Don’t Let Go

16. Aurora

16

Aurora

Mamma kissed the crown of my head before we walked into the warehouse where the meeting took place. Once inside, we split ways. She wandered over to Cindi, Chloe’s mother, and I headed for Chloe over by the drink table when Paolo intervened.

“I heard about your last-minute assignment with your mamma. Was the scene extra bloody?” Paolo had this mischievous grin glued to his face. If I didn’t know any better, Paolo strived to be a future Dexter or BTK killer.

“Just a dead girl in a pool. Nothing too crazy.”

“She topless?” He wiggled his eyebrows.

Lord, why did he have to be so charming in the beginning? Why is this my life now?

“No. She wasn’t,” I said sharply.

“I’m teasing ya.” He hit my arm, laughing. “Let’s go grab our seats. It’s about to begin.”

Paolo linked his arm with mine and dragged me deeper into the warehouse. I hadn’t had a moment to take everything in since Paolo stole my entire line of sight once I stepped inside. The place looked nice, almost like an AA meeting if they held them on the down low. There were about thirty chairs lined in perfect rows of five facing a wooden podium. In the back was a table with drinks and finger foods.

If Paolo was still a gentleman, maybe he would’ve asked if I cared for anything before dragging me to my seat.

To my dismay, we walked around the chairs and sat in the middle of the front row.

Why do we have to sit in the front for this meeting? My heart leaped into my throat, my stomach dropped to my feet, and my hands were slippery from sweating.

Paolo released my arm when two men in white suits stood in our path. They both had similar features: dark, short hair slicked back, clean-shaven faces with sharp chins, and the kind of build and height that had intimidation written all over it. These were the guys who worked at the secret clubs that dealt in all kinds of illegal activities. One hard look from them, and you knew they wouldn’t hesitate to put a bullet in your skull. These kinds of guys shot first and never asked questions later.

The two, I assumed assassins, fist-bumped Paolo. “Hey, cuz. It’s been a while. How are you?” The guy on the left asked. He had a spider tattoo on his neck, and he kept eyeing me.

Paolo flashed a sinister grin. “Sono fantastico.” He nudged my shoulder, “This is my girl, Aurora. Aurora, these are my cousins from Italy.” He pointed to the cousin who just spoke. “This is Vincenzo.” Paolo then motioned toward the more silent of the two, who had on a wife-beater tee showing off his chest tattoo with a sword in a skull with the words “morte prima del disonore” scrolled above. “This is Marcos.”

Italy? Why is family from Italy here? Had something gone wrong within the organization, or were they here for a surprise visit?

“Nice to meet you,” I said, forcing myself to smile pretty.

They nodded. Vincenzo was about to speak again when an older gentleman pounded a gavel on the podium. “Everyone, sit. We need to get this meeting started.”

The two cousins sat in the front row next to Paolo and I sat on the end. Paolo held my hand on his lap. If I didn’t know any better, he was using me as some kind of trophy.

People found their way to their seats and quieted down so the meeting could finally begin. The man at the podium was the right-hand man of the mob boss, Mr. Dickson. His first name was a mystery to most people. His black hair was highlighted with silver, and his face had some whiskers from missing a few days of shaving. His dark eyes roamed the room before briefly stopping on me. My heart stopped for a few seconds.

“As you may remember, we played a part in securing James Winston’s senate seat. He may not have agreed on everything we wanted or accepted our money for his upcoming grab at the presidency, but he was still important to our organization. Unfortunately, he died recently, and it was no accident. The man wasn’t a big seafood fan. Therefore, dying by consuming blowfish is an outrageous cause of death.”

My blood ran cold. It wasn’t a mistake by whoever prepared the fish? Was the senator murdered? I squeezed Paolo’s hand too tightly, making him wince and hiss in pain for me to stop.

At least I got my hand back. I dug my nails into my thighs as Mr. Dickson continued.

“Senator Winston was set up. Many of you knew his late wife, Sarah, was with the family. She was loyal and made the best homemade chocolate chip cookies.”

A few people in the audience mumbled in agreement.

“We’ve been investigating their cause of death, and at first, we thought it was the Russians.” The room filled with whispers. Mr. Dickson slammed his gavel, silencing them again. “Like I was saying, we believed it was the Russians since they’ve been moving to Phoenix in waves, but it has come to my attention that the culprit is closer to home than we thought.” Mr. Dickson motioned toward Big Joe to stand by him. I didn’t notice before, but Big Joe had someone handcuffed with a burlap bag over his head as they stood to the side in the dim lighting.

“Here we have Jacob R. Anderson.” Mr. Dickson motioned toward the man with the bag on his head. With a nod from Mr. Dickson, Big Joe took off the hood. Jacob squinted at us as his eyes got used to the lights.

Some people in the crowd whispered a couple of words, more confused than anything else.

Big Joe kept a firm hand on Jacob’s shoulder, making him wince in pain.

“Mr. Anderson here should look familiar.”

He did, but I couldn’t place him.

Mr. Dickson fixed his tie and continued, “He was Senator Winston’s public relations coordinator. Go ahead and tell us what you’re guilty of.”

Jacob gulped, licking his lips before saying, “I poisoned Sarah last year thinking with her gone the senator would be more in the family's pocket. But he grew suspicious of his wife’s death, and before he learned the truth I—” Jacob’s eyes felt like they were burning into me. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Paolo make a slicing motion over his throat.

The cold, dead look in Paolo’s eyes sent a shudder down my spine. Jacob wasn’t looking at me. He looked at Paolo for a clue as to what to say next.

