Filed to story: Bound by Honor (Aria & Luca) Drama Story
“Then let’s see,” I encouraged her.
Marcella got up. “You have to catch my feet, Dad.”
“I will.” She stepped close and then she fell forward. With her momentum she would have fallen over, but I caught her feet.
Aria clapped. I lifted Marcella off the ground by her legs and she began giggling when I swung her back and forth. Amo stormed toward me. “Me too!”
I put Marcella down and gripped Amo, letting him hang head down as well.
Aria laughed, shaking her head. “Your head is turning red, Amo.”
I raised Amo higher so I could see his face, and he grinned widely. “Higher!”
I complied but when his head turned too red, I set him down.
“Now go wash your hands,” Aria said, and Marcella and Amo dashed off toward the bathroom.
“Can you watch them tonight as well?” I asked.
Liliana glanced between Aria and me. “Did something happen?”
Aria shook her head. “No. Luca and I only need some time to ourselves.”
“Okay,” Liliana said slowly. “Romero picks me up in thirty minutes. We can take Marcella and Amo home with us and bring them back tomorrow around lunch?”
“Thank you,” Aria said, hugging her sister.
It was almost two in the morning when we got into our car and headed toward the meeting point Fabiano had mentioned in his letter. Aria was quiet beside me. I reached for her hand and she gave me a grateful smile.
She looked resolved, not broken-hearted as I’d feared. She fumbled with a bracelet on her left wrist. It was the first time I’d seen it on her. Usually she only wore the bracelet I had given her. I parked in a side street and turned to Aria. She noticed my gaze on her wrist. “It was my mother’s. I want to give it to Fabiano.”
“Aria, I know you think you can still appeal to his heart, but trust me when I say that as Enforcer of the Camorra, he can’t allow himself a soft heart.”
She gave me a strange smile. “I am surrounded by men like him. They are my family. I am married to one.”
My fingers tightened around the steering wheel.
“Or are you saying that Fabiano has done worse than you?”
I wasn’t sure what Fabiano had or hadn’t done, but I had committed pretty much any crime imaginable. There was only one difference between the Famiglia and the Camorra, and it was the one crime I wasn’t guilty of.
“They don’t spare women, Aria.”
She swallowed audibly. “I know. But I have to believe that there is good in him.” She touched my chest where my Famiglia tattoo was. “I got through to you. Perhaps I can get through to him.”
If anyone could do it, then it was Aria. She had won my heart after all.
It had begun snowing when we got out of the car. I drew my Beretta, listening for suspicious noises, but it was quiet except for the sound of traffic in the distance.
Aria shivered. “Don’t kill him. Please.”
I didn’t say anything. It wasn’t something I could promise. If he made a wrong move, I’d end him before he could harm Aria.
“Don’t mention Marcella or Amo,” I warned.
She scowled. “Luca, I love my brother, but I would walk through fire for my children and you. I would never risk their safety. We’ve fought so hard to keep them a secret from our enemies. I won’t put that on the line for Fabiano or anyone.”
I wasn’t sure how much longer we could keep them a secret. They were growing older. We’d pulled back from the public for them, and I had threatened a few journalists who thought they could write something about us. Nothing had gone public. Dante had done the same and without Orazio as a spy, I didn’t know anything about his children.
I gave Aria a nod and signaled her to walk ahead. I raised my gun but stayed back. I spotted Fabiano as we turned the corner. He was leaning against the wall, looking fucking relaxed.
His eyes zeroed in on Aria but he didn’t notice me. I aimed at his head.
“Hello, Fabi,” Aria greeted him and showed him his letter. “You said you wanted to talk to me alone because you needed my help?”
He stepped closer with a look on his face that I didn’t like one fucking bit. Aria let him come much closer than we’d agreed on. The hand with his gun still hung limply at his side though.
His eyes turned to me and he smirked as he spotted me.
“Finally being sensible, Aria,” he said, and there was a flicker of something on his face I couldn’t place.
“I know a thing or two about mob life.” She tilted her head up at him. “Aren’t you worried for your life?”