Innocent (Omertà Book 1)

by Anna Widzisz

She no longer had the strength to talk. Remembering that night wasn’t easy. She didn’t understand why it had happened, and to her, of all people. The worst thing was that she was perfectly aware that it was not a casual assault. They knew about the warehouse and where to find her.

  “Lynette, we have to take you to the hospital.”

  “No. No hospital. Padre cannot find out about this.”

  “Sco, how do you imagine to hide everything from him? It's impossible.”

  “I'll stay with you until it heals.”

  “There is no chance for that. These wounds will not heal within a few days. You have to tell your father everything,” Noah said. Seeing, however, that the girl had another protest forming on the tip of her tongue, he added, “If you don’t want a hospital, I can stitch you up, but it will be fucking painful and Severo will find out about it either way.”

  “Alright,” she capitulated, realizing how unrealistic it was of her to want to hide all the bruises, and above all, the cuts from her father, so she didn’t argue further, considering it to be nonsense.

  “We can go to my place. My parents have left for a few days and I have all the things you need.” Inéz said, to which all three agreed and soon afterward left the building.

  On the way to the car, they found the girl’s phone laying on the ground. The kidnappers had probably thrown it away, wanting someone to find her. Apparently, they’d had no intention of killing her, only to scare her. Though, it was possible that through all those wounds, they’d wanted to pass a threat to Severo. Either way, they all knew that this was just the beginning of their problems.

  CHAPTER 29

  Lynette

  Completely exhausted, she slept all the way back to the city. Nothing seemed important at the moment to her. She wasn’t even curious enough to find out what Inéz was doing in Lakewood with the men. Her eyes closed as soon as she got in the car, drifting off immediately, waking up when someone put her down on a soft mattress.

  Jason leaned over her, brushing stray strands of hair from her face. He looked really worried and she couldn’t blame him. Even Made Men weren’t used to seeing so much blood, bruises, and cuts on a woman that they were always supposed to protect. Failure shone brightly in his eyes.

  “Do you want to eat or drink something?” he asked instead, seeing as Lynette was wide awake.

  “No. Grazie. It’s time to deal with these wounds. I want to get it over with,” she said, rising to a sitting position to get out of bed, but the man's hand made it impossible.

  He shook his head. “You can rest for a little bit. You still haven't fully recovered.

  “Jason, that won’t happen any time soon. But the wounds can get infected. Besides, padre is most likely going to take me out of school when he sees me like this, so I will have plenty of time to rest,” she indicated, knowing she was right.

  Together, they left the bedroom, which most probably belonged to Inéz and went down to the living room. To her dissatisfaction, there was Francisco, Isaac and, what was worse, Drew. He was the last person she wanted to see while being in such a deplorable condition. He didn’t need any more indication of how bad and cruel her world could be. Even to women.

  Their eyes met and the expressions on the boys' faces turned to disbelief and compassion. Lynette despised pity, and unfortunately, this is exactly what she got from them. Feeling sorry for herself wasn’t on her today’s agenda and she certainly didn’t want to get it from anyone else.

  “Where's your first aid kit?” Noah asked the twins, shoving a barstool for the girl to sit on, next to him.

  Inéz left the room at once.

  “Are you sure about those stitches?” Jason glanced at her unsure. He knew pain very well, but Lynette didn’t. She’d never been hurt physically before and didn’t know what she was signing up for by letting Noah stitch her up. “Sco, it will not be a painless procedure. Unless they have some anesthesia.”

  “Unfortunately, we don’t,” the brunette said, coming back with a big kit in her hands. She set it on the kitchen island, then hugged the girl firmly, wanting to give her comfort.

  “I still think we should go to the hospital,” Carnovale murmured, walking back and forth in the room.

  “I'm not going to the hospital so you might accept the fact that Noah will do the job. As long as he knows how to do it.” She looked at Falcone questioningly who was sitting in a chair in front of her with a cotton swab in his hand. “And for God’s sake stop with the pacing because it’s making me want to stab you with the needle,” she added.

