New chance
It's been three days since I killed Silas. Three days since I woke up in a cold sweat with the sound of the gunshot echoing in my ears.
I'm sitting on the stairs, watching Luca and Leonardo talking to the security guards, passing on information and giving orders.
My aunts are in the basement with my father and grandfather; they're trying to resolve a problem they had with the ports that were attacked yesterday.
Dante, Nicco, Matteo, and Lorenzo are meeting with the other mafias; they're devising a strategy to attack the American mafia once and for all and end this dispute.
The other guys are busy gathering and training our family's soldiers.
My cell phone vibrates and I open the message box.
I've been talking to Dominic for the past few days; as an ally of my family, he knows everything that's going on and has been attentive and kind to me.
Whenever he can, he sends me a message or a picture showing what he's doing.
"I'll call you," the message says, and I can't help but smile. I go up to my room and close the door so none of my brothers will interrupt me.
My cell phone vibrates as soon as I lie down on the bed.
"Hello, angel." Dominic's voice is deep and makes my heart race.
"Hi," I reply softly.
"How are you feeling today, my angel?" he asks, and I hear a car horn in the background.
"I'm better, last night wasn't so bad," I comment.
Dominic knows I haven't been sleeping well; I told him on the second night because he asked me how I really was three times on the same call, and I ended up telling him everything.
"Have your brothers been helping you?" he asks.
"Yes, but sometimes I feel like I'm bothering them," I reply with a sigh. "They're very busy."
"My angel, they're never too busy to take care of you," Dominic says, and I know it's true. "And I can come see you too, if you want."
I laugh at his words.
“You wouldn’t get out of here alive,” I reply, laughing, and I hear his laughter in the background.
“I’m still going to marry you, my angel,” he says, and my face turns red.
“I bet you will,” I say jokingly, but deep down I’m serious.
“I’m going to make you my queen, my angel,” Dominic says sincerely.
“You need to get past my brothers first,” I say with a silly smile on my face.
“That’s never been a problem,” he says, and I hear the sound of his car engine shutting off. “I’m at your house, see you soon.”
He hangs up the phone as soon as he finishes the sentence.
My eyes widen and I quickly get out of bed to look out the window.
I see Dominic get out of the car and greet Luca and Leonardo.
I run to my closet and change clothes, putting on denim shorts and a floral tank top. I fix my hair and put on some lip gloss.
I count ten minutes before going downstairs to the living room, pretending I don't know Dominic is there.
I run into Sandro on the way, which helps me look like I'm going to the living room casually.
"Are you busy, brother?" I ask, going down the stairs with him.
"No, why? Is everything alright?" he asks, looking at me.
"Yes, I was just wondering if you'd like to watch a movie with me now," I say, making puppy-dog eyes.
He laughs and ruffles my hair.
"Of course we can," Sandro says, and I sigh in relief.
Great, I already have an excuse to be in the living room.
We enter the living room discussing which movie to watch, and Sandro stops talking when he realizes we have visitors.
He smiles at Dominic, who gets up to greet us.
"Hello, Elena, it's good to see you again," Dominic says and gives me a kiss on the cheek. I feel the boys' gaze on us and know they're seething with anger.
"Yes, what brings you here?" I ask, sitting on the sofa next to Sandro, who puts his arm around my shoulder. Protective idiot.
"I'm helping your brothers with the soldiers and I came to discuss some details that were left pending," Dominic says calmly.
I give him a look of understanding and gratitude.
"Your help has been great," Sandro says, sharing my feeling of gratitude.
"I'm glad to hear that," Dominic says, turning to me. "And how have you been? I imagine it's not easy dealing with this whole situation."
I feel Sandro tense beside me and see the boys giving Dominic murderous looks, but he doesn't flinch.
He must be crazy.
“I’m learning to deal with all of this,” I say, looking into his eyes. “It’s not easy, but nothing I can’t handle.”
“Having family support is important right now,” Dominic says, pointing to my brothers. “I’ve known the boys long enough to know they’ll help you.”
I look at him for a few seconds and then at my brothers, who are surprised by Dominic’s words.
“Yes, they’ve been great to me,” I reply with a discreet smile.
“That’s good to hear,” Dominic says, standing up. “I need to check on a delivery now.”
“It’s still early,” I say, standing up and pulling Sandro with me.
“On another occasion, I’d love to stay longer, but we have a lot to take care of right now,” Dominic says. “Could you walk me to the door?”
“Sure,” I say, and we leave the room.
I feel my brothers’ gaze following our every step, but, to my surprise, none of them follow us.
I open the door for Dominic, who stops in the driveway.
"It was great to see you, angel," he says with a smile, and my face flushes.
"Likewise," I reply softly.
"Next time, I'll take you out," he says, taking my hand and kissing it tenderly.
"I doubt they'll let me," I say with a smile.
"You'll see," he says, pulling me closer.
His lips meet mine, and my body warms.
He kisses me quickly so no one sees, and then says goodbye.
"See you later, my angel," he says and turns to leave.
As soon as his car drives away, I close the door and stand there, frozen, for a few minutes, processing what happened.
I take a few deep breaths, trying to control my heart, which is beating strongly in a very pleasant way.
I decide to go to the kitchen before going to the living room, I make popcorn and use the time to calm down.
I enter the living room with a bowl of popcorn and sit next to Sandro.
I feel the boys' gaze on me, as if they were expecting an explanation.
"What?" I ask innocently.
"What was that?" Luca asks, annoyed.
"Ever heard of hospitality?" I reply in the same tone as him.
"Attitude," Luca says, and I smile at him.
"I'm not going to apologize if I have manners and you don't," I say irritably. "Now I'm going to watch my movie. If you want to stay, be quiet."
I turn to the television and look for a romantic movie to watch.
The boys remain silent, and I feel I've won this argument with them.
My mind wanders to the brief kiss Dominic gave me on the lips. What is this man doing to me?
What is this man doing to me?