“There are far too many dangerous and dramatic accounts between Mr. Bianco and Mr. Ricci. You name it, they fought about it. Drugs, trafficking, money laundering, and so much more. I almost lost my taste for humanity altogether when I came across these cases. And what’s worse is that their kids all grew up together.” He scoffed at the thought of this.
I began to panic silently and needed to get back to the house and tell Maddie the plan was off. I couldn’t put her through all of that just so I could get an easy shot at the Riccis. I cared about her too much to do that to her.
I dropped the detective off at the same spot I picked him up. I raced home and burst into the house, calling out Maddie’s name. I heard no response and I began to panic and felt every nerve in my body activate and quiver. This was worse than being in a war zone.
I looked around the house and found that all her stuff was gone and then I looked out to the front of my house where her car had been parked.
It was gone as well, and then my heart sank and my stomach jumped to my throat. I called her phone and heard it ringing in my room. She had left her phone and the one I gave her was gone. She was gone.
Chapter Nine
Madeline
I don’t know what came over me when I woke up, but I was motivated to go through with Blake’s plan for me to stay with the Riccis. He had left, and since he seemed to be in such a hurry to not have a little fun, I had gotten up and made coffee. Before I knew it, I was packing up my stuff in my car and driving away.
I drove away from the only home I’ve ever had and the last place I ever saw or spoke to my parents. I looked at the house through my rearview mirror and then pushed my sunglasses further up my nose and kept driving. I worried that Blake would take my note the wrong way when he saw it. I wrote it with big bold letters and taped it to the fridge. I left my old phone in his room and took the other phone he gave me to use. I dialed Donato Ricci and took deep breaths.
“Hello?” Donato’s voice boomed through the phone.
“Hi, Donato. This is Madeline Bianco.” I could hear him almost laughing on the other end of the line. I had to pace myself as I almost drove through a red light. My car screeched as it almost passed over the line. I let out a sigh of relief. The last thing I needed right now was a ticket.
“Madeline Bianco,” Donato sang through the phone, and it gave me the icks. I stuck my tongue out in an about-to-barf motion.
“Yes, it’s me.” I had to take the phone away from my ear as I gained the courage to ask him what I wanted to ask him. “Donato, I need your help. I need a place to stay and I was hoping you’d be able to help me out.” I became silent. I could hear him shuffling something around and then I heard a door close. Someone honked behind me and I saw that I had a green light.
There was still more silence on the other end. “Donato?” I asked, and then he responded.
“Yes, I’m here. Just sending the staff a text message that you will be staying with us,” he said as his breathing became louder. It was grossing me out and I had to keep moving the phone away from my ear just to continue talking to him.
“All right, you head straight to my house and they will take care of you, give you a bedroom and everything,” he said with a small laugh.
“Thank you, Donato.” He said it wasn’t a problem and we both hung up.
I remembered their address and popped it into Google Maps on my phone and drove. My mind started to wander, and I realized how easy that all was. In fact, it seemed way too easy to accomplish having a place to stay at the Riccis’. Maybe I should just turn around and drive back to Blake’s house and just be with Blake and they could figure something else out.
But I had already called Donato and they now knew I was alive and vulnerable. If I went back to Blake, I would be putting myself in even more danger, and Blake too. I had just put myself in the worst dilemma and I could just hear my father scolding me for making the wrong moves.
For all I knew I could show up to the Ricci house and they would have machine guns ready to shoot me. I laughed a bit to myself because I had no idea what really went on with my dad’s business. Until I was seventeen, I thought he worked in construction, and that was how I was going to remember him.
Now I had to focus on my safety while staying with the Riccis. I knew that Blake would be thrown off by my suddenly leaving, but it was his plan so he shouldn’t be surprised. I continued to drive and pray for myself.
I reached the Ricci house and was greeted by Mrs. Ricci. She showed me to my room. It was a beautiful house and a gorgeous room. I closed the doors behind me and walked out onto the private terrace to call Blake and let him know everything went seamlessly and we could begin the operation.
I still had my sunglasses on as I called Blake. I tried to breathe easy. “Hello?” Blake was shouting on the other end. I sensed he was tense and lowered my voice.
“It’s me, Madeline. I just wanted to tell you I made it to the Riccis’ house and—” I couldn’t even finish what I was saying.
Blake was shouting in rage at me. “How could you do that, Maddie? You don’t know the danger you just put yourself in!” All I could hear was his heavy breathing.
I was shocked and scared at the same time and I tried to find my words. “But this was your plan. You came up with this,” I hissed at him. I was afraid someone would overhear me. I crouched and waited for Blake to respond.
“Yes, originally, that was the plan. But I’ve been in contact with a connection on the force and he has revealed a dangerous history between the Riccis and your family. Trust me when I say you are in danger by being there.” He was trying to lower his voice, but the anger was still there and very intense.
“Then why did you come up with this plan?” I was still so confused by him. What did he mean by keeping all of this from me? It was starting to make me really angry now.
