Chapter 2

Isabella

Red punch dribbled down my wrist as I pushed open the library door and rushed inside. Closing the door behind me, I shut my eyes as my heart thumped against my breastbone. Upon lifting my eyelids, I saw four sets of eyes staring at me.

“Izzy, what happened?” Noemi asked as she stood from the lounge chair she was sharing with Aria.

“How could you leave me out there alone?”

“You were hardly alone. There’s two worlds of people out there,” Marisa said, standing from the chair she was sharing with Cenzi.

Aria chimed in. “We thought you were with us. What happened?”

Now all four of the other girls were standing and coming closer.

“Emiliano…Catalina’s brother.” I set the cup of punch on a nearby table and looked for something to clean my fingers and wrist.

Cenzi hurried from the room, only to return in seconds with a towel from a nearby bathroom. “Did he do something to you?” she asked as she handed me the plush white cloth.

Holding the bright white hand towel, I wasn’t sure of anything. Looking up, I said, “I don’t want to stain their towels.”

Noemi took the towel and wiped my hand and wrist. “I’m sure the capo can afford new towels.” Her chocolate brown eyes met mine. “Emiliano…what happened?”

“I was carrying my punch back to you, and I almost ran into him.” I shook my head. “I don’t know. I might have run into him.”

Everyone’s eyes were wide.

“I didn’t get punch on him.” Rolling my lower lip, I nibbled on it and shrugged. “He talked to me. I tried to get away, and he kept talking to me.”

“Did Dad see the two of you together?” Noemi asked.

I shook my head. “I don’t think so. I hope he’s still in the capo’s office. Mom might have seen. I was so frightened; I couldn’t wait to get away from him.”

Aria’s smile widened. “I’d like to talk to him. Hell, I’d like to do more than that with him.” Her little sister nudged her with her elbow. When no one said anything, Aria went on, “Come on. You can’t deny that Catalina’s brother is hot. If the cartel men were as bad as our fathers say, why does Mia look so happy? She’s with the scariest one of the group.”

“I got a peek at Jasmine,” Marisa said. “She looks different, more confident.” She shrugged. “Like she isn’t a stray any longer.”

“She’s married to the second-in-command to the drug lord,” Noemi said. She let out a long breath. “But you’re right. Jasmine doesn’t seem scared either.”

My nose wrinkled. “But we’ve been told since Dario’s engagement how dangerous the cartel members are and how horribly they treat women. The cartel runs a whorehouse. Dad said Catalina and Camila were fortunate to get out of that life.”

Cenzi scoffed. “Uncle Carmine is upset about the alliance. Our dad is too. But it’s not like Catalina and Camila were going to be put to work in prostitution.”

“It isn’t a whorehouse,” Marisa said. “It’s a club with women who…you know, have sex. Newsflash, that’s what Emerald Club is.”

The small hairs on the back of my neck stood to attention. “No, it isn’t. Mom said Emerald Club is just a dance club.”

“Well,” Marisa said, “I’m not sure why she’s lying to you, but it’s more than a dance club. I’ve overheard Dad telling Mom about some of the problems brought on by the bratva and cartel.”

“Whatever. You’re saying the cartel is causing our famiglia problems.”

Noemi took her place back on the lounge chair. “We’ve been to Catalina’s childhood home—for Mia’s wedding. It’s not as if the Ruizes are living in an abandoned warehouse like they show on television. Catalina left a home on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean for Kansas City. And if Mom’s lied to us about Emerald Club, maybe there’s something to what Aria is saying. Maybe they’re not all murderers and rapists.”

“But,” I continued, “the whores in their club have been sex trafficked. That’s what they do. They get women and girls who are trying to cross the border.”

Marisa shook her head. “You’ve been watching too many videos. Sex trafficking is a problem everywhere, even here. When I leave, I’m staying away from truck stops.”

Could I be seeing things through the lens of my parents’ bigotry?

I sat next to my sister. “There was something about the way Emiliano looked at me. I can’t describe it. My stomach was instantly in knots, and my circulation was going so fast, I thought I might faint right in the capo’s living room.” I laid my head back. “Papà would have gone ballistic.”

My cousins shared a grin, sat down together on the other lounge chair, and turned to me. Marisa was the one to speak. “Maybe you weren’t scared.” Her eyebrows danced. “Maybe you were attracted to him.”

Pressing my lips together, I shook my head. “No. And Papà would never—”

“Are you forgetting that he already did?” she asked. “Uncle Carmine agreed to offer you to Reinaldo.”

