DRACO
My son’s mind is now working beyond my comprehension. I find myself wondering these days if he’s ever really been a kid if he’s ever truly enjoyed all that my lifestyle has afforded him like his sisters do. I question this because no one who’s always ten steps ahead can find time for anything else other than plotting and schemes.
The boy worked me into a corner so beautifully that had I not been the man I am, I’d be wary of him. I think I realized the extent of Gabe’s intelligence when Gianna’s grandmother and aunts showed up here. This is when I found out one, that the old lady knew my parents back in the day, and two, that Gabe had found this out when he visited them.
The reason I’m looking at him side-eyed now is because of the conversation that’s going on around me. “So, it’s all been taken care of. Per Gianna’s request, we’ve had the twins added to the list of debutantes for this year’s ball.”
“In France. You’re talking about the ball in France.” I distinctly did not allow my mother to sign the girls up for that particular ball because Paris is just a short five hours away from Sicily, even shorter by jet. I do not want my son that close, something I’m sure he figured out.
“Yes, that’s the one. Didn’t Gabe and Gia tell you? We spoke about it last weekend.”
“No, no one mentioned it.”
“Sorry about that Pop, with everything else that’s been going on, it must’ve slipped my mind.” It wasn’t the words but the look in his eyes that told me he was full of shit. Now I’m sitting here wondering just how much he knows about what I know, and why in the hell am I playing this game of cat and mouse with my son?
“Oh, I guess we can talk about it.”
“What’s there to talk about? It’s already done. The girls will love it.” My mother, the only woman other than my wife who can get me to give up a kidney, has made the decision, it seems, so now I have to do damage control. How the hell do I keep him out of France?
The others carried on with their talk, my daughters highly excited about an unexpected trip to Paris, which means there’s no way for me to nix this thing. While they were talking gowns and sightseeing, I kept an eye on my son, but the boy wasn’t giving anything away. I did notice one thing, though, that gave me a glimmer of hope; it’s the way he looks at Gianna. He has the look of a man who’s making big decisions in his head. I can only hope he makes the right one.
Then again, the way things are going with Fontane and his mess, I might have a more immediate problem on my hands. No one else seems to be aware of the fact that Gabe has been steaming since the day of the fight. In fact, I think the only reason the Victoria girl is still standing is because Gia is the one who went after her this time. But if she’s not careful, she just might come up missing.
I’ve found myself in the last week in the unenviable position of having to protect her so as to keep him out of trouble. He hasn’t made any moves to go after her yet, but I’m not sure how long that will last. Thankfully she’s been staying locked away and not making waves, but she’ll emerge sometime, I’m sure. At least his sisters have been too preoccupied with their upcoming party to start shit.
“If you’ll excuse me.” I watched him walk away from the table; no doubt headed for his computer now that he’s backed me into a corner. His mother seems none the wiser, which may or may not be a blessing, and I can only hope that I’m wrong about his intentions. Shit, I have nothing prepared for this mess. Hopefully, like me, he won’t make a move until he knows where his grandfather is or what happened to him.
GABRIEL
I felt only slightly guilty about using Gia’s grandmother to force Pop into letting the girls go to Paris, my one redeeming grace being the fact that they were very excited to go. I pushed my guilt aside and focused on getting things set in place for the trip. I’ll only have but so much time once I get there, and having to do most of the work from here, was going to be tricky.
First, I had to lock Pop out of my computer since there’s no way I was bringing the private one here, but in locking him out, I was telling him that I knew he had eyes on me there. It couldn’t be helped, though; Le Bal is only a few short weeks away. I sat back, looking at the screen as the realization sunk in. In a few short weeks, this could all be over.
She came into the room with the dog in her arms, and I shut down the screen before she reached me. I know she’s noticed me doing this a time or two but hasn’t said anything. “Why’d you leave so suddenly? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine; there’s something I had to do.” I hated myself for smiling when I’d just been putting the finishing touches on something that would most likely mean the end of us.
She looked so excited, for once putting her situation behind her in the excitement of having her family here and now with the news of going to Paris, while inside, I was plotting and scheming to use that trip as cover for something much more sinister. “Come ‘ere.”
It’s times like this when my confusion is at an all-time high. I want to share in her excitement, want to kiss her lips and taste it there, but yet hold part of myself back. She plopped down on my lap and put her arms around my neck, looking up at me with that light in her eyes while the dog yipped like a maniac.
“You’re excited, huh!”
“Aren’t you? Oh, I forgot, you’ve probably traveled all over the world before, but this would be my first time leaving the country. Is it bad that I’m this excited when I just found out…?”
“No, no, it’s not. I’m sure your mom would’ve been happy for you. This is something she did, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, that’s what makes it so exciting. Guess what? Grandma says she still has the dress mom wore to her coming-out ball. Can you believe it?”
“Your dad said we can take the private jet, speaking of which, the twins invited me on their trip to the Caribbean, but I’m not sure if I can make it. Did they say anything to you?”
“Well, the trips in a few days, like the day after tomorrow, and they’ll be gone a whole week… you know what, if you want to go, then we’ll go.”
She kissed all over my face, and I was glad I’d capitulated. I can always bring about Becky’s demise a few days later than planned. “You know it would mean putting off confronting Becky, right.”
“Yes, that’s why I need to do it. It may be the last time I get to have fun for a long time. At least there’ll be time between this trip and the next, time enough for me to recover.”
So innocent. She really believes that she’ll get over this that easily. I, on the other hand, am preparing for the fallout. I hid my worry for her by burying my face in her hair and squeezing her around the middle. “Don’t think about it now, just concentrate on having fun tomorrow. By the way, you still haven’t shown me this outfit you’re supposed to be dancing in.”
“It’s a surprise!” Uh-huh. She got up off my lap and headed for the door, further confirming my suspicions that whatever it is, I’m not going to approve. She turned in the doorway and blew me a kiss before hightailing it from the room. I felt something leave me, some virtue that I didn’t know I had. I’m almost second-guessing the plans I’d set in motion.