Rallenti Read online

  “Silence,” he winked.

  She nodded that she understood. The door opened and her mother returned with her father following. They looked to Dominic. He nodded his head. “Grazie, for letting me visit your lovely daughter. Again let us know if anything is needed.”

  Her father shook his hand and walked him out. Her mother came back to her bedside. “Is everything okay?”

  “I got a job, Mommy. In Paris!”

  Her mother’s face froze. “Job?”

  “A good job. My dream job,” Kyra said and prayed her mother would be proud of her. “Say you approve. I need your approval, Mommy.”

  “Of course I approve. I am so very proud of you, Kyra. So proud!” her mother kissed her brow gently and then her cheek. “So proud,” her mother repeated.

  “Thank you, Mom.”

  ***

  Later that day –

  “Knock! Knock!” Jamie pushed the door open with a hand full of balloons. “Hey squirrel! Look at you, honey! Love the turban!”

  Kyra grinned. She dropped her magazine and stretched her arms. “Hi!”

  Jamie put her balloons and gifts on the desk and rushed her for a gentle hug. She kissed her face and smiled. “Shit you look a mess!”

  “I haven’t looked in a mirror. Been too afraid,” Kyra said.

  “Well don’t worry. In a few weeks this will all be healed.” Jamie turned her face with the pinch of her chin from left to right. She then smiled into her eyes. “I’m so glad you are okay, kiddo. You scared the shit out of me.”

  “I don’t know what happened? I still can’t understand how I got here. Mom and Daddy said it was you? Was it?”

  Jamie glanced around the room as if she expected to find someone else there. “Where are your parents?”

  “Gone home. Finally! My sisters convinced them. They’ve been here for a week straight. Mama is exhausted. She needed some rest. She’ll be back here before sunset I’m sure.”

  “You’re her baby. That’s to be expected.” Jamie winked.

  The door opened. A detective and two other officers walked inside the room. Kyra froze at the sight of them. “Mr. Collins, I had no idea we’d be seeing you today,” the detective said to Jamie. Jamie didn’t respond. She hated when people addressed her as a man. The detective obviously did so to irk her. Jamie walked away and sat over in the chair grandly with the cross of her legs and the toss of her blonde locks. Today Jamie was a blonde. She wore a green turtleneck and jeans with platform knee-high boots that looked as if they were dipped in green glitter. She looked one hundred percent woman.

  Jamie had several run-ins with the law in the past. She loathed the police. Most of her arrests were due to fights with men who turned violent on her when they discovered who she was. Jamie always ended up bloodying a nose or blackening an eye. She could handle her own and the detectives knew it.

  “Hello, Ms. Okeeno. I’m Detective Muncie. I’ve been waiting to speak to you. The hospital called and said you were receiving visitors. Are you up for a conversation with me?” he asked.

  Kyra glanced to Jamie who winked to reassure her. She then looked to the detective who had a piercing stare focused solely on her. “Okay.”

  “Can I ask what your relationship was to Cezar Lupei?” he asked.

  “He and I dated. We ended things last week. He’s been harassing me,” she said.

  The detective’s left brow winged up. “Did you file a report on this harassment?”

  “Ah…” she glanced to Jamie and felt awful for not doing what her friend advised. “No. I thought I could handle it. I knew he was upset with the breakup but I didn’t think… I didn’t know he’d want to hurt me.”

  “So he’s never been violent in the past?” the detective asked.

  “No. Never,” she answered.

  “Can you walk me through the events of last Monday evening? The night you were attacked.”

  Kyra sighed. “I had just… ah, woken up. I um,” Kyra didn’t know how to explain the story without including Renaldo. “It’s foggy in my head. But um, Cezar buzzed my apartment.” She looked up at the detective praying he didn’t see through her deception. “I put on a coat and went downstairs. I wanted to tell him to leave me alone for good. I thought I could talk to him.”

  “You went outside? To talk?” the detective asked.

  “Yes. But when I got outside he wasn’t there. So I walked to the sidewalk thinking he was in his car. Somehow he got around me. And when I turned he was there. And he was angry. He had a gun. He said I ruined him and that I needed to pay. He started talking crazy. So I told him to leave. He grabbed me. I screamed. He said he would shoot me if I kept screaming and he tried to drag me to the car.” Kyra could feel his arm around her throat. She could taste the blood in her mouth. Jamie must have sensed how badly she trembled because she returned to her side and held her hand.

