TWENTY-NINE

look so cute on you!" Amber said, taking a red embroidered blouse off the rack of clothes we were currently perusing. I had to admit that it was cute, but the second I saw it memories of Arturo's red silk tie and the dresses he had bought me flashed through my head.

"I'm not really into red at the moment," I dismissed the top. What I really meant was that I didn't want to be marked as yet another of Arturo's possessions.

I appreciated the fact that he had clearly listened to me about my lack of friends, but that didn't change the fact that Amber was still one of Arturo's employees. The cynical side of me suspected that her presence had more to do with Arturo's obsessive compulsion to track me than it did with my own wishes.

"What do you think about these?" Amber dragged me out of my spiralling thoughts to look at a pair of diamanté-covered six inch heels.

"Wow," I replied. "They're, uh, really something..."

"You're right. Too glittery."

"I didn't say that –"

"You didn't need to." She gave me a smile before glancing down to the pitiful number of bags I was carrying. "Come on, Florence, you've hardly bought anything!"

"Tight budget," I shrugged, shifting my weight to alleviate the pressure on my aching feet. We'd been walking around for hours. "Anyway, all I need is the basics."

"Tight budget my ass," Amber laughed. "Pretty sure the Don's bank card is endless."

"I'm not using his money."

Instantly her mouth fell open. "Why the hell not?"

"I don't want to feel like I owe him anything. I don't like being dependent on people." I had a small amount of money left from my short time working for Van Der Bilt which I'd used to buy the most basic essentials. Hoping Amber would drop the conversation, I picked up a white summer dress and held it up to my body. "How about this?"

"Oh my god, buy it! But after we've finished here let's go grab some food. I'm starving."

By the time Amber and I made it to a restaurant it was mid-afternoon and it was easy to tell we were both dead on our feet. Despite my exhaustion, I felt lighter than I had in months, happy to finally spend time outside of mafia life. The last time I'd felt like this had been on the morning of my graduation which I'd spent with Lucas and Rachel.

"Want to share a dessert?" Amber asked, pushing the menu towards me. I stared at it blankly, lost in my own thoughts. "I was thinking the salted caramel cheesecake."

"Sure," I mumbled.

The more I thought about Lucas, the more guilt started building in my stomach. The last time I'd seen him had been the night of the shooting, and I'd left on less than friendly terms. Just like Kelsie, he was another example of a relationship which had fallen apart because of Arturo, and I'd done nothing to fix the situation out of fear of how he might react.

The truth was that Lucas had been a good friend to me. He'd been there for me through everything, and if I was being honest with myself I missed his company. Even during my university years when I'd been torn up about Arturo, Lucas had been the one to deal with my break downs, he'd provided a shoulder to cry on when I had no one else.

"Earth to Florence." Amber waved her hand in front of my face, jolting me out of my thoughts for the second time. A slice of cheesecake sat between us on the table. "Are you okay?" she asked, handing me a fork. "You seem distracted."

"Just thinking about an old friend," I admitted.

"An ex friend?"

"I hope not. I haven't exactly treated him very well."

Amber popped a bite of the cake into her mouth. "He's a friend," she shrugged, "he'll come around. Have you tried talking to him?"

"Not yet."

"What exactly are you waiting for?" She raised a brow.

"I...I'm not sure Arturo would be very happy about it." It felt stupid admitting that he had so much control over what I did and didn't do.

Amber cocked her head. "So what? You're a grown woman. A little jealousy isn't going to kill him."

"I'm more worried it might wind up getting someone else killed," I laughed humourlessly. I wanted to make light of the situation despite the fact that what I said was true. I didn't want Lucas to end up getting hurt because of me.

"Arturo loves you, right?" Amber interrogated.

Her question caught me off guard. "Yes," I said slowly. "Of course. He just...he shows it in different ways." Like stalking me and owning my bosses.

"Well, he's not going to hurt someone you care about," she rationalised. "Not if it meant the possibility of losing you. Where does your friend live?"

