“Exactly,” Elio paused, “and mine is Sienna.”
I swallowed back the intensity from his words. Elio loved me hard, and I did him. I was just too scared to admit it out loud. Though some of the scars were healing, my trust was still weathered.
“But he doesn’t know of your past.” Vinni spoke up clearly, knowing more to the story than we did.
“But hecould.”
“Elio, who are you talking about?” His father grew impatient. “I’m a half a moment away from a stroke.”
Elio held up his hand. “The girl said there were two men who arrived at our dock to transfer her into a waiting truck. One wore all white, Stefano, and the other kept making a snapping noise as he spoke.”
“A snapping noise, as in—” Andrea’s hand flew to her mouth as she connected the dots. “Mariano?”
Just like that, my blood turned to ice and my mouth went dry. My mind flashed with the memory of how many times he had put me in harm’s way.
“Why?” came flying out of my mouth.
“I don’t know yet.” Elio sank into the chair as we all digested what he had shared. “He’s been in our lives since I was twenty, and that’s a long time to sink your claws into our family. He knows our ways, our secrets, and our weaknesses.”
“His whole family does, son. So, what, exactly, do we know? How was the girl found?” Piero seemed to have fought his way out of the fog the rest of us were still in.
“She managed to hide under some debris in the back of the container, and while they searched for her, some of our men happened to come by, and they ran away. There is more to the story, but I have yet to get all the details.” Elio pulled out his phone and read something. “The girl has been moved to the villa. We will have to decide how we want to handle the whole situation.”
“And we don’t know how much Mariano is involved?”
“No.” Elio shook his head at his father.
“But he is involved.”
“Seems that way, Papa.”
“Sienna,” Piero addressed me, “I’m sorry, sweet girl, that you were dragged into this mess, but I think it was for a reason. Whether Mariano knows who you really are to Elio or if it was a random coincidence that you two met, either way, I think we all need time to think about all this. Perhaps, as you have a relationship with him, it would be in all our best interests to keep things the way they are with him.”
“No, no way.” Elio waved a hand. “She will not be a player on our chess board.”
“Wait, Elio.” His father stopped him. “We would be watching her at all times. We just need to buy some more time.”
“He claims he loves her,” Elio huffed, and my jaw dropped open.
“He doesn’t love me,” I snapped and thought how insane that sounded. “He doesn’t know me well enough to love me.”
“I agree.” Elio nodded. “But he told me today that he needed time to think and clear his head because he had come to the conclusion that he’s in love with you.”
“Do you believe him, Elio?” His father sounded skeptical.
“I’d like to say no, but I’ve never seen him act like that before. He’s all over the damn place.”
My head spun as the liquor I had by the pool hit my bloodstream and had me in a daze. Did Mariano actually help Stefano Coppola traffic girls to Italy? Was he really double-crossing Elio’s family? Did he really know who I was to Elio? Did he really love me? Could you base love off the few small intimate moments we’d had?
“Sienna?” Piero sat down beside me. “I don’t know exactly how you feel for Elio, and I will not pry, but I think it’s best for now if everything remains as is. You and Elio need to keep whatever it is that you are a secret, behind closed doors, if you will. Just until we do more digging and buy us a little more time. I don’t believe Mariano would hurt you. That being said, I would like you to remain living here in our house for now.”
“Maybe she should leave,” Wyatt interjected carefully. “And forgive me if I’m overstepping, it’s just merely an idea, but we could disappear, and when the coast is clear we can return.”
“I appreciate the thought, Wyatt,” Andrea said kindly to him. “Sadly, anyone can be found with the right amount of money. The Coppola family have been after our territory and business for decades. If they even suspect that Sienna is important to our son, she would be in a grave or worse. Elio is next in line to take the family legacy.” Her teary gaze moved to mine. “I don’t want anything to happen to you, and I won’t lose you again. The safest place for you to be is here with all of us.”
“Of course, I’ll stay if it will help.” I was not going to argue with that. I was tired of running from my past, and if I could help the family, I would. As far as I was concerned, Andrea and Piero were my family.
“My dear Sienna.” Francesco, who had been quiet the entire time, stepped away from the wall toward me. “Will you be able to act like yourself around Mariano? Because if he gets even a whiff of what is going on, the whole thing could go very badly.” He bent down in front of me and covered my hands with his own. His warm eyes looked into mine, and I remembered the first time I met him at the family’s old home and how welcoming he had been. “If you think you can, then that’s wonderful, but you must be sure. Please speak your mind and let us know now, and we will think of a different direction.”