place he rented for us to live was an old farm. It had the rusty old shears. I hid them next to the bed, in case he tried to hurt me. He did. I used them.”
“You’ve been hiding ever since.”
“Sì.” I nodded, lifting my hands from the steering wheel for a second. “The men with him were staying in another part of the villa for the night. After he screamed, I had a few seconds to run. I ran in the darkness by the light of the moon.
“A woman a few miles away hid me after I told her I was running for my life. She brought me home, and I have been on the run ever since. His men came looking for me the next day, after they found him and got him help. Then it was other men, scarier men.”
“You’re fortunate,” he said, “that they didn’t use your parents to lure you out.”
“They tried,” I said, reaching for the cross against my chest. “But papà made a deal with some men after they started threatening my mamma when they could not scare him. He made an arrangement with a famiglia that does not care for the men who come here from America.”
“You’re the deal.”
“Not at first. It was just money. But now I am to be married by October.” I shrugged. “Right before you arrived, two men came to Bronte looking for me. They found Anna. That was when I agreed to the arrangement. I will no longer have to hide, and my famiglia will be safe. But there is something stopping it. Papà will not tell anyone what it is. He will not allow the man to meet me, either, before he agrees to this condition.”
I could feel his eyes on my face. “Is it worth it?”
“My life?” I said, narrowing my eyes against the glare of the sun. “I had something to live for, so sì, it was worth it. I was living for me—for the life my mamma gave me.”
“You misunderstand,” he said. “Is the new arrangement worth your life?”
I hesitated, but then nodded. “My famiglia will be safe.”
We said no more as I found a place to park the van. After we stepped out and I opened the door, Corrado took the box I grabbed out of my arms, but neither of us tugged or let go. We stood that way for a minute or two until the men that came with him started to move around us, going for the boxes.
“Where do these go?” the chipmunk asked.
I pointed in the direction of the store with my chin. “There.”
“Inside,” Corrado said to me, nodding ahead of him, wanting me to walk. His eyes searched the crowded street. I wondered if he was looking out for himself or for me.
It did not matter. By October, he would be married, and so would I.
I was surprised to see Mariposa—or as we called her, Mari—working behind the counter, holding her baby. Mari was Amadeo’s wife. He was my cousin.
The store was busy, as usual, but when our eyes met, a smile lit up her face.
“Bringing us some gold?” she asked when I got close enough.
I made a “give me” motion with my hands, reaching out for her bambino, Saverio, pulling him close and kissing his little head. He smelled like heaven. “Sì. I also brought these two along.” I nodded toward Nicodemo and Uncle Tito, who were coming up behind me.
Corrado stood off to the side with his men. He was still holding the box, as was the serious-looking Italian, but Chipmunk had already placed his down and was looking at the chocolate. He constantly had food stuffed in his puffy cheeks. If he didn’t, he was looking for it.
“Here is the gold,” I said, giving Saverio fat kisses on his delicious cheeks. “I also brought pistachios for the zie.”
“They’ve been waiting.” Mari pointed her finger behind her, about to speak, but hit a chest instead. My cousin Amadeo stood behind her, eyeing Corrado and his men. If Mari was close, so was my cousin. His cold blue eyes assessed them as he took Saverio from me, sticking the hand with the black wolf tattoo under the baby’s shirt.
This made Mari and me both eye them. Amadeo had been a wanted man in America. I did not know much about why, but I did know his father and brother were bad men. His father treated his mother, Noemi, so poorly that the family felt that was why