Page 13 of Shattered Choices

My eyes peruse the envelope, and with questions in my head, I open it and take the stack of photos from it.

Photos of Isabella, alone with her father. Even her friend, Ceci, is in some of them. I keep turning them over until I come to pictures of her and the guy I met at her father’s place, Pino. They’re together, laughing and dancing, his hand on her lower back. Isabella is in his arms, hugging him. I feel a shattering inside me, a knife-stabbing pain in my heart. Questions of self-destruction fill my head. Am I too late? Did she move on? Do I really deserve a second chance? Should I just get on my plane and fly back?

Rocco’s voice brings my attention back to him. “He is very well respected in their organization, and they look like they understand each other, but he doesn’t love her.”

I turn toward him. “What do you mean?”

“Keep looking through the pictures.”

I do. I keep looking until I get to the pictures of the same guy kissing another woman. And then another of them laughing and looking at each other with a longing in their eyes. “What is this?”

He smirks. “This, my dear cousin, is our ticket to get you near Isabella.”

“Meaning?”

“This is Maria. Ruggeri’s housekeeper’s daughter. She was married a couple of years back to one of Ruggeri’s men. The bastard was beating her up, but that’s not why I care. They livedat the end of their territory just a few miles on the borders and he was always causing trouble for my men. We decided to give him a friendly visit because of our deal with Ruggeri. When we got there, we found her covered in blood, while he was getting off on it. There was a child crying in the other room. One of my men went postal and beat the bastard to death. We made a deal with her. We would take care of him and she would keep her mouth shut. She also knows I will collect the debt one day. That day is today.”

“What is she going to do for you?”

“Well, for me, nothing. For you, she will distract Pino, and you can get to Isabella before someone catches you. But I need to warn you, she is well guarded.”

“I just need to see her. I will know the rest after that.” I look at him. “What are you getting out of this?”

“Oh, don’t worry. I’m not doing this free of charge.”

“Should I be worried?”

“It’s not you who should be worried. It’s her.”

He takes a picture from the stack in my lap and places it on the rearview mirror before him. My eyes go to the picture and the woman in it.

Cecilia.

“Why should she be worried?”

“That, my cousin, is a story for another day.” He parks on the street. “Now is a time for stalking.” He nods to the opposite side of the street, and I catch a glimpse of a woman in a red dress. Her long hair falls in waves behind her back as she walks into a restaurant. Two men follow her, and my heart skips a beat at the sight of her. I know that woman. I know that gracious walk and those long legs.

“Come on. Let’s eat something.” My cousin opens the door and exits his car without waiting for my answer.

I follow him. “I told you to leave me at the border. Why are you coming with me?”

He looks amused. “And miss all the fun? I need to make sure you don’t cause me any trouble here.”

I shake my head. “Are we going to the same place Isabella went?”

“Yes. But first, lose your suit jacket and tie.” I do as he says as he opens the back of his trunk and gets us some baseball caps and fake glasses.

“Really? What are you, five?”

“We’re stalking here. We need to lie low.”

“I’ll take the cap but not the glasses.”

He shrugs. “Fine.”

We walk across the road and enter the same restaurant Isabella just entered. The waitress greets us, and my cousin asks for a table for two, choosing one far enough that Isabella and whoever is with her doesn’t see us, but close enough that I can see her.

I don’t order; my cousin does it for me. I don’t eat, nor do I drink what is placed before me. What I do drink in is her presence, her laughs, and her smiles. My eyes eat up the way she moves and the way she talks, how composed and confident she is sitting in what seems like a meeting. The men don’t ogle her like she’s a piece of meat; they respect her. They listen to her; they bowed their heads toward her, showing her the respect she obviously deserves, and has earned, from them.

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