  “Can we do this another time, boys? Look at the kid. She’s exhausted.”

  “No. I want to finish this. And then I don’t want to talk about it ever again.” Kyra looked up at the officers. “Cezar and I fought and we fell. I tried to get the gun but he grabbed my hair and started beating me. He hit me over and over in the head with something…. I don’t know, I think it was the gun. He did it until everything went dark.”

  “And?” the detective asked.

  “That’s all. It’s all I remember. I woke up here.”

  “Was there someone else?”

  “No,” Kyra said. Her memory was really sparse. She remembered a shadow but nothing of Renaldo. She still couldn’t believe how he returned in time to save her life. She owed him so much. “Nothing else. I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be, ma’am. You were lucky to have help. The doctors said so. As for Cezar Lupei, he’s dead. We have accessed his apartment. He had a shrine to you there. Pictures from him stalking you around town.”

  She glanced to Jamie and the detective in disbelief.

  The detective removed an envelope from his pocket. He opened it and unfolded a thin photo. “Can you tell me about this man?”

  Kyra accepted the image. It showed her on the sidewalk talking to Renaldo. It was only minutes before Cezar confronted them both. “He is, ah, he works for the company I do.”

  “Renaldo Cracchiolo,” the detective said. “It appears he left the country shortly after your incident. We have tried to reach the Battaglias for comment. Dominic Battaglia has referred us to his attorneys. How close are you to the Battaglias?”

  “I work for them,” Kyra said. “I only know Catalina and Marietta.”

  “And Renaldo Cracchiolo? You know him right? That is you with him in the photo. Right? Are you close to him?” The detective asked.

  “He’s a coworker, and a nice guy. He offered to give me a ride home. That’s all.”

  “Let me tell you what I think happened to you, Kyra. I think you were involved with Renaldo. I think your boyfriend Cezar got upset. I think Renaldo was there the night you were attacked. Witnesses claim to have seen a man who fits his description on the sidewalk with a gun in his hand.” The detective glanced up to Jamie. “But your friend here said it was just a Good Samaritan that happened by and drove you both to the hospital.” The detective stepped closer. “You’re a victim in this. I understand. But the Battaglias are very dangerous people. We believe Renaldo Cracchiolo was in this country to carry out a job. A mob hit in Brooklyn a few days before your attack. It would be wise if you were honest with me.”

  “I don’t know anything else. I didn’t see who helped me. Please. I’m tired.”

  “You heard her Inspector Gadget. We’re done. I want you boys to get out,” Jamie said. She stepped toward them.

  Kyra held out the photo to the detective.

  He smiled. “You keep it.” He removed a business card and passed it to Kyra. “Call me if your memory returns or Renaldo Cracchiolo contacts you.”

  She accepted the card and watched as Jamie escorted them to the door. Jamie glanced back at her.
“You okay, squirrel?”

  “No,” she said staring down at the image of her and Renaldo smiling at each other on the sidewalk. “He’s gone.”

  “Yes he is. And that boss of his, Dominic Battaglia, made sure to clean up everything. He paid me a visit. The man is gorgeous!” Jamie exclaimed. “But intense. He asked me about what I saw. And honey, he was asking in a way that I confessed it all.”

  Kyra looked up. “Did Renaldo get in trouble with these people?”

  “I think so kid. They sent him back to Italy. The man offered to pay me for my silence. But I told him hell no. Far as I’m concerned Renaldo is a hero. Cezar was garbage. Glad he’s dead!”

  “Don’t say that, Jamie. Nobody deserves to die.”

  “Better him than you honey! When I got to my window I saw you on the ground and Cezar hitting you. I saw Renaldo run over and grab him. I saw it all. I barely got downstairs in time to stop your enforcer. He was carrying you to the car. I could swear the man had tears in his eyes. He saved your life. Don’t you waste a minute on blaming yourself. Blame Cezar!”

  Kyra stared at the image of Renaldo. “The Battaglias offered us a job.”

