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“You mean that?” he pressed, his gaze telling me that he needed to be certain.
“I do,” I answered.
“I believe you,” he nodded, his shoulders visibly relaxing a bit.
“Okay, then tell me why you have a room with that many guns, fake IDs, money, and whatever else is in there,” I pushed, wanting to know more.
“Well, I guess I’ll start from the beginning,” he started. After a moment, he continued, “You see, I grew up in a traditional Italian family, one deeply involved in organized crime. My father was a prominent figure within the organization, and from a young age, I was groomed to follow in his footsteps. In time, I became a trusted underboss in the mafia. I served in that position for years.”
What the…? Who the fuck was Vincenzo Santoro?
I met his gaze for a moment, searching for the man I thought I once knew and looking into the eyes of a stranger, though he was still somehow familiar.
“Being in the mafia was all I knew,” he continued, his voice tinged with a mix of nostalgia and regret. “Sure, there was money, and all sorts of power, but also danger and inevitable betrayal. I thought I was invincible, that nothing could touch me or my family, but I was so very wrong. So fucking wrong.”
“The mafia, like in the movies?The Godfatherand all that?” I interrupted, unable to keep my questions quiet.
“Yes, just like that,” he whispered.
“Tell me more,” I pressed, swallowing my fear and pushing it deep down. I tried to stay calm, not just for me, but for him.
He paused, his eyes darkening. “It was a dangerous life. There were so many close calls, Jenna. Once, I was involved in a standoff with a rival family. Their names aren’t important, but we were surrounded, outnumbered, and it seemed like there was no way out. But I had to think quickly, and negotiate a truce while under fire, just to save my men and myself. I only just escaped with our lives.”
“That sounds terrifying.” I said, my breath catching in my throat.
“It was,” he admitted, his voice grim. “Another time, I had to go undercover to expose a traitor within our ranks. I pretended to be one of them while gathering as much intel as I could. If I had been discovered, they would have killed me. With the evidence I gathered, my boss Carlo Ricci killed the traitor on the spot.”
“Wow,” I said. “I’m guessing there’s more though that you’re not telling me, something that went really badly.”
I was talking out my ass, but there was a tortured look in his eyes that told me that I was right, so I waited, and he began to speak once more.
“Everything changed in the blink of an eye. My wife, Maria, was killed in a mafia hit gone wrong. She was innocent, caught in the crossfire of a world she never wanted to be a part of. Losing her… it was terrible,” he continued, his voice shaking with emotion.
“I’m so sorry, Vincenzo. What happened?” I asked, reaching out to touch his hand. I was surprised when he took it and squeezed it tight.
“We were supposed to meet at a safehouse, but someone leaked our location. A rival family attacked, and Maria… well, she was there at the wrong time. They shot her, right in the heart. There was no saving her, even if I had managed to get her to a hospital. I held her in my arms as she bled out. She whispered my name, and then she was gone.”
“It’s not your fault,” I whispered through the lump in my throat, my heart aching for him. He swallowed hard but continued on, squeezing my hand even tighter.
“After Maria’s death, I realized I couldn’t continue living that life. I had to protect Isabella, to give her a chance at a normal, safe life. So, I left the mafia and moved clean across the country. I crafted a new identity for the two of us, started a legitimate business as a restaurateur, and left everything behind. I poured everything I had into creating a stable environment for my daughter, from good schools, to fabricating a story about her mother’s death for her and the rest of the world.”
“I had no idea about any of this,” I said softly.
“I thought I was out of the woods, that nothing could touch me or my family anymore, but now I know that’s not that case. I know that they’re back, that they’ve found me,” he murmured.
I felt a chill run down my spine as his words sank in. “You mean, you think someone’s after you?”
He nodded, his expression grim.
“I have many enemies, Jenna. People who would love nothing more than to see me and my family suffer. I left that life behind to protect Bella, but I always knew there was a chance it could come back to haunt me and now it’s here.”
My heart pounded as the implications of his words settled over me.
“Do you have any idea who it is?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” he admitted, his voice heavy with worry. “But I can’t take any chances. And now, because you’re involved, you need to stay here with me.”
His tone was dominant, leaving no room for argument. It made my cheeks flush, a mix of fear and something else I couldn’t quite identify.
