Fugitive (Deceptive Series Book 2)

by M. D. Melai

  When I finally found my composure, I turned and headed towards the jeep. When I slid into the backseat, my mother’s eyes were wide and disappointed. She was clearly upset.

  The next few minutes were awkward as Dante, Violet, and my mother asked me where I had gone to, and why was I in my running clothes. The only response I really had was that everything was starting to overwhelm me, so I called Lucas and he came and got me. I didn’t want him to get in trouble with my mother since she had told him it was a family thing only. I then explained how he took me to the park and we ran a few miles as I tried to cope with everything. Although they weren’t happy with the response, they didn’t ask anything else.

  Instead, my mother informed me on the funeral arrangements and said that in the morning Violet and I would be meeting her, my sisters-in-law, and nieces in the city to go shopping for new outfits to wear to the funeral. I didn’t need a new outfit. I had plenty of options, but I agreed anyway.

  As soon as we arrived home, Benito and Emilio were waiting for us. I quickly helped her pack. She said it would be easier at the moment for her to stay with Benito since people wanted to come and see her. I wasn’t going to disagree with her. It was a better idea for her to be around Benito and the kids than me.

  Another good thing about staying with Benito was that Marcello and Giovanni didn’t live but ten minutes from Benito, and Giorgio’s home was twenty minutes away. Giorgio preferred the lake house over his house in the city. He calls his house in the city his home away from home. If he could permanently move to the lake house, then he would.

  Thirty minutes after we arrived back at the house, everyone, including Emilio, was hugging my mother and telling her we would all see her tomorrow. Emilio and I were the only ones standing on the porch as they pulled away.

  As I took a deep breath, I could feel his eyes as they burned holes into my back. I thought if I stood there long enough, then he would go inside, but he didn’t.

  “Are you going to say anything or are you just going to stalk me?” I finally spoke up, not turning towards him.

  “Stalk you,” he said matter of fact.

  “I think I’m going to go for another run, so if you want to continue to stalk me, you probably need to make your way to the back porch for a little while.” I heard him sigh in frustration as I walked past him without looking up.

  As soon as I was out the back door, I took off into the yard, following my old jogging path. It didn’t take long before I found my stride and the only sound I could hear was the pounding of my feet hitting the dirt.

  I looked back at the house for a moment and saw Emilio sitting on the back porch in a lounge chair. He was so predictable at times.

  I turned my attention back to my running. Having Lucas around earlier helped my mind to stay focus, but out here, it was hard not to let it wander. I tried my best to clear my head, but, in the end, my thoughts consumed me.

  My father was shot.

  He died.

  I’m the worst daughter in the world.

  It’s all my fault.

  I should have never left.

  I’m mad. No, I’m livid.

  The faster I ran, the faster my thoughts came.

  Emilio hates me.

  Everyone else should hate me too.

  I hate myself.

  No one will forgive me.

  They blame you.

  You took him from them.

  My blurry vision let me know at some point I had started crying. I pushed myself even harder as a voice in my head started screaming. I couldn’t see anymore, and I tripped and fell to the ground.

  Before I knew it, Emilio’s arms wrapped around me and I fell into him. My body was being wracked as my sobs poured out of me.

  Eventually, Dante and Violet came and helped Emilio get me into the house. I remember taking a shower and Violet staying to shove food down my throat before I crawled into bed that night. She stayed beside me for the rest of the night.

  ***

  I awoke to an empty room the next morning, along with three missed calls and two text messages from Lucas. I quickly texted him and said that I was sorry I had missed his calls and his text again, and that I had a rough night and I would call him later today. He texted back immediately that it was okay and to let me know that if I needed anything, then he was there for me.

  I took a shower soon after and got dressed for the day before heading downstairs to find everyone eating breakfast. All three sets of eyes watched me with concern as I sat down and ate the French toast Violet had made. No one mentioned yesterday’s events, and I was happy about that.

  Dante drove Emilio, Violet, and me back into the city. He dropped Violet and me off at Benito’s house and picked up Benito before the three of them headed out for the day.

  The shopping trip with my sisters-in-law and nieces was interesting. Having seven grown women and seven young ladies with us made for a hectic day. My beautiful nieces each had to try on at least three outfits a piece and I lost count of the number of shoes.

  We had a late lunch afterwards before Violet, me, my mother, Benito’s wife, and my nieces returned back to the house.

  When we arrived, all of us quickly started to set up for the wake service we would be having at the house tonight. Benito, thankfully, had volunteered to host it. I wouldn’t have been able to handle everyone over at my house.

  Violet and I helped my mother and sister-in-law prepare dinner for after the service before we headed upstairs to change our clothes.

  The priest and everyone else arrived shortly after that and we all gathered in the living room.

  The service started promptly on time with the priest saying a prayer over my father’s body and then he went into a few stories that he had of my father. They had been friends for longer than I could remember, so it was easy for him to recall memories that they had together.

  Once he was done, Benito made his way to the front. My mother had asked him to say a few words about my father, and he reluctantly accepted.