“I—” Jacob said again, clearing his throat. “I poisoned him with the blowfish. He ordered a steak that night, and I ordered salmon, but I had hidden blowfish in the freezer. I dosed his steak with the toxin and switched his food once I knew he was deceased. That’s when I called 911 and acted like it was a horrible mistake.”

A few people in the audience grumbled and cursed under their breath. Killing someone isn’t unheard of in the mob, but doing it in cold blood is another story. Most look someone in the eye before taking their life.

“Excuse me,” a woman cut in. I knew it was my mamma with her you’re-in-trouble-tone. "You killed Sarah with Lily of the Valley if I remember her autopsy correctly.”

Jacob looked at his shoes. “Yes. I gave her small doses in her tea so her death appeared natural.”

Mamma walked closer to the podium. “I knew heart failure wasn't her COD. You paid off the pathologist to lie, didn't you?" Her tone grew more impatient. Jacob didn’t know who he was up against.

Jacob’s eyes slid over to Paolo before falling back to his feet. “Yes. I killed Sarah and then James on my own accord. I felt he was getting too close to knowing the truth about his wife and would become a problem.”

Mamma had her hands on her hips now. “You had no issue making their only son an orphan?”

Jacob remained quiet with his head hung low.

Tyler's papà was murdered at the hands of his staff. Was Tyler in danger? Would he bring trouble to our doorstep?

Mr. Dickson stared down his long nose at my mamma. “Thank you, Sofia. We’ll take care of Jacob here.” Mr. Dickson nodded toward Big Joe, who put the bag back on Jacob’s head. “This meeting was to update you all about the senator. He might’ve been slow on what we wanted him to pass, but there wasn’t a need to kill him or his wife. Be advised to never take matters into your own hands. The only thing worse than being a rat is not following orders, do you understand?”

The crowd echoed in agreement.

Mr. Dickson nodded, happy with their answers. “Excellent. We’re finished here. Have a nice night.”

People stood. Their voices rushed into my ears like a roar of water. I felt like a rug was pulled out from under me. Both of Tyler’s parents were murdered, and he had no idea. Now, he was crashing with us. How could I look at him and not spill this? I saw the pain in his eyes about the loss of his papà. We both felt that pain.

Paolo took my hands and forced me up like I was some kind of life-size doll he could control. “Crazy shit going on, right?”

“Mmm-hmm,” was the only response I could manage in my state of shock.

Why did Jacob keep looking at Paolo as if he answered to him? How out of the loop was I?

Mamma came over to us, putting her hands on my shoulders. She opened her mouth to say something when Mr. Dickson came to join us. “Are you sure you want to keep Tyler under your roof? I could find someone else to—”

Mamma linked her arm with mine. “It’s fine. He’s already settled in. I’d hate to send him somewhere else after everything he’s been through already.”

Mr. Dickson nodded and then looked at me. “My, Aurora, how you’ve blossomed into a bella signorina.”

My mask of politeness slipped on with my fake-painted smile tugging my lips upward. “Thank you.”

“You and Paolo are a wonderful couple. I know Stefano loves seeing pictures of you two together.” He winked at me before excusing himself.

A cold sweat broke over my flesh at the mention of the mob boss’s name. It wasn’t good he liked me with Paolo. That meant I wasn’t under the radar. I had a giant red target on my back, and they were looking for ways to get me closer into the fold.

“We should get going,” Mamma said, attempting to tear me away from Paolo.

His arm snaked around my waist. “I can take her home. We had plans to hang out afterward.”

Now I knew what the rope in a tug of war felt like. Paolo and my mamma stared at each other, neither wanting to back down.

I sighed, crumbling to my fate. “I’ll go with Paolo. It’s fine, Mamma. I’ll see you later.”

She lost her hold on me. Her eyes bore into my soul. “Are you sure?” She was giving me a get-out-of-jail-free card. I knew I had to go with him. If I didn’t appease Paolo tonight, he’d have built up resentment toward me and become more aggressive at a later date.

My false smile twisted my lips again. “Yes. Thanks. I love you.”

She kissed my cheek. “I love you too, fiore mio.” After too long of a look, she left with Chloe and Cindi.

Chloe waved at me and flipped Paolo the bird when his head was turned.

“Finally, I got you to myself,” Paolo whispered. His warm breath on my neck made my stomach ache.

Paolo wrapped his arm around my hips and walked me outside to his silver Porsche convertible.

Paolo’s parents were away on business. He had the entire house to himself. Lucky me.

Sometimes, I couldn’t believe I lost my virginity to this monster. The first time we had sex, he was sweet. He wore a condom and kept asking if I was okay. It hurt, and I was sore afterward, but it felt like we were close. Like maybe Paolo loved me.

Now, sex was something to feed Paolo’s ego. He didn’t care about anything other than his own pleasure.

He took me to his bedroom and undressed me with his eager hands. Once nude, his fingers inched down my back toward my ass. My skin burned as if acid were slowly eating away at my skin.

Paolo sucked on my earlobe. I forgot to put my earrings back in. I instantly scolded myself to remember to keep my silver hoops in so he couldn’t do that anymore.

The cold, satin sheets on the bed twisted around my legs as I fell onto the mattress with Paolo on top of me. I slipped away from myself into a pit of darkness as he amused himself with my body. As he had his way with me, a piece of me broke inside. Soon, there’d be nothing left but jagged edges. Maybe a part of me will always be dead. At least I had tomorrow to look forward to, unlike that blonde girl face down in the pool.

I bit my lip to keep myself from screaming. It would be over soon. All this would be over soon. I needed to graduate high school and leave Phoenix forever. Until then, my mask had to remain in place without cracks or imperfections.