Amelia
As angry as I am with Frankie for his stubbornness and possessiveness, I can’t help but feel a bit speechless. There’s a sense of understanding that comes to me.
He had wanted to protect me from his family, from the life that they lived.
This was such a Frankie thing to do, to make a decision for me without actually speaking to me. Only he would think he and he alone could make the best possible decision for me. For anyone, in fact.
After the brief conversation over dinner, I feel awkward. I have a burning desire inside of me.
He chose to protect me, but that’s no longer an option. I’m part of the family now, I’m in this
world, and he needs to accept it.
He takes the dishes to the sink to begin washing up, and I go over to help-a peace offering. I dry the dishes while he washes them.
I can’t stop replaying the notion in my head that he didn’t leave me because he didn’t love me. He didn’t break my heart because he didn’t care. He left me because he loved me and wanted to keep me safe. He sacrificed so he wouldn’t lose me to something worse. I set the bowl down and say softly, “Frankie.” He glances at me. “What?” he says gruffly.
“Do you honestly care about me?” I ask softly, looking at him. He pauses, washes the cutlery, and shakes his head. “I told you how I feel about you, Amelia. You’ve made it clear how you feel about me.”
“I don’t want you to love me like I’m a possession, Frankie,” I continue, my voice steady but quiet. “I want you to love me for who I am.”
“You think I don’t?” Frankie rounds on me, but it’s not anger I see in his eyes. It’s hurt. “I love everything about you. The way you pick at your nails when you’re nervous or fling your curls over your shoulder when you’re trying to make a point. I love the bounce you have in your walk when there’s music playing, and I love how fiery and rebellious you can be. I hate that you challenge me, but dammit, Amelia, I love it about you. You constantly confuse the fuck out of me because I don’t know what you want, but I’ve told you before, and I’m telling you again now that I would have given you the world.”
I look up at him wide-eyed. I believe him. I believe he’s being sincere, and I feel my heart
bursting.
“But” he continues, “I told you in the hotel, either you come to me, and you’re mine, or you
walk away, and we don’t talk about this again. So why are we talking about this again if you don’t feel the same way? Why are you trying to torture me?”
I can feel tears prickling my eyes. “I don’t want to torture you, Frankie. I just don’t want
another broken heart. I loved you from the first time we were together. I loved everything about you. I didn’t care about your family or what you did. It was you I loved. I still love you.”
His eyes widen, but I don’t let him speak. “But you broke me, Frankie. I thought you left me
because I wasn’t good enough, and I settled for so much less every time after that. I did that because I couldn’t have what I knew belonged with me. I hate that you’re annoying and so uptight and want to control my every move, but when I’m not with you, I feel like my chest is closed, and I’m gasping for air like a fish out of water.”
I start to cry and hold my hand up. “I didn’t go to you in the hotel because I know, if it comes
to that again, if you walk away from me, I will die, Frankie. I cannot survive you leaving me again.”
Frankie doesn’t even dry his hands as he pulls me to him, my head on his chest, and he holds
me. We stand there in silence, my tiny body shivering against his as I cry. I can feel he’s shaking, too, as he strokes my hair softly.
“I never meant to hurt you, Amelia. I meant to protect you,” he says softly. He pulls away from
me, and instantly, I miss his warmth. “And I swear I will never do anything, ever, to hurt you again.”
I wipe my eyes and nod. “Can we…can we just take this slow?” I ask. “Try and be together again?”
He smiles softly. “Yes, I’d like that very much. Does me cooking dinner count as our first date then?”
I grin and giggle and punch his arm. “Finish the dishes, but yes. That was a nice first date.”
We’re in high spirits now as he passes me dishes to dry. Afterward, we pack them up together, and I drag him to the living room and sit him down. He looks at me curiously. “I found something in the cabin.” I declare, running off to a cupboard and pulling out a game of monopoly.
He raises an eyebrow. “You want to play a board game?”