  Benito talked about how amazing of a father he was and how he helped him through so many things in his life. He explained vaguely how he helped him through a very hard time. I could only assume it was before I was born, because I didn’t know what he was referring to. It also didn’t help that Benito didn’t go into great detail.

  I just forced a smile, because it sounded exactly like something my father would do. I was starting to understand more and more that my father would have done anything in order to keep us close, safe, and happy.

  When Benito was done, my mother joined him. She had a few memories she wanted to share. Some of the stories she had told me when I was growing up, but others I had never heard before. It was nice to hear them.

  I was proud of my mother as her speech came to a close. She only let a few teardrops fall during the whole thing.

  When she and Benito joined us, the priest stepped back up to the front and said a closing prayer. He left after he said goodbye to all of us, and then we all headed to the kitchen to fix our plates for dinner.

  Dinner was delicious and quiet. Even my nieces and nephews were being unusually silent tonight. So when it was time to leave, I couldn’t get out of there fast enough.

  Dante, Emilio, Violet, and I arrived home shortly after we had finished dinner and helped with the cleanup. No one talked as we all went straight up stairs and took our showers. Without even meaning to, we had all migrated back downstairs and ended up watching a movie before we reluctantly headed to bed. None of us was ready to face tomorrow.

  Emilio had left me at my room with a kiss on the cheek and a goodnight before he headed to his room. I almost asked him to stay with me.

  I can do it. I can make it through the night by myself.

  I called Lucas as soon as I crawled into bed and talked with him about his day. He asked me how my day had been and I told him it had been much better than yesterday, if that was possible. I vaguely explained my day, and an hour later, we said goodbye and
I nestled into my bed.

  I didn’t know what time my screams started, but Violet quickly made her way to me. She said that Emilio had met her in the hallway, but she had ushered him back into his rooms, telling him she would stay with me again tonight. She said he needed to get a good night’s rest for the next day.

  I woke up to Violet lying next to me and my alarm blaring. My head was pounding, and I didn’t want to crawl out of bed. All I wanted to do today was stay in bed and not have to face the day ahead of me.

  The morning flew by in a hurry. We had to meet everyone at eleven for a family lunch before we headed to the church for the funeral at two. It seemed like we just didn’t have enough time this morning as everyone rushed around the house trying to get ready.

  In that time, I tried not to let myself think about today. I thought about anything and everything. I made sure my makeup was perfect and my hair was curled just right. I changed my shoes four times, because I didn’t know if they matched my dress. It wouldn’t have been a problem if the dress was colorful, but the dress was black.

  Dante and Emilio both looked so handsome in their suits as they came down the stairs. I ended up having to tie Emilio’s tie for him. He thanked me, but not before muttering about how he couldn’t wait to “get out of this damn sling and back to normal.”

  The drive into the city seemed to go faster than usual. It was like the universe was punishing me today. Violet held my hand the whole way, while Dante drove, and Emilio looked out the window.

  When we drove up to Benito’s house, the funeral home limousines were already sitting there. It was ominous. I had a sick feeling just looking at them.

  I helped Emilio out of the car and up the steps. As the four of us walked into the house, we were attacked by a stampede of my nieces and nephews. It was a refreshing to see their beautiful faces. After hugs and kisses and Marcello rushing the kids off to play, we greeted my other brothers and sisters-in-law. Benito informed us that our mother would be joining us later on.

  The men quickly made their way into the living room and the ladies made our way into the kitchen. We had lunch catered, so all we had to do was lay out plates, silverware, napkins, and get the drinks. We also made sure to fix the younger kids plates before calling everyone else in. It wasn’t a large lunch, but that was a good thing. No one really ate but the children.

  Afterwards, we cleaned up everything as fast as possible and started getting ready to leave, before my mother made her way downstairs.

  She looked beautiful, but sad. She was dressed in a black dress with black heels. Her hair was down and curled and her chapel veil was laying softly on top of her hair.

  “Liliana, where is your veil?” she asked as soon as she spotted me.

  “It’s in the car, Mamma.”

  “And Violet’s?”

  “In the car as well.”

  “Okay, I’m just making sure,” she said as she joined everyone else in the living room.

  Today had to be one of the worst days of her life and here she was worried about my chapel veil.

  “Limousine orders,” Benito spoke up. “Dante, Violet, Emilio, and Liliana, you will ride with me, mamma, and my group. Giovanni, your group, and Giorgio’s in the second one, and Marcello’s crew and the overflow in the third.”

  Everyone filed out of the house quickly and in an orderly fashion. For a family as big as ours, we had a system that seemed to work pretty well. I ran back to Dante’s vehicle and grabbed my and Violet’s veils before returning and sliding into the limo last.

  I don’t remember much of the ride to the cathedral. We pulled up and the doors were already shut. We were just in time to walk straight into the service.

  I was the first to exit our car, and I stood there looking at the doors for a moment.

  I’m not ready for this.

  This isn’t real.

  I was still waiting to wake up from this nightmare.

  “Veil?” Emilio asked, jarring me from my thoughts.

  “Yes,” I said, fumbling with it in my hands.

