A College Girls' Guide To Joining An Italian Mafia

Chapter 23

Ally pov

Morgan and I sat in our room at the mafia house all day and watched TV. We laughed at stupid jokes in sit coms and worried about the mission tomorrow. But, that's ok. We probably should be worried about it. We're going to have to hope that nothing goes wrong and we get Cady out alive. And safe. That's the most important thing. She has to be safe.

***

In the morning, I wake up to Morgan standing in front of her bed, holding a sweatshirt. She's dressed head to toe in black, her light hair pulled into two tight braids down her head. Her converse have been exchanged for combat boots. She's put on a fake face of confidence, but if you know where to look you can see the fear and anxiety breaking through.

"What's with the hoodie?" I ask as I roll out of bed. I really don't want to get up, but today is important.

"It's Ron's. He let me borrow it yesterday. I just hope that after today I'll still be able to give it back to him."

"Morgan, you aren't going to die." She looks up at me. Ok Ally, no bad jokes. Now is not the time to make shitty jokes. "We're going to get Cady back, and then you can give Ron his hoodie. Everything is going to be fine. Just trust that Angelo has this all figured out." Nice! Not one shitty joke in there!

I leave Morgan thinking and head into the connected bathroom. I imagine I'm going to want to shower when we're done with everything, so I skip it and just get dressed. I pull my hair up into a ponytail, then think better of it. If there's wind, I don't need my hair in my face. I'll just have Morgan braid it back. I pull on black jeans and a long sleeve shirt. Quickly, I brush my teeth and go back into the room. Morgan is sitting on the edge of her bed now, Ron's hoodie next to her.

"Will you braid my hair? Then we can go find the boys."

"Yeah, do you have a hairtie?"

I hold one up and to sit on the bed next to her with my back to her. She starts braiding my hair, and I go over how today should go in my head. Lookout, snipe when needed. Angelo and Leandro will get Cady. Then we leave. All I have to do is be the lookout.

***

"I want everyone in their positions in five minutes! Report on coms!" Angelo yells to the men around him. "Not you, Ally," He says to me when I start to walk away. I turn and walk back to him and the small group around him. "We're getting her back. I want you to know that," Angelo says confidently, looking at Morgan and I. He looks between us, and then walks over to the car we came in. He pulls out two leather jackets. "These are for you ladies. We give them to our members when they do something proving they're really in this. You've repeatedly done that." Morgan and I reach for the jackets, pulling them on. They're extremely warm. I'm not going to be able to wear this often, but right now this is nice. Leandro, Antonio, and Angelo are standing in a small circle, their hands joined and foreheads together. I don't know what their whispering, but I feel like I'm intruding on a private moment. They stand together for a moment more, then break apart.

"Come on Morgan," Antonio chirps. He swings his arm around her shoulders, and they hobble away together. They'll be on a roof near me, Morgan waiting for Angelo or Leandro to request help. Leandro walks over to me. Behind him, Angelo kicks rocks around, waiting for his friend.

"You stay safe, alright? Be smart, please Ally." He looks down at me with serious eyes.

"I will. I'm just being look out, I'll be fine."

He's still for a second, before he pulls me into a hug. "Just don't get hurt," He whispers into my hair. I don't like hugs usually, but I wrap my arms around him.