Blurred Lines Read online

  “We need to leave baby. As soon as you wake up, we’ll be out of here. So fight whatever it is holding you under and come back to me.”

  He looked at her and felt tears in his eyes. He’d been doing a lot of that lately. It was wearing him down, the crying. That and a million other things that occupied his mind.

  “Davide, they’re here.”

  He kissed Lori’s lips then turned and followed Vinny out the door. It was time he did what he’d needed to do for a very long time. They walked down the stairs, up the long hallway and into Raffaele’s office. The three men sat round the huge table inside the office. He took his place on Raffaele’s seat and invited Vinny to take the seat on his left. He cleared his throat and faced the men.

  “You all know what Raffaele was trying to build here. What he mostly succeeded in doing – bringing all the Camorristi together and forming our very own family.”

  The four men nodded.

  “The Camorra is nowhere near as organized as the Mafia is but that was his goal and we need to see it to completion.”

  He looked around the table and all the men nodded again.

  “Now that he’s gone, the most logical thing would be for me to take over.”

  More nods.

  “I want to announce right now that I want what he started, finished. I respected his vision just like you all did and I want it honored. But I’m not the man to do it.”

  There was a collective gasp. It was almost funny how puppet like they were. But his father trusted them, and these were dangerous men, he had to remember that.

  Vinny spoke first. “So, what? You’re stepping down?”

  “Yes Vinny. They’re going to be investigating what happened at the airport. I am in no way taking the easy way out but I’ve been in Europe for too long. I ended up being the equivalent of a Consiglieri than an Underboss to Raffaele. You all know that. And this man here,” he gestured to Vinny, “was the one who saw to the day to day running of the organization under Raffaele’s guidance. In all sense and purposes, more the Underboss than the Capo that was title.”

  The men seemed speechless, so he cleared his throat and continued. “Now I don’t want to impose myself in an organization I no longer intend to be part of. So it is all up to you. It is just my suggestion that Vinny should take over.”

  The men glanced at each other and the one at the corner spoke up. “The men respect Vinny. He’s level headed and has always understood Raffaele’s vision, so if you both agree to it, I can promise you that everyone will be on board.”

  “Vinny?” Davide asked turning to face the man.

  “I’m honored Davide, truly I am. I enjoyed the last few days, as macabre as that sounds. I enjoyed seeing in you what Raffaele was so proud of. I understand why you need to do this, and though I, and I know everyone here feels the same, would much rather Raffaele’s son take over, I’m ready to do it.”

  “That’s settled then.”

  “Starting right this moment, I am no longer ‘boss’. I will warn you all that a storm is brewing. Expect a lot from Nico and the Spaniards, but I’ve seen you all in action and I know you’ll make Raffaele proud.”

  “Do you intend to stay in New York?” One of the men asked.

  “I intend to go on to live my life, wherever that may be. I honestly don’t know myself. I haven’t even had time to mourn my father, so that takes precedence.”

  “He was a great man.” Said Vinny, standing up and walking towards the shelf where Raffaele kept his decanter. He poured whiskey into five glasses and passed them on.

  “To Raffaele.” He declared.

  “To Raffaele.” They all responded each downing the whiskey.

  Davide stood up and hugged all the men and wished them luck. And when they all filed out of the office, he was left with his loneliness for company.

  Pouring more whiskey in his glass, he stared at Raffaele’s office. It was devoid of anything sentimental. Raffaele was never one to cling to memories. He only had two things he fought for – The order of the New York Camorra, and avenging Isabelle’s death. And those two were ingrained in him, he didn’t need any physical reminder in his office.

  Davide observed it all and heard a sigh escape him. He truly did not want a life so empty. He wished for something better, but knew that after all the things he’d done, all the senseless killings he’d been part of, he knew that he didn’t deserve it. That didn’t keep him from hoping.

