Chapter 31: Chapter 31: Supermarket

I woke up the next morning without Giovanni beside me and frowned.

I took a shower and brushed my teeth before going to Leo’s room. I leaned against the doorway and smiled at him. He was still asleep and cuddled into Oreo.

I quietly walked into the room and pulled the blanket further up. I gently kissed the top of his head as I held back tears.

It hadn’t hit me that I’d been in a coma for two years yet, but as I looked down at him I couldn’t stop the thoughts.

I had missed two of his birthdays—something I swore I would never do because that’s all my parents did to me. At the thought of my parents, my eyes fell to the ring Giovanni gave me.

I chewed my lip nervously as everything that happened yesterday went through my head.

“Mom, why are you crying?” Leo asked, catching my attention.

“I’m not—” I cut myself off as I touched my wet cheeks. I wiped the tears off and shook my head. “I’m fine. Did I wake you?” I asked, frowning.

He shook his head and yawned before wrapping his arms around me in a hug.

“I missed you, Mom,” he whispered.

My lip started to quiver as I found myself crying again. “I missed you so much more,” I croaked.

I pulled away from him to see tears running down his own cheeks. I shook my head and wiped the tears off his cheeks. “I’m here now and I won’t leave you again,” I promised.

“He said that you left and you weren’t coming back,” he said softly.

“Who did?” I asked, frowning.

“Mr. Petrov,” he said, shutting his eyes.

“I’ll always come back for you, Leo, I promise,” I said, kissing the top of his head.

“Pinkie promise?” he asked, holding out his pinkie.

I smiled and locked his pinkie with my own. “Pinkie promise,” I said softly.

He smiled and I started covering his face in kisses. “Mom, I’m a man now, remember?” he groaned, trying to run away.

I laughed and put him on my back before running into the bathroom.

He brushed his teeth while I made sure the water was warm enough for him to shower in.

I picked out his clothes for him while he finished in the shower and waited for him to dress before we left the room. “What do you want for breakfast?” I asked as we walked to the kitchen.

“Tea and biscuits,” he asked, pouting.

I chuckled and nodded my head as we came to a stop in front of the kitchen.

“Good morning,” I said, smiling at the kitchen staff. They smiled back and greeted Leo and me.

“Mom is making breakfast,” Leo said, smiling.

“We can do it, Miss,” one of the chefs said gently.

“It’s okay, I missed cooking,” I said softly. They all looked at me skeptically, and I shook my head before they could try to argue. “Go, I got this,” I said, washing my hands.

They nodded their heads before leaving the kitchen.

Leo smiled brightly at me and left before coming back with my phone. He put on a song and left it on the counter before running to my side.

“Can I help?” he asked, washing his hands.

I smiled and nodded my head before giving him directions. “They don’t have biscuits. I’m gonna go to the store, okay?” I said, picking my phone up.

“Oh, can I come please?” he begged, pouting.

I nodded my head and ran up the stairs with him following close behind me. “Go put your shoes on and bring Oreo,” I said before going into Giovanni’s room.

He still wasn’t anywhere to be found, and I swallowed my disappointment the best that I could.

I put on my sneakers and tied my hair into a high ponytail before leaving the room and going to get Leo. He put on his other sneaker and grabbed Oreo’s leash before attaching it to his collar.

“Ready,” he said, smiling at me.

“Good. Let’s go,” I said, smiling.

He took my hand and started singing under his breath as we left the house.

“Mrs. Russo,” the guards at the door said, bowing their heads in acknowledgment.

I turned around to look for Bebe and froze as I realized they were talking to me. “Good morning,” I said, snapping out of my thoughts and giving them a warm smile.

The one on the left had brown hair that went down to his gray eyes, while the other had blonde hair that was cut short and hazel eyes.

I started to walk toward the garage and frowned as I realized they were following me.

“Is something wrong?” I asked, turning to face them.

“No. We’ve been given orders to stay with you whenever you leave the house,” one of the guards said.

“Whose orders?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest in annoyance.

“Mr. Russo,” the other guard said.

I rolled my eyes in annoyance and nodded my head. “I’m just going to the grocery store,” I said, running my fingers through my hair.

They both nodded, and the one with hazel eyes whistled. I frowned in confusion, and the garage started to open.

They gestured for me to go, and I took Leo’s hand as I led him toward an SUV that was already started. There were two guards sitting in the front, and I already knew they were going to be coming too.

“I’ve been given four bodyguards?” I asked, putting Leo in the back seat and buckling him up.

“Yes, ma’am,” one of the guards said as I watched Oreo jump in and lie on Leo’s lap.

“Do you have names?” I asked, taking my own seat.

“I’m Antonio,” the driver said.

“I’m Dante,” the one in the passenger seat said.

“I’m Sergio,” the guard with gray eyes said.

“And I’m Luciano,” the guard with hazel eyes said.

“Nice to meet you. Call me Luna, please,” I said softly.

They looked at each other skeptically before nodding their heads.

We came to a stop at the grocery store and I stepped out of the car with Leo close by my side. I grabbed a cart and picked Leo and Oreo up before putting them in.

I watched as the guards made a box around us and nodded as if signaling that I could go in.