I wasn't even sure that Amber was right. I knew Arturo didn't want to lose me, but the hatred between him and Lucas ran deep. Deeper than petty jealousy; Lucas had betrayed his trust almost as thoroughly as I.

"Not too far away," I responded to Amber, chewing on my lip. Already I was running through a plan of action in my head. "Do you have your phone on you?"

She pulled it out of her pocket and set it on the table. "Yeah, why?"

Picking it up, I held it above my cup of tea and shot Amber an apologetic glance. "I'll buy you a new one," I promised just before dropping the phone into the liquid.

"What was that for?!"

"I think Arturo is using you to track me," I admitted sheepishly. When I said it out loud, it sounded insane. For any normal person to behave in such a way it would be ludicrous, but he wasn't just a normal person.

"Jeez," Amber breathed, leaning back in her seat and running a hand through her hair. "You're sure?"

"Eighty five percent."

"Well." She pulled her now-ruined phone out of the cup of tea and set it down on the table. "Not anymore."

"I need to get out of here quickly," I told Amber, leaning closer and speaking urgently. "Before he notices that he's lost us. Here." I handed her the keys to Marco's Porsche that was parked a few blocks away. "Take the car."

"But how will you get back?"

"I'll figure it out," I shrugged. "Public transport or something."

"If I get back without you then Arturo will know something's up," Amber reasoned. "I'll wait in the car for you."

"I won't be long," I promised.

Walking to Lucas' house had a strange and surprising effect on me. I hadn't thought much about it initially, but as I continued to walk the feeling of being followed gradually crept up on me. I knew it was due to the gun incident with the stranger in an alley, but nevertheless it was unsettling. Flashbacks from that day kept appearing in my head, unwanted and persistent.

I was grateful when I reached Luke's front door.

Memories of pounding my fists into the wood came back to me and I hesitated. I'd been terrified out of my mind, convinced that I'd killed a man – that I'd finally become a part of the mafia life. I wasn't a killer.

I shook the intrusive thoughts away and knocked gently on the door.

Lucas answered almost instantly, pulling open the door with a look of irritation on his face. When he saw it was me, however, the irritable expression was replaced first with a smile and then a look of confusion. "Florence?"

"I didn't mean to interrupt," I said, guessing that he'd been busy. "I can go..."

He shook his head, rubbing a hand against the back of his neck. Neither of us quite knew what to do with ourselves. "I, uh – I was just about to pick Rachel up from school," he admitted.

"Shit, sorry I didn't even think about what time it was."

"Most people don't have school hours in mind when they plan their day," he shrugged with a faint smile.

"I should have thought about it."

"Don't worry." Lucas waved my concern away easily. "But I really do need to get going."

"I could come with you," I offered.

It wasn't until Luke had taken a step closer that I realised he was in workout clothes. He must have been planning to jog to the school.

"...or not."

"No, don't worry, I can grab my car keys." He turned back inside but hesitated. "Is everything...okay?"

"Of course."

"You're not on the run from someone? You haven't been hurt or put in danger?"

"Not last time I checked."

Lucas nodded slowly and finally went to retrieve his keys. In the mean time, I chewed guiltily on my lip, realising for the first time that I really had been unfair on him. Every time I came to him I was in some form of trouble, always relying on him to be there.

Lucas locked the door in silence and we both climbed into his car.

I sat for a full minute planning out what I might say, trying to work out how to make up for my being a shitty friend and taking him for granted. Neither of us spoke. Lucas drummed his fingers against the steering wheel, peering across at me every few seconds with concern. Clearly it was too hard to believe I was here just because I wanted to be.

"Lucas, I'm sorry –"

"I'm sorry I haven't seen you in a while –"

He began speaking at the same time but I shook my head and continued anyway. "I'm sorry I haven't seen you in a while. I know we left things on bad terms and that was my fault, well, I guess Arturo doesn't really leave much room for argument but you're supposed to be my friend. Sometimes it feels like I've forgotten what that even means, I mean, who the hell parts on bad terms like that and doesn't say anything about it for over a month? And the worst part is that I've realised I only ever come to you when I'm in trouble."

