Novel Square
Chapter 36
Before lunch, Massimo asked if I wanted to take a shower.
“That’s a hard no.”
“I turned on the water heater before we went to town,” he said. “It should be warm by now, and wherever we wind up tonight probably won’t have hot water.”
“Oh… well, in that case…”
I took the shower. The water was only a few degrees above lukewarm, but it was enough.
I didn’t wash my hair, though. The outside air was cool, even at midday, and I didn’t want to catch a cold as we hiked.
As I showered, I thought about the lesson Massimo had given me on guns.
Nona had never wanted me to touch them. And her goons certainly never taught me anything.
Massimo had been the first person ever to teach me how to handle a gun…
And it felt like power.
Like he’d snuck me into a secret club that had previously denied me entrance.
Because of that, I liked him again.
At least a little.
I was still irritated about the ‘slut’ comment…
But I was a bit more inclined to cut him some slack.
After I dried off, I dressed in a new outfit from the store and felt a lot better – clean and refreshed.
When I came out of the bathroom, Massimo gestured at a selection of cans. “Pick whatever you want for lunch.”
“Oooh, luxurious,” I joked.
I chose some canned pasta. He had beans and tuna.
“Well, I’m not walking behind you,” I said as we ate. “You’re gonna be a fart machine.”
He didn’t bother to respond.
After we finished, he packed the can opener and put the garbage outside in a bear-proof trash container.
And then we were off.
I only had to carry my little JanSport, a canteen full of water, and the shotgun. Oh, and my Birkin, of course. No fucking way I was going to leave that behind.
He, on the other hand, had his big-ass backpack, a canteen, and a hunting rifle slung over his shoulder on a strap – plus he carried a five-gallon plastic container of water in each hand.
“Why are we taking so much water with us?” I asked.
“Just in case wherever we wind up doesn’t have running water,” he answered. “Most of these places use well water, and if the electric pump is broken or something’s wrong, I don’t want to go without drinking water.”
“You really think we won’t have running water?”
“No, but it’s a possibility.”
“What about going to the bathroom?”
“I brought rolls of toilet paper with me. If you need to, you can always go out in the forest.”
“Wonderful.”
There weren’t any trails to follow; we just sort of meandered through the underbrush.
The woods were beautiful. For the first 30 minutes, I just looked all around me, taking in the sights and listening to the birds.
And then I got bored.
After half an hour of trees and ferns, they all start to look the same.
Same with the birds chirping.
So I started talking to Massimo to entertain myself.
“I never really asked you – why is all this shit happening?” I asked.
“Because there are people chasing you and trying to kidnap you.”
“Yeah, I got that part. But why? And how are your uncle and cousin mixed up in it?”
“Remember back at the university when you accused my family of killing the Agrellas in Florence?”
“Of course.”
“My brothers and I didn’t do it. But we think my uncle and cousin did – in partnership with a man from Sicily.”
“Okay, but what does that have to do with my grandmother?”
“We think Fausto and Aurelio wanted to turn the Five Families against us. Rome, Venice, Sicily, Naples, and Milan. And we suspect that my cousin was the one who hired the mercenaries in Venice to go after your grandmother.”
“But why?”
“If Fausto gets the okay from the Five Families to wipe us out, he could take over our territory without being shunned by the rest of the Cosa Nostra. If the Five Families think he turned on his own flesh and blood for nothing other than money, they’d ostracize him at best – and probably wipe him out at worst. Fausto doesn’t want that, so the best option is to make us look like a bunch of backstabbing savages so he’s justified in slitting our throats.”
“This is all fascinating,” I said sarcastically, “but you still haven’t told me why a bunch of mercenaries tried to kill my grandmother and kidnap me.”Content protected by Nôv/el(D)rama.Org.
Massimo grew quiet.
I continued. “I mean, if your uncle got Nona to think you and your brothers are a bunch of psychos because of what happened in Florence, what possible reason was there to send a bunch of assassins to kill her? And why now? Besides the fact that – ”
Suddenly it clicked.
I stopped in my tracks.
He turned to look at me, and I saw the guilty look on his face.
“You,” I said, shocked. “It was because you came to visit her… and that’s why they tried to kill her.”
“We actually think they were trying to take her captive – ”
“OH, that’s SO much better,” I said angrily. “We were doing just fine until YOU waltzed through the front door!”
“If they were willing to go after your grandmother yesterday, they would have eventually gone after her no matter what – ”
“You don’t know that!” I shouted. “They might’ve just been happy with your shitty little piece of Tuscany and left the rest of us alone!”
Now Massimo started to get angry. “But they didn’t leave you alone. They attacked your grandmother – they came after you – ”
“Because YOU were there! No other fucking reason! Did Rome get attacked? Did Naples or Sicily?!”
“…not that we know of, no,” he admitted.
“You fucking asshole,” I seethed. “Acting like you’re doing me such a big favor… keeping me safe… bossing me around and acting like a DICK… and it’s ALL YOUR FUCKING FAULT I’M IN THIS SITUATION IN THE FIRST PLACE!”
“Your grandmother doesn’t blame us for this,” he snapped.
“Well, I’m not my grandmother,” I snarled. “And maybe the only reason she’s SAID she doesn’t blame you is because you’re the only thing standing between me and a bunch of assholes. Assholes who came after me BECAUSE of you.”
“Lucia – ”
“Go FUCK yourself. And do me a favor: don’t fucking talk to me anymore.”
I turned around and started stomping through the woods.
He followed behind me in silence.