Britney shook her head.“No I don’t know her, but I feel like I should know her.There's something about her, something I should remember but I can’t.Oh god, my head hurts.”She raised her hands and rubbed her temples as if she were rubbing away a headache.
Charli studied her for a moment then looked at Ace and shrugged.Turning back to Mario, she asked him.“Just where exactly did you find her cousin/” She asked with a tense question in her voice.
Mario shrugged his shoulders.“I found her in Chicago.I stopped for coffee and she was my waitress.She asked me where I was from and I told her Italy then she asked where I was going and when I told her Braaken Ridge, she froze then she said that name sounded familiar to her but she couldn’t remember why.Then she asked if she could come with me because she thought she grew up in the area.Then she explained that one day about four years ago she woke up in the hospital with no memory of how she got there or who she was.”
Charli looked at Britney again and asked, “Have you figured out anything more about your past since then?”
Britney shook her head slowly.“No, it's like everything is locked behind a door inside my brain and I don’t have a key.I didn’t come here to cause trouble, I swear I didn’t.But when Mario said Braaken Ridge, a flash lit up in my mind.I recalled that name and I thought maybe if I came here I would remember something about my past.I’m just looking for answers as to what happened to me.Like am I really from this place, do I belong here?Who am I and how the hell did I end up in Chicago?”She sobbed and added, “I just want to know what happened to me.”
Charli just shook her head and knelt down to offer her a hand up.
Brtiney took her hand and stood.Then she sat back down in the chair.
Charli sighed hard and went over to Ace.
He wrapped his arms around her and just held her and set his chin on the top of her head.
Deuce and King went back over to the stairs area.
Ace looked at his brother Joker and nodded.“Start digging into Ray Benittini.If he is Tirade then we need to know more about what he’s been doing for the last fifteen years.”Looking over at Mario, he growled.“And you are going to tell us what you and your family have been doing since you left here to go back to Italy fifteen years ago.And we need to know why your dad is so anxious to get his hands on Charli after leaving her behind.”
Mario nodded, then he glanced at Britney and asked, “Per favor?She’s been through a lot, she needs some food and a place to lay down for a while.”
Charli broke away from Ace’s embrace and walked over to Britney.“Come on, I can get you some food.”
Britney stood from the chair and followed her to the kitchen.
Once they were out of the room, Ace glared at Mario.“Just what kind of trouble did you bring to your cousin’s door?”
Mario shook his head.“I didn’t know about most of this, I swear I didn’t know.The last time I saw Charli, I taught her how to use the blades we were making.I thought that was the least I could do and that maybe one day, she could use what I taught her to protect herself.”
King came back into the room as he carried a rifle and a handgun.“Oh no worries about that.”He chuckled.“We saw the moves you taught her back then and I must say I was impressed by her skill.”
Mario paused, then he looked over at King.“She handled the blades well?She remembered the moves I taught her?”
Ace nodded.“She remembered the moves all right, scared the hell out of all of us.She honed those blades to a fine point then she showed off a bit.”He smiled a bit at the memory.“She told us while she sharpened them that her cousin Mario taught her all about her heritage and he taught her how to use them as well.”
“Bene.”Mario smiled.“She was always a quick study with the blades.I gave her an old set of her father’s.My father had kept them after Michael died.Shortly before she was supposed to go home, I gave them to her and asked her to keep the blades a secret.”Shaking his head he admitted, “I never told my father I gave her that set of knives.But I thought she should have at least something her father once owned.It was his last set of blades.My father didn’t know until it was too late and he couldn’t do anything about it.Let’s just say he wasn’t happy about the blades being left behind.But it was the right thing to do.”
“So why is he so interested in getting Charli back now?”Ace growled.
Mario shrugged.“I think it’s got something to do with the upcoming festival.All the clans in the family come together every ten years or so and this year it's our turn to host.There’s been talk about joining the two main branches together with a wedding and Charli being Michael’s only child would have been the bride.”
“She’s already married...”Ace growled.“...To me.”His eyes glittered.
Since this man was huge and he looked pissed off, Mario took a small step back and explained it, “But her marriage was never sanctioned by the Council.They have the right to dissolve your marriage and let her marry someone else.”
“The hell they do!”Ace exclaimed.
All of his brothers growled at the idea as most of them now held weapons.
Mario looked rattled as he sighed.“My father thinks so but I feel if he wanted that right he should have taken her with us and taught her the rules of our clan, fifteen years ago.He didn’t do that so now he has no claim to her.But he thinks because she is Michael’s daughter that she has to fall into line.I heard him tell the Council that she would be grown before the Festival and when the time was right, he would send for her.He doesn’t realize he left it too late for her to just fall into line.Charli is right about that.Ben did raise her, we didn’t.They should have taken her in to raise her from the time her parents died.But they didn’t.I saytheybecause I am nearly the same age as Charli.I had no say and really, I still don’t.They left her here with Ben and he had no idea what to do with her.He didn’t know all the secrets a child from our family needed to know in order to pass it down to the next generation.But my father liked having the power, he liked having the respect a leader has.Even now he thinks he can just command her to fall in line.And what’s worse, is that he’ll still be the leader of our clan because the bride always goes to the groom’s family.”
“Oh, hell no.”King snarled.“That isn’t gonna happen.Charli belongs right here on this farm with us.She’s already got a husband and they have a kid together.I can’t see her leaving Ace and Ben behind.No fucking way.”
Mario shook his head.“I don’t see her leaving this farm behind either.She told me about her life here with Ben and her grandmother when we were young.She once told me that while she couldn’t remember her parents very well, they were right here with her too...they are her connection to this place.”
“Then someone needs to tell your dad that,” Ace grumbled.“And make him understand that he screwed up by leaving her behind.”
