Saving the Mafia Princess

I know, sorella

Leonardo's POV

Research with Trey was easy. I like how he works with the computer. He makes it all seem so simple the way he explains it. I love technical work, so him extending his tricks to me is truly a privilege. We were just printing up some cross-references between new arrivals in town and the deaths of our city officials, when my father busted through the office door. My mother followed closely behind him.

"Trey, do you have any more information on Jacob Wilson?", my father asked. Trey looked taken aback by my father's question. "No sir. I have been handling the other task at hand, first. Since Leo is in here", Trey answered. "Leo, I need you to go stay with your sister. She may not want you to close, but she will have to get over it", my father said, looking dead at me.

"What's going on?", I asked. "Just do as I said, Leonardo", my father snapped. "Yes sir", I frowned, getting up to leave the room. My mother stopped me to pull me in for a hug. "Thank you, Leo", she muttered. I nodded, as I hugged her back. I headed back to the villa to search for my sister.

It was a bit of a walk, but I needed the time to clear my head. What kind of trouble did my sister get herself into? It had to be bad, because dad has never snapped at me like that before. He is under loads of stress right now, it is written all over his face. Colin met me outside in the yard.

"Mom and Dad yelled at Miriam", he couldn't wait to tell me. "Why?", I questioned him. He has all the details, I know he does. "Miriam had been talking to some guy online. He apparently is bad news. Mom and dad are highly upset", he answered me. I nodded my head in understanding. I knew something was up with her recently. She seemed more distant and snappy than usual. "Where is she?", I asked Colin.

"I think she is in her room. She was in mom and dad's room, before they left", he answered, almost jogging beside me to keep up with my pace. My head is racing with the possibilities of what could happen. Or even what has happened. Miriam is a beautiful young lady. Some people may think I am crazy for saying that.

But I feel, as her brother, it's my job to make sure that she is safe. The only way I could do that is to accept that she is beautiful and there will be people to fawn over her. Yes, there will be one guy that is great for her. Will I give him a hard time? Absolutely. How else will he learn to survive in this family? And as for my sister's beauty, does she know she is pretty? Yes. Do I know she is pretty? Yes. Will I ever tell her? Hell no.

I am her brother. I will tell her she is fugly every day for the rest of my life. It is my job. "What are you doing anyway?", Colin asked. I had totally forgotten he was even next to me at this point. "I need to check on her. Father wants me to stay close to her", I explained. "Is he worried that someone is going to try and take her?", Colin questioned lowly. The fear in his voice spoke volumes.

"Nah, and if they did. They would bring her back. Right?", I joked, trying to cheer him up. We don't need Colin in a tiff over any of this, either. Colin laughed, "Yeah, I guess you are right", he said. "Hey, why don't you go find nonna (grandmother). I think she needs some help with her herbal garden. Today is harvest day", I suggested.

I hoped that giving him something to do that he actually enjoys, would help keep his mind off of the situation at hand. Plus, nonna really does need help. "Okay", Colin said excitedly, as he turned and skipped down the hall towards the kitchen. Which is exactly where nonna is. She lives there, pretty much. If my father could build her a room off of the kitchen, she would be the happiest woman alive.

I stopped in front of Miriam's door. I was silent, as I listened for any movement in the room. Whimpers is what reverberated through the door. She was crying. I wonder how rough her talk was with mom and dad. I know our father can be quite intimidating. He was also very angry when he went into the tech room. Us children have never seen our father angry to this extent before.

I took a deep breath and knocked on Miriam's bedroom door. "Go away!", she yelled out. "I can't. You are stuck with me. We are literally twins", I hollered back through the door. "Ugh", I heard her groan. I twisted the handle of the door, surprised to find it was locked. "We aren't supposed to lock our doors, Mir", I sighed, resting my head on the door.

Man, I really miss who my sister used to be. This new version is for the birds, indeed. I heard some rustling inside the room before the handle jiggled. Miriam opened the door, and immediately went back to her bed to bury her face in her pillows. She wouldn't even spare me a glance.

My stomach dropped. Can me and dad switch spots? He can watch her and I can go find the pos that was talking to her. I tenderly closed the door behind me and walked over to her bed. I kicked my shoes off, and climbed up on the end. "I don't know what is going on, or what you are going through. But, my chest hurts from the pain you are feeling, Mir. We have twintuition", I whispered, looking at her slumped body on the bed.

"Mom and dad hate me now", she muttered into the pillow. "No, they don't. They are only worried about you", I said gently. Miriam sat up and leaned against her headboard, crossing her arms over her chest. "They will never trust me again. I really messed up, Leo. And the extremely messed up part? I still want to talk to him. I love him", she expressed. "How long have you been talking to him, Mir?", I asked.

"About two or three months or so", she answered. "Have you ever seen his face?", I asked. She shook her head. God, what was she thinking? "Miriam, that's so dangerous", I frowned. "I know!", she cried out, before covering her face to release more tears. I sighed as I scooted closer to her, and wrapped my arms around her.

"Mir, can I be honest with you?", I muttered. She's stuck with me right now, so I can finally push her to talk to me. Miriam nodded her head, as she wiped her nose on my shirt. Yuck. "I didn't like the person he was turning you into", I told her. She sniffled, "What do you mean?", she asked.

"You have been very rude to me and Colin. You have been treating us differently, and not hanging out anymore. I don't like it. I miss you", I whispered. Miriam cried harder. Maybe this will be the eye-opener that she needs. It's not safe being part of the mafia family. It's even more dangerous to be the heirs of a mafia family. Her, Colin and I, are never safe. I have come to understand that while digging through our history.

Father has made me learn every event that has happened to this family. He believes it is important that I understand how each situation was handled, and to learn from it. Whether it is a great execution, or a horrible one, there is always something to learn. My biggest lesson is, no matter where you rank in the family tree, you are still in the same amount of danger.

All of my uncles have been shot at least once, my father has been shot, my mother has been shot, my grandfather was executed by bullet. We are always in danger. All of us. "I'm so sorry, Leo", Miriam cried into my shirt. "I know, sorella (sister)", I whispered.