Page 18 of Corrupt Desires

Seeing that she needs time to herself, I simply nod my head. Opening my kitchen drawer, I pull out a spare set of keys and toss them to her. I have a tracker in that vehicle and in the key fob which I put in once I knew I was marrying her. So while I hate to send her off on her own, I will at least know her whereabouts should anything happen.

“The car you lent me is still in the garage. Take it and go where you must, but please be safe. And please check in with me.”

“Fine. I’ll be back before dinner.”

She takes the keys, and my heart, with her when she leaves, leaving behind only silence.

Thirteen

Emilia

Idon’t know where I’m going, but I’m driving far from that house. James is infuriating; I can’t think straight in his presence. Now that I’ve placed miles between us, I can finally pull myself together.

The beach fades away as I make my way into the downtown of the city. Here, there are only towering buildings and congested traffic which gives my mind something else to focus on. As I drive out of downtown, I enter the Italian district of the city. It’s not officially called the Italian district, but it’s what my parents always called it growing up. There are many Italian families in this area, most related one way or another to the Bonettis. My shoulders drop and I let out a pent up breath as I realize I no longer bear the Bonetti name. Running my hands through my hair, I tell myselfit’s all going to work out.

Pulling up to my house, or rather my old house, I see Matty’s vehicle parked in the front.Good, they’re home. I don’t know where I would have went if they weren’t.

I walk up the front walkway to the door and knock. It feels incredibly foreign to knock on what used to be my own home, but nonetheless, I wait patiently.

The door pulls open, revealing a tired and disheveled looking Lorenzo. He opens the door just enough so that his face shows, and upon seeing me, looks over my head, eyes darting left then right, before ushering me in.

“What are you doing here, Emilia?”

“Relax, Lorenzo, I just came here to visit the two of you. Is that too much to ask?”

“Oh, ok. No, no. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very glad to see you. Let me get Matteo.”

Lorenzo proceeds to shout for Matteo, and I think to myself that he seems a little off, but I keep the thought to myself.Who knows what Lorenzo has had to deal with since I’ve been gone…

I don’t have to wonder for long, however, as Matteo joins us in the living room and fills me in on what has happened in the past twenty-four hours. Lorenzo has been forced by my mother to take up my previous position within the family, shouldering much of the responsibility that would have been my own had I not been married off. Shortly after the reception, when all the family was done cleaning up, there was a minor drive-by, probably by the Romanis. Thankfully, no one was hurt. Matteo thinks it was their way of showing they wouldn’t back down without a fight, which ultimately led to Lorenzo and himself having to work twelve-hour shifts standing guard outside my father’s bedroom door. We talk for hours, watching movies and just enjoying each other’s presence. Matteo even helps me pack more of my clothes.

I thought coming here would distract me from my predicament, but if anything, it’s stressing me out with all the troubles my family is having to endure in my absence.

“Matty, do you think this marriage was for nothing? I mean… I thought Anthony would back off now that I’m married. I worry about you all. You’re my onlyfamilia.”

Matteo slings an arm around my shoulders and tugs me close. “Ahh,principessa, don’t worry about us. We’ll be fine, OK? You just focus on living your life. You wanted out of this life eventually, right? I say take this break and run with it. James isn’t so bad, is he?”

I respond with a roll of my eyes. “Matty, you have no idea. The man is infuriating at best.”

“Ah, but that means you feelsomethingfor him, no? Otherwise, you wouldn’t be getting so worked up.” He ends his sentence with a wink.

All these damn men can shove it. I push Matteo off me and rise to my feet, grabbing my keys from the end table. It’s starting to get dark, and I promised James I would be back for dinner. Before I forget, I send him a quick text letting him know that I’m on my way back.

“I really enjoyed visiting with you guys. Let’s grab breakfast one of these days, OK?”

Matteo gives me a tight hug, and Lorenzo just gives a grunt and a nod of his head before disappearing into his room.

“Don’t pay him any mind, he’s just tired. We’ll see each other every week, Em. You aren’t getting rid of me that easily,” says Matteo, reassuring me with one last squeeze before he releases me.

I give Matteo a strong face, but inside I’m falling apart. Matteo has been the family member I have been closest with all these years. Hell, we were raised as siblings. Matty is my brother, regardless of blood. The prospect of not seeing him every day is tearing me in two.

I quickly finish up our goodbyes and head back to my vehicle with my bag, plopping down into the seat with defeat before locking the doors, the mental exhaustion weighing on me. When you’ve been born and raised in the Bonetti family, you learn to protect yourself against any possible attacker; being a woman just adds to that fact that I always need to look over my shoulder.

Now that I’ve had a chance to steel myself and keep the tears at bay, I start up the car and pull out into traffic. Not even two minutes down the road, the fuel light comes on, jarring me from my thoughts. I sputter out a few choice words in Spanish and slam a hand down on the steering wheel. Of course I wasn’t paying attention on my way to Matteo’s, desperate to get as far as possible from James. So now, I’m forced to stop and get gas in a rather shady part of town; there’s no way I’ll make it to the house if I don’t stop now.

Finding the closest Chevron, I pull into the rundown gas station and pull up to the pump. Keeping my head on a swivel, I make sure to take in my surroundings as I put gas in the tank.

Feeling more at ease that I’m the only one here, I think of what awaits me at home. Will James be angry that I’m late? Is he upset over my abrupt departure this morning? What does he think of this whole scenario? Maybe he’s just making the best out of a shit situation…Maybe I should start doing the same.

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