  Jason stopped and walked up behind her, to give her some reassurance.

  Noah gave her an eloquent look as if he wanted to bet on how good his skills were. He looked around the room, gaze resting on a bar cabinet filled with alcohol. Without asking, he took a bottle of whiskey, giving it to the girl

  “You’ve got to be kidding me. The last thing she needs right now is to come back home drunk,” Carnovale snapped, taking the liquor from her hands.

  “She’s already drunk before, so it hardly makes any difference. Besides, it will help with the pain,” he added, looking at his fiancée.

  She shook her head.

  “I can do this without it,” she refused, laying her feet in Noah's lap.

  The teenagers were watching the scene play out, unable to speak. They were in great shock watching what was happening in front of them.

  “I’ve stitched myself up many times so I know how to do it. But I have to warn you that you might scream out from the pain because you are not used to it,” he said, making Lynette more uneasy. That was as far as it could get from helping her soothe her nerves. “Although I had other plans for making you scream,” he indicated.

  Selvaggio sent him a death glare upon realizing they weren’t alone. She didn’t like such insinuations at all, and she certainly didn’t want Drew to hear them. No matter the fact that Noah was just trying to get a rise out of her. And maybe Ryder too.

  “I am too weak to do anything to you, but I will ask Jason to take care of it.”

  “You won’t even have to ask,” Carnovale acknowledged, at which they heard Inéz’ soft laughter. She was the only one fully aware of the situation. There was no fear left in her, surprisingly enough.

  “It will sting,” Falcone warned slowly, applying a cotton swab soaked in saline to the knife wounds, gently cleaning them.

  Lynette felt a terrible pain just from preparing the cuts alone. And it would be even worse once the stitching started. She saw Noah prepare the surgical needle and she had the impression that she was going to pass out from her senses going into overdrive, but she wanted to prove that she was strong. That she could handle this just as well as Made Men could. She managed to have her wounds cleaned without complaint, and wanted to do the same now, even though it was going to be much harder.

  “Last chance, Sco. Do you want to go to the doctor?” Jason asked.

  The girl looked up at Falcone, who was waiting for her to answer. Clearly thinking that she would finally take the offer. He might not have said it, but he thought her weak. And that alone made Lynette stronger and angrier. If today was the day she experienced an abnormal amount of pain, she might as well take it a little bit further. Just to wipe the smirk off of Noah’s face.

  “Do it,” she ordered, surprising everyone.

  The man began to work on the first cut. He tried to do it quickly but thoroughly so that later there would be minimal scarring. Drew took a tentative step toward the girl, wanting to comfort her. However, Noah was quick to spot that slight movement even though he was focused on stitching up her leg. His sharp look towards Ryder made him stop in his tracks. At this point, he seemed content to actually ignore it. After everything that happened, Drew could care less what Noah had planned for him. He loved Lynette and wanted to be there for her.

  Lynette looked at him and shook her head, regret flashing in her eyes. But with the amount of bad things that had happened to her, she didn’t need any additio
nal worries. She didn’t interfere, although Drew’s concern for her tugged at her heart.

  Besides, there was no pain on her face. She was staring at what Noah was doing as if it were something normal. Something she was used to seeing and feeling.

  But she felt it. Every single pull, stretch, and sting. Her lips were now full of blood because of her harshly biting down on them. However, it was the only indication that Lynette wasn’t immune to pain. It helped her survive the worst part, and a little bit later she had all the cuts stitched up and covered with bandages.

  “I have no idea how you survived without as much as a squeak,” Inéz acknowledged, impressed by her friend's behavior. A man would have had bigger problems with keeping his cold blood in such a situation.

  “Sco, we have to go home. Severo is getting pissed off that we’re not back yet,” Jason said, rising from the couch. He put on a jacket, ready to go out.

  Lynette knew him well enough to see that he wasn’t excited to face his Capo with his daughter all hurt and cut by his side. It wasn’t fear. It was the unfulfilled duty that he had a hard time living with.

