by Mj Fields
“Because he’s in Italy and you are here?”
“That, and I don’t trust him. Trust is important.”
“Has he given you reason to mistrust him?”
“That’s it. He said all the right things and I believed him at that moment, but then … then—”
“Jules DeLuca is a self-serving bitch. Her husband is worse,” Valentina whispers. “I won’t pretend to know everything about my brother’s personal life. I won’t even try to figure it out. But I know who he is inside. I know he loves deeply and feels even deeper. And I know he is loyal. If not for him, I wouldn’t be here today.” She sounds softer, sweeter, and then she laughs. “Literally, I wouldn’t be right here.”
Valentina talks about the dark days, as she calls them, when she lost her parents, and then her grandfather. After her grandfather’s death, she found her grandmother crying and heard her say over and over again, “I gave it all up for you, my children, my heart, my everything.”
“She sounded so angry as she talked to Grandfather’s picture. Then Dominic found me and scurried me back to our wing of the house. He took the time to listen and tried to help me understand that she had not given her children away, and that it was her way of expressing a feeling.
“He was always explaining my feelings to me. He protected me, loved me, and raised me, until he couldn’t anymore. I was angry when he let them send me away to a private school. He said I would someday understand. I still don’t, but I know, if he felt it was in my best interest, then it was. He’s a good man and a great brother. I wish you could see that.”
“I do. I see all the wonderful things about him in vivid colors. But the other things, the clouds that loom over him, and the wall I have built for self-preservation, make it impossible. I want your brother to be happy.”
“Then make him happy,” she tells Laney. “At least call him. He’s going through so much right now. He needs someone. He doesn’t tell me anything because he thinks I’m weak.”
“You weak?” The adoration for Valentina in Laney’s voice is beautiful. “I have only spoken to you twice and I know better.”
“Then help me make him see that.”
I turn off the monitor again, knowing Valentina may be a pain in the ass to me, but for her brother, she’s truly loyal.
Capitolo Otto
It’s been a pleasant few days. Valentina and Laney met for drinks after work one night, dinner another. Getting out of the building has been pleasant, except for the fact that Valentina is bored with the New York shopping after she saw a Dollar Store. Now boxes from Italy are coming in daily.
Unknown to Laney and Valentina, it’s been a little nerve-racking. Vincent and I have been warned that Benito and Salvatore Efisto, and his fucking son, are in New Jersey.
Apparently, Dominic and the Steel family are friendly with Sabato, and Sabato is working with them to bring down his father. They speak of him like he is something special. He’s not. He’s shit.
I am positive Valentina and he haven’t been in contact because her mood would reflect his presence. It would be dark. It is not.
I do not want to burden Dominic with this, and I won’t unless he comes around. If he does, I will tell him, man to man, to leave her alone. If he doesn’t listen, then I will let Dominic know, for no other reason than to keep Valentina safe.
Sabato fucking Efisto is shit.
I close the file and sit back, trying to rid him from my mind. I try to not see her the way I did that night. The night she didn’t listen to me.
I look at the monitor when I hear the alarm. I know it’s not Laney, since she’s already on her way to work.
I watch as Valentina opens her apartment door. She’s carrying something, and it’s not her bag. I look closer because she doesn’t ever carry anything but her damn bag without needing my help.
As I watch her enter the elevator, I stand up, waiting for her to come down four floors to tell me what do it. It’s her job.
She walks out and shrugs as she comes up to me. “I made this. It’s not shit. I won’t throw it out. If you don’t want it, then you throw it out.” She stretches out her hands toward me, holding the dish as she looks at me.
When I take it, she turns and walks quickly back to the elevator.
“Thank you, Signorina Segretti.”
“Valentina,” she corrects, closing the elevator’s cargo door.
I sit down at the desk with a warm glass dish covered in foil. I set it down and open it.
Crostatas.
I inhale the scent and smell cherry.
Ready to pick one up and eat possibly the first homecooked meal I have had since I visited my parents, I look up as Dominic walks in.
“Signore Segretti?” I begin to stand.
“Have a seat, Franco. And last I checked, I’m still Dominic, the same guy you used to hang out with in the vineyards when we were kids.”
“It’s been years.”
“You talk to your father in the past few days?” he asks.
“No, I’ve been busy dealing with Signorina Segretti.”
“Is that so? Has Valentina been a pain in the ass?”
I smile. “She has been keeping pretty busy.”
“Shopping?”
“Packages from Italy every day.”
“I thought she’d love shopping here in the city that doesn’t sleep.”
“She found a Dollar Store, sign—”
“Dominic.”
“I apologize.”
“Go on. This Dollar Store?”
“Right. She was not fond of it. Does she know you’re here?”
“No, and I’d like to keep it that way. I need some sleep.”
“The second floor isn’t ready yet.”
“I’m going to be on the third.”
“Should I inform—”
“No. Not one word. When does she arrive home from work?”
“It’s Thursday. Normally, she’s back by five thirty.”
“Perfect. I’ll rest until she arrives. No interruptions. I flew all damn night.”
“Of course.”
He points to the Crostatas. “Did Valentina make those?”
I nod, and he smiles.
