Page 43 of Pocketful of Us

"Let me guess; you're a lying piece of shit and we're both going to die tonight?" Raffaele offered lazily from his perch on the opposite side of the stretch hummer. "No need to warn me, cousin. I am well aware."

"The girl Cal coerced into accusing you of rape all those years ago?" Mr. Capaldi looked right at him. "She is his fiancée now."

Raffaele stiffened. "I see."

"Wh-what?" I asked, eyes widening in horror. "You meanVictoria?"

Mr. Capaldi nodded.

"Oh my God." I felt sick. "Oh my God!"

"What is it?"

"Chris," I strangled out, pressing a hand to my chest. "All of this started when he started looking into Victoria's past." I felt sick. "Because I asked him to. Because I didn’t trust her."

"As well you shouldn’t," Raffaele stated. "She is a conniving snake just like the family she comes from."

When I looked at him in confusion, he explained. "She is the granddaughter of my father's greatest enemy."

"Chris must have dug the old police report up and put two and two together," Mr. Capaldi mumbled, more to himself than us. "He was always too smart for his own good."

Raffaele looked at me. "For the record, I didn’t lay a finger on her."

"I believe you," I replied without an ounce of hesitation. I'd been with this man for months and never once had he put a hand on me. Raffaele was far too wrapped up in the ghost of his wife to even contemplate being with another woman, so I could only imagine how devoted he had been to Carmella when she was alive. "But if it's any consolation, your son refers to her as Vic-whore-ia," I offered with a shrug. "Because she's so desperate and skanky."

His lips tipped upwards. "Smart boy."

"Yeah, he is," I replied quietly, before turning to look out the window.

I was trying so hard to hold it together, but the thought of Sketch filled me with a different level of dread.

The fear I had in my heart for him was all-consuming. Panic churned inside of me.

"Do not worry yourself, Ramona," Raffaele said, detecting where my thoughts had taken me. "You'll stay here, fully protected. If we do not return, my men will take you somewhere safe." He gestured to the six grim-looking men in black keeping us company in the back of the hummer. You will start over. You and my grandchild. I give you my word."

"But I don’twantto stay here with these men," I choked out, swinging my head back to look at him. "And I don’t want to start over on my own. I just want to help findSketch!" I gripped my head in my hands. "I just wantSketch…"

"You need to keep his baby safe," Mr. Capaldi interrupted. "You are stronger than you think, Ramona Dillon. You will survive this – even if we don’t."

"If this is such a lost cause, then why bring me here at all?" I cried, wiping my cheek with the sleeve of my sweater. "Why not leave me in Italy?"

"Because if I fall tonight, you will not be safe in Italy," Raffaele replied.

"You won't be safe in America either," Mr. Capaldi twisted the knife by saying. "This isn't a game, Ramona. There are no second chances in our world. There is no pause or reload button and you only get one life. Raff's men will take care of you. All you have to do is everything you're told."

"I trust only a handful of men and they are right here," Raffaele continued. "They are honorable and will protect you with their lives." Emotion flashed in his eyes. "They will protect my grandchild."

The car pulled through the steel gates of the Capaldi estate and I couldn’t stop the tears from trickling down my cheeks.

"So, what are y'all saying here?" I choked out, tears stinging my eyes. "You're just going to walk to your deaths? There's no hope?" I wanted to scream in frustration. "This is so unfair."

"There is always hope," Raffaele replied, eyes burning with emotion. "You showed me that." His gaze flicked to my stomach for the briefest of moments and he closed his eyes. When he opened them again, every ounce of emotion that had been burning in his blue irises was gone.

The car door opened and he looked to Mr. Capaldi. "Let's go, cousin."

19

Presley

---