Total pages in book: 152
Estimated words: 144979 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 725(@200wpm)___ 580(@250wpm)___ 483(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 144979 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 725(@200wpm)___ 580(@250wpm)___ 483(@300wpm)
Oh my god, Val mouths the words. Why didn’t you tell somebody?
I don’t know, I confess. I didn’t feel like I was in any real danger after it happened. Honestly, Val, I think there’s something wrong with me because God help me, I’d rather be back on that roof with him than planning this wedding.
Do you think it’s someone you know? Her eyes widen as she considers it.
I hesitate, and she pokes me in the shoulder. You have to tell me.
It’s impossible. I shake my head. I know it can’t be him, but…it felt like him.
Angelo?
I force a nod. I know it sounds crazy.
Does it, though? She questions. Or is that just who you wanted him to be?
I don’t answer that because, honestly, that’s a possibility.
Val chews on her nail for a moment, glancing in the direction of our father’s office again.
What about Tony or building security? she asks. Weren’t they there?
Tony never mentioned it, but I could tell he was on edge. He was here the next day as usual, but he seemed disoriented, like maybe he’d been drugged or something. And as for Eugene, the only thing he said was that he was sorry he missed me leaving that night. He told me he was on a smoke break, but he was gone for way too long for that to be true.
Her brows scrunch together, and I’m sure she’s questioning my sanity, too. Logically, she should. I have no proof that anything even happened.
Listen, we need to figure all of that out, she agrees. But I think we should circle back to what I said earlier. If someone is after you, that’s all the more reason to use the Aegis network to get you out. Away from them and free and clear of this wedding.
I sigh and shake my head, refusing to entertain that option. Even if we could make it happen, that’s a last resort for me. I’d have to leave everything behind—my family, my friends, my career. If I don’t have those things, I have nothing.
You’ll always have me and Gabi, she assures me. No matter where you are. We’d find a way.
I don’t tell her that she’s living in a dream with that notion. Valentina has a tendency to be more of an optimist than a realist, and I can’t fault her for that. She’s the baby of the family, and though she’s faced challenges, the world hasn’t fully hardened her yet.
I hold my head high and rise from my seat. “It will all work out, so please don’t worry about me. But now I really do have to go.”
I’m halfway to the door when Val blurts out her reply. “Mom wouldn’t have wanted you to go through with this.”
I turn and offer her a sad smile. “I know. Maybe that’s why she’s not here.”
She couldn’t save us, and she knew what the future held. So, I guess she spared herself the pain.
Thanks for looking after her, Natalia signs the words to me before she peers down at baby Madalena sleeping in her stroller.
“It’s no problem.” I glance between her and her husband Alessio, noting the unholy glow on their faces. “What are godmothers for?”
A flush creeps over Natalia’s cheeks as she signs to her husband, accusing him of giving them away. My heart nearly melts when he signs his response, given that he’s only recently learned ASL. The man was quite literally a stone-cold killer when Natalia came into his life. But looking at them now, it’s safe to say I was right when I once told her that if she was lucky, they would learn to love each other.
Alessio Scarcello is Angelo’s cousin, but he’s never sworn an oath to the Cosa Nostra. He works primarily within IVI, the other secret organization that rules our lives. It’s an ancient order with powerful connections all over the world—including government and politics. While the Cosa Nostra is known for being the knee-breaking variety of law and order, the Society is often spoken of as a more refined style of Mafia.
Alessio and I run in the same Society circles, and he often gives his friends referrals to me as a stylist. When his wife needed a new wardrobe and someone fluent in ASL, he asked for my assistance. But as it turned out, Natalia and I hit it off so well that we became close friends. I’m honored to call her as much, and even more so that she would choose me as the godmother of their angelic baby girl.
“You do know I can understand everything you’re saying, right?” I interrupt their conversation.
They smile at each other and return their attention to their little girl. They’re both lovestruck by their sweet Madalena, and as I watch them with her, a hollow ache expands in my chest. There was a time in my life when having a family of my own was all I ever dreamed of, and sometimes, I still imagine what that would be like. But today isn’t about me, so I push that thought from my mind and focus on my duties here and now.