Chapter 3

As Maria walked back towards the car, she could feel Tony's eyes on her. 'Good', she thought, 'make him want me.' She felt life would be much easier if Tony was trying to keep her happy for his own, driven reasons. 

'Not that he's too displeasing to look at anyway', Maria smirked to herself as she looked over at him by the car. He wasn't a traditional, drop-dead gorgeous kind of guy. He was rough around the edges, tarnished with demons that Maria couldn't for the life of her imagine.

From her younger years, Maria could vividly remember that excitement around someone new coming to town, or someone returning after years gone by. Everyone knew everyone in their local circles, so it had been no surprise to Maria when his eyes had lingered. She knew it was nothing more than an interest in the latest shiny visitor. 

That and she had learnt a lot more about hair and make-up since she left at 14. Whenever she had returned it had been a family-only gathering, or the family had all flown out to some more remote location.

It was ironic really, by keeping her 'safe' her father had actually made her more of a person of interest on her return.

Having learnt his lesson previously, Tony moved to open the door for Maria to get in, mindful not to look at her as she slid into her seat and rushing back around to the driver's seat.

****

It wasn't too long before they were driving through the cast-iron gates of her family estate. The LeTale family had multiple security systems that Tony navigated with such an ease that you might have thought he lived there. He most certainly did not.

As the jaguar rolled to a stop outside the main house, the unmistakable shrill noise of Mrs LeTale echoed around the courtyard.

"Maria, my baby!" 

Tony dutifully got out and opened the door for Maria, who gracefully moved from the car with a tight-lipped smile. "Mama," she said quietly, allowing herself to be tightly embraced by her mother. Her dark eyes slid over to meet Tony's light ones, he quirked an eyebrow in a slightly playful manner at the reunion. 

After a moment or two, he quietly cleared his throat before saying "Mrs LeTale, I've got some business to attend to but Maria should be quite safe under the home security management team" he assured her.

Mrs LeTale finally dropped her daughter from their embrace and put a hand to Tony's cheek, "Tony, you are such a good man. We will be fine, thank you for agreeing to take care of our Maria for the next few weeks. I know it's a little below your paygrade" she offered, less in an apologetic manner as much as slightly patronising with the additional tap to his cheek she offered.

'Ah, so Mrs LeTale knows I didn't want to...great', Tony thought to himself, smiling at her before he responded "I wouldn't trust anyone else to do it right," With a curt nod to Maria he lifted Maria's bag and gave it to a nearby staff member before hopping back into his car to driving away.

"He is your fathers favourite," Mrs LeTale said knowingly, looking to Maria sideways. "Handsome is he not?"

Maria rolled her eyes, starting the trudge up the steps towards the house. "Maybe, in a strange beats people for a living way, mixed with low education and a passion for hookers" she scoffed, walking into the house and looking around wide-eyed. Mrs LeTale was always redecorating so it came as no surprise that the hall had changed. It seemed she'd gone to a more traditional oak arrangement in her last flurry.

The house instantly seemed empty, as though her father had once occupied every room. It wasn't as though he spent an awful lot of time at home, to begin with, but just knowing he was in the hospital, fighting for life, meant the whole place seem strange and lonely. She was wistfully looking at some of the family portraits that adorned the wall near the stairs when the sound of thundering of feet began to get closer.

"Tommy LeTale, no running" his mother barked but the spritely 11-year-old didn't care, tackling his sister from the side. 

"Maria! You're back!" he grinned, glancing back at his mother "I told you she'd come home if you asked" he retorted, giving his sister an extra squeeze before bouncing back to look at her fully. His eyes were the same hazel colour but somehow brighter, his hair perfectly trimmed, still short in height as he hadn't yet had his growth spurt.

"Mama says Tony is looking after you, he's awesome" he gushed with childlike admiration. "Once he took me to the batting cages and on the way back he had to get something out of the glove compartment and he had a gun! An actual gun! Can you believe it?" he laughed.

Maria's stomach dropped at the reminder that her brother was perfectly innocent to their world. That a gun was 'cool' and that someday in the not too distant future he'd wheel his first.

"I missed you, Tommy," she told him softly, as she tugged him back to her for an extra hug.