Amelia
I finish packing my bags, and Joel comes to collect them. As I walk downstairs, I meet Katya halfway down.
“Be safe,” she says to me, a glint of warning in her eyes. “Don’t let Frankie get hurt by anything.”
I get her meaning. She doesn’t want me to hurt Frankie. I won’t. I plan to nothing our
relationship into oblivion until we are simply two ships passing in the night.
At least Frankie has agreed to take me to Papa’s house before we have to leave the state. I’ve
never thought he cared about me, but I do love him, and I want to say goodbye, at least.
I finish walking down the stairs, and I wait at the front door for Frankie. He comes down soon enough, followed by another guard carrying his two bags. He looks at me. “You ready?” “Ready,” I say as confidently as I can.
We walk out and go to the car. The luggage is loaded, and we leave without even saying
goodbye to the others. I wonder if the family already said their goodbyes privately. Maybe they didn’t want to draw attention to us leaving. Come to think of it. I didn’t see anyone but the two guards and Katya around.
We don’t say anything as we drive to my father’s house. He’s expecting us, so the gates are
open and shut directly after we drive in. Frankie parks the car on the side of the house, out of sight, and we get out. I lead Frankie in through the living room.
“Papa?” I call.
“In the kitchen,” he calls back.
I look at Frankie and nod for him to follow me. We walk into the kitchen where my father is
slicing tomatoes.
“Are you cooking?” I ask. “I haven’t had your home-cooked meals since I was a child.”
“Since you have to go, I wanted us to do something nice together. Mia, put the pasta on to boil.
Frankie, you help dice the vegetables.”
Frankie gives me a quizzical look, and I ask, “You do know how to, right?” “Yes,” he says gruffly before grabbing a knife and joining my father.
I get started on the pasta. It’s ready to go in the pot, so I heat some water.
My father smiles wryly. “Mia, do you know how a penguin builds his house?” he asks.
“No,” I say slowly, confused about where he is going with this.
“Igloos it together,” my father chuckles, and I shake my head. “That’s terrible, Papa.” I watch Frankie for a moment, but his expression doesn’t change.
“Well, what do you call lazy shoes?” my father asks.
I knit my eyebrows together. “I don’t know….”
“Loafers,” he laughs a little at this one, shaking his head. He nudges Frankie. “You like jokes? Mia used to love my jokes when she was little.”
“Yes,” I say. “He is the master of lame dad jokes.”
Frankie doesn’t smile, and my father and I look at each other. I snort. “Frankie, can you seriously not let loose for one moment?”
Frankie looks up at me, puzzled. “No, I just, um, this is clearly your thing.” “Do you even know any jokes?” I ask with a grin.
Frankie sighs and thinks for a moment before he says, “I can’t think because I’m afraid for the calendar.”
We look at him as he looks at me seriously and says, “Its days are number.”
I snort, and my father laughs. “That’s a good one,” my father says. “I like that one. I will have to remember it.”
Frankie smiles and nods. “Like, have you ever thought how great singing in the shower is,” he
says. “At least until you get soap in your mouth. Then it’s a soap opera.” I burst into giggles, that was a good one.
My father grins, saying, “I thought the dryer was shrinking my clothes. Turns out it was the
refrigerator the whole time.” Frankie and I laugh.
We cook dinner and exchange many jokes. I’m surprised at how funny Frankie is. He’s as
good at dad jokes as my father is.
Soon the meal is prepared, and we are sitting at the table, eating.
“Where will you go?” my father asks me.
“It’s best we don’t let many people know,” I say before Frankie can offend him. “They could
try to hurt you to find out.”
My father scoffs. “These drug lords are all the same. They want all the territories and no
responsibility. Just money. They take the easy way out, using muscle rather than negotiations. They’re smart, very smart, but they’re also impulsive. They act on their emotions, and a business cannot be run like that.”
Frankie nods. “I couldn’t agree more, though some drug lords realize the benefit of alliances.
It’s only a select few like Jose that don’t like to work with other families.”
“Pah,” my father shakes his head, “Jose has too much power to recognize his weakness.” “What’s his weakness?” Frankie asks. I look at my father carefully.