“If we’re staying here until your meeting with Andres, then yes, I want to play board games and watch movies and read together,” I say, grinning. “Are you going to give me what I want?”
“I did say I always will,” he promises, opening the box and helping me set up the game.
I get us each a glass of wine, and we start playing. “I’d like to point out,” I say, “that you have an unfair advantage because you’re used to working with money.”
“It says I have to go to jail,” he holds up a card. “Who do I pay to stay out of jail?”
I laugh, and it feels like a genuinely good laugh. “This isn’t Mafia-opoly. You go to jail until you pay your bail or throw a double.”
He pouts. “I would never go to jail in real life. How is real life helping me win.”
I grin and throw the dice. “Yes! I am so buying this property!”
I count out the money, and he crinkles his nose. “It’s a cheap property. Are you sure you want
it?”
“Why wouldn’t I?” I ask him suspiciously.
“I could buy it from you,” he offers.
“No!” I yell. “No, I’m keeping it because you’re up to something.”
It’s a fun night, and we stay up very late. He beats me at monopoly, although I claim he cheats. We pack up everything, and he walks me to my room. I look up at him, and he shakes his head. “We’re doing this the right way, nice and slowly.”
“I’m glad,” I say softly. “It’ll make us stronger together.”
“Alessandro and Katya will have nothing on us,” he grins. “We’ll show them what a power
couple looks like.”
I stand on my toes. “I don’t care as long as we’re together.”
I kiss him softly, and he returns the gentle kiss, and we leave it at that. Nothing more than a soft kiss before he whispers, “goodnight, sweet dreams,” and goes to his room down the hallway.
I bounce into my room, and before I do anything else, I squeal and throw myself onto my bed. I
haven’t felt this happy since when we were first together. I feel like I can fly higher than any bird and swim faster than any fish. My whole world is a kaleidoscope of color, and he’s the light shining through that brings the patterns together.
I get up to get showered and changed and then collapse back into bed with the biggest smile
on my face, and I know this is going to be the best night’s rest I’ve had in a long, long time.
Frankie
I have guards everywhere I can possibly think to place them, and Amelia is by my side. I wait
patiently with a file on Andres in front of me. Alessandro confirmed he is an outcast from the family, that there are problems within the family and that everything Andres said is true. He’s given me the go-ahead to negotiate as needed.
I keep a calm, cold disposition as the young man walks in. He’s tall and does bear a resemblance to Dave, but I don’t let any emotion cross my face.
I glance down at the file. People within The Catalans are dissatisfied with how Jose’s handling things. Some are greedy, while others are previously loyal members he’s mistreated and betrayed or whose loved ones he’s murdered.
I stand and hold out my hand, giving Andres a firm handshake, “Andres, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Francesco. I believe you have a proposition for me.”
We both sit down as he says, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Francesco. May I call you Frankie?
It’s how I know you.”
I give a slight nod, and he continues, “Thank you for meeting with me. I know you have no
reason to trust me. I respect that you are still hearing me out.”
I don’t let emotion cross my face, this is purely business, and I don’t want to give him any ammunition against me. “Amelia says that you have a solution for my problem. My problem is that your uncle wants me dead. Am I to believe you want your uncle dead?”
Andres nods. “He murdered my father and one of my brothers in cold blood before we were banished from Columbia. I say banished, but we fled with what few things we could to get to the States and away from him. He hasn’t hunted us since, but we’re not welcome back. But first, let me apologize for my brother.”
He shuffles in his seat. “We’re not raised to treat women like he does, but he has always been the black sheep of our family. Mollycoddled more than anyone else, and he thinks he can do as he pleases. I am nothing like my brother. I am about business. I have logic and understand that some things happen, and you must let them go. There won’t be a repeat of this behavior from me.”
I incline my head. “It’s good to know, though I’d prefer your actions to show me that, but thank you for your words.”
