Heartbeats Amidst Chaos, Part 2

7. Chapter 7

Chapter seven

E lio glanced in his rearview mirror once again, checking the cars behind him. As he’d left his meetup with Rissa, he thought he noticed a man falling in behind him on the sidewalk. He had dodged in and out of a few places and circled before returning to where he had left his car, but he still felt uneasy.

Had someone been following him from the beginning? Or had they been following Rissa and switched to following him?

Despite being unable to spot the tail, Elio took a long route around the city before heading for his grandfather’s home. The old man had called a family meeting tonight, and knowing that Rissa would be brought up, this was one Elio wasn’t willing to miss.

The connection everyone else seemed to see between him and Rissa still baffled him. Why had the cops been so eager to connect her to his escape? Because they thought she would cause issues with their case unless she was incriminated herself? But why all the suspicion from his family? He readily admitted that some of his past romantic partners had caused issues. But his family didn’t even know he was romantically involved with Rissa.

Elio put his window down, letting the hot summer air blow in and mingle with the cool blast of the air conditioning. He ran his hand through his hair, reliving the sensation of Rissa’s deft hands on him as they stood in the little back kitchen of the closed diner. Never had he responded so quickly to someone’s touch. But more than that, never had he expected Rissa to take the lead. It had been astonishingly hot. He wasn’t quite over it.

What was the connection between them? Elio wondered. Every time they met up, his body hummed with the sexual tension. At the same time, he had begun to feel an easiness with her that he felt with no one else.

He shifted uneasily as a thought sprang to mind. Am I starting to trust her too much? Maybe that’s just what she’s been waiting for.

But that was his grandfather’s training talking, not his own thoughts.

The gate opened to let him in, and he pulled into the garage and closed the door behind him.

He headed straight to the sunroom, where his grandfather preferred to hold his meetings. Angelo was already there, as was Vince and Vince’s mother, Angelica. Elio felt his tension increase at the sight of her. Angelica always brought a heightened intensity to their family meetings, and she and Vince together could occasionally be a powerful force in influencing Angelo’s decisions.

“Good of you to join us, Elio,” Angelo said gruffly as Elio murmured his greeting and sank into a chair some distance from his aunt. “Especially as the main topic of discussion is you.”

“What’s going on?” Elio asked, his stomach twisting uneasily. “I didn’t think there was anything else to discuss about me right now. I’m just laying low while we try to figure out who the real bomber is and why they set me up.”

“Is that nothing to discuss?” Angelo queried. “One of our safehouses has been compromised.”

Elio frowned. “Which one?”

“It doesn’t matter. What matters is that we had four men there at the time, and they only let one of them live. This man was to come to us and ask the question, ‘Where is Elio Accardi?’”

“The cops?” Elio asked, surprise shaking him.

“The shadow gang,” Angelo said, slamming his fist into the table for emphasis.

Angelica spoke for the first time, her voice sharp with blame. “Three men died today, and it was in your name,” she said. “What do you say to that?”

Elio winced. “I’m very sorry this happened,” he said slowly. “But you know I never wanted to be a part of any of this.”

“Well, you are a part of it now, grandson,” Angelo snapped. “You may as well accept that. Somehow, all our current troubles are connected to you. And when you are completely better,” he motioned awkwardly to the leg Elio still limped on, the most obvious of his current injuries, “I will expect you to take a more active role in family matters.”

Family matters. An innocuous enough phrase, but Elio knew what it stood for. He rose to his feet, his heart pounding. “I’m not going to do that,” he said, struggling to keep his voice calm.

Angelica huffed and pursed her lips. Vince’s face remained blank as if cut from stone.

Angelo shook his head sadly, his dark eyes penetrating. “You can only turn your back on your family so many times, my boy. Eventually, something will send you running to them for good. I believe this is that thing.”

He held up his hand before Elio could protest again. “No, I know everything you are going to say.” He sighed heavily. “I have heard it all before.” Rising to his feet, the old man stalked out of the room, and after casting Elio an angry look, Angelica followed.

Only Vince remained, and he rose slowly to face Elio.

“I don’t care if you come back to the family business or not, cousin,” he said coldly. “Frankly, I think Angelo places too many of his hopes in you as the son of his son. He should be looking to me, his oldest grandson.”

“I agree.” Elio scratched his head, rethinking his statement. “Although I don’t want you embracing a life of crime any more than I want to do it.”

Vince laughed without humor. He stepped closer, and Elio frowned.

“I don’t care what you do with your life,” Vince grunted. “But I do care what you do with ours.”

“What do you mean?” Elio shook his head, bewildered.

“That doctor you’ve been watching, meeting, maybe fucking—”

Elio opened his mouth to object, but Vince’s glare dissuaded him.

“Did you know she has a friend who’s a journalist? And that she has been meeting with her as often as she meets with you?”

“There’s no reason why she shouldn’t meet her friend.” Elio felt anger and trepidation rising within him in equal measure. “And how do you know this? Have you been spying on her?”

“Someone needed to do it right,” Vince snapped. “Ask your girlfriend about her girlfriend, Elio. Find out what they know.” He gave Elio a scathing once-over that briefly made Elio feel like they were, once again, ten and thirteen. “Make yourself useful.”