“It seemed like the logical thing to do, and then I just started feeling guilty about putting you in that position and I was investigating other options to keep you safe. Then I came home and you’re not here!” He began shouting again.
I could just imagine how he looked, a white T-shirt that was barely able to hold in his pulsing muscles. His cheeks were probably redder than my lipstick.
“You know what? I kind of hate you right now.” I couldn’t control what I was saying. And he didn’t say anything. All I could hear was coughing or something.
“Maddie! Please listen to me. You have to stay in constant contact with me and let me know everything that is going on. I’m going to do what I can to get you safely out of there.” I could hear the coughing noise again. And then I realized it wasn’t coughing but possibly crying. He was really upset, and I felt like I’d caused it.
I kept saying his name and heard no response on the other end. “Blake?” I said a little louder.
“Look, Maddie, what’s done is done. All I want to do is protect you, but that’s going to be more difficult with you not with me. Please protect yourself and stay in contact with me.” He sounded like a drill sergeant.
“Fine,” I said through gritted teeth. He was being a jerk and I wanted to hang up on him, but I fought that instinct.
If he really wanted to protect me, he wouldn’t have come up with this stupid plan to begin with. I was starting to feel my blood boil the longer I was on the phone with him.
Blake went on and on about calling him and protecting myself. I just wanted to get off the phone with him and let myself breathe. I agreed that I would, and we hung up and I went inside to the room and unpacked.
I wanted to make it look like I trusted them and wasn’t trying to pull anything over them. Blake was right. I had put myself in danger by coming to the Riccis. I had to stay hopeful that I was going to get through this and back into Blake’s arms, and I would leave for Italy the moment I could.
Chapter Ten
Blake
I couldn’t believe she just up and left to go live with the Riccis without my guiding her through it
. Or even was patient enough to wait for me to come home and tell her the whole plan was out. I couldn’t stare at the pathetic note she had written in big bold letters with a sharpie and had taped to my fridge.
As if I was feeble and needed assistance with . . . I was so angry and worried about Madeline that I couldn’t even think of a scenario where she was insulting me with her stupid taped-up note.
How did she think I was going to react when I saw she was gone and noticed her sloppy work with that note? It was mocking me by staying up on my fridge.
I ripped it off and tore it up. I was so upset with her that I almost wanted to teach her a lesson by not helping her at all. But even thinking that made me even more upset that she was in the hands of danger now. She wasn’t here with me and that made me even more upset.
My anger became deeper and deeper the more I thought about everything. She just left! How could she be so stupid and just put herself in danger without even considering anyone else? I mean, she was twenty-one years old. But when your family has been murdered and you were supposed to be murdered with them, wouldn’t you be a little more careful?
She had come to my house and hidden under my trap door, hoping to find me and ask for my protection. This showed me she had good instincts when it came to her survival skills. She had total faith and trust in me and wanted me to protect her. I wanted to protect her. I really wanted to protect her. I really cared about her and she just didn’t listen to me. I felt beside myself. The day went on and my madness deepened. I didn’t know what to do with myself all day. I wanted to go for a drive, but if I did, I wouldn’t be here in case she came driving back and asking for me to take her away.
I was a prisoner in my own home, and I wasn’t even sure how long I would be in my house. If the property went to the bank, which most likely, it would, then I would be out of a place to live. And if the property went to other family members of the Biancos, then I knew I could stay here a little longer.
I began to look up apartments and I found myself only looking at apartments that would meet Maddie’s standards. Everything I did reminded me of Maddie and made it hard for me to focus.
I went back to not knowing what to do with myself. I just couldn’t get myself to focus on anything other than Maddie. The only thing I could think of was to work out my stress and feelings in my little home gym.
I was working up a sweat in my home gym and was blasting music. It was distracting me from everything else in my mind for the moment.
I began to relive that moment and it scared me all over again. I began to pump iron and refocus my mind. I couldn’t afford to lose it right now. I had to find a way to rescue Maddie and keep her safe.
I waited around and kept checking my phone for a call or text from Maddie. There was nothing so far, and that made me nervous. I didn’t dare try to call her, seeing as the enemy surrounded her right now.
It might put her in an awkward position since we hadn’t come up with codes yet. I was so upset with her before that I didn’t think to come up with a code we could speak to each other over the phone and in texts.
A code. That’s something I could work out while I waited for a call or text from her. I would write a simple code she and I could use. I instantly went to my kitchen and grabbed a pen and paper as I began to scribble out a code. I was good at codes.
When my mind had a pause in thought, I would think about Madeline in the Ricci house. She must be so terrified there with no idea what to do or look for. She didn’t know what I knew. I wasn’t able to tell her about anything. She left me no room or time to protect her.
I sat with these awful thoughts formulating in my head. I had never felt so fearful of anything, and I had never been so angry about anything. What was worse was I couldn’t even escape any of this. There was nothing I could do to make this feeling go away.
