Awakening the Mobster (3 page)

“Hi, Meg,” he says, and pulls me in for a gentle hug. Antonio’s hand shoots out to stop him. Troy allows the interference. Thenhe takes his T-shirt andyanks it on forcefully with his back to us.

“So what do I owe the pleasure of seeing you today?”he sighs, rethinking his sarcasm. “Meg, you weren’t supposed to be here until Friday.”

We are all still standing in the doorway/hallway. I’m not even sure if Troy saw anyone but Antonio and me.

I step into the room with Antonio, and Troy faces us with a changed expression. He is trying to be pleasant. “What’s with the bodyguard?”Troy chuckles.

“It’s boyfriend, asshole!” Antonio retorts sinisterly.

“Oh well, pardon
me,”
Troy hisses sardonically
.

There is a charge of male electricity in the room, raw and feral.

“Didn’t my father call you?” I ask him, trying to defuse the glowering males in the small room.

“No.”

“Oh,” I say, surprised. “I’m going to be visiting longer than expected. Erin is here too.”

I swivel around to the doorway, but she’s not there. I step back into the hall, a little flustered. Leaning against the wall is Erin, and she is staring at the floor. Vito is standing next to her. He shakes his head at me and I understand. She doesn’t want to go into Troy’s room. I can sympathizewith her not wanting to see Troy; he does look a lot like Connor.

Troy tries to follow me, but Antonio stops him with a hand on his chest. “I don’t think she wants to see you dude.”
Wow, Antonio is very intuitive.

“Last I heard, the O’Neill’s put an end to your little fairytale,” Troy says vehemently to Antonio. Antonio’s posturing at the comment sizzles the atmosphere, and his upbringing rears its head.

“Meg...?” Troyasks frustrated. “Can you tell me what’s going on?”Troy scrubs his hand down his face. I snap back into the room not wanting a fight.

“There’s been some trouble, Troy. We need to stay here for awhile. My father sent us here,” I tell him trying to calm the situation.

“I don’t think we’ll all fit,” Troy spitsacerbically and gestures to his small room. Antonio steps forward, and I cringe.

“We’re staying at the guest suites on campus,” Antonio says, pushing forward invading Troy’s space. His voice matter-of-fact, “I am going to take the girls there to get some rest.”

Antonio sees Troy’s phone on the night stand and picks it up. “Here’s my number. Call us when you get
your shit
together.”

Antonio reaches for my hand and pulls me from the room. He is moving quickly. The four of us get back in the elevator. Erin is still speechless. Vito and Antonio are ticked off.

That just wasn’t what I envisioned would happen seeing Troy. I left the dorm feeling betrayed, for what I’m not sure. Watching that girl leaving his room startled me, but I wouldn’t say it bothered me.
I know he has a life, but one minute he’s saying he wants to marry me, and the next he’s sleeping around?

Maybe betrayed isn’t the right word. I think I feel gipped. I didn’t find the normal solace I usually find with Troy, and that makes me sad. It’s like I lost something with him. But I just have to turn and look at Antonio, and everything I feel I lost with Troy, I have gained ten-fold with Antonio.

*****

We arrive at the guest suites. They are beautiful and richly furnished. The campus really went all out for visitors. They even have small kitchens. There are two bedrooms in each suite. The units are adjoined by a door in the living room.

I flop on the couch in the suite I am sharing with Erin, exhausted. Antonio and Vito move the bags into the respective rooms. Then I catch them doing something weird. They are looking out every window, moving every curtain, checkingthe locks on doors. They are moving succinctly like they’re cops staking out a building.

Erin slips into her room after it’s checked and shuts the door.

“Don’t lock it,” Vito orders at the closed door.

Antonio sits down next to me and leans in to give me a sweet kiss.

“I have some stuff I need to do,” he says. “Why don’t you go lie down too?” His request is syrupy, but with a hint of command behind it.

Vito hovers by the door that connects the rooms. Antonio gets up, checks the bolt on our main door and leaves with Vito. They don’t shut the adjoining door, but I still can’t hear them.

I go to my room and grab a blanket off the bed. I lie down on the couch and close my eyes.

A phone buzzing on the coffee table wakes me. Antonio is reaching for it.

