Page 30 of Shattered Choices

“Sure he did. Do you have something to say, Jacopo?” I ask, but my eyes are still focused on sweaty Giovanni.

“I’m sorry you think that, Gio. However, my luck has nothing to do with cheating but the lack of skills you have to play this game.”

Needing to get tonight over, I don’t let Giovanni react as his face turns red. I announce, “The game, for tonight, is over.” All eyes in the room turn toward me. “But first, I have matters to discuss with you.”

Pino stands and Raffaele clicks the door closed, taking his position in front of it. I glance at Salvatore, who is smirking, knowing what’s going on.

“As you all know, I was almost arrested last week when I was meeting with a person of interest who would help legalize our money. However, I was lucky.” I inhale deeply and avoid looking at Salvatore. “What I didn’t understand was how they knew my location and where to look for the goods. Luckily for us, Mauro had transferred the goods before the Carabinieri showed up.” I lean forward slightly and look each one of them in the eye. “Want to know the interesting part?” I don’t wait for their answer. “The interesting part is that only the people in this room knew the details.”

I watch as they start to sweat and look at each other, but my eyes focus on Giovanni. His eyes catch mine, and then his gazeraises toward Pino and to the other side of the room where Salvatore is still standing near the door. His face goes white. The commotion in the room subsides, and all eyes focus on Giovanni.

His voice shakes as he speaks accusingly. “You didn’t leave me any choice. You keep robbing me of money with this stupid game.”

“No one told you to play, dumbass,” Mauro scoffs.

He pushes from his chair, and it falls with a hard thud. His eyes fall on the money near him that Jacopo has won, and with a quick move, he grabs it and throws it in the air. “I just wanted to be more respected. No matter how hard I worked, I was always given shitty jobs. And then you came along.” He spits the words at me. “Long-lost daughter, who the great Domenico wants to be his heir, even if she is a woman. He forgot about our traditions and our values, and we just... what? Need to accept that?”

He pulls something from his pocket, and in a second, I see the gun is pointed at me.

I tilt my head to the side with a laugh. “You sure you want to pull that trigger? You think you have a shot to kill me and you’ll walk away alive?”

His nostrils flare as he sneers at me. “No, but at least I will kill you, and I’ll have peace of my mind before your dogs get me.”

He points the gun at each person in the room before pointing it back at me.

I stand, narrowing my eyes on him. “You think you have a chance? Do it!” I urge him.

His hand twitches, and the gun is fired. Not his gun, because he falls, crying out, on the floor. While everyone rushes toward him, I guess to keep him down, I look to the side from where the shot came. Dark, blazing eyes meet mine, and his jaw twitches as he shakes his head. He tucks his gun behind his jacket, and in a few steps, he’s in front of me.

“Are you out of your mind? Telling a man with a gun to shoot you?”

I shrug. “Well, he wasn’t supposed to have a gun in the first place. Everyone leaves their weapons outside this room.”

His nostrils flare. “But hedidhave one. And what would have happened if I didn’t act?”

“We would have handled it,” Pino says from behind him. “Besides, that gun he has had the safety on.” Pino steps in front of him. “As for you, I don’t think you should be here, but I answer to Isabella. If I it was any other way, you would already be dead.”

Salvatore’s jaw clenches, and before things escalate between them, I look at Pino. “I want to know what he told the Carabinieri, and if there’s anything else he’s hiding.”

He looks at me and then Salvatore before his eyes return to mine. “I’ll keep you informed.”

I turn toward Salvatore. “Now, take me home.” I don’t wait for his answer as I turn toward the exit because I know he will take me home.

It’s not like I don’t know how to get home or that I have no one to take me. I just need to say my last words to him before I make him leave.

I exit the game room, and all the way to Salvatore’s car, I repeat the same mantra in my head.

I’m okay. I don’t need him. He needs to leave. He will sign those papers.

Salvatore opens the door for me, and I slide inside before he closes the door and walks around the car. I watch him get in, and I see the questioning look on his face.

We drive in silence before he asks, “Your father’s place?”

“Yes.”

I open my mouth to say something else, but I can’t, so I focus on my breathing. The drive there isn’t long, but it seems likeeternity when I reach the road that leads to the villa. Only when Salvatore has parked the car do I have the courage to turn to him.

“Thank you for driving me here. And thank you for tracing down Giovanni. I really appreciate that.”

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