“Does she do that often?”
“This is the first.”
“My mother and her made these every weekend together. May I?”
I take one out and tell him, “Take the rest. I already ate, but I couldn’t tell her no.”
“You sure?” he asks, eyeballing them.
“Yes, signore.”
He rolls his eyes.
“Yes, Dominic.”
He grips my shoulder and smiles. “Life’s going to change, Franco. Back to better days.”
I nod.
As he walks away, he looks back. “I need information on passports. The sooner, the better. Laney doesn’t have one.”
“Yes …” He cocks his head to the side and raises an eyebrow. “I’ll do that, Dominic.”
He smiles and laughs as he lifts open the cargo door to the elevator.
Three days later, I am bored out of my fucking mind. I had spent the previous day with Laney and Valentina, getting Laneys passport situated.
Benito is in jail, and Salvatore is in the hospital until he’s well enough to be in jail.
Sabato and his father got into an altercation at his sex club. Self-defense. He claims his father came after him. I don’t believe it, regardless of the evidence. I believe it was staged. There was a gun involved, and I’m glad. That means Salvatore will spend more time behind bars. I hope he rots there.
Dominic and Valentina had a meeting with the Steel family about demolishing a billion-dollar building. It’s an emotionally driven decision; an insane waste of money when they could just sell it. However, Dominic doesn’t care. He is pissed off that the Steel family hasn’t given him their blessing.
For the last meeting, Laney accompanied them. When they return, Dominic doesn’t get out of the car with them.
/> Valentina looks emotionally drained when she walks past. Laney thanks me for holding the door and gets on the elevator with her.
Before the door shuts, I hear Valentina laugh and say, “I need to get laid.”
Immediately, I think of him, of Sabato, and I worry.
I turn on the audio to Laney’s apartment when I see them go in. Then I hear Valentina ask, “What’s up with that Sabato guy?”
“I know he’s a friend of your brother’s, but I would strongly advise against going in that direction if you need to get—” Laney begins.
“Oh, God, no.”
Laney laughs as if it’s not even something she would consider. “Did you see that place? Creepy.”
Immediately, I google his name and a club pops up. Looking through the pictures, I see exactly what kind of club it is. A sex club.
Yes, it is, I think to myself.
“Do you have someone in Italy?” Laney asks Valentina.
“I did. I’m still looking for the right one, I guess. It’s kind of hard finding someone. If they know you, you worry about it being just about the money, you know?”
“No, I—”
“Oh, damn, I wasn’t thinking of you. Please don’t think I was insinuating you were with Dominic for financial reasons.”
“Okay.”
Valentina continues, “Then you think you like someone, and they just don’t meet your standards. I probably compare them to Dominic. I probably expect to be treated a certain way, and when I feel like I’m the stronger one in the relationship, I stomp all over them. When they allow it, I look at them like they are less of a man. Completely unreasonable and unrealistic expectations, I know.”
“I used to say, if it wasn’t fun, it was done,” Laney said. “What are you looking for in a partner?”
“I want someone who is strong and smart. They have to love music and be sensitive, too. But I want someone who doesn’t put up with my bullshit, yet finds me appealing, even when I’m acting irrational.”
“So, a cross between John Edwards, Chris Martin, and Arnold Schwarzenegger?”
“Pardon?” Valentina giggles. She fucking giggles.
“Psychic, lead singer of Coldplay, and a body builder, slash actor, slash governor.”
“That may just work.”
Over my dead body.
“Franco.”
At the sound of my name, I look up to see Vincent.
“You all right?”
I nod.
“Sabato Efisto is out of jail. Salvatore is still in the hospital. I’ll be around if needed.”
I nod as he walks back out the door.
Capitolo Nove
It’s been two weeks of hell. Valentina is miserable again, and Laney, as well.
Dominic and his aunt went together to Italy, saying they felt it was best if the women stayed here until Laney gets her passport.
I agree. More importantly, Valentina is much easier to deal with when Laney is with her.
Last night when Dominic came home before returning to Italy, Laney told him she didn’t have the new passport yet. I knew otherwise. I processed the paperwork with her, the day he left for Italy.
Valentina didn’t want to leave. She told Dominic that she wanted to get to know her American family, and that he and Laney should take some time together. She promised him she would return for holiday. Therefore, he asked that I stay here, too. I agreed, not divulging my own reason for wanting to stay.
I would stay until Salvatore Efisto is found.
When I told him Laney’s passport was here, he flipped out. I have no idea what was said. The audio in her apartment isn’t used when Valentina and her are not alone and when things feel off to me.
When he left alone, I felt for him. He clearly loved the two women who had both shot him down at his greatest moment. A moment of triumph, one in which validated his family’s legacy.
I was angry at Valentina until the elevator opened and her and Laney walked out with a suitcase. Laney’s suitcase, she was going to Italy.
Today, I wait for news on Salvatore, while making sure Sabato doesn’t come within an inch of Valentina, and I do it with a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.
When the elevator opens, Valentina walks out with a pan. I can’t help smiling, thinking she cooked again.
When she walks past me, dumps it in the trash, then turns and glares at me, I lose my shit.
