Mafia Secret (8 page)

Jio sat back up and ran his hand over his face before resuming his normal poker face. "How is she taking all of this?"

"To be honest, I think she's still in a state of shock and trying to process everything."

Jio considered for a moment. "Tell her what you think she needs to know."

"I don't want to be the judge—"

"I trust your judgment. Let her know enough so she understands our rules—so she stays safe and doesn't do something stupid without realizing it. She can't know nothin'. That's just as dangerous as her knowing too much."

"B
ored?"

Lessa nearly fell off the window seat when she spun around at the unexpected voice. She hadn't heard Marc enter her room. He leaned against the doorframe, an eyebrow raised in question. She'd been watching the sky's show of oranges and pinks fade into grey over the vast vineyard surrounding the house while she considered whether she was ready to call her mother.

Marc stepped into the room. "Did you eat?"

Placing her feet on solid ground, she rose with a nod. The tray Virginia brought up about an hour before was still on the small table by the couch. She hadn't really done the meal justice, but she had eaten as much as she could.

He followed her gaze to the tray, a small frown appearing. "Come on, I'll show you the lay of the land."

He gestured for her to go out the door before him. The hallway was quiet, and Lessa wondered briefly if anyone else was staying on the floor. Marc watched her turn in a circle noting the other doors along the hall. The stairwell was smack dab in the middle of the wide corridor.

"So, am I all alone up here?"

"I'm with you." He smiled, his hand brushing her waist to direct her toward the stairs. "My room's next door."

"Oh." She looked at the door as they passed. "I thought . . ."

"I'm sleeping on your sofa," he said, tone reassuring. "My stuff's in the other room."

"Do you live here?" She wondered just how much his life was wrapped around her family.

"No, but emergencies crop up here and there requiring me to be on premises. There might be other guests coming in tonight or tomorrow. I've asked Virginia to put them in the rooms on the other side of the stairs."

They reached the mentioned stairs, and he gestured to the doors down the other side of the hallway.

"Any particular reason?" Lessa tried to keep her uneasiness out of her voice.

He glanced at her before starting down the stairs. "It's best if you keep a low profile."

Trailing behind him, she contemplated his answer. "Low profile, as in hide in my room for the week I'm here?"

His roving gaze focused on her again as they reached the second floor landing. It was just as quiet as the third floor. He stopped and turned to her. "You can come and go around the house and most of the grounds as you wish. I'd recommend an escort." Lessa raised an eyebrow, and he continued despite her expression. "Lucia and Tony were the most upset by your arrival. It'd be wise to avoid any unplanned meetings. More easily accomplished if I or Nina, Jio's wife, are with you. You remember Nina, she was sitting next to Jio at the reading."

And from the visit in her room, but she didn't mention that. "I can see your point." She didn't relish the idea of having a confrontation with either Tony or Lucia. A hint of sadness worked its way up her chest. She hadn't asked for any of this, and she didn't enjoy being the cause of so much pain and anger. "Where is everyone?"

"Dinner." He looked down both hallways. "The family usually gathers for dinner in the evening. This is the first one since Jiovanni . . ."

She bit her lip. The family was having dinner without her. She told herself not to be surprised by the exclusion, but the small bit of sadness morphed into hurt.

He frowned. "I'm the one who vetoed you from dinner, not them."

"Why?"

"The same reason for why it wouldn't be wise to wander around the house unescorted. This is also an excellent time for an uninterrupted tour. Come on."

She hadn't realized she'd been gripping the banister and not stepping down onto the second floor landing until he reached for her hand and tugged her after him. He smiled reassuringly, gesturing with his other hand to the door closest to them.

"Clarissa's room, past her is Edoardo, Tony across from him, Jio's two eldest are across from Clarissa." He pivoted to face the other wing, she followed. "The farthest room on the right is Lucia's, across the hall was Jiovanni's. Nina is next to Lucia. I believe her youngest still sleeps with her. Jio has the room across from her."

Lessa tried to keep her surprise at the separate rooms for the married couples to herself. She wasn't sure if she was successful since Marc seemed to be fighting a smile.

"Onward." He led her back to the stairs and dropped her hand as they descended to the first floor. "Front door."

Rolling her eyes at his obviousness, she caught his full smile before he gestured to the other rooms.

"Front sitting room is the first door on the right. That's where Jiovanni is right now."

She glanced at the door, noticed it was ajar and felt a sudden chill.
 
Lessa rubbed her arms. She hadn't realized his body was in the house for the Vigil. Marc didn't ask her if she wanted to see her father, and she wondered if Lucia was there. A guilty twinge of relief kept her silent.

"The room at the foot of the stairs is the dining room." The door was closed. "Across the hall is the library which connects to the office, where the reading was." He stepped down into the great hall, and Lessa reluctantly followed him toward the back of the house. "Left is the kitchen. Virginia's rooms are next to it." He stopped at the single open door. "Game room opens up to the sun room which faces the pool."

She noticed the giant screen TV in one corner and a pool table before he tugged her on to the sun room at the end of the hall. She hesitated again, but he was already opening the French door out to the picturesque patio surrounding the glistening pool.

"Pool." Motion sensor lights flicked on around them as he stepped out.

"Really?"

His lips curved again. "Pool house."

The smaller building was probably about the size of the house she'd grown up in and was cast in shadow away from the lights where they stood.

"Lessa, we need to set up some ground rules."

She pulled her gaze from the pool house to his now serious expression. "I thought we already had. Wasn't the lecture about me staying where you put me ground rules?"

