Taking The Mantle

Chapter 6

I don't bother to knock when I get to their house, I just punch in the code and go inside. I go right upstairs to the library where Rocco is standing in the doorway. He turns to look at me as I get closer and takes a step away from the room.

"I don't think she understands," Rocco says quietly, "but she's definitely scared."

"I've got her," I tell him before walking into the room.

Elle has her back to me as she watches the fire burning in the fireplace. A few of her toys are laid out on the ground near her but she isn't playing with them. I sit down on the floor next to her and she looks up at me.

"Zio Gio," she says quietly, "is mommy going to die like mommy Maria?"

"No," I reply quickly, pulling her into a hug, "no, tesoro. Your mommy is going to be okay. She's just sick right now."

"But blood is supposed to stay inside," she says, pointing to her chest.

"I know," I reply, "but the doctors are going to help her and she's going to be fine."

Elle shuffles to sit on my lap and asks, "can you tell me stories?"

"Like princess stories?" I ask, looking over her head at the storybook.

"No," she shakes her head, "about my parents."

"Okay," I chuckle, "who do you want to hear about first?"

"Mommy," she grins up at me.

"You know that me and your daddy and all of our men have guns, right?" I start and she nods, "did you know that your mommy shoots better than any of us?"

"Even daddy?" she asks with wide eyes.

I nod, "even daddy."

"Tell me more," she exclaims and I smile.

"You know," I say, "the men didn't used to be afraid of her."

"Really?" she questions, "but she's the Regina."
(Queen)

"She wasn't always the Regina," I reply, adding, "when she got you, she changed. She became so, so strong so she could protect you."

"So she's scary for me?" she giggles.

"And your brother and sister," I say, "but you were the first."

"What about daddy?" she asks.

"Dio, I have a lot of stories about your daddy," I chuckle, ruffling her hair, "what kind of story do you want?"

"From when he was little like me," she says.

I nod and narrow my eyes in thought, "your daddy and Zio Antonio grew up in a big castle in Italy. When we were your age, we would play hide and seek all over. This one time, your daddy got locked in a closet and it took us all night to find him."

"More," she insists through her giggles.

"Alright," I sigh, "we used to climb this lemon tree in the garden to get to the fruit. And this one time your daddy reached and reached for it but slipped and fell out of the tree."

Elle giggles before asking, "did he make a silly face when he fell?"

"He did," I laugh with her.

"Can you tell me about daddy Enzo?" she asks.

I furrow my brow as I have an internal debate. For some fucking reason I'll never understand, Luca hasn't told her anything about Enzo. Maybe it's just too hard for him to talk about his brother. It wouldn't hurt to tell her a little story.

"When your daddy Enzo was your age, we had just moved here to America," I start, smiling at the memory, "there were workers all over the compound and somehow daddy Enzo got into this big can of maroon paint. He left his hand prints all over the building and it took us forever to find him."

Elle laughs and asks, "did he do silly stuff like that a lot?"

"He did," I reply, "one time, he took all of the pens out of your daddy's office and replaced them with crayons."

She bursts into a fit of giggles, "so daddy had to do business with crayons?"

"Yep," I smile, "and he was very grumpy about it."

"Can we get ice cream?" Elle asks.

"Sure," I agree, eager to keep her mind off of Victoria.

"I'll come too," a delicate voice says from behind me. Chills race down my spine as I turn around.

"Hi Rosa," I say, "I didn't know you were here."

"Obviously," she retorts before smiling at Elle, "one scoop or two?"

"Three scoops!" Elle exclaims, climbing off my lap and racing past Rosa.

"It's uh- it's been a while," I say as I get to my feet.

"Was this shit your idea?" She asks, arms folded over her chest. I know she means to be intimidating but when she stands like that I can't help but drop my gaze to her breasts.

"No," I reply, meeting her eye, "I told Luca it was a bad idea and he essentially told me to get over it."

"He offered me $3 million to shut up and marry you," she states.

I roll my eyes, "I told him I won't force you and I meant it. I'm not in the mood for your mind games right now so can we pick this up another time?"

"Jesus," she mutters before crossing the room, "what the hell happened to you?"

"What did your cousins tell you?" I ask.

"Not much," she shrugs, "they said you need to take the mantle and I need to marry you for that to happen. Luca said Antonio fucked up a lot of important shit and that you're at war again. Then Luca disappeared and Antonio fucked off to the compound."

"Fucking Christ," I sigh, "Victoria ha appena cercato di uccidersi ed Elle ha visto."
(Victoria just tried to kill herself and Elle saw)

"It's from the baby," Rosa says and I nod.

She sighs and shakes her head before saying, "Maria was like that too. I get what Luca meant about her needing me."

I nod and she steps closer. Her dark eyes are locked with mine as she places her hands on my chest. My heart hammers in my ear and she slowly slides her hands up and around my neck, pulling me into a hug. I wrap my arms around her waist and hold her close.

"Mi sei mancata, Giovanni," she says quietly.
(I missed you, Giovanni)

"I've missed you too, amore," I tell her before pulling apart.
(Love)

"Let's get some sugar in that kid," she says, nodding towards the door with a grin.