  “Us?” Jamie repeated.

  “Yes,” she smiled. “For Paris. And get this. We are a package deal, they want to negotiate salary.” Kyra smiled.

  Jamie’s smile faded.

  “What’s wrong? Why aren’t you dancing around? I’m stuck in the bed, but look at you.”

  “Kyra, I met Dominic Battaglia. He’s intense. You heard that detective. That hit in Brooklyn the other day, man gunned down in front of his house. They think your playboy did it. This family isn’t even what the police believe they are. I called my friends who are connected. They said the Battaglias are part of the Camorra, worse than the Mafia. Renaldo works for a psychopath named Giovanni Battaglia. A Sicilian Don. He’s the husband of Mirabella. Kyra, after everything that happened, you need to stay away from these people.”

  “Mafia? I know that’s what they are. Hell I knew it the minute I saw Renaldo’s nightstand with bullets lined up on it. He was never just a bodyguard. He’s… something else. And that’s his choice. Mine is the future, and the life we want is in Paris. This is our chance, Jamie. Tell me you want it too.”

  A slow grin formed on Jamie’s face. “Mama didn’t raise no fool. Damn right I do!” Jamie laughed. “When do we pack?”

  “First we get me out of this bed and then we get the hell out of New York!”

  “What about your parents? Have you told them?”

  Kyra nodded. “They are proud of me.” She blinked away tears. “Renaldo changed my life. I can never thank him for what he’s done.”

  “What you’ve done, kid. And I get the feeling you changed his too.”

  Epilogue

  Four Months Later

  From the backseat of the car Kyra stared out at the Amalfi Coast. She’d always heard Italy was beautiful. The people, the food, the land, all of it lived up to its reputation. Yesterday she landed in Napoli, and checked into her hotel. And today a driver arrived. Kyra secretly had hoped it would be Renaldo.

  It wasn’t.

  The car veered up a road with tall cypress trees on either side. They were no longer traveling along the coast but deeper into Sorrento. And everywhere she could see some of the most beautiful flowers bloomed. She checked her watch. Her stomach felt as if a hundred butterflies were trapped inside. Maybe she should have asked Jamie to come with her. The invitation was for her only. And after only three months in Paris, Kyra was shocked that it arrived.

  “Signorina, benvento in Melanzana,” the driver said.

  Kyra leaned forward. The roads were narrow, one lane streets. But she could see clearly ahead the tall gates of an estate. Two men were posted outside of it. Both of them looked secretly armed. The driver rolled down his window and spoke to one of them and the gates were opened. Kyra could not trust the beauty that awaited her. This was the home of the Battaglias. Jamie said to trust nothing. And the villa was massive. It looked like a museum to her. The car drove around a circular drive and a large fountain. He parked before stone steps that led up to a wide door between roman columns.

  Nervous, Kyra fidgeted with her purse and tried to steady her shaking hands. The door opened. The man reached in to help her step out. Kyra looked around. There were a few men standing near a car. One flicked his cigarette and stared directly into her eyes. The other looked familiar. She remembered him as one of the men who worked for Renaldo. He nodded his head at her respectfully. Kyra smiled.

  “Prego, this way,” the driver said.

  She nodded. She hitched her purse up higher on her shoulder. One of the signature dresses from Mirabella’s current collection was a wrap around style. She had chosen a white wrap around dress for the meeting. The hem rippled around her legs and her gold strappy ankle heels gleamed in the sun. Kyra had her hair in long straight micro-braids that swayed to her waist. She tossed them from her face, pursed her lips, and stepped through the doors of Melanzana.

  Inside her breath caught. The place felt regal, from the marble floors to the grand stairwell that curved up to the upper level. She glanced around taken in by everything.

  “Please, come with me,” the driver encouraged.

  Kyra nodded and walked with him through the home. She glanced at a few others she passed. They appeared to be staff. None of them made eye contact with her. They went about their tasks as if she hadn’t arrived. Kyra was more excited than afraid. It was the daredevil in her she supposed. She went towards the back of the estate and down a long hall. She was then delivered to a door. The man who had accompanied her nodded respectfully and opened it for her to pass through.

