by Soraya Naomi
“Please call me Cam,” I request.
“Of course, Cam. We’ll have to discuss what to do with Fat Sal and Santino,” James explains, knowing I want help with Santino.
I don’t want to push my luck, so I sit back in my seat.
Adriano is boring holes into my temple from my right side. He’s going to ask more questions about Santino later. I can feel it in my bones.
He speaks after an awkward silence, “I’ve had Fat Sal’s first soldier in the warehouse since yesterday.”
Luca’s attention directs to Adriano. “Why?”
“James ordered it right before we found Cam. I never released him. He’ll come in handy, but by now, Sal will know his soldier is missing in action.”
James strokes his chin thoughtfully. “We’ll handle that. Cam, did you cancel the lease on your apartment?”
“Uhm...No...Yes. I didn’t have an official lease. It was all under the table. I just paid monthly, and then I could stay.”
“You said you don’t have any personal belongings. Do you have your driver’s license?” James asks.
“No, I think that’s still with Fat Sal,” I answer, still constantly alert of Adriano’s every move.
His ankle rests on his knee, and he leans his elbows on the armrests, linking his fingers. His elbow strokes my arm, the touch thrilling to me.
“Can you get her a new driver’s license?” James asks Salvatore.
“Yes. I’ll do it today,” Salvatore confirms with a smile to me.
“I think it’s best you keep your own surname and not change it to Calderone. Salvatore will get you a phone. I’ll, of course, have a new will drawn up and let you review the papers,” James says, moving through everything extremely quickly.
“Okay...” This is all a little overwhelming. I need to get to know him first.
“Salvatore and I will have you review any documents that concern you. Now, for other business, like your living arrangements,” James comments. “It’s safest for you to live in the Loop.”
But that’s where Fat Sal is.
“I know Sal is in the Loop, but so are we three,” James adds as if reading my thoughts. “Luca and Adriano live in the Loop, and I live just outside it. I’d prefer you live nearby. You can stay with one of us until you’ve found an apartment to your liking.”
Is staying with Adriano an option?
Luca offers, “You’re welcome to stay with Fallon and me. Maybe you’d prefer to stay with a friend, and Fallon would love it.”
“Be prepared to be bored to death by quotes from really old romance novels if you stay with his wife,” Adriano jokes and throws his crumpled napkin at Luca, who grins at him.
Thankfully, someone cuts through the seriousness.
Salvatore stands, and all our heads turn to him. “I have an appointment. Camilla, it was nice to meet you. I’ll take care of getting you a new driver’s license and phone today. Gentlemen.” He gives a formal goodbye.
James continues straightaway, “I’d like you to meet my wife, Alessa, and Rosalia tonight and join us for dinner. Luca, Fallon, and Adriano will be there as well. Luca and Adriano will drop you off at Fallon’s, so you can stay with her today. We all have appointments for the rest of the day, but know that David, the guard that used to drive you around sometimes, will be assigned to watch over you. Do you have any questions?”
“Uhm...Do we go now?”
“Yes,” James replies, and all the men rise.
“Okay, I’ll get my purse.”
I hurry toward the other side of the house, back to the strip club, and spot Damian and the blonde on the couch.
He inspects me as if I’m a ghost. “Cam?”
“Hey!” I close the distance and throw my arms around him, and he returns my embrace. “How are you?”
“Good. Since when are you back?” he asks, but his gaze moves over my shoulder behind me, and I can hear irate strides: Adriano.
I’m prepared for him to ignore me or something, because I can’t interpret his mood.
However, when I crane my neck, his eyes are blazing with violence, and he tugs me back by my arm. “Don’t you fucking talk to him in front of me!”
I yank my arm out of his grip. “What?!”
And I look at Damian, who doesn’t seem surprised by the inflexible lines on Adriano’s face. What exactly does Adriano know about Damian and me?
Damian and I hold each other’s stare for a nanosecond, setting Adriano off. He comes between us, blocking me from Damian’s view and crowding him.
Hesitantly, I reach out to touch his shoulder, but his stiff body is unyielding.
While towering over Damian, he spits through clenched teeth, “Don’t even look at her! I swear I’ll—”
“Adriano,” the composed and controlled voice of Luca interrupts this scene before Adriano explodes.
He keeps shooting daggers at Damian.
“Get your purse, Cam,” Luca speaks to me.
I hesitate, and he persists, practically pushing me toward the private room.
Grabbing my purse from the bed, I rush back to witness Luca and Adriano muttering back and forth in Italian while Damian is propped on the couch again.
With Adriano’s back to me, I silently shift closer and mouth to Damian, “Did you tell him?” He knows I’m asking if he told Adriano about the one time we slept together.
He nods, and I feel the blood drain from my face. Luca glances in my direction, and Adriano whirls around, lips in a thin, straight line.
“Let’s go.” Luca sighs to both of us.
Outside, with the device in hand, Luca clicks open the doors of his enormous, black Italian car.
Sliding onto the leather, I sit behind the driver’s seat, and Adriano takes the front.
Luca starts the car, and when the radio powers on, he silences it.
