Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 96742 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96742 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
Chapter 49
Camille
I stand outside in the gardens. Bees flit from flower to flower and the sun feels good on my skin. I’m in shorts and a t-shirt, nothing special, my hair up in a messy bun, no makeup, just me and myself. I came out here to get some privacy, and I actually feel like I have some space alone even though Alonzo’s lurking nearby. The house is usually filled with staff and soldiers and captains—although I have no clue what half of them are doing at any given time. The smell of the grass, the taste of crisp fall on the breeze, it reminds me of home, and I can forget about where I am for a while.
I miss Philadelphia. I don’t miss my parents or the house I shared with Christopher, but I miss the streets, the old buildings, the sense of belonging. I knew Philly, knew the alleys, the restaurant, the bars.
I knew the people. They were my people.
Here though, I’m a stranger. Chicago’s foreign, Chicago’s like another world, and I feel so disconnected from the city out here on the grounds of the Kazan mansion, tucked away in my own little paradise. Sometimes, I forget I’m in a city at all.
I come around a bend and slow to a stop. Ahead, someone’s kneeling on the ground, digging in the dirt and pulling weeds. I watch for a second, thinking it’s a member of the gardening staff, until she sits up and wipes her forehead with the back of her wrist.
It’s Sophia. She’s in jeans and a light blue top with a bandana over her hair and gloves on her hands. I’ve never seen her in anything but couture before, and this is almost surreal, watching her work in the dirt. Evander made it sound like Sophia would never be caught dead getting her hands dirty.
“Are you going to stand there and watch me all day?” She glances over, shading her eyes against the sunlight. “Or are you going to run off now?”
Normally, I’d turn and walk away as fast as I can. I’ve come across Sophia in the house a few times over the last weeks, and I always hurry away when she tries to engage me. Evander made it clear that Sophia and her mother aren’t to be messed with, and the memory of that first dinner is still fresh in my head.
But for some reason, I stick around. Maybe it’s the streak of mud under her eye or how small she looks kneeling in the grass, but she doesn’t terrify me. Not right now at least.
“I didn’t know you were into gardening.” I walk toward her slowly.
She gets to her feet, takes off her gloves, and wipes her hands on her thighs. “It’s cathartic. Normally, only Aunt Dimitra comes out here, but I guess you’ve ruined even the gardens for me.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean—” I stop my apology with a sharp breath. “Actually, no, I’m not sorry.”
Sophia’s eyebrows arch. “You should be.”
“I’m still not.” I step forward, but not before glancing back to make sure Alonzo’s nearby. He’s at a polite distance but watching. Apparently, I’m still a coward at heart. “I live here too, you know.”
Sophia lets out a little laugh. “Oh, I’m very aware. As much as I’d love to forget you exist, it has been exceedingly hard.”
“Why do you hate me so much?”
“Aside from the fact that you married my cousin, the man I despise most in this world, you’re also the ex-wife of an Italian Capo. You’re the enemy. Are you surprised I feel this way?”
I shake my head. “I’m not the enemy. I hate those people.”
“Good for you. Unfortunately, you are what you are, and nothing can change it.”
“You put Hector and Zale up to that little kidnapping scheme, didn’t you?” The words rush out before I can stop them. “You’ve been trying to convince the other captains that I’m a problem since the moment I showed up here, and they’re the ones that bought in, didn’t you?”
Sophia checks her nails. Despite looking like a farmer’s daughter, her French tips are immaculate. “I plead the fifth,” she says, smile telling me everything I need to know.
“It won’t work. Evander won’t let you get away with it. And you know what? No matter what you do, I’m not going back, because nothing will be worse than what I went through with my ex-husband.”
She tilts her head curiously. “It was that bad, wasn’t it? Bad enough to put up with all this?”
I hesitate, not sure how to interpret that. There’s a hint of humanity in her tone, the barest suggestion of pity, but I don’t want that from her. I don’t want it from anyone.
“It was bad enough that I risked my life to run out on him with nothing but the shoes on my feet.” I don’t mention that those were thousand-dollar sneakers. It’s a minor detail. “It was bad enough that when I met your cousin and he offered to protect me, I accepted, because how could a stranger be any worse?”