Page 74 of Owned by the Italian Mafia Boss
“It’s okay. Maybe things will be all right when the baby comes.”
“I can’t wait to meet him or her. Take care of yourself, and don’t be a stranger. I have a lot to improve on, but I miss you. I love you. I never meant for things to be so messy.”
“I know, Dad. Let’s just take things slow, okay? I know this isn’t the life you expected for me, but I’m happy. That’s enough, right?”
“Yeah, Lilah, it’s enough.” He gives me one more hug before letting go, and Ari opens the bay door.
We start walking out, and Ryan is the first one to get in the car, accompanied by Ari and Matias flanking him.
Carmine opens the door for me. “Are you okay, Sweetling?”
“Yeah, I’m sad. It makes me wonder how damaged our relationship was before you came into the picture,” I say, trying to remember a good moment with my dad.
He grips my chin and brings his lips down to mine. The kiss is quick, but it’s enough for me to feel better. Carmine’s good at that. Always making me feel better. “I’m sorry, Sweetling. You don’t deserve that. You deserve nothing but the best.” He manages to put a slight smile on my face as he shuts the door, leaving my stomach in an array of butterflies.
I look out the window to see my dad watching us, and I lift my hand to wave goodbye, but it’s just my palm in the air, not moving.
Dad does the same, regret swimming in his eyes. Carmine starts the car and drives away, forcing me to break eye contact with my dad as we get back on the road. The car is silent, and I lean my head against the window, watching the trees blur as we pass them.
“Are you okay, sis?” Ari asks, gently tugging a piece of my hair.
“I’m okay. A little sad, but I’m okay.”
“Well, um, you know, we’re here, I’m here, if you ever want to talk,” Ryan mumbles, rubbing his hand up and down his arm as he chews on his lip. “You don’t know me very well, but you’ve been so kind to me. I’m a good listener.”
“Aw. You’re so sweet.” Ari puts Ryan in a headlock and rubs his knuckles across Ryan’s head.
“Ow. Ow. Ow. Okay, stop.”
Ryan laughs. A genuine laugh. The kind that takes me by surprise because I’ve never heard him laugh before.
It all feels…normal. This is my family now. When this first started between Carmine and me, I thought he’d be the death of me, and maybe he is, but it’s the old me that’s died. I’m someone else now, someone better. Coming to terms in the beginning was impossible. I wanted to fight Carmine tooth and nail. I wanted to be difficult. I didn’t want to accept my reality.
This reality is better than any dream I could have made up in my head.
Fifteen minutes later, with me still lost in my thoughts, we are pulling into the school. We park near the science building.
The cellar is right there, attached to the side of the building. The metal doors are locked with a chain, but being drugged and taken down there, threatened to be cut into a million pieces and delivered to Carmine has me frozen in place.
“Hey.” Carmine’s fingers graze the side of my face, and I slowly blink away the haze and turn to him. “He can never hurt you again. I killed him. I burned his body and tossed his ashes into the wind. He can’t hurt you, and anyone who try will have to deal with my wrath because I will bring hell to them. You’re safe.”
“I’m safe.”
“That’s right,” he says, kissing my right cheek, then my left. “And you’re here with us. No one here will let anything happen to you.”
“Anyone fucks with you, sis, I’ll blow out the back of their head. Scouts honor.”
“Oh, shut up. You were never a fucking scout, and that’s not even the gesture for it. That’s Lowe’s promise.”
“Well, Lowe’s is a great place. Their promise should hold up.” Matias is the one who gets out of the car first.
Ryan laughs again, holding his stomach, and then snickers, covering his mouth as he tries to calm himself. “I can’t offer anything. I might be able to trip someone for you, but I don’t know how to fight or shoot a gun, so if you’re stuck with me, you’ll probably die. I’m sorry.” Ryan is laughing so hard that he has tears leaking from his eyes. “Sorry.” He clears his throat and awkwardly gets out of the car too.
Ari grins like a madman at me before standing outside the car, leaving me alone with Carmine.
“Gianni is already here. He scoped out the entire place to ensure everything was okay before entering. He was the one who put the lock on the cellar.”
I don’t know why that makes me breathe easier, but it does.