After thirty minutes of walking around, we were finally leaving.

“You really didn’t need to get us anything,” Luciano said as we put the stuff in the car.

“I know, but I wanted to. Besides, if you’re going to be going everywhere with me, you might as well be able to get a treat for yourselves,” I said, shrugging.

They thanked me for about the millionth time, making me smile, and they rushed to the house to make sure we got there before anybody woke up.

They helped me put the stuff away and then helped me cook and set up the table.

“Where are you guys going?” I asked as they started to walk out.

“Outside,” Sergio said, pointing toward the door.

I rolled my eyes and gestured toward the table. “Sit,” I said, bringing out plates for them.

They looked at me skeptically and I shook my head, making it clear I wasn’t going to take no for an answer. I washed Leo’s hands before setting him free to go get everybody.

“What’s all this?” Bebe asked with a huge smile on her face as she and the others walked in.

“Mom made breakfast,” Leo said, smiling.

“Thank you,” Bebe said, walking up to me and hugging me.

“It was my pleasure,” I said, hugging her back.

Everybody else thanked me and we all took our seats.

“Where’s Giovanni?” Bebe asked, making the room go quiet.

“I don’t know,” I said, keeping my eyes down.

The room stayed in an awkward silence for a minute before Mr. Russo broke it. We prayed over the food before we started eating.

We laughed and joked as we ate—something I’d missed doing with them.

“Who’s your next bounty?” Alessandro asked Alex.

“Some strip club owner,” Alex responded half-heartedly.

“Mom, what’s a stripper?” Leo asked.

I glared at Alex, who was doing his best to hold in his laughter. “A dancer,” I mumbled.

He nodded his head and turned his attention back to his food.

“How hard is he going to be?” Alessandro asked.

“Hard. Getting in his club isn’t easy and the man doesn’t let anybody in his office but women—the same office that he refuses to leave,” Alex said, rolling his eyes.

“I can help,” I said, shrugging.

“How?” everybody asked, looking up at me.

“Last I checked, I’m a woman,” I said, rolling my eyes.

“It’s too risky,” Alex said, brushing it off. He stood up abruptly and left the room.

“I want to help, Alex. Let me help,” I called out behind him.

He stopped walking and turned to look at me.

“I’m not letting you get hurt,” he growled.

“Alex—”

He walked away before I could get my sentence out and I released a shaky breath as I felt a sharp pain in my chest.

“He’s leaving at three. Leave before him so you get there first,” Alessandro said from behind me.

“Why are you helping me?” I asked, turning to face him. We both knew if Giovanni or Alex found out about this, he was as good as dead.

“He’s good at what he does, but he needs your help,” he said, shrugging.

“Mm-hmm,” I said, not believing him.

“Okay, okay, look, he’s all freaked out because you just seem to keep getting hurt and he feels powerless.

“Every single time something happens to you, it’s like he can’t do anything to help you,” Alessandro said softly.

“Thank you,” I said, hugging him.

“For what?” he asked, hugging me back.

“Taking care of my brother,” I whispered.

“I—”

“It’s okay, you don’t need to explain,” I said, pulling away.

He smiled thankfully before walking off.

“Mom, will you play with me?” Leo asked from behind me.

I smiled brightly as I turned to face him. “Um, yeah,” I said, chasing him.

He squealed as he ran off in a random direction. He ran into Giovanni’s office, and I mentally cursed.

I stepped in to see Leo sitting on Giovanni’s lap and trying to bury his face in his neck like he was hoping he’d turn invisible. Giovanni looked up as if he sensed me walk in.

“Have you seen Leo?” I asked, pretending to look for him.

“No,” he said harshly.

I furrowed my brow in confusion as I racked my brain trying to figure out if I did something to him. He whispered something in Leo’s ear, making him nod.

“Come on, Mom, let’s go play somewhere else,” he said, running up to me and taking my arm.

“Go play with Uncle Alessandro, okay?” I said, giving him a small smile.

He frowned slightly before kissing my cheek and running off.

“Are you okay?” I asked Giovanni cautiously.

He nodded his head dismissively, making me frown.

“I don’t understand. Did I do something?” I asked, slowly walking up to him.

“I got shit to do—do you need something?” he growled, looking up at me.

I tensed and slowly nodded my head, letting him know I got the message before leaving the room.

“He’s just stressed because people are stressing him about some dance,” Bebe said, stopping me.

“They want Giovanni to dance?” I asked as we walked toward Giovanni’s room.

“Not Giovanni—you,” she said softly.

“I don’t understand,” I said, shaking my head.

“When the Don wants to settle down with a woman, bring her into this life, she does a dance—~incantatore di serpenti~,” she said, sitting beside me on the bed. (Snake charmer.)

“Every Donna does it?” I asked, wringing my hands.

“Yes, it’s tradition,” she said, nodding her head.

“Then why hasn’t he said anything to me?” I asked, running my fingers through my hair.

“You just woke up, and he’s scared because he knows if he brings you into this life any further, he’ll be putting a death wish on you,” she said softly.

“But they won’t leave him alone until I do the dance, right?” I asked softly.

“They’ll try to take the title of Don from him,” she said gently.

“Teach me.”