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“You’re not. You’re frightened. We all are,” Lulu says.
Time ticks by slowly. Rowan is not calming down, instead beginning to rock back and forth within the circle of my arms. Lulu makes an attempt to talk to her, but Rowan isn’t hearing it. Her eyes remain squeezed tightly shut, and the wordresetcontinues to pour from between her lips.
I’m still holding her when I get an idea.
“Did I ever tell you about Cervinara?” Rowan doesn’t answer, and drawing on all of my patience, I repeat the question.
Her rocking slows, and Rowan slowly shakes her head. “No.”
“We used to go there during the summers. It isn’t much, more of a village than a town. Nothing like the city. Most of the businesses close by seven. Few are open past lunch on Sundays. The days are slow. Lazy. But I don’t think I’ve ever been so at peace in my entire life.” I glance over at Lulu, who has a faraway expression on her face where she sits across the room. “Lulu knows.”
Lulu nods, a small hum of agreement escaping.
I continue. “In Cervinara, I wasn’t Lorenzo Valachi’s daughter. Of course, I knew that this wasn’t entirely true. Everyone in the town knew who we were, and they respected us for it, but it wasn’t like here. There were no threats. No competition. Just us and the town. Angel used to take us on walks. We collected rocks and flowers. When we went to the festivals they held there all thetime, he held the money. He always made sure that the vendors had my favorites ready for me. He always remembered.”
“Do you remember the night when you got lost?” Lulu asks, smiling faintly.
“No…wait…maybe.” It was something I hadn’t thought about in years, a memory so distant that it didn’t seem like mine anymore. I stare into space, the visceral details returning slowly.
I remember the grit on my hands from when I fell onto the pavement of the town square. Angel had told me not to wander, to stay by his side, but the fireworks had drawn me away from my siblings.
I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going; my eyes were on the heavens. I watched the violent splashes of blues, reds, and purples erupting above the town. I could feel the light on my face, mesmerizing me with every flash. By the time the fireworks were over, I was in a part of town I didn’t recognize.
And I was all alone.
“Angel found me.”
Lulu nods. “He did. He was such a protector.”
I had given up hope at one point. The night was wearing on so much that dew covered the plants in the windowsills of the houses. The moon was shadowed by the clouds moving in front of it, and the stone sidewalks were cold to the touch on my barefeet. I crawled onto the concrete stoop of an unfamiliar building and brought my legs to my chest.
And I sobbed. Big, childish tears that ran streaks down my face. “I thought I would be lost forever,” I murmur. “I thought I would have to find a new family.”
“Goose.” Lulu chuckles, the sound a bit broken.
“And then he was there. Not angry. Not judgmental. Just worried.”
Angel had found me.
A boom brings me back to reality. Someone is at the door. Rowan’s hand latches on to mine and grips it with painful force, and the three of us stand and move away from the door.
“What do we do?” Rowan whispers.
I shake my head. There’s nothing we can do.
The door flies open, the table thrown back, and falling over with a crash. A man stands in the doorway, and we exchange glances. We don’t recognize him. He waves a gun at us.
“Move. Now.”
“Who are you?”
That’s my voice, shaking but surprising me with its firmness. The man doesn’t answer, merely grabs Lulu’s arm and pushes her through the door.
We don’t argue with him. He leads us through the long corridor of the basement, up the stairs, and onto the main floor. The first thing I see upon emerging is blood splattered on the wall and a body on the floor.
“Oh, my God…” Rowan starts to cry.
The man leads us to the sitting room, where an old man stands with a group of police officers. Blueprints for the house are laid on the table. The man looks up at me, his gaze narrowing on me.
