Corrupting the Innocent (Mafia Academy), page 20
“He doesn’t know.” I dance again.
“How can you be sure?”
“I can tell. You wouldn’t have to worry about it at this point anyway if you’d stuck to our deal.” I’m seething, remembering the devastation on Sofia’s face in the dining hall when Aurora dropped the news.
“I had to make sure you didn’t get any crazy ideas like ditching me for Sofia. You can blame yourself and the way you moon over her.” She rolls her eyes.
“I don’t want to hear her name out of your mouth anymore. Do you understand me?”
Aurora meets my gaze. “Kiss me, or I blow up your lover’s life. And you’d better sell it.”
There’s no question she’s serious. She might go down if her secret comes out and I couldn’t care less about that, but she’ll inflict as much damage as she can on her way down.
So I dip my head to hers, my stomach turning over, and bring my lips to hers. Her hand comes into my hair and it’s all wrong. These fingers have long, fake nails and I miss the feel of Sofia’s short, natural nails. The mouth is all wrong. Instead of Sofia’s pillowy lips, these feel hard and thin under mine. And the taste of her tongue makes repulsion flow through my veins like thick tar.
When I pull away from Aurora, I instinctively glance at Sofia and it’s like a bullet to the chest. She’s staring at us, eyes glistening with so much devastation on her face I want to strangle the woman in my arms for forcing me to hurt the woman I love in order to protect her.
I’ve done a lot of terrible things in my life, but somehow this feels like the worst.
34
SOFIA
I know I’ve drunk a lot, but I blink a few times to be sure I’m seeing what I think I am—Antonio and Aurora on the dance floor, kissing.
Not just kissing, making out.
It’s not like I didn’t know they’d been physical with each other—she’s pregnant, for God’s sake—but this is the first time Antonio has really returned her affection in front of me.
My hand goes to my stomach. I’m going to be sick, but I can’t stop myself from staring at them.
“Are you okay?” Mira leans in and asks me.
The bass from the song pounds in my chest, or maybe that’s my heart trying to leap out of my rib cage and commit suicide by diving onto the floor.
Antonio pulls away from Aurora and his eyes find mine.
Why?
To make sure he’s inflicted even more pain? To make sure I’ve received the message that I never really meant anything to him and he’s where he wants to be? I have no idea, but I can’t be here and bear witness to the man I’m woefully still in love with, twisting the dagger through the scar tissue on my heart.
“I have to use the bathroom,” I say to no one and everyone around me.
“I’ll come with you.” Mira grabs my hand, but I pull away.
“No, I’m fine. I’ll be right back.”
She gives me a look like she’s not sure if she should let me leave, but she has no choice as I pull away and Marcelo moves to ask her something over the music.
I’m more unsteady on my feet than I realize, and I have to work to walk in a straight line toward the entrance. The only thing that could make this night even worse would be someone from administration realizing I’m drunk.
When I make it into the hall, I don’t go into the bathroom though. I continue walking to the end and push through the double doors into the night. It’s not overly warm, but the air isn’t cold and being out of the same room as Antonio helps me feel as though I can breathe a little better.
I wander for a bit, doing my best to navigate the pathway in my inebriation until I make it to the semicircle courtyard on the other end of the school. There’s an inlaid brick patio in the center and it’s surrounded by hedges. On the other side of the hedges are a series of benches that line the greenery, and that’s where I head.
My legs are tired from walking this much in heels and I just want to sit down. When I reach the benches, I lie down on one, staring at the night sky. Stars twinkle against the black backdrop, and I wonder what it would feel like to be all the way up there. Would the pain still feel as raw and real if I were millions of light-years away?
Of course it would. No amount of distance from the source of my pain will make it go away. A part of me thinks that I’ll be carrying this agony around with me for eternity.
Tears silently stream down the sides of my face into my ears. Eventually my lids grow heavy and my breathing evens out and I pass out.
Something startles me awake and it takes me a moment to realize what it is. The sound of people arguing. I’m still lying on the bench. It sounds as if they’re on the other side of the hedge and have no idea I’m here. Should I try to creep away without them noticing or make my presence known and excuse myself?
“I don’t know what you’re getting so bent out of shape about.”
Wait… was that… is that Aurora’s voice?
“Bullshite.” The distinct Irish accent makes me stop breathing.
What is she doing out here talking to one of the Irish?
“You’re making out with him now?” he says, a clear accusation in his voice.
“We are engaged.”
“And what about us?”
I press my lips together to stop myself from making a sound. There’s an us between her and him? One of the Irish? Does Antonio know?
“I told you it was over with us last week. What didn’t you understand?” Aurora’s voice holds all the anger and disgust I’m used to hearing from her.
“So that’s it then? You’ve had yer fill and we’re done.”
It’s only now that I realize it’s Conor’s voice. Conor, who’s part of our threesome for our group project. But they acted as though they didn’t know each other. I’m so confused, the vodka from earlier still swirling through my veins and making it difficult for my brain to make the connections it needs to.
