28 Seconds: A House of Valentine Novella (21 page)

He nodded and, taking my arm, led me to the back office. I moved to the windows that I loved, the ones already thrown open and letting the sea breeze flow.

“That was your favorite place when you were little. Do you remember?”

There was something in his voice that told me he already knew I didn’t. “No, I don’t. I don’t remember much actually. I was so very young.”

He kissed the back of my head as he moved to sit on the window seat. “Thank you for finally telling me.”

“I can tell you it’s my favorite place now, though.”

“Was he fighting for you?”

“You love him, don’t you?”

“Yes,” he clipped without hesitation. “He’s been a son to me for a very, very long time. To me and your mother.”

“Then why,” I asked, sitting down beside him, “is it so inconceivable that I would love him as well?”

“When you were tiny, your mother saw it. She warned me then, you know, but I was too stubborn to listen.” He brushed a tendril of hair from my face. “You’d die for each other, Ariana, and then I’ll lose you both.”

“Stop worrying about that and enjoy having us here. Isn’t that a Valentine rule? Living in the moment or whatever?”

“No,” he chuckled, “that’s a Serrano rule.”

“Well, it’s all starting to blend, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it certainly is.”

And he clearly wasn’t happy about that idea. I cleared my throat. “Speaking of, there was an attack at the security council.”

“What?”

I explained the morning’s events and, even though I wasn’t sure Cole would approve, I told him of my theory that the attack was actually against Tony.

“He is heir to two families, but he’s been that for a very long time. Why now? It’s a good theory but doesn’t make much sense.”

I stretched my bandaged arm to lay across his lap. “Does this make any sense?”

“No, it doesn’t,” he agreed. “Unless-” His eyes narrowed and darkened and I could almost see his emotional switch turn off and go all business. It was frightening to watch and I stood up to scoot away from him.

“Unless what?”

“Someone is trying to realign the families, to shuffle the power where it benefits them most.”

“War.”

“Not yet,” he corrected. “A person would be stupid to start a war without all the pieces perfectly aligned first. But, yes, it does look like someone is trying to prepare for it.”

“Who?”

“Until we know more, your guess is as good as mine, darling.”

And that, that one little term of endearment said in his most businesslike voice is how I knew he was lying. I smiled and motioned upstairs. “I’ve got to change.”

“Yes, we’re running late and Father Michael will not be pleased.”

I was almost at the door when I turned and leveled a gaze at him. “You’ll protect Tony?”

He looked offended that I even asked. “Of course. I’ll protect all of us, Ariana. That’s what I do.”

That, I did believe. He
would
protect us...no matter what that might take, and that scared the hell out of me.

When I made it upstairs, Cole was almost finished getting dressed. He rarely wore suits and, for the briefest second, the sight of him took my breath away...and not in a good way. I whirled, turning away from him and moving to the chair where he’d laid out my dress. I gripped it tight, willing my breath to return to normal.

“Did something happen with Franco?” he asked, already behind me. “What’s wrong?”

I shook my head and began tugging off my clothes to get the dress on. I stumbled several times and he put a hand on my back to help me. “Ariana, if he-”

“It’s you. It’s the suit.” I tried to wave him off as I stepped into the dress. “You look like them...the ones that always came for us.”

“I’ll change.”

“No, don’t be ridiculous. I’ll be surrounded by hundreds of them today. I better get used to it now.”

“You seem…” he sought for the word, “overly sensitive, emotional. Is it the acetyl?”

He was right. I still had memories whirling, the excitement from the overdoses, the veiled conversation with my father and the talk of war...everything seemed to be colliding all at once. I tried to stop the tremble in my hands. “PMS,” I joked but then saw how truly worried he was. “Maybe ask Tony? I’m not certain but you’re right. Everything is all off kilter.”

“I’ll call him from the car. Your father?”

“Loves you like a son. Ask me about the rest later, okay?”

He nodded and reached to hand me my shoes just as a knock sounded on the door. “Come in.”

My father was there and I assumed he came to hurry us along, but he stood still, his eyes on Cole. “I’ve added more security to Tony. I’m doing the same for Ariana and yourself.”

“Me?” Cole frowned and I could see the argument ready to fly.

“Why?”

Franco looked my way, as if just noticing my presence. “The first attack was on you, heir to two houses. The second was on Tony, heir to two houses.”

“They’re marking all the heirs,” I murmured, my eyes darting to Cole.

“So I’m next.” He looked completely nonplussed. He even shrugged. “Let’s get to the church. You can put your shoes on in the car.”

“Cole-” My father reached for his arm.

“Threats don’t scare me, Franco. You’ve raised me with a hell of a lot more
loyalty
than that.”

It was a message but I couldn’t figure out if it was for me, my father, or perhaps even both. We were halfway down the stairs and I was still puzzling it when I stopped and realized my brain was really not functioning right. “I forgot her rosary.”

“We’re late, Ariana-”

“It’s
her mother’s
wake, Franco,” Cole scolded. “I don’t think they’ll start without her.”

“I’ll meet you in the car.”

I was searching through the dresser when Cole appeared behind me, his hand heavy at my waist. “What’s the matter?”

“I just forgot it. I can’t go without it-”

“Ariana,” Cole grabbed my hands, tightening them into fists. He pulled up the sleeve of my dress where the rosary was tightly wrapped around my wrist. “You put it on earlier so you wouldn’t forget it.”

“We can go, then. It’s okay.” I nodded and began tugging him back down to the car.

“The talk of heirs being at risk- did that scare you?”

“No, yes. I mean, I don’t want you hurt obviously.”