“What the fuck is your problem?”
“Clearly, you have an issue with me. I just wanted to make sure you know that, although I have been trying so very hard since being here, I’m done trying with you.”
I fucking laugh at her. She’s crazy. Fucking crazy.
“I will not be needing your protection today. I’ll be with my family.” Nose in the air, she marches toward the elevator as the smell of cherry Crostatas invades my senses.
I flip on the audio and hear her talking on the phone. She’s speaking to a girl named Nikki. I flip through a file and see that Nikolette Bassett is Abe O’Donnell’s, CFO of Steel Incorporated, girlfriend. She was one of the young women who helped move Laney in. An old college roommate. The other was a girl named Melyssa.
Hearing only one side of the conversation and not knowing Nikki, I can only assume Valentina is inviting them over for a girls’ night.
Right now, I need a girls’ night, too. Me and two women … fucking.
Two days later, it’s been girls’ night since that call. Tonight, it’s Melyssa, or Mel, as Valentina calls her. They drink wine and talk a fuck of a lot about men, or boys.
I have not taken time off, nor has Vincent. Both of us take our jobs seriously, and both also have strong desire to get that fucker Salvatore put behind bars.
When the door opens, I recognize Jase Steel, Valentina’s cousin, Abe, and Nikki.
“Franco,” Jase greets, holding out his hand.
“Sign—”
“Mr. Steel,” he corrects then looks around. “Where’s my cousin?”
“In her apartment,” I tell him.
“Well, we got a fucking problem. Salvatore is on the run. Two hospital guards were killed. Cops everywhere are looking for him.”
“Is Melyssa here, as well?” Abe asks.
“Yes,” I answer.
“Gotta talk to the girls,” Jase says, nodding toward the elevator.
When we walk into Valentina’s apartment, she turns down the television.
“Hey, guys, what’s going on?” She stands.
“Sabato’s father, Salvatore Efisto, escaped from lockup a few hours ago. Two guards were killed,” Jase says as he looks around.
“Oh, my God.”
“We can’t get ahold of your brother. He’s not answering—”
“He was planning on proposing to Laney today,” Valentina interrupts, smiling.
Both Nikki and Melyssa respond with an aw.
“Okay. I have someone going to the vineyard to see that he’s okay—”
“What do you mean, if he’s okay, Jase?” Valentina gasps.
“We have to take precautions, Valentina, just to make sure we all are safe until he’s found.”
“Sabato, where is he?” Mel asks.
I see Valentina look at her oddly, then watch as Jase and Abe exchange looks.
“Is he okay?” Valentina asks.
“The police went to the club an hour ago. It appears there was a struggle. We’re looking for him now,” Abe explains.
“Oh, my God.” She covers her mouth.
“I want you to stay put. No going out, not even to the store. Salvatore doesn’t know where you live, but I don’t trust he doesn’t have men out looking. Mel, you were at the club, he’s seen you, so you stay put, too. Do you understand?” Abe requests.
She nods.
“Nikki and I will come get you tomorrow. We want you to go home and visit your family. Just a visit. Nothing more. Anything else is on a need to know basis. The less they know, the safer everyone is,” Abe explains.
&
nbsp; As soon as they leave, I watch Valentina check out Mel when she isn’t looking, and Melyssa does the same to her.
Then Valentina grabs her phone and dials Dominic.
She smiles brightly when he speaks. I watch her look around to see if anyone is watching, and then she turns her back.
“I am so happy for you.” She pauses. “Of course I’ll be safe. More reason to now than ever before.”
When she ends the call, she turns around.
“Do you understand that there are no games, Valentina?” I ask her.
“I understand, all right. I am officially under house arrest.” She rolls her eyes.
When all is quiet, Vincent takes the lobby, and I bring a chair to sit outside Valentina’s door.
The next morning, Abe and Nikki pick up Melyssa. Now, it is just us, again.
Capitolo Dieci
With Vincent in and out, I’m not using the audio. I don’t want him to know because, well, it’s intrusive, but I don’t care. I know her.
I have known her forever.
Just like the previous three nights, I am outside her door and he is in the lobby.
I watch the hand-held, and every damn time she opens the balcony door, I am on edge.
There have been no packages, she doesn’t even come out of her fucking apartment, but music plays all day and night.
I smell her cooking. She’s fucking cooking and not even throwing it out in front of me.
I feel something, like something is horribly wrong, yet I can’t figure out if I need her to be a bitch, or if I should just sit here and continue to not only feel of no use, but confused.
When Vincent comes up in the morning, he tells me to go shower, so I do.
In the shower, I focus on the last two women I met, the ones I fucked, or rather, they fucked me. I think maybe this feeling is some type of homesickness. I need something normal. Maybe it’s the need to come, to make someone come. Someone who wants to be treated like a woman should be. It certainly can’t be because Valentina isn’t being a brat.
When I was home, I could go weeks without seeing her and dread the day I had to return, yet she is right here and I feel like I am failing as her protector.
I spend too long trying to get off. I swear I nearly pull my cock off. Still, I just can’t get there. I picture her, too. I picture the way she looked with the women in Italy, it normally works. But not this time.