My heart was again beating too fast. “It’s because Dario didn’t feel Jasmine was enough of an offer for el Patrόn’s son. And Papà wasn’t happy about it.” I stared at everyone. “It was Dario’s doing, not Papà’s.”

“You know if Dario tells Dad to jump, he’ll jump,” Noemi said. “Dad talks shit about the capo, but he won’t stand up to him, not on something like this.”

Aria leaned back. “Look at you. All three of you have beautiful blond hair. You stick out.” She peered over at Noemi and me. “Stick out—in a good way. Men notice you. Women will notice Tony when he’s older too.”

Her comment reminded me that our father had taken Tony into the capo’s office. I couldn’t help worrying about him. Papà was harder on him than he was on Noemi and me. That wasn’t to say he was easy on us. It was just different.

When my thoughts came back to our conversation, Aria was speaking. It didn’t take me too long to realize she was talking about Emiliano.

“…at Dario’s wedding, I wasn’t sure what to think of him. I mean, he kept looking at Dario like he wanted to kill him.”

Marisa scoffed. “He probably did. Catalina’s his little sister.”

Cenzi nodded.

Aria went on, “He’s bulked up since then and doesn’t seem so uptight.”

“Dealing with Dario makes everyone uptight.” I was thinking about what Marisa said. “I forgot that he’s older than Catalina. How old do you think he is?”

“He’s older,” Aria said. “Maybe thirty.”

Noemi responded, “That sounds old, but it really isn’t. Dante’s in his thirties and Camila is like twenty.” Her cheeks pinkened. “I think I’d rather be with an older man who knows what he’s doing. Some of the girls at school talk.” She swallowed. “I think it sounds awkward to fumble around with a guy who knows as much about sex as I do. Which is only what I can read in a book or see in a movie. And that’s not real.”

“I hate that we’re so sheltered,” Marisa said. “Attending an all-girls Catholic school, I don’t even have any guy friends my own age to compare.” She sat taller. “And I’ve heard the stories at school, too. I think they’re lying and talking for attention. I mean, there’s no way that they’re getting all that action and we’re sitting here in an all-girls library while the living room is full of eligible men.” When we didn’t respond, she added, “That’s why I’m taking off after I’m eighteen. I want to see the world. Learn about guys and everything the world has to offer.”

The library door opened inward. Aunt Giulia peeked inside. “Contessa announced that the meal is ready. It’s a buffet. You girls should get your plates and come back here to eat.”

As we all stood and began to file out the doorway, my aunt reached for my arm. She lowered her voice. “I thought you should know. Mia has been talking to your mom about you helping her out in San Diego with the apartment house she’s running.”

My eyes narrowed. “Mia’s running an apartment house?”

Aria and Cenzi were farther away, but Marisa’s and Noemi’s eyes opened wider.

“Go on,” Aunt Giulia said to the other girls before turning back to me. “It’s Mia’s project. She had an old school renovated into apartments for the whores from Wanderland, the cartel’s club.”

Club?

“Is their club any different than Emerald Club?” I asked.

Aunt Giulia pressed her lips together and shook her head. “I don’t know for sure, but the basics are the same. Your uncle claims Emerald Club is better. Anyway, now with Jorge born and Aléjandro’s new position, Mia could use help. When Aurora said you were taking a year off from college to do philanthropic work, Mia latched on. I guess some young woman from Catalina’s family is helping, but she can’t do it alone.”

“Do they keep them locked up?”

“Who?”

“The women working in the club.”

My aunt tilted her head. “No…why would they?”

“What if they want to leave?”

“Then I guess they leave. Mia said that the change in housing has had a positive effect on the women.”

“Women. You just said whores.” I wrinkled my nose. “I don’t want to go to San Diego.” My eyes opened wide. “Where would I live? I couldn’t live with Mia—not with el Patrόn.” Tears threatened the back of my eyes. “What did Mom say?”

“She said she’d talk to your father.”

I let out a breath. “He’ll never agree to it.”

Aunt Giulia feigned a smile. “You’re probably right. I just wanted you to know in case Mia says something to you about it.”

My nose wrinkled. “Work with whores? Is that even safe?”

Aunt Giulia kissed my hair. “Don’t worry about it, Isabella. Just be prepared if the topic comes up.” She tilted her head. “Now, let’s eat, watch Ariadna Gia—or Catalina—open presents, and get out of here before a fight breaks out.”

“Sounds good.”