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“You were just in the neighborhood, even though you live hours away in a different city…”
“If you are busy, I can just go.” Her face fell. His heart turned to goo in his chest. Could he forgive her family’s past indiscretions? Could he see her in a different light? He knew the answer then and there, when her face looked straight at him. Yes, he could, he would. He already had. This just added depth, texture, a few wrinkles but didn’t make it any less beautiful. Fuck it, he was in love with her and his body knew it and his mind knew it and it it didn’t matter where she came from or what had happened before. She bore the weight of that, too, probably more so than Carmelo did. Yes, intimidating his family, raping his mother, forcing his father to watch, they had all be heinous crimes. Committed in the name of power and for the purpose of gang strength and superiority. And Lena carried that on her shoulders, too. Everyday. She had to balance being the leader that was needed, the heir that her family and the rest of the Syndicate needed, and reconcile that with the person that she was, the time she was in, the direction she wanted to go.
Carmelo saw it in her face right now, the picture of the fresh faced girl next door, and yet a slight tremble in her voice betraying her insecurity, a slight breathlessness in her chest giving away the fact she’d run up the stairs. The makeup, to cover herself. The hair, to hide behind.
Maybe they could atone for the sins of the past together, somehow.
“You gave the guard dogs the slip, huh?” Carmelo asked quietly, his voice breaking a little.
Lena huffed. “Yes, I just wanted to go for a drive by myself but Kavan is always on my tail, I’m just fed up with it, I just want some space, I just wanted to escape…”
Carmelo tilted his head. “I’m your escape? You escaped tome?”
Lena paused, her eyelids fluttered and she raised her chin to stare him down. “Yes.”
In that instance, he felt a calmness descend on him, like sinking into your favorite chair at the end of a tiring day.
“Funny,” he said gently, licking his lips, “‘cause a few weeks ago you were trying to escapefromme.”
Lena pursed her lips, held back a smile and shrugged. Carmelo found himself holding back a smile, too.
“So, can I come in?” She tilted her head.
“Oh, yeah, fuck I-” Carmelo suddenly felt flustered.
Her face pinched. “I don’t have to, I mean if you don’t want to see me, I can go-”
“No, that’s not what I mean, I’m just surprised…” He grabbed her forearm and pulled her into his apartment. “I mean, I’m halfway through a workout and the place is a mess and you look-” his breath ran out, but thankfully, Cal bounded up to the door and saved him.
“Oh!” She let out a little gasp and put out her hand, which Cal promptly licked and nuzzled against and barked, pounced and generally caused a big fuss.
“Cal, down boy!” Carmelo half-heartedly attempted to discipline his dog but truthfully his mood matched Cal’s, he couldn’t stop beaming. He scooted them from the small hallway into the main living area, which was brighter. He had the sliding door open, the balcony accessible.
“Sorry, you said you were working out? If you’ve got plans, I can come another time-” she said again, though she was already in the room and fussing happily over Cal.
“No, I mean, I thought it was going to be just another dull Saturday, it’s good to see you,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck.
“A dull Saturday?” Lena laughed, tipping her head back. She was wearing jeans and a cute white top and had flip flops on and looked more casual than he’d seen her before. He liked it. A lot. “No such thing as a dull Saturday.” She smiled, rubbing Cal’s neck fondly as he panted and his tongue lolled out of his mouth.
He heard a car screech on the road below, and raised an eyebrow at her. She pursed her lips.
“Lena, how did you get here, Princess?” he asked, wandering over to the balcony, peering out to see a black sedan revving towards the condo.
“I drove.”
Carmelo got his phone from his pocket.
Carmelo scrolled to Kavan’s number. He had the whole family’s numbers by now. Fuck, he probably even had the great aunt’s pet dog’s number. He wrote his message to Kavan.
“She’s safe. Fuck off,” was all he said.
He peered over the banister and watched the black sedan slowly crawl to a halt.
“Bring her to the MC clubhouse, 4:00pm sharp. I’ll take her home. No fucking around.” Came the terse reply.
Carmelo pursed his lips angrily. God, they fucking ruled her life. He flicked a glance back at Lena, now sat cross legged on the floor with Cal rolled on his back, letting her rub his belly. She looked calm, and innocent, so fucking like a girl next door. Not a mafia princess. No way related to the horrific things her family had done to innocent people. Including his own parents.
“We’ll be there at four. Like I said, she’s safe. Fuck off.”
