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The alarm on his face revealed his discomfort with that order. Although Ana was also his boss, Reggie ultimately deferred to Gio, who would be furious if the guard abandoned her out in the open. The hall was protected like a fortress. But out here, without walls, there were no guarantees.
“A few feet behind me should be okay,” she conceded, taking pity on him. “If you don’t mind.”
“Not at all.”
Tugging up her skirt until the hem was safely above her heels, Ana strode down the right ramp as it curved around the building to the back. One sole guard stood there by the garden gates. He readily stepped aside, recognizing her.
The gardens had been closed off for the event, with visitors allowed only by request since there was insufficient security to staff them. Not to mention the dismal lighting. There were just a handful of lamps around the vast gardens.
Shadows closed around them as they ventured in.
Maybe she should have waited until Auntie eventually returned. But Ana was tired and had already come this far. She just wanted to finish her goodbyes and go home.
Crickets chirped as if in warning.
Grass and mud squelched beneath her heels before a hand unexpectedly touched her elbow.
“Shit!”
“Sorry, uh–” Reggie held his hands up. “There is a walking path over there, ma’am.”
Grateful for the darkness as it hid her fright, Ana murmured an incoherent thanks as she veered in that direction. Her spine relaxed fractionally as a distant light appeared.
There, voices also became audible. Her aunt and grandfather…yelling.
Ana groaned quietly.
No wonder they had escaped out here into this godforsaken garden. Their fights were infamous, one of the blights of her childhood. None of them had ever ended peacefully, not without a major upset that left the house in a tense standoff for weeks after.
“Please stay here,” she advised.
Reggie hesitated but agreed.
Ana trudged ahead, past two rows of hedges, her heart thumping when she lost sight of the guard behind her. As the thick greenery eventually cleared, an open courtyard of sorts emerged. Several lights were strung around its perimeter, illuminating the two angry forms.
Auntie and Grandfather stood at the very center of the opening, facing off in a heated match. Ana began to call out to them. But, at the sound of her name on Grandfather’s lips, she halted.
“–see how Ana spoke to him!”
“It was just small talk.”
“Small talk? If you want small talk, you ask about the weather or his grandkids. Not shame him over his failing business!”
Realization struck her sharply. They were arguing about Vitello.
“And whose fault is it that his business got shut down? That impulsive ass, Gio!”
Ana recoiled and glanced back, wondering if the guard could hear them. That type of language toward the Don was criminal. If word got back to Gio, it would mean complete war.
Auntie seemed to be shocked as well, urging her father to calm down.
“Why should I! I sank half my savings into Claudio’s business…promised my word as his friend that I’d try to save him. Instead, my so-called granddaughter disgraces him to his face!”
“Father–”
“This is all your doing.” He lifted a rickety finger at the thin woman, who stared appalled.
“How can you say that? After–”