Adriano’s surveying the outside scenery as it flies by.
I meet Luca’s concerned eyes in the rearview mirror while fighting the urge to push Adriano to talk now.
However, I can’t hold it in. “Adriano, we really need to talk. Alone.”
Silence is all I get in return while he doesn’t move a muscle.
I’m about to give up and also start glaring at the cloudless sky when he answers in a low voice, “Not now. I can’t now.”
And that’s it. Typical Adriano to never explain himself.
I exhale a heavy breath of frustration. I’ll give him some time to settle down, but I vow now, in this car, that I will not go back to how we were. I’m not just some employee of his anymore.
Luca helps me take my mind off Adriano. “I’m dropping you off at our penthouse. Fallon’s excited to see you again.”
“I am too,” I reply softly.
***
We arrive at a posh glass high-rise in the Loop and travel up to the penthouse floor. The elevator opens up into a large, bright living room with floor-to-ceiling windows.
Luca goes right to the kitchen island and shouts, “Fallon!”
I follow, and Adriano stands at the window.
She comes down the hall while fastening her hair up into a tight bun, smiling widely. “Cam!”
Luca blocks her path, and she grins at him. He bends his head, grips her hips, and kisses her sweetly on the lips. “Hey, wife.”
“Morning, husband. You left early today.”
I look away from the intimate moment.
“You were snoring.” Another peck on her mouth, and he releases her to join Adriano at the window.
Fallon hugs me tightly. “Are you okay?” And she holds me back by my shoulders.
“I am. You look good,” I compliment her.
She has a healthy glow and is awfully tanned and elegant with straight bangs, dressed in taupe pants and a cream colored blouse, feet bare. So unlike the last time I saw her, which was months ago, when she was at rock bottom, just like I was yesterday.
She motions toward Adriano and Luca at the window. “What’s wrong?”
“I’ll tell you when we’re alone,” I whisper, and she squeezes my arms upliftingly.
“So, what’s the plan?” she asks, approaching the men.
“Cam will stay with you just as we discussed,” Luca tells her.
Adriano turns around and has calmed his nerves a bit. He’s in control again, impassive.
They walk by us, and he does at least acknowledge me with a chin dip.
Luca hooks an arm around Fallon’s waist and presses his lips to her hair. “We’ll meet you later at James’s house. David will drive you today. Don’t take the subway, dolcezza.”
“Yes, yes.” She’s clearly used to Luca giving her orders.
The elevator doors open, and they step inside.
“And answer your phone,” Luca adds while Adriano watches me.
“Bye,” I mouth. Once he’s had time to cool off, he’ll come to me. I’m counting on that.
And at last, he gives me a twinge of hope when he winks right before the doors close.
“Tea?” Fallon offers as I sit on the adjustable bar stool around her kitchen island.
“Coffee, please.”
She opens cabinets and presses buttons for coffee and tea. “How did you sleep? What have you been doing? Did James talk to you?”
“What do you want to know first?” I smile through all her questions.
“Sorry. We got back just a few hours ago.”
“Back from where?” I ask.
“Italy.”
“You were on vacation?”
The coffeemaker pings.
“Uhm...Yes, we got married there.”
“Now I feel bad. You had to cut your honeymoon short? And congratulations. I can’t believe you two are married.” I’m confronted with how long I’ve been gone. While everyone’s life has moved on, I’ve been stuck in the same place. But not anymore.
“Thanks. We had a honeymoon, and I don’t mind. I was happy to hear you were okay and come back early. What happened to you the last time we were supposed to meet at my therapist’s office? Why didn’t you show up?” Fallon slides a cup of coffee to me and holds her tea mug with two hands.
“I panicked. You brought Luca and Adriano with you. Back then, I was so confused and scared. I bolted when I saw you drive up with them.”
“Well, I guess I can understand.”
I take a sip and cough from the strong taste. “Strong,” I say through a grimace.
“Sorry. I don’t drink coffee. That’s how Luca drinks it.”
I smile and continue, “I’m sorry I lied to you.”
Fallon and I met under unusual circumstances. When she was held at the Syndicate’s house and the few times we saw one another while I was on the run, I lied to her often. Sometimes for her protection, sometimes for my own, because I just didn’t know what to tell whom anymore. I lied to her about my involvement with Adriano, and I lied to her about the bomb. I led her to believe that I planted it, while I honestly didn’t. I was just stupidly hoping she’d be more inclined to help me if I gave her the explanation that I believed matched the reason why the Syndicate was looking for me.
“Please don’t. I, of all people, can understand why you chose to lie. But why did you tell me you planted the bomb?”
“I don’t know. I guess I thought maybe you’d be more willing to help.”
She tilts her head, and sadness glimmers behind her eyes. “So you talked to James?”
“He told me.” I stroke the strands of my annoyingly outgrown bob back with my fingers.
“And how do you feel about it?”
“It’s strange to suddenly hear you have a father. I don’t know yet how I feel. At the moment, I’m dazed. Yesterday, my future was exceptionally bleak. And today, my future is much brighter and is being discussed with three other men. My life took a one-eighty within twenty-four hours.”