  He abandoned the glass and walked back to Raffaele’s shelf. He pushed the decanter aside and pulled out a bottle of Raffaele’s best whiskey. He needed a clear head for what was to come. But he was so tired of not sleeping, of feeling too much… he needed to numb himself and this was the only way.

  He closed the door of the office behind him and started up the stairs.

  CHAPTER FOURTY

  Wherever You Will Go was playing again, but this time Davide was saying goodbye. He was telling me that he loved me but that to protect me, he had to go.

  I couldn’t take this. He couldn’t leave me. He couldn’t go. I wouldn’t survive without him. I didn’t want to. He kissed my hand and said his goodbye.

  No no no no no. Don’t go. Please don’t leave me. Don’t go.

  I felt the familiar pressure on my hand. He hadn’t left yet. I had to convince him to stay.

  Please don’t go.

  The pressure eased and I felt him retreat. Panicking, I opened my eyes to find myself alone in a room I couldn’t identify. Was he already gone? My breath hitched bringing with it pain in my ribs. I tried bringing up my hand to hold my ribs together, but my hand was pulled back. That’s when I felt the IV on my hand.

  Registering the beep beep beep of some sort of monitor, I turned to the glowing strange light being emitted from the machine and immediately regretted my movement. Pain shot up my head accompanied by a pounding, like a large hammer rhythmically hitting an anvil. I moaned.

  “You’re awake?”

  I startled. Now that my eyes were getting accustomed to the darkness, I could see the long figure folded onto a seat at the corner. A bottle of something hanging from a draped hand.

  “Lori?”

  Thank God! Davide was still here.

  I tried to say that but all that came out was another moan. Davide unfolded himself from the seat and came towards me swaying slightly. Was he also injured? I wanted to ask but I couldn’t seem to get my throat to work.

  “Wa- wa- water.” I croaked. I licked my lips and made a second attempt. “Water.” Much better, he heard me this time. He walked, still with that slight sway, towards a table. He filled a cup with water and brought it to me complete with a bendy straw. I took a large gulp and immediately regretted it.

  “Slowly baby.” He whispered.

  I took a small sip, then another one and finally felt human again. Well, barely.

  “How do you feel?”

  “Like I’ve been run over by a truck.”

  He squeezed my hand.

  “Can you put the light on? I need to see you.”

  He leaned over and put the switch on. I blinked rapidly, the light assaulting my eyes.

  “Should I put it off?”

  “No, it’s fine.” I looked at him then. He was still as good looking as ever, but his eyes were bloodshot. And for the first time I noticed his one arm was stiff.

  “You’re hurt?”

  He shrugged then winced.

  I gestured towards the bottle. “Whiskey?” I asked.

  “You got me.” He responded attempting a smile.

  “How long have I been here?”

  “Too long.”

  “And the office?” I’m not sure why that was my first thought. But I figured we had time to wade through the murkier waters.

  “Patrick Miller is a friend of Raffaele’s, he told the office that he’d sent you on assignment.”

  “And Raffaele is fine with him covering for me? He didn’t seem to like me last time I checked.”

  Davide win
ced.

  “What? What aren’t you telling me?”

  “He’s dead.”

  “What?!” I shouted almost dislodging the IV and again regretting the move immediately.

  “I’ll tell you all about it, but I have to call the doctor to check on you, then we need to go.”

  I kept quiet not sure where to begin.

  “I know you probably don’t want to leave with me but there’s so much I need to tell you and I can’t do it here.”

  “Okay,” I said.

  “Okay?”

  “Yeah.”

  Davide looked visibly relieved. He took a cellphone from his pocket and dialed.

  “Luca? She’s awake.”

  Pause.

  “Alright, see you soon.”

  He came towards me and sat on a seat next to me. “He’ll be here soon then we’ll leave.”

  He didn’t speak again, just kept rubbing my hand. And I didn’t have the energy to say anything. And even if I’d had any, I wasn’t sure what to say. So we sat and waited. Our breaths and sighs mingling together.