My father shakes his head. “He thinks no one can get to him because he only surrounds himself
with his family. He relies on that loyalty, but if you stay in this business long enough, you’ll eventually find out that not even family is always loyal.”
I sigh and sip my wine, setting my fork and spoon down. “Frankie, if you’re done, can you give us a moment before we have to leave?”
Frankie nods. “I’m done. I’ll wait for you in the car. Gustavo, thank you for dinner. I’ll take good care of Amelia.”
My father stands and shakes his hand, and we both watch him leave.
“Will you really not tell me where you are going first?” my father asks.
“I don’t know, he hasn’t told me, but I have to trust he will keep me safe, Papa,” I say. “It’s
one of those things you were talking about, a thing I have to accept.”
He nods his head. “This is for your own safety. It’s a sacrifice you have to make.”
I sigh. “I hope I can see you soon.”
“I know you think I didn’t care back then,” my father says, taking my hand in his, “But please try and understand, Mia, that every choice I’ve made, every path I’ve placed you on, I have done so with your best interests in my heart. I never wanted this life for you, but because of who you chose to be with, this life is the only thing that can keep you safe now.”
I nod slowly, keeping quiet for a moment before I finally admit, “I have made some terrible
choices, Papa, and I’m sorry I put you through that. Thank you for always taking care of me and for loving me, even when I didn’t love you back.”
“Oh, Mia,” he squeezes my hand. “You are my pride and joy. I will always be here for you.”
We both stand, and I rush the short distance between us and wrap my arms around him, tearing up. “I love you so much, Papa.”
“I love you too, my sweet daughter,” he says, stroking my hair. I can hear he is choking back
his own sobs. We stay like that for a moment, and then I slowly pull away.
“I should get going. We need to be out of state as soon as possible.” I squeeze his hand.
“Promise me you’ll stay strong and be safe until we see each other again.”
“I promise,” he says. “And you promise to stay safe and listen to Frankie. He knows this plan well and will be able to keep you both hidden.”
“I promise,” I say, though I’m not entirely sure I can keep that one. I kiss both his cheeks and,
with a final glance backward, leave the house and walk to where Frankie is waiting by the car.
Frankie
“I don’t get why we don’t fly out,” Amelia asks me as we join the little traffic on the freeway leaving New York.
“They can trace us easily,” I explain, keeping my eyes on the road.
“Don’t you guys have private jets?” she asks, staring out the window.
I nod. “We do, but there have to be flight logs and manifests, still easy to trace.”
“So basically, we’re going on a road trip. Can we at least have fun?” she asks, looking at me now.
“As long as we don’t draw attention to ourselves,” I say. “Though I don’t know what you’d
constitute as fun.”
“Just seeing sights and doing tourist-type things,” she explains. “Eat good food and mingle
with the locals.”
I snort. “Okay, we can do some tourist things.”
“Can I get a camera?” she asks. “So I can at least get some pictures.”
“We’ll buy you one tomorrow, though strictly cash. No swiping cards while we’re doing this.”
She reaches for the radio and turns it up. “At least there can be good music.”
I shake my head a little, but she doesn’t notice. I let her bop her head and sing to the music. I’m trying to make sure no one follows us. I know Katya and Alessandro will work on this problem until it’s solved, and we can come back home, but I can’t help but dread spending who knows how long on the road with Amelia.
My heart aches for her and I had hoped that confessing my love to her may stir some feelings,
that she would at least try to love me back. It’s clear now we’re past that point, and this will never be a loving relationship, only an amicable one.
I have always been the cool, logical one in the family, but now it’s like my wires are crossed,
and everything is short-circuiting. We may be amicable, but I will spend as little time with Amelia as I can. My heart and mind can’t take feeling this intense passion for her when she doesn’t feel it back.
It’s late when I pull into a hotel, almost eleven, and I drive the car into the underground parking. I get out and look around, keeping my hand on my gun. No one seems to be following us, which is good news.
“We’re spending the night here,” I say. “You just need your overnight bag, I guess.”
