by Jolie Damman
I made the right choice, and now it was time to look forward. I had something very important to do for my boss, after all.
Elsa
I opened the door and found my father sitting on his large, comfortable chair. He was smoking a cigar, and he looked concerned about something. What that something was, I was soon going to find out.
“Elsa, I’m glad you’ve come.”
“Dad, weeks ago we talked about this, and my mind didn’t change one bit. I’m going somewhere else. I’m going to America, and I’m going to forget I was ever your daughter.”
He sighed. “Don’t tell me something like that. We talked about that, but didn’t decide anything. Do you know who this man here is?”
He showed me someone who I didn’t even pay attention to when I got here – I was just so much more concerned with making him understand I wanted to live elsewhere and that there was nothing he could do to change my mind.
It was someone from his niche, his life. Another Mafia boss. He wore a dark suit with a red tie. They all tried to look as if they were part of the normal society, but they were not. We weren’t. We were all outlaws, and the police and the government hunted us.
“I don’t care who he is. I’m here to tell you that I’m going. It’s the only thing you deserve to know. After that, I won’t be your daughter anymore.”
“She is a fiery one, isn’t she, Gabriel?” The man asked, his face painted with a smirk.
He gave the man a long look, and said, “Elsa, we have something more important to discuss, and I guarantee you will live in America, just not… the way you are thinking.”
“What have you got in mind? I’m not changing my mind, and you can’t keep me locked somewhere like you were used to. I’ve already thought this through, and there is nothing I want to do more than this.”
“You are going to live in America, and for a while, you will even forget I exist. There is something big that is going to happen here in Milan. We can’t continue to live here. I won’t live here forever. I’m going somewhere to hide.”
“To hide from who?”
He tapped his cigar on the round litter container, where some of the ashes fell into. “Other families. They’ve smelled blood. Ever since… my niece’s kidnapping, some of them have learned we are not doing so well, and they are making plans to wipe us out. Elsa, this is for your own safety.”
His explanation scared me, a line of shiver running down my spine. The consequences of what happened that night were still going, still affecting our lives. Looking into his eyes, I could see he was worried.
“Dad, it’s perfect, then. I will live in America, you will live somewhere, and-”
“And let me finish. You won’t live alone. I will keep some people there with you, for your protection.”
“But I want to forget I was ever part of this!”
“I can’t let you alone and unprotected!”
His words startled me. This mattered quite a bit to him, and his eyes were so fierce I was beginning to think there was nothing I could say to change his mind. I loved dad still. I thought, one day, I didn’t like him anymore, but that wasn’t the case.
Someone opened the door, and I spun on my heels – I was so startled I didn’t consider that we were in a room, having a conversation, and that whoever was coming in shouldn’t know how I was feeling about this.
When my eyes landed on him, it was like someone punched my face. It was that man. Eduardo. The one who repaired my engine and drank a glass of juice with me. What the fuck.
What was he doing here? He couldn’t be. No no no. But he was. Just another Mafia member, and I thought once he wasn’t like the rest.
Chapter 5
The Arrangement
Eduardo
Isaid, “Boss, I’ve come.”
My eyes landed on her, and I was shocked. I didn’t think I was ever going to find this woman again. I remembered her name, her face, and how sweet she was to me that day. I thought she was like any other woman out there, with friends and a normal life, but her presence here meant she was one of ours. A Mafia member – well, maybe the word ‘member’ would be too much to describe her presence here, but she was definitely not a stranger to all this.
Her eyes were wide in shock. She also didn’t expect to see me here.
I didn’t know what to say, so I simply lifted my hand with my palm open to tell her I was aware of her presence, and that I knew her.
Romano said, “Considering the look on your eyes, son, I think it wouldn’t be wrong to say you know this woman.”
“I do…”
Elsa said, “Yes, but we are nothing more than acquaintances. He repaired my car not too long ago.”
The man sitting on a large chair, whose mustache caught my attention, said, “I think I will explain everything. I’m the head of this family. My name is Gabriel Zettici, and I have a plan. Sit down you two, and let me explain. Romano here has already agreed to everything.”
Two chairs in front of his desk populated the place, and we sat down on them. I could feel Elsa wasn’t at all comfortable with what was going on here. Nothing I could do, but I wished I could comfort her somehow.
I sighed, and Gabriel began to explain, “I will send you two to Chicago. You will live there for a while. A big war is going to happen here in Milan, and not only here, but in Italy too. Most people won’t hear one thing about it, other than a rise in shootouts and killings.”