  The doctor arrived shortly after and spent the next fifteen minutes checking on me.

  “She’s recovered well but you need to make sure she takes it easy the next couple of weeks. Here are some painkillers and some salves for the bruises,” he said to Davide, as if I wasn’t lying there. In fact, he hadn’t acknowledged me at all. Just went on his business of poking and prodding me.

  “Want a check up on the arm?”

  “No it’s fine,” Davide said, then thanked him and he left.

  Pouring some more water in a cup, he brought it to me. “We need to discuss where to go immediately. The police will be here sometime tomorrow. They have a search warrant for the house.”

  “What are they looking for? Why the warrant?”

  “It’s a long story Lori but there’ve been too many deaths between Nico’s men and Raffaele’s so they’re investigating”

  That’s when it hit me. I immediately froze. “And Hector?”

  Davide looked at me straight in the eye. “Dead.”

  “Murdered?”

  He didn’t answer. I looked at him closely and I knew. God. Was I ready to go on the run? Was I willing to follow him anywhere?

  “I only need one answer, then I’ll decide whether I want to come with you.”

  He visibly held his breath.

  “I don’t know how this works but with both Hector and Raffaele dead, does that mean you’re head of two gangs?”

  He blew out the breath he’d been holding. “There’s already somebody heading the Camorra here. As Raffaele’s second in command I would have been the natural leader but I bowed out.”

  “So you’ll go back to Barcelona?”

  “That’s two questions,” he said attempting a smile and ending up with a pained wince instead. I didn’t say anything, just looked at him waiting for an answer. He sighed.

  “No. I can’t go back to Barcelona. Didn’t want to in the first place. Can’t even if I wanted to.”

  “So what do you plan to do?”

  “Be with you if you’ll let me.”

  I was quiet. I wasn’t sure what I would ‘let’ him do. This was too much for me. Too much too soon.

  “We’re running out of time Lori.”

  “And if I was to go back to Brooklyn? To my life? I no longer have to be afraid of Hector, so I could. Right?”

  He didn’t answer.

  “Right?”

  “You could choose to stay here. You could choose go back to your life. You could choose to do anything you want to do. But I want you, no I’m begging you to choose me. I’m no longer in that life Lori. I just want you.”

  I looked at him. He seemed so sincere but I would be an idiot not to think about it some more.

  “You’ll pack our things and we’ll go to Kentucky. We’ll both stay at my mother’s house. But you have to give me time to think about this Davide. You can’t expect me to change my entire life. If I decide not to go with you then you’ll have to leave me in Kentucky.”

  He nodded. “I’ll call Vinny and we’ll leave in half an hour.”

  I was crazy. I hoped to God I wasn’t dragging my mum into hell with me.

  CHAPTER FOURTY - ONE

  An hour later and we were leaving the house. Davide had underestimated the time it would take to clear out the medical stuff in the house and sweep the house of any traces of both him and me. But finally, at 3am, we left the house in Queens and headed straight to Newark. Patrick Miller had offered his jet to fly us to the Georgetown-Scott County Airport.

  On our way there I’d called my mom to inform her that I was coming home. I knew she thought the hour strange, and the fact that I’d be bringing home a man, stranger, but I trusted her implicitly. I worried about her seeing my bruises but she would wait until I told her everything. She had the patience of a saint and that had always been her style.

  The journey home was quiet. Davide and I didn’t speak other than his constant checking on me. I was so worried about what he would tell me and how I would react that I decided to postpone it as much as possible. Once in Georgetown, we headed straight to my mother’s house which she shared with my grandmother.

  Gran was asleep when we arrived but mom was there to welcome us. I could tell she was taken aback by both our appearances. Mine for the bruises and Davide for that face that took all women’s breaths away. We settled in and I promised to talk to her after we’d all gotten some sleep. As was her style, she agreed, but I didn’t miss the worried look on her face.