"That's not true."

"It is. I'm such a shitty friend Luke, oh my god. Every time I turn up at your doorstep or come looking for you I just expect you to help me. And it's not – I don't just like you because you can protect me. I don't want every time we see each other to be on bad terms. It's just, Arturo makes things difficult. You're with the Genovese, and I'm...well, I don't know what I am. But I do know that Arturo and the family are important to me. I don't want to have to sneak around any time I see you, I don't want to have to evade trackers and lie through my teeth only to be yelled at when I get back, but that's how it is. I'm sorry, Lucas. Really sorry."

"Flo, you don't have to apologise."

"Of course I do."

He placed a reassuring hand on my knee. "From the beginning our friendship has been tied to the mafia, it was never going to be easy – it never has been. When I came to you it was usually only to find a way to keep you safe or warn you about Arturo. I'm as much at fault as you. I didn't ask you how you were once your boyfriend dragged you out of my apartment, I never tried to find out."

"It's okay, Luke..."

"But there was a reason for that." His eyes suddenly grew darker, the warmth of his expression all but lost.

I waited for him to elaborate but the silence only grew thicker as we pulled up to Rachie's school. "What was the reason?" I prompted.

His hand retracted from my leg and his usually warm brown eyes turned to me. "The Genovese are looking for you."

"What?! Lucas this is crazy, you let me come in your car! What if they see you with me? What the hell were you thinking?"

"The windows are tinted, they can't see through," he explained, pointing to the windscreen. I had so many questions but Lucas simply unfastened his seatbelt and threw open the door. "I'm going to get Rachel."

The five minutes it took for Luke to return with his niece were spent in a state of total anxiety. Despite nobody being able to see into the car, I kept looking around at the parents collecting their children, trying to determine any mafia-type figures who had followed us. A suit, a fedora, a cigar...an armoured SUV. Any of those would be a dead giveaway.

But the question which plagued me the most was...why did my family want me back? When Arturo and my father had faced off years ago, he had relinquished all claim to me. I could still hear his words clearly in my head...she is no daughter of mine. As far as I knew, my father was still running things after the death of Antonio, so why the sudden interest? It chilled me to the bone.

"Auntie Flo!" I heard an excited voice yelling when Lucas opened the back door to let Rachel in. Her bright blonde hair was in two pigtails held up by neon scrunchies and she grasped a stuffed bunny toy to her chest.

"Hey Rachie," I smiled despite my current anxiety, turning in my seat to face her. I found it adorable that she'd taken to calling me auntie despite being no real relation. "Wow, is that a bunny you got there?"

She held the toy out like some kind of trophy. "It's a rabbit!"

She was just like her Uncle. I caught him shooting me an amused smirk at her correction and I rolled my eyes in response.

"Does it have a name?"

Rachie put the toy down on her lap and then made it ark through the air, landing on the seat beside her. "Hop!"

"Good choice," I grinned.

"Rachie, Flo and I have some important stuff to talk about. Do you want to go to the park?" Lucas asked, glancing at her in the overhead mirror.

"Can Hop come?"

He nodded. "Hop can come."

"Yesss!"

Once Rachel became distracted by playing with her toy I turned back to Lucas. "The park? Really? That's such a public place..."

"I know where the Genovese have influence and where they don't. I've seen their CCTV setup, I know where they don't have eyes. Relax, Florence. Nobody's coming for you right now."

I wanted to believe Lucas but then a thought struck me. "How do I know you're not taking me to them now?"

"With my niece in the back of the car? Really? Have I ever tried to do anything other than keep you safe?"

I shook my head. Of course Lucas was right. I immediately felt bad for even thinking such a thing, after all why would he even bother warning me if he had such a plan. "I'm sorry," I said again, guilt tightening in my throat. "I know you always look out for me."