Elsa piped in, “Dad, I-”
He was her dad? I didn’t expect that. I thought there was nothing that could have made me feel more concerned about this, but that did.
“Elsa, let me explain. I will need to merge our family with Romano’s. It will be something that will take a while, and for some time, the other families will think ours disappeared for good. To make that happen, you… will have to marry him.”
What the fuck. I was going to have to marry her? I snapped my head to Elsa, who did the same, and looked just as startled. I came here expecting another mission, not something that was going to define what my life was going to be like from now on.
Romano’s hand settled on my shoulder. “I know you are not my real son. We don’t share the same blood, but you are the only one who I can trust with this.”
“Do we really need them for the coming war?” I asked.
He nodded. “I’m afraid so.”
I had heard about Mafia families merging and becoming one. From the look of things, it seemed their family wasn’t going to be combined with ours. They were going to be absorbed. When Gabriel said his family would disappear, it meant they would become Russo.
Gabriel continued, “There will be guards and people to protect you over there in America. You will live there for a while, and Eduardo, you will have an important assignment to carry on in that country.”
“What assignment?”
“You will help us find allies. That is one very important thing you need to do for us. If you fail, we could die. Without more families to help us, we won’t stand a chance.”
“But wait, what kind of war is going to happen, and why will it happen?”
“It’s complicated. All you need to know is that it will take place here, and that I need to keep my daughter safe. Don’t fail me.”
“Dad, but I don’t want to live in this shitty life anymore.”
His eyes grew sad. “Elsa, I don’t think you’ve got much say in this. I’m doing this for your own good.”
“And I don’t want any of it. I’m out.”
Elsa stood up quickly and tried to walk out, but two men from the Zettici family stood in her way. “Sorry, miss, but I can’t let you go anywhere,” one of them explained, his face displaying no emotion.
“Dad!”
“Elsa, just sit back on that chair and let’s continue to talk. You will get what you want, just not soon.”
She sighed, and I could see she was on the brink of crying. I didn’t want her to feel so distraught by this, but there was also noth
ing I could do to comfort her. What could I do? Take her hand and caress it? We weren’t intimate with each other. I barely knew her full name.
Elsa sat back on her chair, and Romano said, “How do you feel about this, son?”
I looked at him, and then at Elsa. How did I feel about this? That was a good question. I could tell him my true feelings, but that would hurt him.
“I’m fine with this. I will do anything I can to help the family.”
He nodded, smiling without showing his teeth. Gabriel continued, “Now that you two know the plan and why it needs to happen, we need to discuss some things before sending you two over there.”
✽ ✽ ✽
Romano stopped in front of me, as everyone was getting out of Gabriel’s office. “Son, are you really okay with this? It's a lot to take in.”
“I’m fine, boss. I will be even better once the war is over.”
His hand gripped my shoulder, and he looked so happy. I knew why he was feeling that way. I was his only son, in a way. His children either died or abandoned him. He was the man that took me under his wing, provided for my parents, and I couldn’t give up on him.
He nodded slightly, and then walked away.
It wouldn’t be long until we had to take a plane and go all the way to America - an unexplored land I didn’t know one thing about. There would be people there who knew the country well and would be helping me, but still, the mission was set to be a tough one nonetheless.
And marrying someone like Elsa. It was kind of a joke, and a bad one at that. I met her on that road, in a day that was so normal it was kind of alien to me, and we had a good time together, but I didn’t think we were ever going to cross paths again.
I knew she didn’t want to marry me, and I was reluctant to marry her as well. But what could I do? I was part of this life, and I wanted nothing more than to continue being part of it. I was never going to give up on the Mafia.
Elsa, on the other hand, had only one objective in mind. She wanted out of this life and to find something better for her future. That was something I once thought possible. Not anymore. I knew this life was the best one I could ever have.
It was set to be a marriage of interests, and the only thing I could do about it was to pretend I wasn’t going to love her. They didn’t mention anything about us bringing a child to this world, though I imagined that was part of the arrangement.
Well, no point telling them I was infertile. I knew the marriage would probably not last long anyway – just enough to merge the families, or absorb the Zettici and get our bearings back. Once said war was over and we could have our normal lives back, everything would be as if nothing of this had ever happened.
I sighed and leaned against the wall. Elsa walked out, and she looked at me. Our gazes lingered on each other for a long time until she said, “Eduardo, I don’t want to force anything on you.”
“You aren’t. Don’t worry about it. Let’s pretend this will all go well, and once we are back here, we will go our separate ways.”