  “You've been covering for me in more situations than I can remember. And I'm getting screamed at anyway, so I'm taking all the blame.” The girl nodded, rising from the chair.

  She put on the sweatpants, which she’d got from Inéz. Coming up to the teenager, she thanked her for everything, knowing that it could not have been easy for her to witness all of it. Yet, she’d offered help and support in this difficult moment. Inéz was strong, there was no doubt about it anymore.

  “Lyn, can we talk for a moment?” Drew said, speaking for the first time.

  She wanted to laugh, seeing as he couldn’t have picked a worse moment even if he’d tried. And to do it in front of Jason and Noah out of all people was like a death sentence. She couldn’t even believe that there wouldn’t be any consequences to deal with.

  “We don’t have time for this, Sco,” Jason growled, warning her about taking this step.

  Lynette knew that she should refuse. But when she looked in Drew’s eyes, she forgot why.

  “When padre sees me, the last thing he will think of is the time we got there. Hold on a second,” she drawled, looking at Noah. His agreement was something she needed. He appeared ready to take her in his arms and get out of the twins’ house. And it would probably have happened if Lynette hadn’t given him an assuring look that spoke volumes. There was nothing that could persuade her to stick with Drew. Too much had happened to allow her to be close to him. No matter how much she wanted it. She couldn’t have it. Not now, not ever.

  It was the only reason why Falcone, with clenched fists, left the house to wait in the car.

  The girl followed Drew out to the garden so that no one would overhear them. She knew what she was going to have to deal with, which was why she preferred to do it in private.

  “I have no idea where to start. To be angry with you that you lied to me, that you ran away from me, or worry about you and what you went through that night. I was out of my mind when I realized that they weren’t kidding when they said that they couldn’t find you and that something could have happened to you. When I saw you… I should have taken care of you. You were under my protection.” he rambled on.

  “Drew, please don’t blame yourself. I live in a world full of violence and bad people. Also, someone has been following me, so sooner or later they would have found the opportunity to do this anyway. It's my life. There are no butterflies, flowers, or unicorns in it. I accepted it a long time ago. What's more, I'm glad you were not with me, because I wouldn’t survive if something happened to you because of me. That is why we cannot see each other anymore. My presence means that you would be in constant danger.”

  “I don’t want to lose you,” he whispered, putting his hand gently on the girl's cheek, not wanting to hurt her. He didn’t wait long before kissing her. It was gentle enough not to cause her any further pain. A difficult feat because after the stitches, even her lips looked bad.

  “I’m sorry, but my decision is the same as yesterday. I won’t expose you to all this. Regardless of my feelings,” she replied, pushing the boy's hands from her face.

  She looked at him for the last time and left him alone. This time with no intention of ever returning.

  The conversation with Severo went just like Lynette had expected. As soon as her father saw her, he immediately began to ask questions, not even waiting for an answer. Before she could enter the house, the man managed to reprimand his daughter three times that she didn’t talk to him, told him when something was happening, keeping secrets and behaving as if she were an ordinary teenager.

  Once they were in the living room, the exchange between them got even more difficult. The atmosphere was extremely tense, and each of them eventually came to their senses, trying to convey the reasons behind their actions. Only after a good fifteen minutes of chaos, did Jason decide to intervene, when he saw Lynette struggling to tell everything that had happened in her life since her arrival from Sicily. Severo concluded what he wanted to see, again referring to his problems with his former associate Mailo Venas, accusing everyone around him of conspiracy and collaboration to avenge the man. For the time being, only one person, who had been dead for a long time, was, according to Selvaggio, guilty for every mistake and incorrect turn-up of the man's affairs.

  After a long time of explanations, Severo knew everything about the messages his daughter had received, analyzed them, listened to Lynette's side of the matter. He was aware of Drew's presence in her life but a very edited version of it, because their relationship had nothing to do with all the evil in her world. It was pure.