It’s liberating to freely speak my mind with a woman who might relate to me. Although I wonder how much she knows about the Syndicate.
“And on top of that, I have some unfinished business – the reason why I was on the run initially – for which I need their help,” I add.
“Are you in trouble?”
“Not really. A friend of mine is being held hostage.”
She sets her mug down. “Are they going to help you?”
“They’ll discuss it today, and I hope James will have positive news for me tonight. I can’t continue my life without helping my friend.”
“Okay...But be careful, and don’t try to take care of it on your own. Allow them to help you.” She pauses to drink her tea. “We’ve been so worried about you. Especially James and Adriano. What’s with Adriano today? I thought he’d be in a better mood since you’re back.”
“You can’t tell anyone else,” I warn before I reveal the truth.
“Who would I tell? My book characters?” she mocks.
“Luca?” She could tell Luca.
“If it concerns Adriano, chances are, Luca already knows. You do know those two are like brothers?”
“I’m starting to understand that. Adriano found out something that happened while I worked for them.”
“What did you do?” Fallon casts me a curiously amused look.
“I slept with Damian once.”
She flinches in disgust. “Why? And while you were with Adriano?”
“I was never with Adriano. We never even defined our screwed up relationship. Well, he didn’t discuss our relationship.”
“But there’s been something between you two since the start. Everyone knows that.” She makes another face. “I hate that Damian.”
“Why?”
“He was the one who took me to the house. And I just don’t like him. Thankfully, I never see him.”
“Well, I was hurt because it was after I asked Adriano to love me, and he blatantly ignored the love part and told me he’d never be with me. And that led to me getting drunk and being stupid. And Damian apparently told Adriano. I don’t know how long ago Adriano found out, but I’m guessing recently, because he’s enraged. He saw me talking to Damian at the house and blew up, ordering me not to speak to him and threatening him.”
“Really...? He’s usually very self-controlled.”
“That’s why I need him to cool off before we talk.”
“What ever happened between you and him?”
“I fell hard for him. I still feel our bond thrumming through my veins. When I saw him yesterday, we’d only been alone for five minutes and couldn’t keep our hands off each other. After nine months apart, I still felt the power he has over me. It’s something irreplaceable. We were friends, lovers. But both of us were exploring new territory without wanting to shake our past. And that led to an unstable situation.”
These feelings we weren’t ready for, eventually made us spiteful. And he was even worse in handling them than I was.
“You two definitely need to talk,” Fallon agrees.
“I know.” I sigh, and she doesn’t give me time to dwell.
“We have a lot to do. You need clothes. I have some apartment listings we should go through.”
“I need everything. I don’t even have toiletries.” I slide my bag over the granite top and rummage through it. “And I only have two twenty dollar bills. I need a job.”
Fallon seems tentative to speak. “I’ve been given money to give to you, Cam. It’s from James. You really don’t need to worry about everything all at once. Let’s get you settled, and please accept James’s money. It’s your family money.”
Realizing she makes a good point, I accept it. “Okay. I don’t even want to think about everything right now, anyway. I’m still processing information.” My first priority is helping Santino.
“Let’s go then and cross the simple things off your list.” She walks to the couch and steps into her nude heels.
“Where are we going?”
“Shopping,” Fallon replies, and I groan in discontent, making Fallon whirl around. “Do you hate shopping?” sh
e asks, hopeful.
“I do. I just want to go to one store and get everything.”
“I’m so glad you said that because that’s what I do too. We’re going to one department store and getting you all the toiletries, clothes, and shoes you need for the next few weeks,” she says, making me feel better than I have in ages.
But there’s constantly that voice weighing me down, whispering that I left someone behind who’s possibly being tortured right this minute while I walk as a free woman here in the Loop.
CHAPTER 16
Adriano
I close the door to Luca’s car, and we set off toward Security Simplicity.
That didn’t go well. I can’t get a moment alone with Cam, and my first attempt was undermined by Damian’s presence. Unable to control myself, I risked everything because of jealous rage. However, she’s correct. We do need to talk or else I’m going to burst from these mixed emotions I’m experiencing after having her back in my life for just one day. Her presence is calming, yet infuriating. I want her with a need that’s unequaled by any woman I’ve ever met in my entire life. But I also want to shake her with that same need for letting another man touch her.
What the hell is wrong with me?
I can’t endanger my position as Capo and bring James’s wrath down on me. I’ve worked too damn hard to achieve this position. I’ve killed too many men to lose it over this compulsive need for Cam.
Her story was excruciating to hear. I saw the tears welling in her eyes as she conveyed her memories of her confinement at the underground fight club. I watched her with admiration and pain. I’d warned James to be prepared for her sordid story, but I was the one least in control. I can’t believe she went through all that and managed to keep it from me for so long. She just confessed to being abused by mafia men. We would never allow anyone to get away with hurting one of our own. We’ll claim vengeance.
Yet, she’s unbelievably strong, and I have no idea how she coped with it, but it seems that, above all, she mostly wants to help this Santino.