"If you would, we could leave it at that, but Jio asked me to help you navigate the waters."

Her own lips curved at the nautical term. "Treacherous are they?"

His expression remained serious. "Personally, I'd rather you be kept in the dark, but I've been overruled by your brother."

Narrowing her eyes, she crossed her arms in defense.

"Don't get all offended on me now." He broke off as if choosing what he was going to say. "You're smart, and it won't take you long to realize this family takes security very seriously. It isn't a whim or an idiosyncrasy, but a necessity. I already told you that Jiovanni has powerful enemies. What I didn't say is that some of these enemies don't always play fair and wouldn't hesitate to use a family member against Jiovanni . . . Jio now. You need to be cautious about who you speak with, and you're not to leave the estate without me by your side."

"You already hinted as much earlier," Lessa reminded him, not liking where the discussion was going. He was frightening her, and the fact that she thought he intended to do so frightened her more than what he was actually saying.

"Your family is involved in certain transactions which require everyone to be cautious with both what they say and where they go. Things are precarious right now." He frowned, looking down at the ground before facing the uncertainty in her eyes again. "I can't expect you to sit in your room all of the time, but things would be smoother if you stayed with Nina or me when I'm here. Certain conversations and people should be avoided. You're family, but you're also an outsider. It's best for everyone if you remain an outsider."

"You realize you don't understand the meaning of the word specific, don't you?" Lessa lashed out against the hurt and confusion his words caused. Why had he even bothered bringing her here if it was better for everyone if she hadn't come?

Marc sighed and moved closer. She took an automatic step back and nearly tripped over a lounge chair. He caught her arm, keeping her from landing on her butt.

"Jio would fire me if he saw what a mess I'm making of this," he said with a rueful smile, pulling her away from the chair and closer to him. He dropped his hand. "I honestly have no idea what you need to know and what would be best kept from you. Teaching a newbie the ropes isn't in my job description. How about you tell me what you want to know, and I'll promise to answer your questions as truthfully as I'm able."

"You think I should go home."

He shook his head. "No, you see why I'd be fired. Telling you to go home is the farthest from what I'm trying to tell you. I just want you to be careful and to do as I say."

She pushed the smile down that wanted to emerge. "What if I don't do what you say?"

"I won't answer your questions."

"And if I don't have any questions?"

He raised an eyebrow. "I'd say you were lying. Look, I want you to get to know your family, your father, but I also need to keep you safe."

A shadow moved on the edge of the pool. Lessa had barely registered it before Marc was moving. He spun, shoving her behind him and pulling a gun in one smooth motion.

"Sorry!" A voice squeaked.

"Shit, Brady, get over here." Marc lowered his gun, holding it down beside his leg.

Lessa dragged her gaze from Marc's weapon to the kid who stepped into the light. He couldn't be more than eighteen.

Marc shifted so he could look at both Lessa and Brady. "This is Brady Williams, one of several guards who patrols the grounds. Another reason it's better not to just take a stroll on your own." He shoved his gun back into the holster in the small of his back.

"Sorry, Marco." Lessa stared in shock at the large black gun Brady held in both hands. It was pointed away from them and toward the pool. "I heard voices and was just checking."

"Don't worry about it. I was giving a guest a tour of the house." Marc waited until Brady had melted back into the shadows, past the pool, before focusing exclusively on Lessa. "I suppose I couldn't have asked for a better demonstration. Come on."

She trailed behind him as he led the way back into the house, her gaze locked on where his gun was hidden. Now that she knew it was there she could clearly see the bulge outlined under his jacket. Once back inside the house, he shut the door behind her.

"Go ahead and ask," Marc prompted as he kept her walking down the dark hallway.

"You're wearing a gun."

"Always."

She stopped. "What about when you approached me at my house?"

"Upstairs," Marc said, his head cocked.

She could hear it too, the voices of her family. But she couldn't see them. The door to the dining room was now open and the voices drifted out. She didn't need any further urging to hurry down the hallway and jog up the stairs. Marc didn't speak until he had her safely enclosed in her room.

"Well?" Lessa asked. "Were you carrying a gun in Florida?"

"It was in the glove compartment of my car." He walked the perimeter of the room as if inspecting it.

Her dinner tray had been removed, and a makeshift bed was made on the couch. The bed's magical appearance threw her off. She stared at it.

Marc moved up behind her, his hands falling lightly on her shoulders. "I think it's time for the long lost princess to get her beauty sleep," he said softly, urging her toward the bedroom.

She wanted to protest, but her brain was suddenly nonfunctional, and she needed to be at her best before she asked him any more questions.

"Tomorrow is soon enough," he said as if reading her mind. "I'll see you in the morning."

He shut the connecting door with a
thunk
. She closed her eyes a moment and the exhaustion slammed into her so forcefully she wavered on her feet. Forcing herself forward, she made it to the bed, but not under the covers before sleep claimed her.

L
essa checked her hair in the bathroom mirror for the fifth time in preparation for Jiovanni's funeral. Marc had disappeared nearly an hour before with orders to wait here for him, but she was having a hard time waiting patiently. She'd crashed hard last night and had woken up to breakfast being served and Marc's bed on the couch gone. But he'd been there until his phone had sent him on some errand.

She puffed out her cheeks and frowned at herself in the mirror. She hated black. Never wore it. This dress was the only black clothing she owned. She'd bought it at the urging of one of her teammates a couple of years before under the theory that every woman needed a black dress. Unfortunately, she'd never gotten around to actually trying it on. It didn't quite fit. The cut was supposed to be simple. It looked like she was wearing a bag.