Chapter 29

 A little while earlier

Isabella

I found Mia sitting at the kitchen island looking at her laptop. “Hey,” I said.

Mia spun around and scanned me from head to toe. “Tell me you’re okay.”

My smile couldn’t be hidden. “I’m good. Why?”

She got down from the stool. “You shouldn’t be with Em unaccompanied.”

“I was safe. Heck, he’s deadlier than anyone else out there.”

“Come” —she motioned toward the counter and stools— “sit down and tell me what happened. What made you want to do something so reckless?”

I went to the refrigerator and got myself a bottle of water. Sitting with a stool between us, I unscrewed the cap, trying to compose my response. Finally, I laid my hands out on the counter. “I’m sorry if you thought Em showing me around San Diego was reckless. I went because he asked. He even asked your husband first.”

“He didn’t ask Jano to take you without Horace. You have a bodyguard for a reason.”

I scoffed. “I’m certain that Em is as capable of protecting me as Horace.”

She lowered her voice. “Do you know what your mother and father would say if they knew you spent the evening unaccompanied with Catalina’s brother—a member of the cartel?”

“I wasn’t planning on mentioning it to them.”

“Then you should have answered your phone when she called you.”

My phone.

Shit.

I pulled my purse from where I’d draped the strap over the kitchen stool. Opening the zipper, I removed my phone. After entering the passcode, my stomach sank at the sight of eight missed calls. “Oh no. Mom called me this afternoon, and after that call, I turned off the volume. With it being in my purse, I must not have felt it vibrate.” I met Mia’s stare. “Should I call them?” I looked at the clock. Nine thirty in California meant eleven thirty in Kansas City.

“Yes, but wait a minute. The whole ordeal was a shit show. Apparently, Aunt Aurora was upset about her call with you earlier. Then the more she consequently tried to call you and you didn’t answer, the more upset she became. She told Uncle Carmine that she wanted you back in Missouri. I guess I’m a bad influence.” She shrugged. “Anyway, Uncle Carmine called Dario.”

With my elbows on the counter, I held my head in my hands. “This is ridiculous.” I looked up. “Papà called the capo. Then what happened?”

“Dario called me, asking me what I was doing with you, exposing you to…basically saying that working in the apartments has corrupted you in only two weeks.”

Tears prickled the back of my eyes. “Mia, I’m sorry. You haven’t corrupted me.” I gestured toward el Patrȯn’s office. “Em hasn’t corrupted me or done anything reckless. I told him I wished the lockdown was over and I could see San Diego. This is my first time here without my family, and all I’ve seen is your house and the apartments.”

“Jano told me. A tour?” She wiggled her eyebrows.

“A tour. First, he took me to Little Italy.”

“Oh, I love that neighborhood.”

My smile returned. “We had a fabulous dinner that was way too much food. And then we bought cannoli.” I looked around. “Shoot. I must have left those in his car.” I met her gaze. “And then he took me to Imperial Beach.”

“The pier?”

I nodded.

“Did you see the sunset?”

“Yeah, it was magnificent. I guess I haven’t been paying that close of attention to the setting sun from your pool deck or my bedroom window. Being out there with all those people. It was spectacular.”

“Your tour sounds very much like a date.”

I let my forehead drop to the counter. “I -I.” I looked up. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry the capo was upset with you.”

“Don’t worry about Dario and me. We have a love-hate sibling thing going on. But….” Her smile lessened. “It was when Aunt Aurora called that I made a decision.”

“Mom called you, too. Jeez.”

“I decided to lie. When you call them, you can tell them the truth, or you can stick with my story. You were at Liliana’s apartment watching a movie. You had the volume to your phone off.”

I opened my eyes wide. That was a good alibi. “Why would you lie for me?”

Her nose scrunched. “I was you. I was eighteen, sheltered, and scared.”

“You were scared?”

Mia nodded. “I already knew I was marrying Rocco, and I’d accepted that. We’d known each other for most of our childhood. It wasn’t really a fall-in-love thing. More like a get-used-to-each-other thing. My father was mostly concerned about Dario and Dante, but when his attention did come my way, it was stifling. Every decision was made for me. My mother didn’t intervene because my life had been hers when she was eighteen. It’s a fucking vicious circle, and it needs to stop.”

“What were you scared about? Getting married?”

Mia let out a long breath. “I don’t think so. I was too young to have any idea about marriage except what I’d seen from my parents. Their marriage wasn’t the best example, and I was naïve to think Rocco’s and mine would be different. What I feared more than anything was a future in which I had no say. I’d always thought I might want to go to college. My dad and then Rocco said no. I watched movies and read books and dreamed about traveling the world.” She leaned closer. “Here’s a secret. Except for a trip to New York for a big celebration involving famiglias from all over the country, and moving here, I’d never ventured far from Kansas City.”

“I’m sorry that none of your dreams have come true.”

Her smile was back. “Don’t be. Currently, my dream is to continue what Jano and I have built. He’s ten—no, one hundred—times the man my first husband was. Jano can be a strong man to the world and a kind, loving man with Jorge and me. That’s what a real man is. He’s not someone who bullies you into his way of thinking.”

“Like my papà.”

Mia nodded. “I lied to your mom because if I had told the truth, your papà would have had Piero or another of the famiglia’s guards on a plane to come out here and take you home. You’ve experienced a taste of freedom, even in lockdown. That is an opportunity I never had. Ever. When I called Liliana tonight, she raved about the way you’re interacting with the tenants.”

“Oh, that reminds me of something.”