick you up at noon.
I inhale deeply, setting my phone down near my pillow. A golf date. What could be more innocent than that? I imagine a country club full of beautiful people sipping lattes as they look out over the green. I think about all the fun we’ll have walking around the open fields, swinging our clubs before moving on to the next hole.
It will be the perfect place to pump him for more information, but I’m hardly even thinking about that. If I have to be honest with myself, I’m looking forward to spending time with Frankie. I know he’s the subject of my investigation, but the more time I spend with him, the happier I feel. He’s really sweet and I can’t imagine him caught up in any kind of criminal activity.
He picks me up around noon, just like he said he would. He knows where I live now, so I don’t have to pretend. I walk to the front door wearing sneakers and a pair of shorts. I don’t have any outlandish golfing outfits, so this will have to do.
Frankie gets out of the car and comes around to open my door.
“You don’t have to do that,” I scold him.
“I want to,” he says. “You deserve it.”
I sit down in the passenger seat, trying not to be impressed. The kind of guy who opens doors has long since ceased to exist in American society. I decide it must be his Italian heritage. I have to admit it’s charming, and I’m in danger of forgetting my hidden agenda. For once, I wish I could just relax and enjoy ourdate. I decide there’s no harm in having a little fun, since I have to be here anyway. I lean back in my chair and watch the houses slip away as Frankie takes us out of the neighborhood.
We have to backtrack past his house to get to the golf course. He lives out here with all the rich folks, while I live back with the nine-to-fivers. There’s a vast difference between us, but Frankie doesn’t seem to care.
He pulls into a massive parking lot that is halfway full of cars. I open my door before he has a chance to come around, but he’s there to help me out all the same. I accept his hand, standing up to breathe in the fresh afternoon air. He shuts the car and locks it with his key fob, and we walk together into the clubhouse to rent our clubs.
“You don’t have your own set of clubs?” I ask.