I wanted to leave, but I was too nervous to be seen too much around town. Everyone knew I was security for the Biancos and I wasn’t sure how many people may have put a hit out on me.
I was convinced some of the Riccis had seen me with Maddie around town before the explosion. They would for sure put the two of us in a romantic angle and be looking for me or use Maddie to torture me. All I could do was keep myself low-key or out of sight so I could get Maddie back to me and keep her safe. She was my only reason to have any kind of hope for the future and I felt lost without her.
I had such a respect for Mr. and Mrs. Bianco, and my way of paying my respects to them was to make sure their daughter was safe and was going to live out her dreams.
And beyond that, I really cared about her. I even loved her. That was clear to me now more than ever, and that’s why it killed me to realize this when she was in danger and not with me.
Chapter Eleven
Madeline
I tried to stay in my room as long as I could to stay away from the Riccis. I began to miss Blake’s room and I really missed Blake. I couldn’t believe I’d just left Blake and come to the Riccis’ house. I should’ve used my better instincts instead of taking things into my own hands in this situation. I should never have thought this was the way to go. I would’ve slapped myself if I hadn’t just put on a full face of makeup.
I began pacing back and forth as I wanted to call Blake and hear his voice. He sounded so angry with me that I started to feel sad that I’d made him feel that way. I looked at the phone he gave me that was lying on the bed. I tapped my fingers on my bare legs and then grabbed the bottom of my dress.
I was told to dress up for dinner, and when I got out of the shower, I saw a Marchesa box all neatly wrapped and set on the bed for me. There was a note from Donato that said he was happy to have me stay with him and his family during this hard and troublesome time for me.
It made me nervous that he signed it with XOXO, but I liked the dress and thought that I’d better play along until I could make an escape. I was also disgusted that he’d picked a designer I really liked.
I kept looking at my phone and wanting to call Blake, but I was afraid he was still angry with me and wouldn’t want to talk to me. Maybe he even changed his mind about protecting me. That was a scary thought, but I knew him well enough to know that he wasn’t going to not help me. He was probably just surprised to find me gone.
I began to reach toward my phone and call him when I heard a knock on the door. I went to answer it and it was one of the staff to tell me dinner would be served in ten minutes. I said I just had to apply more lip gloss and I would be down. I closed the door and looked back at my phone and grabbed it.
I could feel myself breathing heavier and my skin felt hot as I hesitated to call him. I threw the phone back on the bed and under a pillow. I would try to call him after dinner.
I felt like an obedient puppy, and my new masters wanted me in ten minutes at their side. Then that thought disgusted me and I shuddered and left the room in a hurry.
As I approached the kitchen where the entire family was cooking and drinking, I held my breath. I could see Mr. Ricci, which was a huge blow to the stomach. I felt like I was walking down death row coming toward these people.
They killed my family! What was I doing here? What was I thinking, coming here and asking for sanctuary? I didn’t have any kind of sanctuary here.
I saw Donato Ricci eyeing me as he came toward me with two wine glasses. It reminded me of Blake and then I looked away in pain just thinking of him. “Hello, Madeline. I have a glass of wine with your name on it,” he said with an evil-looking smile creeping across his face.
I wanted to smack the wine glasses out of his hands and then him. But instead, I accepted the glass of wine and took a sip. As I gulped, I wondered if there was any poison in it, and then I felt that hot feeling rising in my skin.
Donato put his arm around me and pulled me close to him. Now I was feeling bile rise in my throat. He leaned in and whispered in my ear, “I see you like the dress I picked out for you.” I dry-heaved, but I played it off as a cough.
He asked m
e if I was okay and I waved him off. He wouldn’t let go of me and I was choking on the smell of aftershave and hair products. He guided me to the rest of the family, and they all came up to me and hugged me and offered their condolences.
It all made me sick as I let the killers hug me. This must be what hell feels like. I wanted to give them an Academy Award for Best Group Performance.
Mr. Ricci wanted me to sit by him, and he announced me as his honored guest. Everyone gave me a toast. And all I could do was eye the man who killed my father, and the other thing I could do was lean away from Donato, who decided to sit right next to me. They served me fish and I knew exactly what that meant.
Dinner felt so long and never ending as the volume was high. For the first time, I realized what it was like to not contribute to the conversation at a table. It was loud and there was way too much food. Everyone kept making me eat and I had a hard time even digesting anything. It was like my throat had closed up and wouldn’t let anything through.
What made matters worse for me was that Donato was sitting next to me and crowding my air. He was disgusting, a complete rat now and when we were kids. I was trying my hardest to talk to the oldest-looking aunt sitting right across from me, but Donato would just interrupt us and put his finger under my chin and turn my head to him. Mr. Ricci would bombard the other side of me.
The last thing I wanted to do was vomit all over this table. So, I stopped trying to talk to anyone altogether, just to save myself the temptation of getting sick all over the table. That would show them my weakness, and I was not going to let that happen.
SEALed To Protect (Omerta Series) Page 6