Luke shrugged and kept his eyes fixed on the road. "I've not been doing a very good job of that, lately," he sighed. "I should have told you about this earlier, but if they saw me with you...and Arturo isn't exactly my number one fan."

"Last time I recalled you're not his biggest fan either. You both have one thing in common though, me. Can't you just try to focus on that?" It was a stupid question to ask, I knew, but in an ideal world it would be enough.

"I don't even know if we have that."

"What?" We turned onto a street which bordered Rachie's favourite park and she started talking excitedly in the back of the car. "What, Luke?"

"We're here."

While Lucas got Rachel out of the back my mind span at a hundred miles an hour. What had he meant, that I no longer mattered to him? That I'd not paid him enough attention, that I'd not been a good friend, and now it was too much? I deserved that. I did. But that didn't make accepting it any easier.

I had to walk quickly to keep up with Lucas as he strode towards the park. Naturally Rachie had already reached the gate and was running over to the nearest set of swings.

"Luke," I hissed. We were alone and Rachel was too far away to overhear our conversation but still I kept my voice low. When he just kept walking I grabbed his wrist and pulled him to a stop. "What did you mean?"

Lucas rubbed the faint blond stubble along his jaw, clearly hesitating. "I know I haven't been a very good friend to you," I said quietly when I realised he wasn't going to say anything. "I know I should spend more time with you, and I want to, believe me I do, but like you said it's never been simple between us. And I know my boyfriend hates you and I always turn to you when he turns on me but I'm here now. I'm here now, Lucas, and I don't want to lose you as a friend. So please, whatever I can do to make it better, just tell me."

"You've got it wrong."

"I– what?"

"I wasn't suggesting that I wasn't on your side."

"So, you...Arturo, I mean– what?" My head had been running through this conversation for over five minutes in the car but I'd never anticipated it taking this turn.

When I'd collected my thoughts enough I shook my head. "Arturo isn't not on my side, Lucas. He's always on my side."

Luke glanced over to Rachie who had just settled herself onto a swing. "Come push me Uncle Luke!!"

"Five minutes, sweetheart."

I folded my arms. "You'd better get explaining."

"Florence, look, I'm not the bad guy here." He held his hands up. "I'm just telling you what I've heard from the Genovese."

"And what have you heard?"

"Raimondo wants you back."

It took me minutes to respond. Hell, it took me minutes to blink, to breathe, to do anything. What Lucas said was an impossibility. I had been there when Arturo and my father faced off, I had heard from his own mouth the way he disowned me. I wasn't a Genovese anymore, not really, so why did he want me back? This was different from what I'd been told earlier. The Genovese wanting me back to assert their power over Arturo, to make him suffer, I could comprehend. But the way Lucas said my father's name...it was personal.

"Y-you're wrong," I denied, because it was all I could think of to say. It was the only thing that made sense.

"I'm afraid not, Flo." He tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear and then dropped his hand with a sigh.

"I don't understand."

"The Genovese suffered massively at the hands of the Lucchese when their takeover failed. Arturo might have been shot, but his men took out far more of the other group. They were left damaged, and since then Arturo has only cultivated more support, siding with the Gambino in some respects to maximise power and influence. Raimondo is a good leader but there was little he could do to salvage the destruction left behind by Antonio's reign. So he's finally come up with a plan."

"A plan that involves me," I filled in. Somehow it didn't surprise me that my family wanted me back for solely selfish reasons.

"The Luccheses have sided with the Gambino. The Colombo and Bonanno have been long standing enemies of the Genovese. That leaves them in a pretty isolated position."

Luke's eyes wandered back over to Rachel and irritation flared in my chest. "So what?"

"So your father struck a deal with the Russians. He promised you to Victor Ivanov." Lucas swallowed heavily, his eyes not meeting mine. "He promised your hand in marriage."