Page 2 of Saved By A God
Adriano presses a kiss to the top of my head. “Why?”
“Because everyone keeps acting like being a capo is no big deal.” I gesture toward the men scattered around the veranda and backyard. “You guys make it look easy.”
When Adriano lets out a soft chuckle, I scowl at him. “I’m serious.” My eyes drift toward Enzo and Christiano again. “I can spend hours in front of a computer without blinking. I can find people, track money, monitor communications, break into systems, and build better security than half the governments in the world.”
“Only half?”
I roll my eyes at him before continuing. “But being a capo isn’t just computers.”
“No, it isn’t,” he agrees.
“It’s being out there that scares me,” I admit, a vulnerable tone to my voice. I pull back so I can look at Adriano, who has a pensive expression on his face. “Every time I leave a damn meeting, I feel sick.”
“Why?”
“Because the people sitting around those tables with us aren’t normal criminals.” I lower my voice. “Some of them are monsters.”
Adriano doesn’t argue.
“I’ve spent my whole life looking at information on a screen. That’s different. I can disconnect from it. Close a file. Shut downa monitor.” My stomach tightens with apprehension regarding the future. “I don’t know if I can sit across from someone who sells drugs to kids and act like I’m not disgusted.”
A muscle jumps in Adriano’s jaw, but he doesn’t interrupt me.
My eyebrows pull together as I admit, “I don’t know if I can shake hands with men who traffic people. Or smile through a meeting while listening to monsters talk about things that should make anyone sick.” The air suddenly feels much colder, and I rub my hands up and down my arms. “Half the time I walk into those meetings, all I can think is that I want to go home, take a bath in acid, and lock myself in my bedroom.”
Adriano lets out a slow breath, surprisingly being very patient tonight, so I keep going, “I watch you, Christiano, Georgi, and Augusto walk into dangerous situations like it’s any other Tuesday.” I shake my head. “You meet with rival organizations. You negotiate with people who’d kill you if they thought they could get away with it. You walk into rooms knowing there are armed men on the other side of the door.”
Adriano lets out a heavy breath. “That’s part of the job, Rosie.”
“Exactly.” I throw my hands in the air. “And I hate that part.” I glance at the gun at his waist. “If something goes wrong, your instinct is to move toward the danger. Mine is to run in the opposite direction.”
Adriano’s arm tightens around my shoulders. “Kid, nobody likes those meetings. None of us walks into a room full of depraved assholes, thinking it’s going to be fun and easy.” He nods toward the other capos. “The difference is that we’ve been doing it for years. We were all uncertain in the beginning.” He locks eyes with me before saying, “The day you stop being disgusted by people like that is the day you should worry.”
“Yeah, and what do I do about the fear part?”
“You trust us to keep you safe.” He leans a little closer while wrapping his fingers around the back of my neck. “Trust meto keep you safe.”
My gaze searches his before I whisper, “I know you’ll keep me physically safe, but what about the mental part? What if we attend a meeting and I have to watch as victims are paraded for sale, or someone is killed?”
“Shit like that doesn’t happen often, Rosie.” He moves his hand to my face and cups my cheek, and I lean into the comforting touch. “Stop overthinking everything. You’re going to be fine, and I’ll be there every step of the way. Got it?”
“Yeah,” I mumble while relaxing against his side, and Adriano hugs me tightly, making me feel better.
Movement catches my eye, and seeing my best friend signaling to me to come into the house, I say, “Gianna’s here. Thanks for listening to me.”
While I get up from the outdoor sofa, Adriano gives me a rare smile. “Always. Stop worrying and go have some fun.”
I quickly walk into the house and follow Gianna to the kitchen. Before I can ask where she’s been, she grabs my hand and says, “First things first. You look so pretty in that dress.”
Seeing excitement all over her face, I ignore the compliment and ask, “What took you so long?”
She drags me around the side of the island and tugs me down to sit on the floor. “Guess what just happened.”
From the happiness that’s shining in her eyes, it’s easy. “Riccardo finally proposed.”
She shoves my shoulder before letting out a happy shriek while nodding like a crazy person.
“Yessss!” I grab hold of my friend, hugging the crap out of her.
