———
"Enzo?" I asked, looking up at him as I lay in his arms.
"Yes amore?"
"Tell me about your life in New York and Italy."
He exhaled, staring into blank space in thought.
"Where did you grow up, Italy?"
"Yeah. Until I turned 13."
My eyebrows furrowed lightly with intrigue, it was another kind of satisfying getting information about Enzo's life. He still seemed reluctant to tell me though.
I ran a hand down his cheek, letting him know it was okay to open up to me. "Tell me more."
"My father lived in New York and Italy. When his last kid became a teenager, he packed us up and moved us to New York forever."
"When you became a teenager?"
"I got initiated at 13."
My lips parted wide. The average age people got initiated was 16, just like Theo. "13?"
"I'd killed a few men who tried kidnapping me. Became a man in my fathers eyes, old enough to start helping with his work. Me and my brother."
What- Enzo has a brother? Why hadn't I ever thought about him having siblings? "Your brother?"
"Emiliano. My older brother."
"What's he like?"
"Tough, workaholic and has no sense of humour."
"I never knew you had a brother."
"He's the dullest man I know. But he was the one who always pulled me out of deep shit."
"Such as?"
He paused, making me more curious to know. "Enzo?"
"I'm a fucked up man Shy. You sure you want to know?"
"I want to know."
"I killed some family members." He said, no pain or remorse in his voice or eyes. We both stayed silent, me waiting for him to continue. "My aunt and uncle."
"What made you..."
"They both framed me for betraying the famiglia, and that means I'd get the death penalty. I found out one night and went to their house, shot all them dead. My father found out and tried to kill me. Emiliano was the one who sorted shit out."
Quiet.
The silence was long.
"What made you resort to it in the first place?" I asked, hoping that wasn't a stupid question.
He tucked a strand of loose hair behind my ear. "My father of course. My first kill was at 6." He said making me raise my eyebrows.
"Really?"
"I caught my father cheating on my mom. He made me shoot the woman as punishment for walking in. I didn't want to do it, I cried even. But he yelled at me to do it. Called me a pussy, a coward."
When he stopped talking, and the quiet settled again I gave him a tight hug. "You aren't a coward."
He looked at me as I said those words, not convinced I actually meant them. I grabbed his hand and held it in mine to reassure him that I was saying the truth. And I was.