Mafia Secret (19 page)

"This is about that guy," Clarissa said. "The one they showed me a picture of."

"Yes," Ryan said.

"Oh." Clarissa turned to her. "Oh, that just sucks. I'm sorry, Lessa."

She wasn't sure exactly what Clarissa was apologizing for, but she was sorry, too. Sorry about almost everything.

The pull to return home and forget everything was building inside her. She remained silent for the rest of the drive, despite Clarissa's attempts to draw her out. By the time the car stopped, Lessa had decided she was going home.

Nina hurried down the steps, face taunt with anxiety, and rushed forward to sweep Lessa into a hug.

"I'm so glad you're all right." Relief and sincerity were obvious in her emotional tone. "We were so worried."

Lessa could guess at what they were so worried about. The house didn't seem nearly as welcoming as she stepped through the main door.

"Where's Jio?" Ryan asked.

"In his office with Marc. I told them to wait." Nina turned back to Lessa. "She needs a little fussing over."

Nina took Lessa's arm and marched her away from the study, toward the kitchen. Virginia and Clarissa followed while Ryan headed for the study.

"How are you feeling?" Nina poured a cup of tea from the set already on the table near the window.

"Numb," Lessa said truthfully.

"Jio is going to rake me over the coals." Clarissa sat down next to her. "But what else is new?"

"For what?" Lessa asked.

"For taking you out of the house." Clarissa sighed. "You could have told me, you know."

Lessa shrugged in answer. She was already plotting her escape back to Florida.

Nina stirred her tea. "This hasn't made a very good impression of us on you, has it? You're going to go home?"

She nearly choked on her tea at the correct assumption. "I haven't decided."

"I understand," Nina said, tears filling her eyes.

Lessa set her tea cup down gently in the saucer. "Is everything okay, Nina?"

"Of course." Nina brushed the tears away. "We were just worried about you. But now that you're home, everything will be fine."

"What about me?" Clarissa gave a slight pout.

"You always land on your feet." Nina smiled. "I never have to worry about you."

"How long a reprieve do you think they'll give her?"

"Not long. Marc was especially worried about you," Nina paused, "More so than Jio."

"Afraid I'd talk and point the finger at him?" Lessa asked.

Nina looked surprised by her cutting comment and angry tone. "No. He was nearly frantic when he discovered you weren't in the house. Virginia said he actually swore in front of her. As soon as we heard you'd been picked up, he called Ryan to get you two out."

"Well, we're out now. So, no need to worry." She could feel her energy draining and regretted the flip comment as soon as she uttered it.

All she wanted to do was climb into bed and pull the covers over her head. Her own bed would be even better. She needed to figure out how to get away from here and home as quickly as possible. With the way they kept tabs on her, she'd have to tell Jio. She thought uneasily about what she'd do if he objected.

"Alessandra." Ryan stood in the doorway.

Lessa looked warily at him. "Yeah?"

"Jio would like to speak with you."

She sighed and didn't try to come up with an excuse to delay the meeting. She might as well get it over with, then she could go to her room and plot her return home. With a brief smile at her sister and sister-in-law, she followed Ryan to the study. He didn't step in with her, but gestured her inside before shutting the door, effectively locking her in the room with Marc and Jio. Both men waited for her by the desk.

"Lessa." Jio beckoned her into the room. "We were worried about you."

"So I've heard." She'd performed in front of crowds with tens of thousands of people. She could handle two men. Squaring her shoulders, she walked up to them. "I'm fine."

"I can see that." He motioned her to one of the chairs and moved to sit behind the desk.

Lessa refused to show fear and sat down in the chair without looking at Marc.

M
arc's insides were twisting. He'd lost her. She wouldn't look at him. She wasn't even avoiding his gaze. To her, he simply wasn't in the room. What would she do if he stepped into her line of vision and forced her to confront him?

"Why don't you tell me what happened?" Jio asked.

"I was hauled into a police station for questioning." Her voice was brittle.

"Yes, I know." Jio nodded in encouragement.

Marc held back his own response and let Jio lead the questioning. They couldn't pretend she hadn't been questioned, and had to know what she'd told the police. But the fact she'd returned to the house spoke volumes. The police would never have let her return if she'd revealed any of what she saw last night.

"They wanted to know about the man who was here," she said in a monotone. "I told them I'd never seen him before, and I wasn't privy to Marc's movements last night since I was asleep. That seemed to satisfy them."

"Did you have a good visit with your friend?" Jio asked.

"I had a good brunch with Clarissa," she countered.

"I was referring to your detective friend," Jio growled.

"I don't have friends here."

"Detective Sean Matthews."

Marc watched her reaction to Jio's statement. She hadn't realized they knew about her relationship with Matthews back in Florida. Of course, they wouldn't have known if Jiovanni hadn't made a note in her file about the friendship between the detective and her mother.

"He isn't a friend." Lessa's expression didn't change. "He was a neighbor a long time ago."

"You didn't speak with him?" Jio asked.

"He and another detective questioned me. I told him the same thing. Look, I didn't tell them anything. Isn't that what I'm supposed to do? Not inform on you?"

"We appreciate your discretion, Lessa," Jio said, his voice soothing. "I realize you don't have the family loyalty that was drummed in to the rest of us since birth, but you showed yourself to be a Tazio today. I'm sorry I doubted you." He hesitated. "I generally wouldn't make this offer, but we're treading in uncharted water. Do you want to discuss last night?"

