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She waited a moment for her points to sink in and then shoved me back through the door, jerking her head in the direction of the waiting room.
“Now get your ass into that dress before the psychopaths outside realize you’re taking too long.”
* * *
When I got backto Casa Nera, I was numb. I’d reached my limit on being threatened from all directions. Lucy watched TV with Carmella in the den. Her evenings with Carmella were the only times she voluntarily left her room. She seemed to have a soft spot for the gruff housekeeper.
I went to the kitchen, foraging for something to stress-eat. Sonny watched me silently as I grabbed a box of fancy chocolates and a tub of leftover pasta. I took my haul upstairs, waving to Carmella and Lucy as I headed toward our room to eat my sorrows away.
Once alone, I fished out the envelope Detective Vane had given me from my bra and opened it. A tiny electronic device the size of my pinkie nail stared up at me. A bug, just like in the movies.
I could have laughed if I wasn’t so close to tears. They wanted me to plant this somewhere near Renato, to spy on him. A hysterical laugh escaped me at the thought of mercurial Renato finding out about a betrayal like this. Mr. Don’t Lie to Me Ever. Mr. Don’t Break My Rules or You’ll Regret It. The cops wanted me to commit suicide by angry mob boss, and I had no idea what to do about it.
I changed into the silky cami and tiny pajama shorts Carmella had found me. I still didn’t have much to wear, seeing as we’d left our bags on the bus the night of our ill-fated escape attempt.
The Casa Nera housekeeper’s taste tended to run a little too romantic and skimpy for my liking, but beggars couldn’t be choosers.
Before I knew it, the chocolate was gone and the pasta, too. My belly was full, and I needed to move. I needed out of this room. I tried the handle, and it turned easily again. Lucy hadn’t come back. Sometimes she fell asleep in the den downstairs, and Vinny simply kept an eye on her there. Renato’s prisoner security was flexible, I’d give him that.
Outside the bedroom, my own guard Sonny sat on a folding chair, his head back against the wall, sound asleep. It was late now, and the house was sleeping. So, there were some cracks in Renato’s security systems after all.
I closed the door and tiptoed away from Sonny.
The mansion was warm inside. Rain pelted against the windowpanes on the landing, the shutters rattling forcefully in the wind. Inside Casa Nera, the air was cozy. In our apartment in Atlantic City, the weather outside equaled the climate inside. We had leaks and drafts in the winter and humid, hellish heat in the summer. That was just the reality of living in a five-floor walk-up with no AC and busted heating.
My bare feet sank into the thick dark carpet as I quietly crept down the hall.
I headed downstairs. A grandfather clock ticked loudly in the main hallway. I decided to go in the other direction from the kitchen. I hadn’t explored much of the rest of the house, but I knew there was a gym and a pool. At the very thought, my entire body hungered to be submerged in clean, cool water. I couldn’t actually swim very well at all, but I wasn’t scared of water, as long as I could touch the bottom.
Was it weird to go poking around at night and skinny-dip in someone’s pool? Maybe. But this whole thing was weird. Normal had lost its meaning. It didn’t matter anymore. There was only what was real, and Casa Nera was painfully real.
I followed a set of stairs down to the next level. At the bottom, I was greeted by a well-lit hallway and the faint smell of chlorine. The low-level lighting lit my path as I continued forward.
A gym sat on one side behind a glass wall. It was an impressive sight. I guessed if you had all the money in the world, what else did you spend it on? Might as well have a full gym in your mansion. There was also a full-sized boxing ring sitting in the middle. The place was deserted, giving me confidence that no one would venture down here at this hour.
I veered to the right, toward the faint perfume of chemicals. I’d always wanted to learn how to swim, but it was time-consuming and expensive. Lucy had been spot-on in her harsh accusations the other night. All I did was work, and I was a joyless person. Someone who had learned how to survive and didn’t have space for anything else.
I turned a corner, pushed through double doors, and found it. A swimming pool. It was as beautifully styled as the rest of the house, though I didn’t know why I expected anything less of Renato De Sanctis. The man had shown himself to have impeccable taste. He had the air of a well-traveled, experienced man who was effortlessly in control, always. He was measured, cool and calm, and instinctively dominant in every situation I’d seen him in.
He was a lot, and so was his house. It was such an extension of the confident older man, that just by me wandering around, the thought of him lingered in my head. Really, my haywire brain was taking any opportunity to shove him to the forefront of my thoughts.
The room was pale sandstone with citrus plants spaced around the walls. It was more of an orangery than simply a pool. Beneath the blue water, an artistic mosaic was embedded in the floor, and at the far end of the room, a fountain trickled.
I walked toward the steps before I could question it. I just needed to feel the water on my feet for a second, I promised myself.
The steps descended gently into the aqua-blue water. The first touch revealed it was warmed to exactly the right temperature.
I stepped down another stair and enjoyed the way the water swirled around my ankles. I ventured further in. I wanted nothing more than to strip down to my underwear and submerge myself completely, but that would be a bad idea, considering I had no idea who might visit this pool. Was this house off-limits to lower-level made men in the family and only open to those closest to the boss? Elio said he and his sister lived here, but were there others? I had no idea, and frankly, at this point, I might prefer a random stranger stumbling across me than Renato himself. That man was a danger to my sanity.
The lemon-and-orange-scented air was humid, making the fine hairs that had escaped my ponytail stick to my neck and forehead.
A blurred shape moved out of the corner of my eye, calling my attention. The frosted glass wall that separated the hallway from the pool was translucent enough for me to make out a tall figure moving rapidly alongside it, right toward the pool doorway. My moment of peace burst like a bubble.
Crap!Someone was coming after all. Who was it? Please be Sonny, looking for me. Please be Elio coming for a midnight dip. Please be anyone buthim.
I turned quickly and took a step upward. Maybe I could get out and hide behind a potted lemon tree until whoever it was left? It was a ridiculous plan, but in the heat of the moment, and feeling like I was doing something forbidden, it made sense.
I looked up when the door started to open, with only one more submerged step left to go.
