Page 16 of Little Deer
“So what is expected of us if we’re staying here?” Kida asks tightly. I don’t miss the choice of her words.
From the quick glance Rori and Sofia share, they don’t miss it either. Well, too damn bad. They can’t expect us to just say,yeah, sure all goodwhen you’re confronted with this.
Neither of them comment on it though. Instead, Sofia says, “Nothing is expected of you. You’re here to keep you all safe. There are rules to follow, like not going out while the threats are still out there, or without a guard, but other than that, you’ll have free rein of the house and can spend your time doing whatever is most enjoyable. Amara has her salon downstairs if you’re wanting a bit of a touch up, Nico has an indoor pool, there’s a couple of libraries, and a few other spaces like a theatre and even a gaming room.”
“They have a gaming room in this place?” Rori demands, staring at her wide-eyed. “Why the hell haven’t you shown me?”
Sofia rolls her eyes. “We’ve been a bit busy but I’ll take you tomorrow. Anyway, the only wing that’s off limits is Nico and Gia’s, and that’s because Nico’s a surly bastard and protective of his privacy with his wife.” She smirks. “And he really doesn’t like to be interrupted when they’re getting busy or if she kicks him out of the room.”
Rori snickers. “Yeah, I thought he was going to blow a gasket earlier.” She looks back at me. “Look, this is a lot. Why don’t you take the rest of the night to rest and not worry about any of this? Focus on getting your son to sleep and catching up on some of your own. You’re safe here, no one will harm you, and there will be guards at the door for the night to make sure no one bothers you.”
“You mean to keep us in,” Kida states coldly.
“No, you’re free to wander around the house if you like,” Sofia answers calmly, holding her stare. “But some of the men around here are nosey gossips and they’re going to want to come in and meet you. The only one that would come in is Massimo to get some things, but he’s a good man and won’t bother you other than to check on you and leave.”
“If you want I can leave Hades here as well to watch over you if that will make you feel better,” Rori offers.
Sofia snickers softly. “The minute Alonzo realizes he’s in here, your ass is going to be in so much trouble,” she warns her wickedly.
Rori ignores her, but I see her eyes flash with both anger and anticipation. I don’t know what’s going on there, but clearly she and Alonzo have something going on between the two of them. My curiosity is piqued, but not enough to ignore the facts going on around me. I quickly burp Soren and give him back the bottle which he sucks down greedily.
“I think we’ll be alright. I’ll need some supplies for Soren, though. And you’re sure that Massimo won’t mind us using his room for the night?”
“He’ll be fine,” Sofia assures me. “He’ll bunk with Zeno or Urso. Or, depending on how things go with this one and the one she keeps saying isn’t her man, he might be in with them.” She winks at me. “If you hear screaming or things crashing, don’t worry, they just have some things to work out.”
“Bitch,” Rori gripes, climbing off the bed. “Come on, Hades.” She looks at me and her expression softens. “Get some rest, Lucy. Tomorrow is going to be another big day when the other girls realize you’re here and you meet the rest of the crew. Just know that there isn’t a better group than this one, even the ones that are pains in the ass.” She gives Sofia a pointed look, and then she and Hades leave.
Sofia grins at me as she climbs off the bed. “I’ll get those supplies for you. And don’t worry about her, she’s facing some hard truths and she’s not happy about it.”
“Sounds to me like everyone is pushing her toward something she doesn’t want,” Kida suggests.
Sofia shrugs. “Perhaps, but time is the thing that will give all the answers. Either way, it’s going to be interesting. I’ll be back shortly.” She steps forward and smiles down at Soren, who is looking a bit milk drunk as I pull the bottle from his mouth andsit him up to burb him again. “Don’t give your mama a hard time, darling,” she coos at him. Then she’s gone, leaving Kida and I alone.
I look at my sister and the two of us wear the same expression. What the hell are we going to do now? And how the hell are we going to get out of here?
10
MASSIMO
“Leonardoand his sons are on the move,” Aurelio says briskly as I walk into Nico’s office. “They left the warehouse location and cameras picked their vehicle racing away toward a side road about a quarter mile away. It looks like they’re taking the back roads back into town.”
“Why would they come back this way?” I ask, frowning.
“They probably have another safe house that we don’t know about,” Lazaro gripes. He looks over at Urso and Zeno. “Has anything popped up in the records found in the secret office or in the trunk?”
“We’ve only just started getting everything scanned,” Urso reminds him, mouth set in a grim line. “It’s going to take time to get through them all.”
“What about the map?” I ask. “Is there anything there that might show a possible location?”
“Nothing that any of us can see,” Aurelio says grimly. He glances at Lazaro quickly but then continues, “We might need tosee about Amara looking at it again. Maybe she’ll see something else.” Lazaro’s lips thin, but he doesn’t argue. He might not like it, but deep down he knows Amara has already proven herself invaluable. The girl is a genius, and she’s the one who figured out about the secret room in the first place. If anyone is going to find something else, it’s her.
“Has anyone scanned the picture to see if there’s anything in it that might also help?” I ask. “At least until Amara is up to looking at it again.”
“What about the search of the house? Has there been anything else found?” Aurelio asks, looking at Nico.
“I’ve already got a picture and blown it up as much as I can and it’s being scanned now. I’ve asked the men to see if there is anything underneath it that might have been there before as well. As for the house, Dante has been leading the search,” Nico states gravely. “This place is so fucking big that if she was hiding anything, it could be anywhere.”
“Could it be possible that she hid something that might lead us to more?” Alessio asks curiously. “I mean, the girls’ mothers hid through journals somewhere that were only found recently, so who’s to say that your mother didn’t do the same?”
