Quiet Wealth by J.L. Drake

A constant dripping sound drew me from a dead sleep. I blinked the fog away and tried to process where I was.

Holy shit!

I shot straight up and looked around the crypt.

“Elio,” I whispered, terrified he had left again.

“I’m here.” I turned to find him in the corner of the room knees up arms resting on top. His shirt was partially open, and his pants and shoes were back on. “Vinni will be here in ten.”

“What time is it?”

“Just after three a.m.” He glanced at his watch to be sure.

I nodded and wrapped the cloak around me tighter as I reached for my dress.

“Are you going to tell me who we’re running from?” I turned away from him as I shrugged on my dress, but when I reached for the strings, I felt his hands take over.

“This time, Stefano Coppola,” he replied as he tied the bow.

I whirled around and held up my hands. “As in the Coppola syndicate from Rome?” I had once chased a story about a young artist that led me to the Coppola family. Only when Georgio got wind of the direction I was going in, he shut it down with zero explanation. By the look on his face, I knew not to question him, and I let it go. I barely found anything on them.

“That’s the one.” He held my gaze.

“Why? Why would he be after you?”

He licked his lips and turned to gather up the cloaks, and a moment later he pulled his phone out when it lit up his pocket.

“Yeah?” he offered as a greeting and listened. “All right.” He hung up as he rubbed his tired eyes. He handed me one of the cloaks. “Put this on.”

“Elio.” I dropped my tone and put my hands on my hips, annoyed that he wouldn’t answer me. He tugged the knot from the sleeves of his coat and released it from the door handles then shrugged it on, the wrinkles a stark reminder of what we had been through.

“Look, Sienna, I’m sorry that you’re tangled up in this mess—”

“Don’t do that,” I warned. “Jesus, we just had sex, Elio.”

“Yes, we did, in a mausoleum.” He chuckled darkly. “Never done that before.”

“Fine, avoid the topic, then.” I wrapped the cloak around me and opened the door to a downpour of rain.

“Sienna,” he called after me, but I didn’t care. I had opened myself up to him, and now he was holding out on me. I would not be played, and I would not be kept in the dark anymore.

I moved quickly between the tombstones while the rain soaked me to the bone. My breath puffed out mist as I went, and even more mist swirled around my feet, making it hard to see the dips in the ground.

“Hey.” He hooked my arm as he caught up with me. He tugged so hard I had to turn to him, and I glared up at him in fury. “I want to share everything with you, but—”

“Then do it!”

“What if you can’t handle it!” he shouted, sending rain drops spraying. “What if you can’t love me after knowing? What if you lea—”

“Leave you?” I shouted back in his face while tears burst through the dam. “Well, I guess that’s a risk you’re just going to have take, Elio.”

Headlights flashed and lit the stones next to us, proving just how hard it was raining.

“Why is Stefano after you?”

“Because now I’m after him.” His chest heaved as he looked around us.

“Why?” I knew we were in danger standing out in the open, but if this was the only way to get some answers, I was willing to risk it.

“It’s not clear what is happening yet, but my guess would be it’s a fight for power. It always is.”

“Over the oil?”

“Yes, and,” he stumbled, “territory.”

“Territory? What, is your family the mafia?” I dripped with sarcasm.

His gaze dropped to mine, and I felt my stomach roll. Suddenly, a flash of memories came roaring back, and everything clicked into place. The unexplained absences, the smell of gasoline, the secret whispering in the next room, and the list went on and on. How could I have been so blind? I knew they had their hands in some dark places, but never could I have imagined that I had fallen in love with a member of the Mafia.

“Can we leave now?” His jaw ticked his discomfort, and at this point I knew I couldn’t blame him.

I turned on my heel, and we made our way toward Vinni.

“Good to see you, boss.” Vinni addressed Elio as I shrugged off the drenched cloak and wrapped my frozen arms around my midsection.

“Vinni, heat,” Elio ordered and removed his jacket, tossing it on top of the cloak. He angled the vent toward me as I slipped into a memory that insisted on taking over my head.

“You’re muddy.” I pushed him away when he came in for a kiss. “Elio!” I shrieked as he picked me up and slammed his lips to mine. When I came up for air, he was grinning like a fool. “You’re in a good mood.”

“I am.”

“And why is that?”

“Two reasons. One, I finally beat someone at their own game, and two, which is the most important, I came home to you.”

I had to bite my lip from grinning. He was always such a gentleman, making sure I knew I was the most important person in his life. He made me feel like I was worthy to be there in his home with all his love.

“And who did you defeat, my love?” I wrapped my arms around his neck, matching his excitement.

“A villain from the north.”

“How mysterious.” I kissed him again, feeding my habit, but when I pulled back, I found blood on my hand. “Oh, my God, Elio, you’re bleeding!”

“My buddy hurt himself. It’s nothing.” He shook it off. “But I do need to check in with my father.”

“Let me check you over.”

“I promise, I’m fine.”

“All right, then.” I hesitated and stepped back to watch him jog inside. He appeared fine. Once he was out of sight, I looked down at my bloody hand as it glistened in the sun and tried to push aside my confusion.

“Sienna.” Elio made me jump. “Sienna!”

“Yeah?”

“I know your head is probably elsewhere, but you will hear me on this one thing. It is very important. I know you probably learned a little about the mafia when you worked at the dockyard, particularly as we later took it over.”

I blinked at him, trying to concentrate as the memory I had been caught in fizzled out.

“Please, Sienna, I feel you should know this.” He turned to face me to show he was serious, and I forced myself to take in what he was saying. “Piero is the boss, I’m the underboss, Francesco is the consigliere. Each syndicate has the same hierarchy. Right now, that’s all you really need to know, but the ranks are very important. Okay?”

“All right,” I whispered as his words sank in.

“Let’s get some rest, and we can talk later.” I knew he could see my exhaustion, and his eyes softened.

“Yes, I think we really should.” I felt incredibly drained.

“Your place, boss?” Vinni asked through the open partition.

“No, please.” I shook my head. “I really need some dry clothes.”

Elio cleared his throat but instructed Vinni to do what I asked.

“Boss, Donatello has been trying to reach you.” I nodded to tell him it was fine to talk in front of me. “Another man has been found.”

Elio cursed and didn’t say another word after that.

We remained quiet for the rest of the ride. I needed time to process everything, and I was sure he was doing the same. He reached over and took my hand. I tried to pull it free, but his grip tightened. He was a dominating man, but he was still Elio.

When I stepped out of the car, my grip on Elio’s hand tightened as I noticed the folded note stuck to Mariano’s front door. Elio stepped up and tugged it off and handed it to me. I opened the folded paper and skimmed the words.

I’ll be out for the night. I hope you remember where I told you I keep the key. – Mariano

“Would you like to spend the night at my parents’ place?” Elio’s voice had an edge to it.

“No.” I shook my head and held up the note. “I will have the place to myself. That’s good, really, but thanks.”

He cleared his throat and nodded once. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

With a turn, I disappeared into the dark house and hurried to my room where I lost no time getting myself into bed, too tired to even shower. I fell into a restless sleep.