Page 13 of Little Deer
“She tried to escape and he didn’t let her leave.”
“Yeah, I know, it sounds fucked up, but trust me, it’s all good.”
“What she’s trying to say,” I interject patiently, “is that while things might have started out not the best in the beginning, Gia and Nico have worked it out, fallen in love, and gotten married. No one forced her, she did it all of her own accord. She was offered other options if she didn’t want to marry him, or thought she had to, but she didn’t. She chose to marry him.”
“And the other sister?” Lucy asks. “Sienna?”
Rori outright laughs this time. Kida looks at her like she’s sure she’s lost her mind. “You’re not helping,” Zeno snaps at Rori.
Rori snickers. “Come on, the whole thing is funny and you know it. But since your brother here is going to try and sugarcoat it, I’ll be the realist. Sienna is my best friend, and when Alessio showed up at her door to tell her that she’s one of the long-lost daughters of a mafia don, she took it in stride, because that’s who she is. Then he decided to be an asshole and she took offand led him on a merry chase across the seas to Europe, and even then, she got away from him three times.” She pulls out her phone and gleefully pulls up something. “See?”
Lucy and Kida stare at the picture. Lucy’s eyes widen, while Kida’s mouth drops open. “Wait, is he tied up, and naked? And is that a knife at his throat?” Kida gasps.
“It is,” Rori beams. “I have never been so proud. Really, those knots we practiced on were so worth it, even if she hated me for it at the time.”
Kida looks like she doesn’t know if she should be impressed or concerned. “And they’re together now?”
Rori nods. “Yeah. Oh, they fought it out a bunch, but between the good dick and her own love for crazy men, they figured it out. They’re actually pretty perfect for each other. And all of that to say, she made her choice too, and she chose him. I mean, after that stunt, Alessio could have made her life a living hell. He’s the one set up to take over when their father retires, so people don’t generally mess with him. But he never hurt her, and she’s happy.”
“She looks like me,” Lucy mutters absently, still staring at the picture.
“You look like her and Gia,” I tell her, moving to stand beside the bed. “The De Luca genes are strong apparently.”
“So they’re my only sisters?” Lucy asks after a moment. “Didn’t you say something about a cousin?”
“Ah, yes, that would be Amara,” I say with a smile. “Amara is your cousin, and she’s actually a few months older than Sienna so she’s the oldest out of all of you. You’ll like her. She’s smart, witty, and she tells you like it is.”
“And let me guess, she’s dating you,” Kida quips drily.
I shake my head. “Nope. Single as they come. The guy who came in here earlier? That was Alonzo, and Lazaro is his older brother. You’ll meet him soon enough. Lazaro, Alonzo, and theirbrother Urso all work for our family, but are more like brothers to us than employees. And Sofia is their sister and like a little sister to us as well.”
“So one big happy family,” Kida sneers. “A happy family full of criminals that?—”
“Criminals that didn’t need to bring you here,” Zeno snaps angrily. “We could have just taken Soren and brought him here and left your ungrateful ass to fend for itself. You’re not a part of this. You’re the adopted sister, right? We shouldn’t even bother with helping you.”
I stare at my brother. Has he lost his mind? He doesn’t even look at me, his gaze on Kida, hard and cold. I don’t think I’ve seen him this angry at someone in a very long time. He’s like Urso in that he likes to joke around and it takes a lot for him to show his ire.
Kida’s face flushes angrily as she glares at him, hands going to her hips. “And yet you won’t let me leave,” she snaps back at him.
“I’ll take you wherever you want to go,” Zeno snaps back. “In fact, it’s probably better that if you’re going to cause problems I’ll put you on the first flight back to your family. You can figure out this shit on your own if Leonardo and his men track you guys down right? You, your father who is working himself to the bone to afford to come up here to meet his grandson, and your mother that’s been working two jobs herself to try and help with that. The same family that gave you every last cent they had to help you afford to come here to live with your sister and nephew when her husband died so she wasn’t alone and pregnant."
Kida’s face turns stricken. “How do you know all that?” she breathes.
“It’s my job to know. Who do you think found you and Soren before Leonardo and his men? Or Lucy’s uncle or brother? If I hadn’t, you’d be there now, and everything we told you couldhappen probably would have by now. You want to act like we’re all bad but not once have you considered the personal risk that we’ve put ourselves at to get you all here. To rescue Lucy. To bring people in to make sure she’s okay. You’re fighting us, and I’m fucking tired of it. Be pissed about it, fine, but you need to stop and realize that just because we’re not the knights in shining armour that you imagined doesn’t inherently make us the villains.” Then he turns and stalks out, shutting the door behind him surprisingly quietly.
No one says a word, but Kida looks at the door with an expression of guilt and confusion. Rori looks thoughtful, while Lucy looks unconvinced. After all of that, I don’t blame her.
“Lucy,” I say simply, drawing her attention. “I know this has all been a mess since you woke up. I’m going to speak as plainly as I can, alright?” She nods cautiously. “This entire situation is fucked up. There’s really no other way to put it. Whether you like it or not, you are the daughter of an Italian Mafia Don that only cares about using you for his own personal gain. They will see you as someone to marry off to expand their power and end this little battle that’s overtaken New York, but they will sell or kill Soren because they have no use for him. It’s harsh, but in their world, it’s a reality.
“Or they will see him as one of them, and they will get rid of you by selling you off or killing you to get to him. They will raise him to be exactly like them. Cold, ruthless, and without mercy. A good soldier that will carry on their legacy and never know a single thing about you. We also have to consider that Leonardo will take it as a personal slight against your adoptive family that, in his mind, hid you away from him all these years. Just because you could go back to them doesn’t mean you’ll be safe. Especially when he tracks you there.”
“Are our parents safe?” Lucy breathes, voice trembling and her face pale.
“For now. I’ll have some of our contacts check on them. If we sense that Leonardo is looking in their direction, we can get them to safety.” Or at least Nico should have contacts if we don’t. That’s more Alessio and Papas’ territory.
“Thank you,” Lucy breathes, and I see Kida’s shoulders slump in relief as well out of the corner of my eye. “So what do you want from me? From us?”
“Nothing. Our goal since we found out that there were De Luca girls snuck out was to find you all. We’ve found three of the four of you. There is still one girl missing, a second cousin to you, and we’ll eventually find her as well. We’ve never wanted any of you to be pawns in this game, and while we also knew that it would yank you out of the lives and worlds you created, it was necessary.” I nod at her son. “For you and for him. He’s innocent in this, but there is no hiding it anymore. Perhaps in time we can get you back to your regular lives, but for now, the safest place you can be is here.”
