As he was leaving, Flavio showed up beside him. He, too, looked like he had him all figured out. Annoying but interesting at the same time. How can someone who barely saw him know more than Elio decided to share? Yet here he was staring at him, clearly waiting for something.
"What?"
Flavio shrugged. "Just wanted to make sure you're alright," he said.
Wait.
Hold back the fucking horses.
Since when were mafiosos considerate? Granted, Flavio was still learning, having not been initiated yet as he was seventeen. But even his brother became a Made Man way before that, so it came as a surprise when he decided to wait with making his brother a full-blown mafia man. This only gave others another reason to believe that the young one wasn't totally alright with their lifestyle.
"Why wouldn't it be?"
He shrugged again. "Just have a feeling you were elsewhere all night,” he paused. "But it's not my business so feel free to ignore me."
Yeah, right. As if he could ignore a Capo's brother. That would be a peak of disrespect.
He could just lie and say the first thing that came to his mind but there was something that made him think twice. Flavio wasn't asking for the same reason Fabro would - curiosity. He wanted to know because he wondered whether he could help. That also meant that he would be able to see through the bullshit.
It was so unnatural in their world that, basically, Elio had never encountered anyone like Flavio. Despite the know-it-all aura, he was still a decent human being. Not good because mafia didn't leave room for that. But not completely bad either.
"I just have a lot on my plate right now," Elio answered vaguely.
He didn't trust quickly. Or actually, he didn't trust anyone at that point. Even though the younger Falcone seemed genuine, he learned that not everything was what it seemed and it was always better to be safe than sorry.
Chapter Seven
A little breathlessly but she made it to work.
Waking up early in the morning was innate for Savannah. With time to spare, she could slowly work her way to waking up Aiden, preparing breakfast, taking her brother to preschool, and opening up the diner. That was the norm for her.
Not today.
The alarm didn't ring. Perhaps because she was so invested in what had happened with Elio and Hunter that she’d spent half a night tossing and turning in bed, wondering whether her boss was actually alright. Maybe it was just the mafioso's lie.
It could be. They didn't know each other. Savannah didn't know him to be certain that he wasn't a liar. And for goodness' sake, wasn't lying indispensable as far as his job was concerned?
She should have called Hunter to make sure he was still alive. Just like she intended but her anger towards the man was preventing her from making a clear decision. Until a few days ago, Hunter was one of those good and kind-hearted people that was so hard to come by. So why did he show his true colors now? Why did everyone hide their true self?
You'd think that with the way her childhood had looked like she was able to distinguish good and bad people. Well, it seemed that it wasn't the case after all.
All those questions had kept her up until the early morning when she'd finally fallen asleep and hadn't set the alarm. So it was Aiden who had to wake her up. An hour later than she was supposed to. The bright blue sky and the first rays of sunshine didn't decide to help the girl out either.
So at half-past six Savannah was running around the apartment like a headless chicken, trying to get herself ready to leave. But somehow even with only four-hundred square feet, the place seemed too big to find anything. For the very first time.
Quite frankly it was a miracle that she made it on time to work. Well, five minutes late to be exact. There was no one inside and everything looked like nothing had even happened the day before. Which was the most terrifying thing, making Savannah question whether it hadn’t all been a dream.
No blood, no broken furniture, or whatever else there was supposed to be after facing off with a member of the mafia. She didn't know much about the Famiglia and the way they worked but for sure they weren't the type to clean the place spotless after getting shit done.
The thought of Elio mopping the floor clean of bloodstains made her chuckle. Wouldn't it be a sight to see?
No, but she couldn't have imagined it all. Even her imagination had limits. So unless she was delusional, which she wasn't, Hunter had been visited by Elio. However, only when she got a text message ten minutes later from her boss, did she finally fully believe her own brain.
Hunter wouldn't show up today. For a very good reason. He was probably in a hospital, or at the very least at home recovering from his wounds. The latter was wiser, judging by the fact that the police could get involved if he called an ambulance. Getting beat up wasn't just shrugged off by law enforcement.
Thankfully, he had managed to get a replacement. Savannah was smart but her cooking skills ended at making a PB&J sandwich for Aiden and tea. Canned food and take-outs from the diner were her friends. Now she could focus on getting through the day, trying to forget about yesterday. She needed money so quitting was out of the question.
She wiped the counter, feeling a pinch in her hand, followed by a cramp. It reminded her that she hadn't actually dealt with her own pain of having her palm stubbed. She remembered smashing it into a desk in Hunter's office, after being startled by Elio. It surely wasn't broken
