Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 105734 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 352(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105734 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 352(@300wpm)
Freddy finally leads Edoardo into the bedroom. I stay in the living room to cover our exit. A few grunts and groans of pain later, Edoardo returns, tucking something into the waistband of his cargo pants.
“Let’s go,” he says.
I walk out of that apartment just like it’s any other day. There will be no consequences for what we’ve just done, even though we scared that poor woman to death. Each time I must do something like this, another little piece of me dies. I think of Sofia, and how she betrayed me. But can I blame her? I’m turning out to be no better than the rest of the mafia princes out there. She was right to run away, and I was a fool to let her.
That night, I must force myself to study. Being a lawyer seems like a pipe dream. What kind of lawyer pretends that he’s muscle for the mob? No one that I know of, that’s for sure. I hope that with my law degree, I can put this kind of distasteful work behind me. I know that I’m not there to hurt anyone. Dad just wants me to understand what might have to be done.
I wonder if I’ll ever get a chance to lead the organization. I’m no fool. If I don’t do a good job, there are dozens of ambitious men out there who would kill to take my place. Mafia families are just as vulnerable as anyone else, assuming that the challenger is bloodthirsty enough. I hope that won’t be the case for me. Dad and Marlena can get out of the life before it’s too late.
I think about my father and his wife alone on a beach somewhere remote. I hope that they can retire in peace, no matter how difficult that will make things for me when they are gone. Marlena’s baby deserves the kind of life I never had. He or she should be free to do whatever comes naturally, without worrying about iron fences and bodyguards.
It’s too late for me, but it’s not too late for my baby brother or sister. I promise myself I’ll do whatever I have to do to keep my family safe. It’s no longer about my future, but the future of the people I care about. That gives me the strength to keep doing what I’m doing, no matter what the personal cost.
CHAPTER 32
SOFIA
Leaving my parents’ house, I’m not sure where to go. I don’t want to drive around listlessly for the rest of my life. I know I have to go back to my apartment and face the music. I’ve only been gone two days, but it feels like a significant amount of time.
I stop twice along the way, not having the same determination that I did on the journey to my parent’s house. But there’s still plenty of daylight by the time I arrive at my apartment building. I head inside, half expecting to find the place trashed. It isn’t. Everything is the same as how I left it.
I leave the suitcase in my car just in case. There’s no reason to undo all the work I did packing because I’m not sure if I can stay. I decide to fortify my place a little bit. I move some of the furniture around in the living room so that I can easily put a dresser against the door. That way at least Frankie’s hitman will have to spend some time before crashing in on me.
Feeling slightly better, but tired from all the work, I decide to order myself a pizza. There’s no reason to worry about my diet at this point. I’ll be lucky if I live long enough to get fat.
The pizza comes and the doorbell startles me. I must remind myself that I’m the one who called for it. I thank the guy and hand over a twenty.
“Keep the change,” I say.
“Thanks,” the delivery driver says cheerfully.
It’s not dinner, and it’s not lunch, but something in between. I manage to polish off three slices before I’m stuffed. I put the rest of the box in the oven for later. Now I’m staring at my four walls, wondering what to do.
I told Mr. Harlan that I was leaving for an unspecified amount of time. But all I want to do is get back to my office and figure out if there’s some way I can salvage my research. I change my clothes and walk back to my car, checking in all directions just in case I’m ambushed.
No one interrupts me, and I make it to my car safely. I drive back to work, careful to follow the speed limit. I need to find a way to live with this uncertainty, or it’s going to drive me crazy. Frankie’s threats ring loud in my ears as I ease into a parking spot across the street from the office. I’m starting to feel like he just wanted to scare me. He doesn’t have any big retribution planned. Of course, I can’t count on that, but it does give me a little moral boost to consider the possibility that I wasn’t wrong about Frankie in the first place. Maybe he is a good person who was just born into a bad family, but that doesn't mean his father won’t try anything.