“We’ll talk when we have to, but beyond that, yeah, we’re done,” she says.
What the hell is going on?
He chuckles, but it doesn’t sound as though he finds what she said funny. “I suppose we will. I guess there’s not much left to say then, but thanks fer the fun. I’ll see you around.”
I hear his heavy footsteps head off into the night, then a grunt of frustration from Aurora before the sound of her heels clicking on the brick patio grows more and more distant.
I wait at least ten minutes before I sit up on the bench and look around. I’m alone again.
What the hell just happened?
I don’t even know how long I’ve been out here. I didn’t want to carry a purse tonight, so I didn’t bring my phone with me.
One thing is for certain, Aurora is up to no good. I mean, it’s not as if I didn’t already know that, but this is on a level that surprises even me. There’s a decision to be made… do I keep my mouth shut and stay out of it? Do I tell my best friend and let her do what she thinks is best with the information, or do I do what I know I should and tell Antonio?
He’s the highest ranking of the La Rosa family here on campus and therefore is the one I should bring the information to. If something goes down and my father finds out I had information and didn’t pass it along, he’ll be more than disappointed in me. He’d probably disown me.
“Oh my god!” My hand flies up to my mouth.
What if Antonio isn’t the father of Aurora’s baby? The conversation I overheard definitely made it sound as though she and Conor had something going on. What if Conor is the father? Would that even change anything? I mean, it could if he wanted it to. But Antonio obviously has feelings for Aurora since he was sleeping with her and lying to me about it.
I push up off the bench and start on the path in the direction of the Roma House. What I should do is clear to me, but it means being alone with the man I yearn for and can no longer have. But what if this changes everything?
One thing is for certain—sneaking around and lying brought me nothing but heartbreak. Maybe the truth will piece my heart back together.
I knock on Antonio’s door early the next morning. A restless sleep caused me to wake early and I figure most people will be sleeping late today. I don’t really want anyone spotting me going into his room.
It takes a second knock before his door swings open. He’s bleary-eyed and midyawn, wearing a pair of pajama pants. The curls on top of his head are chaotic and unruly and he blinks a few times as if he thinks I’m a mirage.
My gaze roams his muscled chest and I remember how it felt to have it pressed to my bare breasts while he thrust inside me.
“What are you doing here?” He doesn’t seem happy to see me outside his door, but I don’t really care.
I don’t wait for him to invite me in before I push past him. “We need to talk.”
He releases an exasperated sigh, then the door clicks closed. “We’ve already done that. There’s nothing left to say.”
He crosses his arms, mouth in a thin line, and widens his stance as though he’s ready for a fight. He’s fully turned on his intimidating mafioso persona, but it’s not going to stop me from saying what I came here to.
“It’s not about us. I have to tell you something I heard last night.”
With a sigh, he walks back to the bed and flops down on it, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. “Make it quick.”
I push back the hurt and start in on why I came here. “Last night when I left the dance…” Our eyes catch and hold because we both know it was due to his public make-out session with Aurora. “After I left, I wandered around outside and ended up in one of the courtyards. You know the one that has the semicircle with all the hedges around it?”
“Are you quizzing me on the geography of the campus grounds?”
My lips press together in annoyance before I continue. “Anyway, I lay down on one of the benches and I must’ve fallen asleep.”
“You mean passed out?”
I ignore him. “I woke up to two people arguing on the other side of the hedge. They had no idea I was there. It was… it was Aurora and that Conor guy we’re doing the project with in embezzlement class. The one from Dublin House.”
He doesn’t say anything, but I can tell he’s now zeroed in on what I’m saying.
“It sounded like Conor was jealous because she’d been… kissing you.” I can barely get my mouth to shape the word kissing, let alone push the words past my lips. “They sort of argued for a bit. I don’t know, it was weird.”
He stands from the bed and walks toward me. “Jesus, you’re pathetic.”
My head rocks back and my eyes sting as if he struck me. “What?” The word is barely a whisper.
“You come here making shit up about my fiancée? Are you hoping that I’ll believe you and call the wedding off and marry you?”
The derision on his face, coupled with his words, makes my knees almost give out.
He steps closer to me. “Listen, the two of us were good together in the sack, no doubt, but I was never going to be with you, let alone marry you. You need to let this little girl fantasy you have about the two of us go and move on. Stop trying to cause trouble in my relationship with Aurora. We’re having a child together. We’re going to get married.”
“But what if the baby isn’t yours?” I’m hopeful my words sink in.
Antonio rocks his head back in laughter. “Are you really that desperate? I’m telling you, Sofia, if you repeat this bullshit to anyone else, there will be consequences and you won’t like them. Do you understand me?”
The way he looks at me… it’s like he’s not the same man I allowed into my body. I don’t know this man. This version of him is one hundred percent the leader of a crime family and not my Antonio.
“Do you understand me?” he asks again through his teeth.
