She arched an eyebrow. “Does she know?”
“I. . .” I frowned. Did she know? She knew I wanted to fuck her, but did she know I cared about her? I thought of the bathroom that Sunday morning and decided she must have known I didn’t go around holding women while they cried and promising them I’d take care of them. I cleared my throat and gave her another truth. “I think so.”
“Do her brothers know?”
“No.” I rubbed a spot on the back of my neck that felt like it was burning. I wasn’t used to dealing with mothers, especially not the mother of someone I’d fucked. This was making me feel like I was fifteen all over again.
“She’s getting married,” she said with a sad lilt.
“I know,” I said. “I know this is impossible for many different reasons. . .”
“Dangerous,” she supplied. “It’s dangerous. They’ll kill you. Maybe not Dominic, but Giuseppe and Adriano will kill you.”
“I know that as well.”
“And yet, you came alone.” She blinked a couple of times like she couldn’t wrap her head around that.
“With all due respect, Sofia, I don’t need backup.”
She searched my eyes. “Are you willing to die for my daughter?”
“Yes.” No hesitation. I felt as surprised as she looked.
“I’ll tell you where she is.” She took a shaky breath. “But you have to promise me, swear to me, that you’ll keep her safe.”
“You have my word,” I said as she handed me a card. I looked at it. Naples. She was in fucking Naples. “Do you have someplace safe to go?”
“Do you think I’m in danger?” she asked, an edge to her voice.
“I think you know your husband better than I do, but I’d stay vigilant.”
“I need to stay with my mother.”
I looked at the man next to her and nodded. I’d told her I didn’t need backup. If I told her she needed more security, I’d be a hypocrite and it would be a slap in the face to the man protecting her. I had no doubt she’d be safe. Giuseppe was a monster, but I knew he wouldn’t harm his wife or his children. As I walked out of the hospital, I replayed our conversation.Are you willing to die for my daughter?I didn’t hesitate with my answer, and as I tried to analyze it from every angle, giving myself an out, I found none. Once upon a time, I’d been willing to die for my country. I’d always been willing to die for my brothers, bound by blood and shared secrets we’d take to our graves. I’d been willing to protect women I’d been with in the past, of course. If they were attacked, I’d defend them. I wasn’t a fucking asshole. But die for them? Fuck no, I wouldn’t die for them. Yet, I knew, beyond a doubt, that I would gladly give my life to save Lenora. She was too innocent for all of this shit.
18
LENORA
The water waswarm as it hit my toes buried in the sand. It was blissful here. The beach was pretty deserted. Few people were fortunate enough to take random weekdays off to enjoy this. I closed my eyes and laughed when I felt a splash on my stomach. I’d been sunbathing when two little kids decided they wanted to build a sandcastle beside me. I peeked my right eye open and found one of them staring at me, his dark curly hair covered in sand.
“What happened to your castle?” I sat up and leaned forward to wash the sand off my hands.
“It won’t stay,” the older one said.
I look at what they had to work with. They had two plastic buckets, one red and one blue, and sea animal shapes — a dolphin, a turtle, and a starfish. I hadn’t been exposed to many children. My older family members were much older, and all their kids were in their twenties and early thirties. I knew Nadia and Tony’s kids, but it wasn’t like I saw them often. I’d always said I wanted to have kids at twenty-five. Now that I knew it was on the horizon, I wanted to revolt against it. I looked at these two. One had to be around five, and the other maybe six or seven. They were cute and inquisitive, but it wasn’t like my ovaries kicked when I saw them. Rosie said whenever she saw a baby, she wanted one. Each time she said it, my brother took her in his arms and acted like she was something fragile to be worshiped. It was beautiful and depressing.
“Where are your parents?” I asked.
They both looked at the two beach chairs and pointed. I looked over, and their mother smiled and waved at us. I waved back with a smile. A man was lying on his stomach, his left hand hanging to the side, a book he’d been reading discarded on the sand. I assumed it was their father.
“Do you know how to build a castle?” the older one asked.
“Yes.” I pressed my hands back into the sand and closed my eyes, tilting my face towards the sun.
“Can you help us build it?” the younger one asked, his little voice sounding too sweet to say no to.
I sighed and sat up, looking at the two of them again. They were relentless, these two. They reminded me of my brothers. “I’ll teach you, but you’ll have to build it yourself.”