We get our bags from the car, and I carry them to the lobby of the hotel. The receptionist looks
up at me, and I can see a certain interest in her eyes. I feel nothing, though. I want Amelia to look at me like that. Once upon a time, she used to.
“Hi, how can I help?”
“Booking under Evander James,” I say. “Booked in advance.”
She types away on her keyboard. “Yes, we have room 154 ready for you, sir. If you’re not too
tired, there are many things still happening in the casino and entertainment rooms.”
I nod, though I doubt I’ll be doing anything more than sleep. She hands me the key, and I pick up the bags. “Thank you.”
While in the elevator, Amelia turns to me. “Why don’t we go gamble a little? I’m sure they have card games.”
“It’s really late, and we need to leave early,” I say simply, but she pouts.
“Frankie, don’t act like an old man, or this road tripping is going to really suck. I’m trying to
make it more enjoyable for both of us. Let’s just go down for an hour, and then we can sleep until seven and hit the road. We can grab breakfast at a gas station or something along the way.”
I consider her for a moment. I don’t want to make her miserable on this trip because I’d have
to deal with the fallout of that. I sigh deeply. “Fine, we can go down for an hour, but don’t be grumpy when the alarm goes off early in the morning.”
We check into the room, freshen up and head downstairs. I’m vigilant about our surroundings. I don’t want to be caught off guard if anything happens.
The casino isn’t Vegas standards, but it’s nice. It’s pretty full for the size of the hotel, and we
find ourselves at a poker table after I buy us chips to play with.
Amelia laughs through the game, teasing me about my poker face. I want to give her a smile every time, but I’m trying to keep my emotions in check.
At one point, she loses all her chips and drags me to the nearby bar. While I sip a beer, she dances on the small wooden dance floor, swaying to the music. My heart is thudding in my chest as I watch her. She’s so sultry. She’s so beautiful. I watch the way her body bends and curves. Trying to keep myself in check becomes that much harder.
I buy some more chips, and we try the blackjack tables next. She has a little more luck at these, but in between games, she’s dancing. “The music is great.”
Her grin sets my heart on fire, and I shake my head. “You’d dance to anything.”
“And you don’t dance at all,” she points out. “You should live a little.”
I don’t comment, but soon enough, I check my watch, and it’s one in the morning. “Come on.
We’ve been down here longer than an hour. Let’s cash in.”
She doesn’t complain or argue, which I find surprising, but she is in the middle of a fit of
giggles. I cash in my chips and take the notes handed to me. I put my hand on the small of her back out of instinct and guide her out of the casino and back toward the elevators. While we wait, she turns to me. “Why won’t you dance?”
“I don’t like dancing,” I comment as the elevator doors slide open.
We step in, and I hit the floor button. She sways to the elevator music, and I shake my head.
“You’ll dance to anything. I have proved my point.”
She smacks my arm. “Maybe you don’t know how to dance. Should I teach you?”
No! My mind screams, thinking about our bodies being indescribably close to each other, grinding and swaying. The thought is enough to get my dick hard.
I frown. “I can dance. I just choose not to.” I climb off the elevator and check the hallway
before leading her to our room. I open it, ready in case someone attacks. But the room is clear.
“I can teach you the foxtrot or the waltz,” she says with a grin as she gets her toiletries out of
her bag. “But first, I’m going to brush my teeth and then change.”
I leave her to it, pulling out what I need from my bag and waiting for my turn. She’s
surprisingly quick, and once I’m ready for bed, I find her sipping on a whiskey from the hotel bar fridge.
“Really?”
“A nightcap,” she giggles, taking a bigger sip. “You want some?”
There are twin beds in the room, a personal request from me. I sit on the opposite bed and
take the tiny bottle. I down it and toss the bottle in the trash. “We have to check out early.”
“I know, I know,” she stretches and yawns, and the shift of her breasts through her nightie is
not lost on me.
“Well, goodnight. While we’re driving tomorrow, I’ll try to find some stops we can make for
fun,” she says, sliding into her bed.
“I still have work to do,” I say, climbing into my own. “So we can’t stop at every attraction.”
“Hmm,” is all I hear from her before she dozes off. I shut my eyes and try to expel her from my
mind so that I can get a good night’s sleep too.