He brushed by one of Nonna’s new soldiers, nearly knocking him over.
“Now what do we do?” Niccola asked as he came up behind me.
“Our job,” I said as I dropped my sunglasses down and made my way into the sunlight.
“What about Sienna?”
One of my soldiers opened the car door for me while a few others stood at the bottom of the staircase per my nonna’s request. I looked over the car roof at Niccola, who looked unsure where my head was.
“No one told her to leave.”
“No one told her to stay either,” he countered.
“She’s a Coppola.” I gritted the word through a tight jaw. “That alone is enough.”
“People would kill for a love like yours.”
“At least we get to kill.” My tone gave him the warning to drop the topic.
“All right.” He opened his door slowly. “Just seems wrong to me you didn’t go after her.”
I refused to comment and slipped behind the wheel. He dropped heavily into his seat and shut his door.
We had some people to deal with, and I needed her out of my head. I tore out of the driveway, leaving a dust cloud behind to drift over the new soldiers. When we were far enough away from the house, I made an effort to settle my temper.
“Elio, I just—”
“Do you really think I would let her leave?”
“Wait,” the corners of his eyes lit up, “so, you’re going after her?”
I glanced at him as I slammed my foot on the brake at a stop sign.
“When?”
“Mama and I already have a plan in motion.” I shifted into first gear. “Right now, all eyes are on Sienna and me, and if things don’t look legit, Nonna will know something’s up.”
He sat in silence, mulling over my words. “I feel like I don’t have the entire story of what’s going on here.”
I sighed heavily, and he nodded and let it go. He quieted, and I knew his mind was still working.
Every second that went by, I burned with the urge to go to her, but I needed to play this out carefully. One wrong move, and things could go sideways again. I hated how blinded I’d been by my love for my nonna, that I’d questioned the one person in my life who had never given up on me. But Nonna had always been my rock in the family. She was the top of the hierarchy, one you’d never suspect of betrayal. No one in the family would ever question the motives of those above them. Ever.
“Does she know how you feel?” Niccola asked. “That you’re not mad.”
“Mama spoke to her last night, cleared the air on a few things. I went in afterward, and we’re good. But I didn’t know she was going to leave when she did.”
“I don’t blame her. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere near Nonna right now.”
“Yeah.”
“And the fact that she’s a Coppola?”
I glared at my cousin and shook my head, unable to go there just yet. He held up a hand to show he understood and let it go.
“I can’t believe Nonna knew who she was before you did.”
I let the anger that I had pushed aside moments ago seep back in.