“I will show you everything I am capable of, and I will have no doubt you’ll see my intentions
are as I speak. Like with most families, the Catalans have subsidiaries, and they are not happy with what Jose is doing with the family. That expands outside of the family to other territories in other countries. Jose is currently holed up in Mexico with an extended family that protects him like guard dogs in a yard, so infiltrating Mexico will be my final step. What I need is a way into Argentina. There is a lot of unrest there. Many people are unhappy with Jose, and I know I can get them to form an alliance with me and with your family to overthrow Jose.”
I lean back slightly. “Argentina, you say?”
“Yes, it’s far enough away from Jose that I can operate right under his nose. I will work my
way in from there.”
“It’s a good plan,” I say. “And you plan to use our name in this? To say you have the backing of the Sorvino family?”
“It will sway many people by knowing a powerful family is on their side,” Andres says.
“You’ve been thinking about this for a while,” I say. “You clearly know what it is you have to do.”
Andres nods. “I’ve been dreaming of knocking Jose off his pedestal ever since we fled to America. The man has no loyalty to his followers and doesn’t know how to treat those that work for him. I’ve seen the traditional Irish and Italian families in America and how they work, and I want to bring that into my family.”
“So, you’re going to get your alliances and then play your move on, Jose? That could take
some time,” I say.
“I know it’s not an immediate solution to your problem, but it will be permanent once it’s done. Once we make our first move, Jose’s attention will be withdrawn from the States and back to South America and the various families he’s scorned. He’ll want to regain control, and I’m hoping to attack from enough sides that he won’t know where to move first.” “And once this is done? What then?” I ask.
“What do you mean?” Andres asks back.
“Say I do this for you, I give you what you need and throw my family into this war. What happens once Jose is gone and you reign as Don Catalan?”
Andres looks straight into my eyes. “The alliance won’t wane because I win. I remember
those that are loyal to me.”
“I want more than that.” I sit forward. “I want a formal alliance between our families and you to withdraw all Catalan influence in New York. Leave my territory. I don’t care where else you go.”
Andres falls silent. New York is a big bargaining chip, but I need to place our family in power. “Do we have a deal?”
“Yes,” Andres says, reaching out his hand. I shake it.
“I’ll get you into Argentina, and you can have access to my contacts that can move you around without Jose being aware, but if you cross me…there is nowhere you can hide that I won’t find you.”
Andres nods. “Understood.”
I stand, and he also stands. “I’ll have my family contact you about the arrangements. For now, I also expect that if you hear of any plots against my family from the Catalans that we will be warned in advance?”
“Of course, if my family here in America needs protection, they will be provided for?”
“Of course,” I say. “A man by the name of Joel will contact you. He will help you get what you need.”
Andres nods and turns to leave. I watch him exit and sit back down. Amelia, who has not said
one word, steps forward. “And? Do you trust him?”
“I think we can, for now. Though I never throw all my trust at a person until their actions have spoken for themselves.”
“This could work, though, right?” she asks hopefully.
“It could. He seems to know what he’s doing, so it’s not just a power play from a jealous kid. Revenge is an excellent motivator for many circumstances. If it gets them to leave New York as well, that will be a big bonus.”
“Can you really get him to Argentina without detection?”
“His uncle’s men haven’t found us yet, have they?” I ask. “Despite your best efforts.”
She blushes slightly and nods. “You’re right. They haven’t.”
“Though we should leave now, we’ve lingered here too long.” I stand. “Don’t worry. We’ll
get him there; hopefully, he keeps his word.”
Amelia beams at me. “Thank you for listening to me and trusting me.”
I smile down at her. “I’ll try my best to listen to you in the future. Now I need to call the key
player in all of this.”
Amelia looks at me confused, and I smile mischievously. “Oh, you don’t know, do you? There’s only one person suited to get him in, around, and out of South America?” “Joel?” she asks hesitantly.
“No, Dom,” I say, taking out my phone and dialing his number.