  Davide and I would be sharing my old room. It wasn’t a good idea but my mom didn’t earn much from her teaching job and we’d never had much other than our three bedroomed house and each other. At least I had a couch in my room where Davide would sleep while I took the bed.

  I went straight to the bathroom and showered with some effort. I could hardly hold myself up, but I let the water run down my body. I then dressed in some old pajamas and headed out of the bathroom. Davide was standing right at the door.

  “I had to make sure you’d be alright,” he said quietly watching me make my way towards my bed. I didn’t say a word.

  “Lori – “

  “Not now Davide. I’m exhausted, both mentally and physically. Anything that has to be said will have to wait.”

  Davide nodded, his face so sad I almost broke my resolve. He took some stuff from his suitcase and made his way to the bathroom. I heard the shower start up and the sound somehow lulled me to sleep.

  ***

  The next day, at around midday, I was woken up by Davide. I opened my eyes to see his gorgeous ones an inch from mine.

  “I know you’re tired but you need to eat something and take your meds.”

  He’d already brought in a tray with scrambled eggs, bacon and juice. I gobbled it all up in record time all the while wondering what sort of conversation he’d had with my mom while preparing breakfast. Hoping his discretion had won out over her inquiring gaze. When I was little she just had to direct that no nonsense gaze at me and I would spill out all my indiscretions. It’s what made her such a good High School teacher.

  I took the small glass of water he’d brought in and took my pills. He then went to his suitcase and brought out of the tubes of salve that the doctor had given him. I was weirdly conscious of his eyes on me and that I wasn’t wearing much. So I went straight to the bathroom, brushed my teeth, showered, then applied the salve.

  Coming back to bed, I found him fighting a smile.

  “What?”

  “You were humming something in there.”

  Shit. Of course I was. I’d showered for so long playing the same song over and over that it was somehow engrained in me.

  “I like the song.”

  “I sent you the song.”

  A thought occurred to me. “Did you play it when I was unconscious?”

  “All the time. On rewind.”

  “I heard it.” I smiled then clear
ed my throat. “I remember sending you a song as well, so care to heed it and tell me what the hell went on?”

  He sobered up immediately. I settled down on the bed and watched him sit on the couch he’d slept on. It was weird to have him in my room, with the pink walls and the faded posters of Hanson and The Spice Girls. But I felt comforted surrounded by the familiar. As if it would guard me from what he was about to tell me.

  “Alright.” He sighed. “The last time I told you everything you left me then got kidnapped.”

  “I’m going nowhere Davide and I need to know everything if I’m going to make an informed decision.”

  He sighed again. “I love you Lori. I still do and I always will. I just want you to know that before I say anything else.”

  I nodded trying to look unaffected but with emotions churning inside me. Mostly happy ones. He loved me.

  “When I left your house I was followed and when I tried calling you to warn you, you didn’t pick up.”

  “The phone rang right after the doorbell so I thought you’d come back.”

  He lowered his head and rubbed his neck. It was so weird to want to hear so much, to hear the truth. Yet not want it at all. Want to jump in his arms and tell him that I loved him anyway. Despite it all. That we could start over and forget the past. But that was the cowardly way out. I had to hear it all.

  “I came back to find you gone. With Raffaele’s help, I found out about Nico’s properties in Jersey and Brooklyn. I miscalculated and went to Jersey instead but you weren’t there. So I went back to Brooklyn right in time to see them moving you to the house in Hoyt. It was pure luck, how we’d found out about Hoyt. We might not have made it.” His voice cracked and he looked at me.

  ***

  Sometime later Davide had told me everything that had happened in his attempt to save me. All down to him bringing me to Raffaele’s home in Queens. I kept quiet the entire time. I was happy with what he’d done. Maybe even a little more in love with him if that was even possible. He’d risked his life to save me. I decided to ignore the fact that if I had not met him, I wouldn’t have been at risk in the first place.