"I'm out getting food and lady stuff." I said over the phone.
I had left the house for less than thirty minutes and this was the third time Giovanni was calling. I get that he wants to keep me safe but I am grown and can protect myself.
It took a lot convincing him to get me a new phone and a difficult task getting rid of the men he sent with me. I was not allowed any social media simply not to lure any of his enemies.
Nothing has happened since the day that I killed my father but yet still he wants me to restrain from the world. How many enemies does he have?
"I will be home in ten minutes." I spoke through the phone before ending. Giovanni had just told me that I should come back to the mansion instantly without any reason.
The only reason I didn't feel vexed was because he didn't call James or Alfonso to bring me back home. I let out a groan and turned to face the two bulky men dressed in black with earpieces in their ears. "I'm going to the restaurant across the street then we can go home." I said to them, before crossing the street, my boots making a thumping sound with each step that I took. It was a busy day, the place was noisy with people conversing in shouts over screeching vehicles. I flipped off a driver as he yelled from his vehicle, honking his car's horn.
Fucking men, I rolled my eyes and flared my nose.
"A rose for the pretty lady." I felt light tapping on my thigh snapping me out of my anger. I looked down to lay eyes upon a beautiful little girl with flowers in her golden hair. I take in her fiery eyes, pink lips and honey skin with dirt.
I pressed my brows into a thin line wondering why this little ragazza looked like her parents failed to be parents.
I open-heartedly accepted her rose when her lips turned into a frown. "What's wrong sweetie?" I stooped to her level. She looked very tired and her bones were clearly visible which I didn't notice before. "Where's your mother?" I looked around to find no one who stopped with her.
"Mommy is gone." She cried, her hands shaking as she brought it to her face. I didn't quite understand what she meant by gone.
"Gone where?" I choked, preventing myself from sobbing. "Would you like me to buy you food?" She only nodded and sobbed harder. I placed my hand on her back and walked with her into the tiny restaurante.
I ordered myself a cheese burger and cheesy fries for her along with two bottles of cool water. "Where's your mother?" I asked again as I sipped on my water. I stared as she hungrily ate the fries that were on her plate causing a chuckle to erupt from my throat. "Sweetie, you will feel nauseated if you continue eating this fast." I warned and she sighed.
"Momma is dead. Daddy too and they're after me." She choked and I quickly placed her water to her lips and let her sip on it.
Why would anyone be after her? She is just a little girl. Right there I felt like I needed to protect her, she doesn't deserve a harsh life like this.
"Why would anyone be after you angela?" I said, caressing her soft cheek.
"Daddy was friends with really bad men and-" She started crying again. I could have stopped her and continued this conversation at home but that fire in her eyes didn't let me. She was strong because she continued speaking. "He was arguing on the phone and he hid me in our secret place. The only thing I heard were loud banging noises from the house." She sniffled, cleaning her hands with a handkerchief. "I found this rose where he hid me and I thought it would be good to give it to a pretty lady." Her bright smile brought one to my face also.
I really needed to know these people that her parents got involved with and why they're after her if I need to keep her safe? I need to inform Giovanni about this because that's going to add one more enemy to his long list.
"So tesoro, what is your name?" I asked, placing her loose strands behind her ears as she finished eating up.
"Rosa but mommy called me Angela too. She said I'm her little angel." She smiled, chugging down her remaining water. She'll be my angel now, there seems to be this connection that I can't put into words.
"What are you doing here alone? It's a busy day." I looked outside the glass doors then back at her.
"I've been sleeping at the parks by myself. I kind of like it there. I met new friends everyday." She giggled and I clenched my jaw in frustration. Because of these men, Rosa had nowhere to go and no one even tried helping her. "Will you ta-" She continued, when men dressed in leather jackets walked towards the restaurant's entrance. I knew exactly what or who they wanted as Rosa stopped speaking.
I pulled out my phone and pressed it to my ear, "Alfonso, meet me at the back of the restaurant with the car right now." I panicked. I grabbed Rosa and dashed across the floor. Gunshots went off and I bolted towards the back. The heavy footsteps came closer behind me and I felt Rosa tighten her grip on me. I kicked the door open after fiddling with the rusty lock that wouldn't budge and saw the car speeding from the corner with the door swinging wide open.
"The child belongs to us, let her go." One yelled. A gunshot went off and pieced my shoulder, missing Rosa's head. There wasn't any time to worry about my aching shoulder because that would get the both of us killed. The men spoke amongst themselves and began firing more shots. The car came to a sudden halt and I flew Rosa inside and me behind her. More men appeared, not stopping their gunfire when Rosa flew into my arms, burying her head in the crook of my neck.
"They're going to kill me mommy." She bawled. I felt my heart sink to my feet. She just called me mommy. I hugged her as tight as I could even though my shoulder ached. James kept aiming his gun to the back of us whilst Alfonso sped down the busy streets.
"They won't hurt you angela. I'll protect you no matter what." I said, kissing her forehead. I looked at my shoulder to realize that the bullet only grazed my flesh.
***
"Get Giovanni right now." James demanded one of the guards as he flew out of the car.
"What the fuck happened." Giovanni shouted from the top balcony. He didn't look like anyone should be playing around with him. The anger emanating from his pores caused James and Alfonso to stutter. "Irina, who the fuck is that?" His jaw twitched as he looked at Rosa then back to me.
