Total pages in book: 161
Estimated words: 151410 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 757(@200wpm)___ 606(@250wpm)___ 505(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 151410 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 757(@200wpm)___ 606(@250wpm)___ 505(@300wpm)
When Nevio and I arrived in Las Vegas in the early afternoon, I warned him again, “You need to spend the day with him until the coast is clear. I’ll give you a call when you can bring him to my place tonight.”
Nevio stared at the boy who was shaking a rattle with huge eyes and sucking quickly at his new dummy. I doubted he’d ever had a rattle before considering how mesmerized he seemed by the thing.
“What am I supposed to do with him?”
“I don’t know. Take him to a park and go on a walk with him in his stroller. I prepared his milk portions for you and put enough bottled baby food into the nursing bag to last for a week.”
“I can’t take care of him for more than a few hours, Rory, trust me.”
I gritted my teeth. “You’ve said that before, and I’ll try to get rid of everyone except for Lotta as soon as possible, but until then, your son is your responsibility. My parents are suspicious anyway. They probably think I’m about to have a mental breakdown soon.”
If things kept progressing like this, maybe I would.
He nodded slowly but I could tell he didn’t like it. He could deal with it. I hopped out of the car and walked toward the security gate of my family’s mansion. It opened when I arrived in front of it, and Nevio pulled away when Dad appeared before me.
“What’s that about?” Dad asked as he watched Nevio race away.
I gave a shrug. “I think he wants to return to the race. Or maybe he’s in the mood to kill someone. With Nevio, you never know.”
Dad narrowed his eyes at me. “What’s going on, Aurora?”
I sighed, buying time to come up with a reply. “When I helped in addiction care, I felt reminded of Nevio. He’s not addicted to drugs, but to the thrill of the kill, and I thought I could help him with it. But he’s untreatable, and I’m just sick of his antics. I want to help people who really want and need my help.”
Dad nodded, but his suspicion remained. “I could have told you that before. Nevio’s disposition is permanent and will probably make him a feared Capo one day. If he manages to control himself on occasion, maybe even a respected one. But you need to take care of yourself, not him. Your mom and I are worried. Changing plans on short notice isn’t your style, Aurora.”
“I feel like my life is up in the air. So far, every step ahead was clear, but now that I finished school, uncertainty has entered the picture. It’s difficult for me because I want to know what lies ahead, but I don’t.” It wasn’t even a lie. Nothing seemed decided yet. I wasn’t sure what I’d do in the future, but at the same time, my options were limited as the daughter of a high-ranking mobster.
Dad nodded, then he cocked an eyebrow. “We could arrange a marriage, then one thing would be certain.”
I could tell he wasn’t serious. “You would have a harder time giving my hand away in marriage than me.”
He chuckled. “True, and I don’t know any man who would be worthy of you.”
I smiled. “I suppose he would have to be a high-ranking Camorrista.”
Dad shook his head. “He would have to be a good man willing to treat you like a queen, and a Camorrista.”
“Which means I’ll never marry,” I muttered. While Nevio fit the latter to a T as future Capo, he definitely wasn’t a good man, not even by my dad’s standards, and he was worlds away from treating me like a queen.
Dad wrapped an arm around my shoulders and led me toward our house. Mom was already waiting for us in the doorway. “Your mom wants to talk to you about your move again.”
After an initial attempt to have me stay with them for a few more weeks, I got them to agree to me moving into my place today. Mostly because I pretended that Carlotta would be heartbroken if I bailed on her now.
I only had to pack my clothes and care products since the apartment was already equipped with everything else we might need. Dad entered the security code into the elevator so it started moving to the floor where Carlotta’s and my apartment was. There was only one more apartment on the floor, but it was empty. I had a feeling that wasn’t a coincidence because the apartments on all the other floors were occupied. Normalcy was difficult if your father was Enforcer for the Camorra.
Diego and Carlotta were already in the apartment when we arrived. I hugged Carlotta, excited to share the place with her, but at the same time anxiety over having to take care of Battista dimmed my excitement. Carlotta didn’t even know yet, and I could only imagine how she’d react. She regarded me closely, her eyes narrowing. “Everything okay?” she whispered.