TAKEOVER

Nature’s first green is gold. Her hardest hue to hold. Her early leaf’s a flower; But only so an hour. Then leaf subsides to leaf. So Eden sank to grief, so dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay. - Robert Frost

Have you ever had so many emotions run through your system all at one time? Like a million emotions going through your mind and body in like a half a second? Yeah, that’s exactly what happened the moment I opened the door to find Cincinnati Romano standing there. All the emotions of hurt, betrayal, love, relief, anger, happiness, confusion, everything rolled up in less than a second. He stood there waiting for my reaction, my reaction to him. I forgave him for everything and let it all go, but I see it in his eyes, he’s not sure. I remember the letter, Alex’s letter. Though I reacted upon instinct and instinct alone.

“Cincinnati.”

“Birdie.”

“Oh my God, Cinn...”

I launch myself into his arms and I heard him release a heavy breath I’m sure he was holding since he knocked on my door.

“I’m so sorry Birdie, I’m here now.”

Sitting on the couch listening to Cinn talk about where he’s been for the last couple years has brought out a sense of sadness in me. That old saying, out of sight out of mind, runs through my mind and heart. I never cared to ask where he went or what he was doing after the shit storm called, Hurricane Cinn. Maybe I should have. Maybe, I should have put my own shit aside long enough to see I wasn’t the only one having problems. Maybe, I should have realized that night that something was off... terribly off.

Come to find out, after finals were over he was forced to leave with Dominick to New York. Dominick didn’t even give him time to grieve over the circumstances we found ourselves in and threw him straight into training. The North East Mafia needed leadership and guidance and Cinn was the one that was going to do it. Dominick showed him everything he knew and then pretty much threw him to the wolves. Of course by then Cinn had already hardened himself and grew the fuck up. He became the man he needed to be. Nobody was stupid enough to challenge him when all they saw was a man with nothing to lose. He was told by Dad to never come back again or he would make sure he would have him destroyed, but he knew exactly the moment when it was time to return against Don’s wishes or not.

He wouldn’t elaborate on that comment but I figured it was because of Alex’s death. Yet, he did mention he found out some things over the circumstances of his accident. I’m pretty sure it’s the same things dad and I found out not long after the funeral. One of the things that stuck in my head was that it was written up as an accident involving a drunk driver. The driver that was supposedly drunk didn’t have any alcohol in his blood system at all and told the EMT upon arrival, “I’m sorry, I had to do it. He made me do it. Please, tell her I’m sorry.” The EMT was so distraught over the man’s dying words, he wrote a note about it on his report. The “her” I’m assuming, was me he was talking about. Next, was the property Alex went to look at that day. His dad, Preston, said the name on the contract was under one Leonardo Ortega, the green eyed monster that tried to kill me with his car.

All I know is over the last few weeks more and more anger has settled into my bones. There’s no amount of therapy that will fix it, no amount of smashing shit that will help. Only the feel of sweet revenge will make these feelings quit burning a hole in my gut. I want the man with the green eyes. The man who killed my husband and tried to kill me.

“I’m not staying.”

“What do you mean, Birdie?”

“I’m going back. I'm going back to where it all began.”

Cinn stared at me for so long I thought he didn't understand what I meant. I thought of all people, he would understand.

“When?”

“I gave my notice to my job today. I need to get some boxes and start packing. So, a few weeks tops.”

“I’ll stay and help. Matter of fact, I’ll go to the office supply store down the street and grab some boxes.”

“Thanks, Cinn.”

With that, he was gone yet again. It gave me time. It gave me time to call Anna, Alex’s mom. I explained to her that I was moving back home and if she wanted to help me go through Alex's stuff and take what she wanted, she was more than happy to do so. She agreed to come by tomorrow to help. There’s no way I would keep her son’s stuff from her.

I decided to order pizza while waiting on Cinn to return. While waiting on food, I was trying to figure out a way to talk to dad. It wasn’t trying to tell him I was coming back, it was telling him what I wanted. I didn’t know if he would agree to it. I know most of the families wouldn’t, but this is not a simple request nor a simple situation. I was tired of being treated like a child and a throw rug. It’s not happening anymore. Another thing that came to mind was Cinn. I wonder how dad would react to the news of him being back in town. Then another question comes to mind. How long is Cinn staying? Before I could really think on it, Cinn was back and he’s carrying with him the pizza I ordered.

“How long are you planning on staying?”

“For as long as it takes.”

“Takes for what?”

Silence. The question hung in the air never answered cause my phone rang.

“Hi, Dad.”

“Princess, I’m just seeing how you are doing? Stella wants to know if you’re eating like you should.”

“Yes, Dad.”

“Good. She wants to come visit if that’s okay with you.”

“Well, Dad, here’s the thing, I’m coming back. I’m going to need the east wing suites cleaned and the east wing storage ready for my stuff. ”

“Fantastic! Are you sure this is what you want?”

“Yes. I’m tired, Dad. Tired of trying to live a normal life when I’m far from normal. I knew this life and my baggage would eventually interfere with the life I had with Alex. Instead, it got him killed. So I’m embracing it, embracing this life and I’m looking for revenge. I want the man who killed my husband and tried to kill me.”

“Sloane, are you absolutely sure you are ready for everything this life is about? I know your angry but I can protect you and still find him.”

“I don’t want protection. I want them to see me coming and be fucking scared. I want to be the first princess that nobody wants to look at in the eye for fear of losing their life. You understand, Dad?”

“Oh, I understand, Princess. This is going to be so much fun. You get your stuff in order and I’ll send people up to get it.”

“Thanks.”

“Oh, and, Dad... Cinn’s back in town.”

I cut the call.