Page 107 of The Man with a Treasure

It was at that moment I knew this is the way we would be sleeping from this point forward.

A female stomach growling had Sal perking up. “Is it homemade Alfredo time?”

Gasp!

As we got out of bed, Scarlett crawled out from under the covers, naked. Sal and I diverted our eyes. That was until Scarlett walked toward her dresser. “Sal? Will you help me pick out clothes?”

My mouth fell open.

Another little miracle.

With very ‘comfy’—according to Sal—clothing, Scarlett stood in the living room, staring out the glass to see the mountains. “What will it be like when I go back to Italy?”

It was going to be a shock for her. So many people lived on that property. So many employees and family. Many curious eyes would want to see the second found Giordano. I had witnessed it all before, just didn’t realize what it must have been like for Isabella until now. Scarlett was accustomed to being in captivity, mostly alone, and was now used to being with only us. How was she going to react to a mansion full of loud Italians?

If I was struggling to get used to her just wearing a light grey pair of casual cotton pants and a black casual long-sleeved T-shirt, how was she going to handle her whole new life?

“Will they be nice to me?”

Standing by the bar, I ran a hand down my face, thinking, The ones who don’t want you dead, yes. The rest will be fake to your face so they can live off your money.

Sal was on the other side of the kitchen bar boiling noodles. “Scarlett, the world, you will soon learn, will make you feel many things at different times. Like a movie. Sometimes, you will smile. Sometimes, you will cry. There will be times of fear. Happiness. So many emotions and delights. The secret, in my opinion, is to accept them all as they come.”

With her arms crossed and an accusing glare, she slowly turned toward us. “Will you both stay with me?”

I wanted to run from this whole conversation, but the last time I did, a television was murdered. “Uh, yes, but not how it is now.”

“Explain.”

I looked to Sal for help, but I could see he wanted to run, too. His wine glass was tilted back as he gulped the red fluid down his cowardly throat.

“Umm,” I searched for the easiest explanation. “Sal and I are what you could call Hired Guns. We work for your grandfather—”

Sal finally chimed in, “Job. Remember how we are learning about money?”

With a stern expression, she nodded. “Yes, you said I have ‘buttloads’ of it.”

My head swiveled to glare.

Refilling his glass, he shrugged. “What? It’s true.”

When I felt heat on the side of my face, I looked back to Scarlett, who was getting angry. I lifted my palms. “Easy. I’m trying to explain.”

Appearing like a true Giordano, she adjusted her stance.

Sal mumbled, “Her bloodline is making an appearance, no?”

It certainly was.

I did my best to explain that Sal and I lived on the same property as she soon would, but that we were employees who were there to protect the Giordano family from enemies.

“Then how was my mother taken?”

Loaded. Fucking. Question.

Sal, loose-lipped from his wine, sneered, “That is what we call an ‘inside’ job.”

Scarlett’s nostrils flared. A little pride bloomed in my chest, knowing I had taught her that. “Inside what?”