"No."

Jio nodded. "Good. It'd be better for everyone if we all just forget it, right? Right. I'm sorry your shopping expedition with Clarissa was interrupted. Perhaps, the two of you can head out again tomorrow."

"Is that all?"

Jio glanced at Marc in question, but Marc remained quiet. Everything he had to say to Lessa needed to be said without an audience.

"Yeah," Jio said.

Without a glance in his direction, Lessa stood up and left. Marc was torn between chasing after her and not appearing to care. No one in the family was aware of their relationship. If it was still a relationship.

"What's going on between you and my sister?" Jio asked.

"Clarissa and I ended our engagement," he answered.

"I was talking about Lessa."

"Nothing," he said in quick denial. He hoped it wasn't nothing, but it could very well be.

"You're betraying your emotions. Last night and this morning, you weren't just worried about a family member."

Marc stood. "I'll tell you when I know."

Jio stared at him steadily for a moment. "I won't wait long."

Marc nodded and left, heading straight up to Lessa's room. As he knocked, he realized she could be with Clarissa and Nina somewhere else in the house.

The door cracked open. Not exactly a warm welcome.

"We need to talk." He kept his voice as smooth and unthreatening as he could.

"Not now."

Nothing in Lessa's tone indicated any softening from the position she'd shown him in the study.

Frustrated, he rested his hand on the door to push it open. "Now."

She didn't fight him, but let go of the door and walked away. He stepped gingerly into the room and she sat stiffly on the couch, not looking at him. Silence filled the small space as he sat down in the uncomfortable chair across from her.

He had no idea what to say to fix the mess he was in. He only knew she was important to him, and the distance between them made his heart ache. He had to find a way to repair the damage he'd caused. "About last night—"

"We agreed not to discuss last night."

"I scared you. I could see it in your eyes." He rushed through his words. "I don't think I've regretted anything as much as that."

Lessa didn't answer, refusing to look at him.

"I don't have a handy excuse. I could've handled the entire situation better. I just didn't want you to see that side of us . . . of me, and when you did I lost it a little." Marc paused and waited for her to say something, anything. Again nothing. "I'm not excusing what happened. I just wanted you to know what I was feeling."

She glanced at him at last, but he couldn't read her face as he'd been able to since they'd met.

"I know you're not used to all of this."

"You know, everyone keeps harping on me not being used to, or not growing up in, whatever 'this' is."

He waited for her to say more, but her gaze moved away from him to stare at the painting of the vineyard on the wall. "I wasn't born into it like your siblings," he stated quietly.

Her gaze came back to him, and he plowed on though he wasn't sure what he was trying to get her to understand. "Most of us aren't, and when you're not you spend every day of your life working to prove yourself to people who're always looking for any hint of betrayal. Obeying orders becomes second nature."

Her eyes narrowed, and knowing he'd caught her attention, he rushed on.

"I was fourteen when I began running errands for my mom's boyfriend. He ran various cons for Jiovanni." He was probably revealing too much, but as long as she kept looking at him he'd keep talking. "I was good at it. Fast, trustworthy. A lot of new boys don't realize they're set up to steal or lie as a test. I never failed a test. Horrace, Mom's boyfriend, disappeared one day. We didn't know why or who was behind it. I went to Jiovanni to find out what happened. He liked my directness, and I began to do a lot more than errands. I worked hard. Earned his trust."

He paused, hoping she'd say something in response, but she dropped her gaze down to her hands clasped around her knees.

"I thought earning his trust and keeping it was the most difficult thing I'd ever have to do, but it's not. I've lost your trust, and I have no idea how to go about earning it back. I need you to tell me what to do to fix this," he said, panicking at her closed expression. "You care about me. We started something. Something important. I'll do whatever it takes to get back to where we were. Just tell me what to do, and I'll do it."

Marc had never opened up to anyone as he was now. He hadn't done the best job of explaining how he felt to Lessa, but he wasn't sure how to explain it any better. She might never be able to accept him and what he did, but what if he didn't work for her brother any longer? He opened his mouth to ask, but snapped it shut. He couldn't promise something as big as leaving the business without thinking first how to accomplish it. The silence between them dragged on.

"Talk to me," he whispered.

She looked away and hunched her shoulders. "I need to think. I need space."

He hid his disappointment. "Whatever you want." It was possible she would never want to talk to him, but he had to ask. "We'll talk tomorrow?"

She kept her gaze on the far wall. Slowly standing, he hesitated, unsure of what else to say and wanting to stay despite promising to do as she asked. He reached out to brush her hair out of her face. She jerked back, leaving his hand hanging in the air. He dropped it to his side, not wanting to push the issue.

"I'll see you in the morning."

He left the room to the shattering sound of her silence and shut the door behind him.

L
essa hid in her room, keeping herself busy with escape plans. She'd called the airline and secured a flight on a plane leaving a few minutes after six the next morning. Now she had to get herself to the airport without any interference from the family. Her bag was packed and ready to go as soon as she walked out the door. It was about dinner time, and everyone was probably at the table.

But how was she going to get past Marc?

Hand on the doorknob, she hesitated. What if he was camped out in the hallway? She expelled her breath as she opened the door. No one. She went quietly down the stairs then hesitated across from the open door to the study. This room had been the beginning of the end. Squaring her shoulders, she walked across the hall. But stopped when she heard voices drift out.

"Mama." Jio's voice was filled with exasperation. "You can't—"