Page 153 of Broken Mafia Prince
Iflinch at the sound of another explosion. That has to be the sixth one since Raffaele left me here, and I can’t help but think that either he or my dad has been caught in one. Who would I mourn more? I don’t even want to think about it, and so I don’t. Instead, I occupy myself by trying to pinpoint where the last explosion came from and comparing it with mental images of the docks.
I peek between the piled-up scrap heaps, watching men run all over the place, guns held at the ready. When Raffaele said he’ll end this, I didn’t think it’d get to this point. I never wanted it to get to the point where men’s lives were lost.
The sound of a soft piano suddenly breaks through my thoughts, startling me. It takes me a moment to realize that it’s the sound of my ringtone, and I hurriedly pull out the phone from my pocket, swiping to answer.
“Giulia, where the hell are you? One second we were talking, the next you were rushing out, and I never heard from you again,” she snaps as soon as I press the phone to my ear.
“Long story.”
“Long story? What does that…” she trails off. “Giulia Montanari, tell me you’re not at the goddamn docks.”
“That would be a lie,” I say.
“Dear god. Are you out of your mind?” she screeches. “What were you thinking going there? It’s dangerous.”
I glance over to where a Gagliardi soldier is being choked to death by a Montanari one. “You’re beginning to sound a whole lot like Raffaele.”
“Well, would you look at that,” she snorts. “Your beau and I finally agree on something.”
“I had to look out for my father.”
I don’t need to see her to know she’s rolling her eyes. “Uh-huh. Something the hundreds of soldiers under him obviously can’t do,” comes her sarcastic reply.
An exhausted sigh escapes my mouth. “I also had to see for myself whose side Raffaele is on.”
There’s a pause. “And?”
I pinch the bridge of my nose with my thumb and index finger. “He’s trying to help, but it’s not looking good, Isa. The Gagliardis came fully prepared to erase us from this side of history. I’m scared.”
She lets out a sigh of her own. “Just?—”
I don’t hear the rest of what she says, because another deafening explosion goes up, causing my heart to leap up to my throat and stay there, choking me. I start muttering a prayer under my breath.
“Giulia! Giulia, where are you?” Raffaele’s voice calls out.
“Here,” I call back at him.
Seconds later, I see his tall, broad frame pulling away from the cloud of smoke. His face is drawn into a mask of concern and weariness. As soon as he reaches me, his gaze flies over me.
“Are you okay?” he asks.
“Yeah, I?—”
“We need to get out of here. Now.”
“I’m not leaving without—” I start to say.
The expression that flashes in his eyes makes me snap my mouth shut. “I’m taking you home right now. Your father is fine. I have someone I trust on him. He will be back to you in one piece. We’re leaving.”
He doesn’t give me any time to protest. Grabbing my wrist, he begins to pull me away. It’s only then that I remember I was on a call with my cousin. When I look over at my phone, though, I see that she’s hung up.
The ride back to my home is filled with suffocating silence. Each time I open my mouth to speak, I change my mind. The truth is that there’s a lot I want to say, but I have no idea how to get it all out. Everything is one big mess, and I don’t know how to start untangling it.
“You lied to me,” I finally blurt out.
“I never lied to you.”
“You said you were handling it,” I accuse.