I nod weakly, but my own anger takes hold and turns from a small flicker of a flame into a forest fire. He can pretend all he wants that what we shared was small and insignificant, but he forgets one thing—I was there too. And I know that what we had was real, for however short of a time we had it.
“You know what, Antonio? You can lie to yourself all you want, but I know that what we shared was real. Even if it’s over now, even if you have something with Aurora, we were real. You can’t ever take that away from me. So go fuck yourself if you want to say otherwise.”
I push past him with tears in my eyes, but I refuse to let him see them fall. There’s a chance I will never really get over what I thought Antonio and I could have had if things had been different, but I’ll be damned if I let him bring me to my knees any longer.
35
ANTONIO
Sofia leaves my room in a fit of fury, leaving me with so many emotions swirling in my chest I feel as if I’m being whipped around in a tornado. A part of me is proud of her for finding her inner strength and telling me to go to hell. Another part of me just wanted to grab her by the shoulders and kiss her. And the biggest part of me wanted to confess to her that I’m not the baby’s father, but now I have an idea of who is. Not that it matters all that much—except for the part where my fiancée was fucking an Irishman and not a fellow Italian like I assumed. How did she think we’d fake an Irish baby for being mine?
Where exactly do Aurora’s loyalties lie?
I’m not sure, but I will find out.
Having to be cruel to Sofia to get her to believe my commitment to Aurora felt like ripping open a wound that hasn’t scabbed over fully, but I have to protect her. Especially now that I know Aurora is somehow in cahoots with our enemy. Who knows what she’s capable of?
But before I deal with this new piece of information, I have to get ready for my phone call with my dad. I want an update on the gun shipment. I need to know if whoever is ripping us off took the bait.
After I’ve showered and eaten, I head down to the lowest level of the Roma House and am told to go to room number nine. Once I’m inside and seated with the door closed, I dial my father’s number.
“Antonio,” he answers.
“Any word on the shipment? Did everything get in place?”
“It did, and whoever it is hijacked our shipment. It’s still on the move.”
I smile. Step one is complete. Soon we’ll know exactly who dares to fuck with us.
“Any idea where it’s headed?” I ask.
“Looks like they’ve moved it into a vehicle. It’s traveling all around, one direction, then the next. Not sure if they’re trying to take an inconspicuous route or if they think we might be tailing them and are trying to lose us. Once they’re settled somewhere for more than an hour or two, our guys will move in.”
“Who knows about this?”
“No one. Me, you, and a few people in the Costa family who helped make it happen. I won’t be informing anyone on our payroll where they’re going or what they’re doing until they’re leaving.”
“Good.”
“You still think there’s a rat?”
I sigh. “Not sure. But what I do know is that the Russians here sure don’t seem like a group of people afraid and readying themselves for retribution.”
“That could be an act.”
“Could be. But my gut tells me it’s not.”
He contemplates my words. “You’ve always had good instincts.”
I don’t say anything, but his comment fills me with pride. My father isn’t a terrible man. Sure, he’s done some terrible things and taught me to do the same, but I’ve always seen him as fair, levelheaded.
“If anything comes up before our call next Sunday that you need to know, I’ll call you.”
“How are you gonna do that? They won’t put the call through.”
My father laughs. “If I say it’s an emergency, they will. We’re one of the four founding families of that place. Who do you think helps hire and fire around there?”
“All right, well… hopefully I’ll hear from you before next Sunday. I’d like to know who’s behind this so we can figure out whether it has something to do with Leo’s death.”
“How’s Tommaso?” my father asks in a grave voice.
“Not great.”
“Hmm. Although I’m sure he wants retribution and it may help slightly, it will take time. I’ll talk to him the next visit home. Have a good week. I’ll talk to you soon. Ciao.”
He hangs up, then I set the old-school phone on the receiver.
“One problem dealt with. Now for the next one.” I push up off the chair and leave the room.
When I get into the elevator, I press the button for Aurora’s floor. Time to get to the bottom of her and that Irish prick.
My anger grows with each level the elevator ascends, and by the time I step off and stand in front of her door, her betrayal feels like a slick oil over my body I need to wash off. I bang on the door, not bothering to temper my anger. It swings open and my darling fiancée stands there, wrapped tightly in a fuzzy robe.
“Is your roommate here? We need to talk.”
She sniffs and it’s then that I realize she’s been crying. Her skin is sallow and there’re bags under her eyes.
I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose. Nothing ever comes easy with this one. “What’s wrong?”
She waves me in with another sniffle and closes the door. I step into her room and see that her roommate’s bed is made and she’s not here.
“What’s going on?” Irritation is still coloring my words, but this rare display of vulnerability from Aurora has thrown me for a loop.
“I had a miscarriage. There’s blood all over the floor in the bathroom. I felt some cramping when I was lying in bed, and by the time I got up, it was too late.”
She bursts into tears, and I do the only thing I can think of—I step forward and draw her into my arms. She shakes, clearly still in shock from the experience. The first real emotions I’ve ever felt from her.