  Kyra walked inside.

  Women awaited her.

  “Kyra? Welcome!” Donna Mirabella Battaglia said. And she was more strikingly beautiful than her pictures. Her skin was just a shade lighter than Kyra’s, her hair was thick and wavy reaching to her shoulders. She wore a tailored red pantsuit with a short waist jacket and a crisp white shirt with a wide collar beneath. She approached Kyra and gave her a kiss to both cheeks. “How was your flight?”

  “Good. Ah, great. Thank you for having me.”

  “No. Thank you for coming.” Mirabella said. She glanced back. “You know Catalina and my sister Marietta.” Mirabella nodded to them both.

  “Yes! Hi!” Kyra waved at them.

  Catalina walked over first. She kissed Kyra on the cheek. She wore a pink summer dress, and looked as beautiful as Kyra remembered.

  “Ciao bella,” Catalina said.

  And then Marietta approached. She wore a white skirt that was long and low waist to reveal the piercing in her navel. She had a cut-off white shirt with web crocheted sleeves. Her hair was as curly and thick as a lion’s mane. She was by far the most stylishly beautiful of the three; much more exotic in her appearance than her conservatively dressed twin sister. She walked over and greeted her. To Kyra’s surprise Marietta hugged her. She smiled. Kyra thought Marietta hated her. Or at the very least had no respect for her after their last meeting. Marietta touched her cheek. “Glad to see you’re okay, kid.”

  “Thank you. Thank you so much.” Kyra said.

  “Alright, girls, give her some room,” Mirabella chuckled. “Have a seat, Kyra,” her boss said. Kyra did as she was asked. Dominic told her that Mirabella was called ‘Donna Mirabella’ as a show of respect. And Jamie told her all kinds of wild tales of the black fashion designer who married a Sicilian mob boss. She believed only half of it. Nothing prepared her for the truth. Though Mirabella hadn’t said much, she had an air of importance that commanded the room. The other two did as she told them. They sat and remained silent as Mirabella joined Kyra on the sofa in her office. Again Kyra was struck by her presence. How did she end up with the life she led? How could she love a man like her husband and still be so genuinely sweet and welcoming? Or was it a mask? Kyra couldn’t be sure.

  “I am thrilled with your work. I’ve s
een some of the design sketches. Very vibrant and exciting,” Mirabella said.

  “Thanks, we have a few prototypes for shoes. I brought them with me, but forgot them in the car.”

  Mirabella smiled. “Plenty of time for that. I know you are curious as to why I asked you to come.”

  Kyra glanced to the other two women and then to Mirabella. “I am.”

  “Catalina and Marietta and I don’t think your talent is best served in Paris.” She began. “And we don’t think a shoe line is for House of Mirabella’s at this time.”

  “Oh?” Kyra’s heart began to race. “I don’t understand?”

  Mirabella chuckled. “We think we should move the line over to Fabiana’s. It’s a division of the company that will give you a little more freedom to create.”

  “Really? Oh my God!” Kyra exclaimed. “But I thought Fabiana’s was a scarlet design house. Only shades of red.”

  “True.” Catalina said. “We can add red to the shoes you design. Maybe the bottoms, as a signature look.”

  “I like it,” Kyra said.

  “That means you will relocate to Milan. Catalina and Marietta spend a lot of time there. You and Jamie, that’s her name right?” Mirabella asked.

  “Yes. That’s her name.” Kyra said.

  “Well that was easy. We thought we’d need to convince you. Paris is hard to pass up on,” Donna Mirabella chuckled.

  “I’m so grateful for the job opportunity. To your family for your generosity. I can live out of my car as long as I’m able to create.”

  Mirabella patted her knee. “Well that won’t be necessary.” She glanced over to Catalina and Marietta. They both stood and left the room without being told. Kyra frowned. She glanced back over at Mirabella.

  “Did I say something wrong?” Kyra chuckled.

  “No. I wanted to talk to you alone, about Renaldo,” Mirabella said bluntly.

  Kyra’s stomach clenched. She was still hurt and confused by the lack of contact she received from her lover over the past few months. Not even a letter. “Okay?”

  “I know what happened in America. I’m so glad you were able to recover.”