“Hello,” he says, “Yeah.” (pause) “Everything is fine.” The other person is speaking. Then Antonio continues, “How’s everything there?” (pause) “Good. I wish I could tell you but I can’t.” (pause) “I don’t know how long. No, I know. (pause) I’ll talk to you later, bye.”

I yawn and stretch.

“Alessandra says hi,” Antonio says.

“How does she know?”

“I’m gone, you’re gone. Alessandra is pretty bright.”

Antonio’s phone buzzes again. I get up feeling the call of nature when I spot the table in the kitchen area. It is loaded with stuff—guns, ammunition, phones, crackers, chips, and a jar of peanut butter.
Holy Crap!

“Hey,” his demeanor is totally different. “Everything is good here.” (pause)“Yeah, I sent Vito.” (pause) “He should be back any minute. I will. Bye.” Antonio hangs up.

He comes over to me and kisses me. My stomach flip-flops, and I reach up and wrap my arms around his neck. He kisses me deeper. He tastes like spearmint gum. His arms come around my waist, and he tugs me closer. Antonio pushes me back a little, and I fall onto the couch cushions. He hovers above me — kissing me, worshipping me with his passion. I’ve never felt so wanted in all of my life.

“Dude! Come on,” Vito says walking into the room annoyed. He’s carrying a map. He lays it across the coffee table in front of us.

I glance at it. It is all marked up with a highlighter.

“What are you guys doing?” I ask.

“We’re learning our surroundings,” Antonio says. “We have to know where everything is.”

I point to the kitchen table covered with stuff. “And that?”

“Shit we need,” he replies.

“But where did you get it?” I ask intrigued.

“We have resources,” he says flatly, and Vito laughs still reading the map.

There is a very faint click behind me. Slowly Erin’s door opens; she walks out with a very bad case of bedhead. Her red curls jut out in all directions framing her face. Vito stands.

“Feeling better?” I ask. Erin just shrugs her shoulders.

Vito has made it to the refrigerator and grabs an orange juice.
Wow they’ve been busy while we’ve been asleep.
He hands it to Erin.

She seems to sip it gratefully. Antonio’s phone buzzes again. Angry lines form on his forehead.

“Yeah,” his tone is intimidating. “No, you can talk to me, asshole.” I immediately know it is Troy. “They’re fine.” (pause) “Tomorrow would be better,” he says. “Fine.” Antonio hangs up.

“What was that about?” I ask.

“Troy wants to get together. We have stuff to do and talk about. He’ll have to wait.”

Antonio is a very take-charge person. It is comforting and scary all at the same time. Erin sits in an overstuffed chair, sipping her orange juice. Her eyes go wide at the accoutrements strewn about our kitchen table. She gets up and moves next to me on the couch. Vito watches her every movement carefully.

Antonio takes the two phones off the table.

“These are for the two of you. I want them charged and on you at all times. They shouldn’t be traceable.” He hands them to each of us. Erin and I take them from him. Then Antonio points to the map on the coffee table. “This is a map of South Bend and the surrounding areas.”He points to a highlighted area. “If anything happens or we get separated, this is where we meet. The address is programmed in your phones. You are not for any reason to leave these rooms or go off by yourselves. You have to be with Vito or myself.”

I am in the middle of a military briefing hosted by Antonio Delisi, mob-child.

“If you suspect anything weird going on or hear any weird noises... Do. Not. Think. Twice.Get one of us. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” I say. Erin nods.

“Just like we have resources everywhere we go or can find them, so do the people your father is worried about,” Antonio hovers over us. “Any questions?”

Erin and I shake our heads no. Part of me felt like we just got a lecture or a scolding. I know Antonio is trying to keep us safe,but I immediately felt safer the minute we took off and away from Palmetto. We are so far away and in a totally different environment.
Who’d find us here?
I wonder if my father has called.

“Did our father call or anything?” I ask.

“He texted me,” Antonio replies.“I said everything was fine.”

Chapter 4

Schifioso (skeevotz): Yuck! Gross!

Megan :

Vito and Antonio take us to a pizza place off campus for dinner. We sit at a booth in the corner. Antonio has a clear view of the door. Antonio’s face screws up like he tasted something sour when he bites into his pizza.

“This isschifioso! It tastes like shit!” Vito exclaims. “My five-year-old cousin makes better pizza sauce than this.” He throws his piece down on to his plate.

