Page 89 of Storm in a D Cup

There was a loud bang to our right as Julian kicked down the front door to see Leonardo – and Angelica in tears, eyes huge.

I rushed to her as Julian strode over to Leonardo and punched him square in the jaw. Just once and it was enough. The jerk fell like a sack of potatoes at his feet.

Then I turned to see a patrol car and aCarabiniereofficer, Massimo Guarini, a friend of ours, who had somehow appeared out of nowhere and whom we later learned Maddy had called from Angelica’s phone. Smart girl.

I drew a blanket over a shivering Angelica as Maddy wrapped her arms around her and we took them both home before Julian went down to the police station to put in a deposition against Leonardo Cortini. On the way I called Angelica’s parents who came to pick her up immediately, crying and vowing to kill Cortini.

‘You can try, but I honestly don’t think there will be much left of him once he meets his future inmates in jail,’ I assured them.

*

Joey and I cuddled Maddy all evening, reassuring her that Angelica was fine, just a bit shaken like herself. And then, it was time for me to ask theDreaded Question.

‘Maddy… what the hell’s been going on?’

At that she sniffed. ‘Angelica was thrilled by his bad-boy reputation. He was so sexy and out of this world, you know? And then one day he finally talked to her and she couldn’t believe he’d chosen her.’

I fought not to roll my eyes. Oh, what young girls would do for a bit of male attention. I remembered myself, pining over Tony Esposito’s every breath. If only young girls had the wisdom we old witches have. Then there’d be no danger of any young girl getting hurt.

To them it started out as fun, sure, but how the hell was a fifteen-year-old girl expected to tame an adult male who was not exactly a gentleman? It made my blood boil. Leonardo Cortini had had a beautiful, naïve girl in his hands and had been determined to ruin her.

‘But you know how strict Angelica’s parents are,’ she said, calmer now. ‘They always watch her like a hawk and even check her cell phone.’

‘So he sent the messages to you.’

She wiped her eyes. ‘Yeah. But then he started sending them to me, too. I told Angelica, but she wouldn’t listen. So I stuck to her like glue, making sure she’d never be alone with him. And today—’

‘Lucky for her you were there to call for help.’

‘I’d forgotten my cell phone at home,’ she explained.

Which was lucky for us otherwise we’d have never known.

‘He’s awful, Mom,’ she moaned as I hugged her close, almost breaking her in the process, but she didn’t mind.

‘Are you sure you’re OK? Do you want to see the doctor? A nurse?’My shrink?I almost asked her.

‘Mom,’ she repeated. ‘He didn’t get to me. Not even to Angelica. I swear.’

My jaw dropped open and I exhaled in relief, spluttering. ‘Are you sure?’

She let out a short, bitter laugh despite herself. ‘I’m pretty sure of that, Mom. I’m not that stupid. But it was stupid of me to cover up for Angelica. I know that now. I was just trying to live an exciting life, although vicariously, through her.’

Vicariously.That was the longest word I’d ever heard from her. Longer and deeper than any word she had ever uttered. Maybe she wasn’t going to be like Marcy or Genie Stacie after all. I gasped in relief again, for a million reasons, and she smiled at me before hugging me back. Really tight.

‘I love you, Mom, for wanting to protect me.’

‘Mmph,’ was all I could say through my clogged windpipe. I could have cleared my throat and said something memorable, something she could have related to her own daughter one day, but decided that I’d said and done enough for now, and was just happy to hold her in my arms.

‘We were just two stupid idiots. Angelica thought—’ Maddy wiped her eyes. ‘She thought she could control him. Even Renata thought she could control him.’

My mind did a rewind. ‘Renata?’

Maddy nodded. ‘She saw them together once and warned Angelica. She also told me to stay away from him, but he wasn’t interested in me. Not until later, at least. Renata told us all sorts of stories about him.’

Renata knew?

‘Remember that day when Leonardo drove straight onto her property? He’d gone to tell her to butt out of his story with Angelica.’

---