"I got shot, Gonzalez.' I yelled back at him. He stared at me like he would beat the shit out of me but he wouldn't dare. "Help me the fuck here right now." I looked over to him, my fist clenching. "James, get one of the maids to clean Rosa up." I scolded. "Keep staring at me like that then, Gonzalez. I will aid myself." I scoffed, walking into the house without sparing him another glance. I went to the hospital room, peeling the soaked material from my flesh. I can't believe that asshole didn't come to help me. I opened up a bottle of alcohol and poured some onto the wound, clenching my teeth as I cursed under my breath. I rubbed on the clear ointment on the pink flesh and pressed on the gauze pads, securing it with adhesive tape.
When done, I pulled my loose strands away from my sweaty forehead, taking a deep breath and that's when the SOB walked in.
"Who is the piccola ragazza?" He asked pacing up and down the room. I just glared at him and didn't utter a word. Is he serious right now? I asked him to help me moments ago and he refused. "Irina, I am speaking to you." He yelled.
"You're speaking to me and what about it Gonzalez?" I argued, trying to control myself from prancing at him.
"You're going to answer me, that's it." He clenched his jaw.
"Maybe if you did help me out I would have answered all the questions you want to ask, but since you want to be a puttano about it, I won't be doing that." Giovanni yanked my hair back as I walked past him to exit. "Get your filthy hands off me Gonzalez." I dug my nails into his wrist but that did nothing.
"Who is the kid that you brought here?" He asked again.
"I'm going to hurt you, if you don't let me go." I groaned.
He pulled tighter on my hair, ignoring my whimpers. "Who is the kid, Irina?"
"I met her on the sidewalk. Let me go, you're hurting me." I choked. I swore my hair would fall off from his tight grip. He shoved me across the room like some dirty laundry, my shoulder hitting the metal bedpost. "You fucking bastard." I shouted, bolting towards him as he moved to the right, pulling my hands behind my back, earning a soft cry from me.
"Since you're the one acting like a kid, I'm going to have to strap you down to this bed." I kicked to no avail until I was strapped down. "Now who is the kid?" He asked. I gave up, it was pointless not telling him. He would have done anything to let me speak. I layed there, letting him know who Rosa is, trying to wiggle myself free. At first he denied when I asked to have her stay with us but he gave in.
"It still gets to me that she had that rose with her. It's like a code to something I can't get my mind to." I looked over to Giovanni.
"Maybe not." He said, unstrapping me. In return, he got a kick to his nose. I bit the inner corners of my mouth to muffle a laugh when he groaned and held his bleeding nose.
"Don't think you would have gotten away with yanking at my hair." I rolled my eyes.
"Rest up your shoulder, tomorrow is training day and next time I tell you to return to the house, you listen." He continued, tossing the tissue he cleaned his nose with into the bin.
Training day?
"Training for what Gonzalez?" I looked up to him confused.
"Olivia is coming back tomorrow. We'll discuss it then." He said and with that he left the room. I couldn't help but think about why we needed training. Rosa came to mind and I hurriedly went looking for her.
"Kitty, will you be my friend? I have no one who likes me. I heard mommy cursing today. My real mommy died but I met another one today. She is very pretty, you know." She said, petting the cat which sat on her lap. I leaned towards the door frame staring at her. She warms my heart. "Look kitty, they're bigger than the house now." She gasped then giggled. She was watching The Powerpuff Girls. It was my favorite when I was her age. "One day I'll become a superhero and save the world kitty. How does that sound?" She giggled as the cat licked her, purring. How can someone even think of killing an innocent child. It was her parents who did wrong and not her. I spotted a bowl next to her so she must have already eaten.
"Hey kiddo, aren't you tired yet?" Giovanni asked as he entered the room through the other door. "I brought you some popcorn, I figured you might want a snack." He continued.
"Thank you, I love popcorn. It makes me happy." She giggled and a smile tugged at Gio's lips. "Come sit next to me, I'm watching a superhero cartoon. I want to be just like Blossom. She is very pretty." She reached for the bowl of popcorn with her tiny hands and patted the seat next to her.
"She is just like you, angela." Gio replied.
"You know, mommy calls me the same thing. Where is she? How is her shoulder doing?" Giovanni looked pale like he'd seen a ghost.
"Mo- mommy." He stuttered, raising his eyebows in shock.
"Yes, I call her that now. I hope she keeps me." Rosa yawned, moving closer to Giovanni. "I wish she would have been here with us." She had fallen asleep just like that. I watched as Giovanni embraced her in his arms his facial expression changing.
"She will, angela. We'll love and protect you no matter what." He kissed her on her forehead. I breathed out heavily and he heard. "How long have you been here?" He rolled his eyes. This side of Giovanni was new to me. He tugged at my heart strings with just eleven words to this sleeping beauty.
"It's been a while. She's taken a liking to you." I laughed, wiping my tears away. "Bring her up to bed. I will clean this up and be up with you." I said, placing a kiss on his lips. They were softer than the last time I kissed them. "Gio, bring Rosa to bed." I giggled, as he let go of my lips.
"I'll be waiting." He smirked and left the room, Rosa held tightly in his strong arms.