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16
EVELYN
Swaths of dark red blanket my vision as I open my eyes with a well-rested yawn and stretch my body. It feels like I slept under a weighted blanket when I swing my feet over the edge of the bed. The first step on the platform is wide and not as warm as the floor itself, but it reminds me of where I am.
Alessandro let me fall asleep in the playroom after bringing me to several orgasms. A cum coma has me ready to face the day. I'm not sure where Lorenzo is, but I put the T-shirt back on and take the elevator straight up to my room. My phone's still on the nightstand, but I can see there are a few missed calls.
Missed calls before nine in the morning are never a good sign. The first voicemail plays from about forty-five minutes ago.
Ev, can you come today? I just need to see a friendly face.
The next message that plays is from my mother.
Evelyn, where are you? Shana says she needs to see you. You know what your sister is going through. You’ve got it made living it up in the lap of luxury, but your sister is in that dreadful place. The least you can do is pick up the phone for her. Don’t be the spoiled brat. Oh, and come for dinner tonight since yesterday got shot to shit, literally. Love you.
A groan and a plume of exhaustion push out of my nose as I push the next message:
Mio dolce. Rest, sleep, relax, take as much time as you need. If you have to go anywhere, take Lorenzo or Jenkins with you. I’m meeting a client and then have to go speak to Pop. I’ll see you tonight.
The sound of his voice is soothing, far more than I ever realized. I can feel the warmth and strength of his embrace. I don’t want to lose Alessandro. Going back to being Don Matteo Rossi’s spoiled daughter is out of the question in my mind.
Keeping this marriage intact is added to my list of things to do as I get ready for the day. By the time I’m dressed, Jenkins is outside waiting beside the car for me. I don’t see Lorenzo anywhere, but I guess he has other duties than babysitting me all day.
Jenkins is quiet with his black eye prominent and his attitude about it blatantly obvious.
“How are you feeling?” I ask him.
“Like yesterday shouldn’t have happened. I should have never took you to see Anita, and you should have never been at that bastard’s house.”
“Jenkins, you have to follow orders. Being vocal with Dad isn’t the same as raising concerns at a job you can’t stand.”
“He used to listen to me more, but he’s so excited about this merger between his organization and Oscar that he’s willing to put too many people in danger. I’m sorry, Evelyn. I shouldn’t talk to you about this. How are you holding up? Is the kid De Luca treating you well?” he asks, looking to me in the rearview mirror.
Fantasies and replays of our times together put a smile on my face, letting the heat of my lust for my husband course through my body. “He treats me like a queen.”
“For now,” Jenkins says under his breath. I don’t know what that means, but I don’t want to dive into it. Instead, I let the traffic building up along the West Side Highway steal my attention. There are so many lives happening all at the same time. The idea is daunting.
It takes about a half hour to get to Top Gott from Midtown, and I’m happy to get out of the car once Jenkins parks in the facility’s lot. The barbed wire enforces feelings of claustrophobia as I walk through the gates. Processing and searching takes another fifteen minutes before I’m shown into the same room as last week.
Another ten or fifteen minutes pass before Shana finally limps into the visitor’s room. My eyes widen as the scratches on her face and a black eye are the first things I see.
“What the fuck?” I hiss as she sits down. There’s pain in every movement she makes, grimacing as she struggles to sit up straight at the table.
“Three girls cornered me in the laundry room and worked me over pretty good. Said this was from La Familia.”
“From or for?” I ask her for clarity.
“Honestly, it could be either or. All I know is that they got to me after whoever shot at you guys yesterday.”
“How did you find out about that?”
She closes her eyes, shielding her tears. “I spoke to the kids last night. They were talking about it like it was some fucking video game. Dad said he had to get them out of there.”
“Yeah, Ma has me going by the house later since yesterday’s Sunday dinner was a complete disaster. When, uh, Less came home, he looked like he took care of it and he spoke to the other host. It wasn’t them, so whatever happened in here to you, it wasn’t from them.”
“At this point, anything is possible. I also got a letter from Peter and his lawyer. He thinks he’s going to get custody of the kids, Evil.” She shakes her head, and I notice she’s no longer wearing the gold wedding band around her finger.
“I’m sorry, Shay.”