She nodded and said, “You know, for someone from a Mafia family, you are not so bad yourself.”
I chuckled. “You don’t know much about me.”
Maybe I shouldn’t have said that, because it did strike her hard. She looked down once again, and upon raising her head, she said, “I will meet you at the airport.”
I nodded, and she walked away, my eyes lingering on her impressive, curvy body. She wasn’t fat, just beautiful. There was something about her that told me she went through hell and beyond before ending up here, with me.
To marry a woman I could never make fully happy. Well, that was going to be great. I wondered what she would feel like once she learned I was infertile.
Well, no point thinking about that now. I had some important things to do before going to America.
Elsa
To marry the man I met for maybe half an hour before finding him in my father’s office… I couldn’t believe it was going to happen, and that our marriage wasn’t going to occur because we loved each other, but because it was needed thanks to a war that was going to take place here not too long from now.
I sighed and got into the car. My dad was going to take me home. His eyes lingered on mine for seconds before he said, “Elsa, I’m doing this for your best.”
“All I wanted was to pretend you are not my dad.”
He opened his mouth to say something else, but decided not to. His foot stepped onto the pedal, and the car began to drive down the road. I watched the buildings and people go by as he took me home one last time.
The trip to Chicago wasn’t going to take long, and there was something about it I didn’t like one bit.
“I can’t live there like an animal. I will want to go out from time to time.”
“No, I can’t allow that. There will be men out there wanting to kill you or do something worse.”
“And I take you care more about your men than me?”
“They are different. I have them so that I can still provide for you.”
“You are stuck up in this life, and you can’t even see beyond it.”
“I’m doing all of this for you. Please, understand me.”
I thought about telling him something else, but decided not to. We were past the point of discussing that. He made his choice, I made mine, and I was going to marry a complete stranger.
Well, the marriage wouldn’t happen right now, but it was all still so fucked up. I wasn’t sure I would even like Eduardo. He was an alright man when he repaired my car, but that was then, when we didn’t know who we truly were.
Dad pulled over, and I got out. “Elsa…” he said, forcing me to turn to face him.
“Don’t hate me.”
“I don’t,” I said before stepping into my home and locking the door behind me. I waited until his car was long gone, and then leaned my body on the door and let it slide down to the floor.
My life just changed so much in such a short amount of time. I could still smell my little one in my house, and I didn’t… even take her things out of her room. I should have done so a long time ago, but I didn’t have the courage. I was such a coward.
There were just so many awful feelings that struck my mind whenever I opened that door. I kept it locked and pretended it wasn’t there. It was the only way I could cope with what happened.
One tear slipped out, and then another and another. I thought about killing myself so many times, and I almost did so that night I was on top of the tallest building here in Milan. My dad convinced me, changed my mind, and ever since then, I had been trying to lead a normal life.
Well, now my life was going to be anything but normal.
Eduardo
I was at the airport, my eyes surveying the people and the guards that walked in it. I needed to pay attention to the people in here. Anything could happen here, especially on a rainy and sad morning like this one, where thick clouds blocked most of the light of the sun.
All the colors were washed out, and my stomach felt like pushing out what I had for breakfast, which wasn’t much. Elsa and I agreed to meet here, after going through airport security.
I slipped a gun with me. I could never go somewhere without one. Self-protection wasn’t something I took lightly.
I looked at my wrist-watch, and found out she was late by a couple of minutes. Was she not going to come after all? Well, my boss and her father would have a lot to talk about with her if she didn’t show up.
I waited some more time, getting bored. I knew I should be alert at all times here, but there really was not much going on at this airport. I watched some planes come and go, thinking about how someone could have figured out how to make men fly.
That was when I noticed her coming. Elsa wasn’t going to try to escape us after all. And she wasn’t alone. Her father came with her. I guessed she needed some convincing and that he needed to make sure she wouldn’t flee.
I kept a serious look on my face when they stopped in front
of me. I was bored up until this point and didn’t want her old man thinking that I was the wrong guy to marry her. I was, but not for the reasons he would, otherwise, have in his mind.
“Ready to go?” I asked.
She nodded her head, almost looking as if she couldn’t believe this was happening. I shared her feelings. I also would rather be somewhere else right now.
Gabriel’s hand gripped my arm and he said, “I need to talk to you in private.”
Elsa didn’t mind that, and he took me to a spot where no one could overhear us. “Eduardo, she is my daughter, and the only thing I ask of you is that you keep her safe.”
He released my arm, and I said, “Don’t worry. I will protect her.”