  Just like she suspected, her father fell into rage and panic. He immediately announced that he wouldn’t let her go back to school, or even leave the house without at least three trusted soldiers of his. He gave orders to the current guards to track the sender of the message and the perpetrators of kidnapping and beating his only daughter.

  “Jason, call the doctor. He must see her,” he ordered. She knew she didn't need anyone to examine her but didn’t want to argue.

  § § §

  A few days had passed since the events of that unforgettable festival night. Lynette was busy planning the wedding and the whole trip to Sicily. She was trying on white dresses, looking for the right one, choosing flowers, food, invitations – all those things didn’t bring her any pleasure for two reasons. First of all, she wasn’t one to enjoy shopping and organizing parties, especially her wedding. Secondly, she didn’t want to pledge an oath to someone she didn’t love and was scared of most of the time. And she’d just sat for a few hours trying to write vows, unable to compose a single sentence that would somehow mirror any kind of warm feelings towards Noah. They were far from being in love.

  She knew perfectly well who occupied the most important place in her heart, and she was suffering even more now not seeing him since she’d left him in the twins’ house. She had done the right thing, letting Drew go. Yet, she couldn’t forget his expression as it sank in that she wasn’t doing it because she had no feelings for him, but to keep him safe. A safety which she’d been deprived of since birth. She tried to justify her actions, hoping that one day she would grow to believe her own words. It was easy to lie to the people around, but the true challenge was to convince yourself of the lies.

  From unknown: Alphabetically sorting the books on your shelves should help you figure out exactly who I am. Since everyone knows about me, it’s high time you found out as well.

  Palermo, Sicily 2002

  Severo Selvaggio got into Emilio’s car just a few minutes before midnight after the meeting concerning the garbage-hauling industry came to an end. They were leaders as far as taking care of waste was concerned. It had always been one of the most profitable business as they didn’t have any competition. Whoever tried to take this from them, found themselves in grave danger. The Famiglia didn’t play fair and if there was anything Sicilians
had already learned, it was just that.

  ”Has there been any problem?” Asked Capodecina.

  The Capo shook his head. ”I gained influence over picking safe routes so I might as well just change them at any given point. They have nothing to say against it.”

  Emilio agreed. ”The bomb is ready. Now we are only waiting for your order.” He changed the topic.

  A few months ago, it had been discovered that Severo’s close friend and associate Mailo Venas started stealing from him. The man took care of the shipments coming from Mexico, but somehow, some of the goods imported had always been taken and not accounted for. As Mailo was taking care of making the reports after each delivery, it had been quite a while before anyone noticed. Besides, he used the shipments for his own gain, getting himself involved in the businesses that even for Severo were strictly forbidden as they were immoral. After years of working together, it wasn’t an easy thing to order building a bomb that was supposed to kill Venas. And along with him, his whole family. It was rather a hard decision that took Severo weeks to make, debating all the pros and cons. But he was a Capo. Protecting Famiglia was his duty and making people listen and respect him was a must. So, when one was opposed to treating him rightfully, there was no other choice. Mailo Venas had to die. And his death had to be spectacular enough to make others think twice before betraying him.

  ”We’re leaving for Catania first thing in the morning.” He ordered.

  CHAPTER 30

  Drew wouldn’t leave things that way. He gave Lynette a few days to be able to heal a little, let her believe that the girl's words had reached him and that he understood her decision, accepting it. But it wasn’t like that at all. He didn’t want to let her go. It didn’t matter to him that she was the daughter of the Capo, that her life wasn’t the easiest, and that someone was persecuting and threatening her. He wanted to be with her and give her the security she needed. He couldn't allow her to leave, get married and never come back. The thought that he wouldn’t see her again had been tormenting him every step of the last few days. He left home each morning but didn’t show up at school. It was the last place he wanted to be. Instead, he went to the park, where he’d met Lynette for the first time. That's where it had all began. He hoped that for the teenager the place had become just as important as it had for him. He wanted to meet her there, talk to her, convince her to give him a chance. Maybe it wouldn’t be the simplest thing, but he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself if he didn’t at least try.