Page 5 of Be With Me
I pressed my hand against the side of a polished white column. “You’re seriously telling me you’re a mafia princess?” Rafaele Messero—the man Fabi claimed was herbrother—was the don of another major mob family in the state.
Fabi’s eyes jumped to my hand. “Oh God, Mia. Are you feeling faint? Sit down.” She pulled me toward the bench by the front door. “I should have asked you to sit before I told you. I’m not thinking straight.”
I scanned my body for any signs of an impending episode.
No nausea.
No flash of heat.
No dark spots in my vision.
A small relief. Vasovagal syncope was an annoying condition to live with, and the last thing I needed right now was to spontaneously lose consciousness.
I had so many questions. “Wait, so?—"
“Shit,” Fabi cut me off, her gaze flicking to something above me. “Don’t look up. There’s a camera right there. We can’t let them see you.” She slid off the shawl she had wrapped around her shoulders and tossed it at me. “Here, take this. Wrap it around your head.”
“What? Why?”
“Because every single person your dad wants to put behind bars is out there, right this second, in my brother’s backyard,” she whispered urgently. “The name Morales isn’t exactly popular around here. How do you think they’ll react if they know his daughter is on the premises?”
My stomach bottomed out. I was on enemy territory.
Oh boy. My lack of an invitation to this party was starting to make a lot more sense.
I fumbled with the shawl, hands shaking. I’d gotten this whole thing wrong. But how could I have gotten it right?
Fabi’s family had always been a mystery. I only knew her twin sister, Elena, who went to the same boarding school, but she had her own friend group and never really hung out with us. No one had ever visited the twins at Valais Academy and there were only vague mentions of a brother. I remembered Fabi’s father died a few years ago. She’d confided that he’d been abusive to her mom, but nothing more.
Even if I’d suspected her and Elena were hiding something about their family, I would never have suspectedthis.
“Give me.” She snatched the shawl back, wrapped it over my hair, and reached into her clutch. A pair of oversized sunglasses appeared, which she promptly slid onto my face. “We need to get you inside. Now. Some people are running late, and they might arrive any second. We can’t risk anyone recognizing you. Are you okay to stand?”
“Yes.” This was exactly the kind of situation that usually triggered an episode, but it seemed like my body had decided to have mercy on me.
“Head down, don’t look at anyone, and for the love of God, do not look at the cameras. There’s the one above you and one in the lobby. Let’s go.”
Fabi corralled me through the front door, her hand pressed firmly against my back. We power walkedthrough the house. It smelled like roses and a hint of masculine cologne. I kept my gaze on the floor, watching it change from pristine marble, to hardwood, then to a plush blue rug as we entered a room and stopped.
A door clicked shut behind me.
“You can take it off now,” Fabi said.
I slipped off the shawl and the glasses and tossed them onto a four-poster bed. We were in a guest bedroom with a small window that faced the backyard.
Fabi rushed over to it and pulled the curtains closed. “I’m so sorry. I wish you didn’t have to find out like this.” When she turned around, her eyes were glistening. “The last few months were impossible, Mia. I didn’t know how to tell you. I didn’t know what you’d think.”
“Start from the beginning,“ I said, trying to stay calm.
“Hold on.” She took a buzzing phone out of her clutch and pressed it to her ear. “Yes, she’s really here. Go inside from the back, take a right, and walk until the third door. We’ll be waiting.”
As soon as she hung up, she flung herself at me. “God, I missed you. I missed you so much, you have no idea.”
I gave her back a few tentative pats. Warring emotions were battling it out inside my chest. I was hurt, confused, and a little scared. I wasn’t ready for a heartfelt reunion. I just wanted the truth.
“Can you please explain what’s been going on?”
She pulled back, her expression all guilt. “I will. Trust me, I will, if you just?—"
