“Luca, I can’t, I can’t…” I stutter, looking down, running away from mygaze. He pulls my face and makes me look into those beautiful blue eyes.
“If something happens and you have to shoot, if someone dies, they will be on me; it will be as if I killed them. I can handle one moreif you have to shoot, whether it’s to kill or not. I want you to call me immediately, and I’ll come and meet you. Are we clear?”
“Yes, I think so…”
“Well, as soon as things settle down here, I’ll meet you in London to check everything out; until then, anything, just call. Have a good trip, Chiara!”
“Goodbye, Luca!” I say softly as I watch him get into his car and drive away from the airport while I take off to my new home.
Chapter 8
We land in London just as the sun is setting. The air hits my face as soon as I get off the jet, and I feel melancholy. I thought I would be happier to finally make this city my home, but I felt nothing. I see a limousine pull up in front of us, and I look at my brothers for an answer; they both just shrug their shoulders, not knowing what it’s about.
“Don Henrico sent it so that we could travel with you, but we have orders not to leave you alone!” Francesco says, making me roll my eyes.
“I don’t understand what all the fuss is about; it’s just going to attract more attention!”
“Just in case,” Paolo says with a tone of voice that seems to beg me not to argue. I just nod and get into the limousine accompanied by the four men.
Francesco and Paolo look about thirty, relatively young, but definitely experienced in their field, of which I have no doubt. I can see from the expression on their faces that they are both constantly on alert as if someone who poses a danger to me could appear at any moment, and the scariest thing is that it might.
“How will this work when school starts?” I ask, pointing at myself and my new security guards. “I don’t want you constantly behind me like a shadow!”
“We were both enrolled at your college, so it doesn’t seem so strange; let’s say we belong to the same circle of friends,” says Francesco, causing Vincenzo to laugh.
“Are you enrolled in the fashion course?” I ask, still a littledumbfounded.
“Yes, the initial idea was for one to sign up on your course and the other on some other course and pretend to be your boyfriend, but Luca didn’t approve!” I look at them, not knowing what to say, and think that I clearly owe Luca a thank you. It would be incredibly embarrassing to pretend to be dating my security guard, a security guard I met the last ten hours.
“Where are you staying?”
“In the apartment opposite to yours, so we have access to the whole floor!” Paolo says as if it were nothing.
“If I remember correctly, there was a couple living there just last week!” I mutter quietly, feeling a little confused.
“They moved out this afternoon after it was decided that you needed security.”
“How?” I ask, slightly frightened.
“The Camorra has its own way of dealing with things!” says Francesco before getting out of the car and holding out his hand for me to leave.
When I get out of the car, I feel my phone beep with a message. I ignore it and get into the elevator, watching Francesco put the access card to our floor into the reader, and I can’t stop thinking about how they managed all this so quickly. I think about asking Luca, but honestly, I’m afraid of the answer; I don’t know if I’m ready to hear it. Paolo asks me to wait in the elevator with my brothers while they check the room and take my house key to check the apartment.
Once they’ve checked that we’re safe, I head for my apartment, listening vaguely as they explain to my brothers how they intend to increase the security of the floor so that it’s more difficult to gain access. I go into my room and immediately take off my shoes, throwing them in the corner, start to undress, and see the gun Luca gave me stuck in my jacket pocket. I pick it up and feel its weight in my hands, the responsibility of having it; Ithink of Luca’s words, never to leave it far from me. With those words, I head to the bathroom, undressing to get into the bath and leaving the gun in the sink, where I can see it and have easy access to it.
I let the hot water wash away my worries and relieve the tension that insists on remaining in my body. I feel a solitary tear run down my cheek, and at this very moment, I feel alone, sad, inadequate…
I awake from my thoughts with the sound of a message, quickly get out of the shower, and put on my pajamas, picking up the gun again and putting it down on my bedside table. I look at my phone, and there’s a message from my mother asking me to call her when I arrive. As soon as I hang up the call, I see another unread message; when I read the sender’s name, my body shakes, and I feel anxious. Luca is asking how the trip went.
Of course, he knows I’ve arrived; my new security guards don’t work for me after all. I quickly reply that it went well, and about two minutes later, it starts ringing, and his name flashes on the screen. I think about whether or not I should answer it, even though I have no reason to run away.
“Hello!” I say quietly and a little insecurely.
“Are you home yet?” he asks in that rough voice that I would recognize anywhere. His voice sounds a little more tired than usual but still easily recognizable. I sit on my reading chair and look at London through the huge glass wall of my room.
“I thought you’d be more original; we both know you already know the answer to that question,” I say jokingly, laughing.
“It’s true, Francesco and Paolo told me, but I still want to know if you’re safe from you!”