  “Here let me help,” Violet said, taking it from my hands. I looked up to see her standing there with hers already on and pinned. She reached up and placed mine on my head. The black veil covered my face, and my vision went from clear to almost black. I felt the pins slide into my hair as she pinned my veil down.

  “Thank you,” I whispered.

  “You’re welcome,” she mouthed.

  When the doors flew open, my heart raced, and my body started to slightly shake. Benito had my mother by the arm and they went in first, followed by his family. Next Giovanni’s family filed, followed by Giorgio’s family, and then Marcello’s.

  “I’ve got you,” Emilio whispered as he took his free arm and wrapped it around my waist before pulling me slightly towards the door. Violet and Dante followed closely behind. As we walked through the doors, I noticed all the people that were there. Row after row of people sat and stared at us as we walked by. The place was wall to wall packed. I saw many faces I knew, like Emilio’s mother and sisters, and even Violet’s parents. I knew Emilio’s family would be here, but I didn’t know about Violet’s.

  I spotted Lucas moments before I slid into the pew. He was with the rest of the men who worked for my family.

  I don’t remember much about the funeral. The priest spoke about my father, but I didn’t hear a word he said. Everything went in slow motion for me, and everyone sounded like they were on the opposite end of the longest tunnel.

  I didn’t even know the funeral was over until people started walking in front of me and hugging me. There were so many, “I’m sorry for your loss,” “If you need anything let me know,” and “your father was a good man.”

  Once the last person had walked by to give us their condolences, it was our time to take our last look at my father.

  I turned to Emilio mortified.

  “I can’t do it,” I said trembling. He just nodded and took me by the arm and led me to the back of the church. I watched as each one of my family members said their final goodbyes.

  My mother was the last to go, and I watched as she hunched over my father’s body. Benito was by her side and kept her from falling to the ground as her cries rang through the church. I just stood there emotionless.

  I couldn’t watch anymore, so I turned and headed towards the front doors and straight to the limo. Emilio never left my side. We both waited for what seemed like forever before everyone else joined us.

  We still had to go to the cemetery before we could go home. The cemetery was just for us and a select few others. I was grateful for that. I didn’t know how much more I could handle at this moment.

  By the time we made it to the cemetery, I felt like I was going to pull my hair out. I must have not looked like it, because no one said anything or maybe no one even noticed.

  Emilio left me sitting beside Dante and Benito. There weren’t enough seats, so he and Violet stood close by us. The priest said a few more words and then we ended with a prayer.

  I remember it. Every word. It was like the words and the entire day slowly sank in as the prayer rolled off the priest’s tongue.

  In sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life through Our Lord Jesus Christ, we commend to Almighty God, Massimo, and we commit his body to the ground: earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust. The Lord bless him and keep him, make His Face to shine upon him and be gracious to him. May the Lord lift up His countenance upon him and give Massimo peace.

  And everyone said, “Amen.”

  I watched my family slowly get up. My nieces and nephews each laid a rose on top of my father’s casket as they walked by. I continued to sit there as my mother made her last walk by and my brothers followed.

  I stood right beside his grave as they placed his casket over the top and then slowly lowered him into the ground. Me. No one else.

  “Lily,” I heard Lucas’s voice behind me. “Everyone is waiting for you.”

  I hadn’t e
ven realized he had come here. And as soon as I heard his voice, I was glad he did.

  I turned to face him, and as soon as I saw the gloomy look in his eyes, I broke. I started crying for the first time all day. It started out quietly, but the harder I tried to hold in it, the louder my sobs became. He opened his arms up for me and I crashed into him. He held me tightly as I cried into his chest.

  After a few minutes, I was tired of crying. It felt like that was all I had done these last couple of days. My sobbing let up and a completely different emotion took over as I pulled back from Lucas’s embrace and stared straight into his eyes. Fury began to build in me and I confessed my deepest desire.

  “I want them to pay for this!” I said sternly. “Every one of them! They killed him! They took him from me before we had the chance to deal with our unfinished business! The Heinrichs must pay for leaving me with this emptiness, blame, and torment.”

  “No one is blaming you,” Lucas said as he tried to convince me.

  “I blame myself!” I screamed at him as I stepped away, finally admitting it out loud to anyone within yelling distance.

  “Liliana,” Benito’s voice boomed through the air. I turned around to see him standing there. “Get in the car.” He was firm and stern, but not harsh.

  I stared at Benito for a moment before I sighed, wiped my face, and turned my full attention toward Lucas.

  “You were right,” I shook my head. “We should have never come back here. Everything has changed now.”

  Epilogue

  The week after the funeral was…long. It was almost like old times. I spent my mornings and early afternoons with Lucas. He came by every morning and stayed at the house with me until Emilio arrived home. Apparently, I was not allowed to be by myself.

  I did spend the first two days in bed. Lucas made sure I ate and kept me company those days, and by the end of day two, he even had me laughing.

  Violet went back to work for the week to wrap up a few things and to reschedule projects that would have to wait. Dante and Emilio had work to be done as well. Emilio was on light duty and was usually home by mid-to-late afternoon.