“No one is at risk, Ariana. You, Tony, and I are all perfectly safe.”

“How do you-”

“There’s only one family with enough power to challenge all the others. Only one with enough confidence to mark the heirs as a message
to the other families
of their intention to take control.”

I stopped at the door to the car, my hand landing on the hood as I tried to steady myself from the emotions flying through me. “Ours,” I whispered.

“Yes, baby girl. Ours.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

“Hey, kid.” Tony sank down at my knees as soon as I had been led to the front pew. “Cole asked me to take a look at you. Want to tell me what’s going on?”

“It’s like everything in my brain is firing at the same time.”

“You seem to be containing it pretty well.”

“I think he’s worried I won’t.”

“Well, fuck him. You’re allowed to act however you want today.”

I smiled and continued to finger the rosary in my lap. Tony’s eyes traveled down to watch me.

“You know you’re trembling, right?”

I nodded.

“But you can’t make it stop?”

I shook my head.

“Did you tell him about earlier? About the memories?”

“We didn’t have time. Franco hasn’t left our side.”

“You mean your father.”

“Yes. What did I say?”

He smiled. “Doesn’t matter. Were you going to?”

I opened my mouth and closed it again. The truth was, I had no idea how to even try and explain the hell that drug had put me through much less try to organize the memories in some manner than made sense. Was it fair to Cole? No. Was it all I could do to try and hang onto sanity? Yes.

“Hey,” Tony tapped my knee. “Your guilt complex is wicked sensitive, isn’t it? Stop judging yourself. Listen, I’m going to be right across over there. If you need to get out of here at any point, you just lift up that rosary and I’ll have you out. Okay?”

I nodded just as Cole settled in beside me. He took my hand in his. “What’s the word?”

“Just stress, I think. She’s disassociating to try and make it through the day.” He knew I was about to object so he cut me off. “Which is totally okay and completely understandable.”

“And the prescription is?”

“Sleep and actually giving her breathing space to mourn her mother’s death. In the meantime, just keep her mind on something other than the lengthy speeches they are going to give about Teresa up there. We all already know how amazing she was so there’s no need to hear the poetics.”

“Will do, boss.” Cole gave him a mock salute as he walked away and then he snuggled closer to me.

“Cole, I’m scared.”

“You are fearless.”

“Not right now I’m not.”

“What is it then?”

A million things, I wanted to say. But the truth was, at this exact moment, there was only two things important enough to mention: “Being alone and the quiet.”

He sighed. “Tony, Al, Antonio, Garrett, Joseph, Franco - you have an ever growing list of people who would die for you, Ariana, and I love you more with every breath. You are anything but alone.”

“And the quiet?”

“I’ve been thinking about that for a while actually,” he smiled. “And I have a plan.” He tugged my arm into his lap and pulled up the sleeve of my dress just enough to show my wrist.

He traced a capital letter “A” in slow, deliberate strokes. “Acetyl fentanyl.”

He traced the letter “B”. “Butalbital.”

He traced the letter “C” just as my father dropped onto my other side. I tensed but Cole merely smiled and patiently re-drew the letter.

I squeezed his hand. “Cocaine.”

It took six trips through the alphabet before the closing prayer finally signaled our release. I hadn’t heard any of the eulogies or speeches about my mother and I knew she was fine with that. She’d run from all of these people - she wouldn’t have given a damn what they had to say now.

I had struggled to be social, accepting condolences and best wishes or whatever they mumbled to me, but I just couldn’t do it. In the gathering hall, hundreds of people from warring families were acting as if peace was the most important thing in the world. Even I was smart enough to know they were plotting behind each other’s backs but, that seemed to be ignored for the “sake of Teresa.” It was more than I could stomach and, as the started in on plates of finger foods, I dropped back into the shadows to find my retreat. Knowing Father Michael was making deals of his own in the hall, as soon as I spied his office, I clambered inside to try and catch my breath. I’d only managed a few minutes before the soft click of the lock made me whirl.

“He hasn’t taught you to not slip away yet, has he? But I hear he’s teaching you lots of other things.”

“Marco-” I hissed, backing away. Was it okay to scream in a church? Would anybody even hear me over their ridiculous party for my mother’s death? “Cole-”

“Yes, precious Cole,” he smiled as he moved toward me. “Do you think he’d shoot me in a church?”

“Yes, yes I do.”

“Fucking mercenary that kid.”

“What do you want?”

“Now that hurts.” He closed in on me in two strides, backing me toward the wall. “It’s true, then? That you really remember nothing?”

“I-”

“You won’t scream,” he threatened. “We know each other much too good for that, don’t we? You’ll remember, littlest Valentine. I’ll make sure of that.”

And I did. As soon as his hands were on me, his mouth brutally assaulting my throat, everything came flooding back. Visions of he and my mother…over and over. Visions of him coming for me…no matter how hard she fought. The touches from he past blended with the present and I wretched all over him. He didn’t care. He didn’t even hesitate as he tried to claw at my dress, his hands puncturing into my thighs. I whimpered but, he was right, I was too terrified to even scream. I began grabbing things within reach, hurling them at him.

“You’ve learned to fight,” he growled, “that will make this even more fun. Just like Teresa.”

“God’s mercy-”

Father Michael’s hand was on his mouth but I didn’t wait for any other opening. I lunged into the gathering room, gasping for air, desperate for a way outside. Across the room, Cole and my father were in deep conversation. I willed them not to see me but, as if called, they both looked my direction at the same time. My body convulsed, black spots flashing across my vision. They were both headed for me but I did a fast pivot, shoving through the crowd and out the side door.