Antonio taps his plate with the crust, white against his dark Italian skin. “This might be bullet proof,” he says.

It is tasteless, but I didn’t care. It is food. Erin plays with her pizza, not talking. We let her be. I’m not sure when she’ll come around, but everyone handles things differently.

Vito gets up, and speaks to a waitress, and comes back. He stands out in the room, darkly confident and menacing looking, like Antonio.

A few minutes later, soup is placed in front of Erin. It appears to be chicken. Vito leans over and whispers in her ear. Erin reluctantly picks up the spoon and starts eating.

Antonio’s hand brushes my thigh under the table, and I jolt in surprise. He gives me a knowing smile, and I relax. It feels so good to have his strong hands on my leg. His hand creeps higher and I stiffen, heart racing.

*****

By the time we make it back to the campus and made our way to the rooms, I am beyond tired. It is as if my legs can’t function. I stumble on the carpet in the hallway. Antonio secures me back to a standing position and opens the door. He leads me to the couch.

Erin is next to me. Her eye lids droop and her head starts to hang. Antonio and Vito scan each room checking every inch. Antonio lifts Erin up off the couch and carries her to her room.

*****

Antonio:

It’s a good thing that I never had a sister because these feelings overwhelm me, and I’m not use to it. I have been raised to be loyal and in control. Protecting Pop’s interests, family, and friends has been ingrained in me since I was small.

Seeing Megan’s sister, Erin, so messed up bothers me. I really need a cigarette. I gently lay Erin down on the covers in her room. I pull the comforter out from under her and tuck her in like she’s two.

Different emotions sparkle and crack in me swallowing up the dark ones. The monster that rages in me softens. I never had to deal with these before...they’re new and overwhelming. It could get us killed if I don’t stay focused. Vito has subtly hinted at it. He knows.

I come back out into the living room, and Vito is cleaning and loading the guns. All the parts are spread out. He has a rag in his hand.

“Where’s Megan?” I ask.

“In the bathroom,” he replies, never looking up from his work.

The bathroom door opens, and Megan steps out in a skimpy tank top and sweatpants. Immediately, my mouth starts to water like I am a wolf stalking its prey. The smooth skin of her arms calls to me as her long hair falls in waves around her shoulders. I catch Vito ogling too. I give him my death-stare,then walk over to Megan.

I rub my hands down her arms.
Oh, shit! Like silk!

“I’m going to go to bed too,” she says.

My jeans start to feel tight as I stare at her. I give her a quick peck on the lips. Anything more would be bad,
very bad
.

“Okay,” I reply. “Good night.”

“Good night.” Megan goes to her room and shuts the door.

After a minute of silence, Vito says, “Keep your head in the game, Tonio.”

“I am.” Even as I say it, I don’t believe it either.

Vito is diligently cleaning and organizing the weapons. I stand across from him.

“I’m not going to get any sleep tonight,” I say matter-of-factly.

He looks down at my crotch,then up into my face, “No, you’re not.”

I finally manage to calm my passion-filled body down after two trips outside for cigarettes and watching SimpsonsŠ re-runs in bed. Vito and I are taking turns sleeping on the couch in the girls’ living room. Vito suggested he go first. Probably a smart decision.

I think about the events that led us here. The emotions of getting Megan and then losing her, floods through me.I never want to feel that helpless or lost again. Nothing in my screwed up Mafia life compares to that.

The last time I looked at the clock, it is twelve forty-five a.m. My eyes drift open and closed a few times. A shriek jars me out of my semi-sleep.

I jump up and race to the adjoining door and dash through it. Vito’s not on the couch. Another shriek, louder this time, comes from Erin’s room. I dive to the doorway. The door is open and Vito, bare-chested, is hovering over a thrashing Erin. Her legs are kicking the covers; her head is flinging from side to side, eyes closed. Vito grabs her shoulders trying to wake her up.

“Erin!” he yells. “Come on, babe, wake up!”

Megan flies into the room and stops short at Vito’s attempts to wake her sister.

Erin is kicking and screaming. “No! No! Don’t let them hurt us, Daddy! No! I can’t run that fast! Don’t leave me!Meg!Shoot him! Shoot him, now!”