Salvador

Chapter 15

Mona

Thiago took Joao home early this morning. He hasn't come back and just texted Salvador that he won't be back until tonight.

"Do you want to go swim?" I ask as I bite into my jam toast. He looks up from his phone with a concerned face and gives me an unenthusiastic nod. I'm already wearing my bikini as I lay back into the plush sofa and watch Portuguese cartoons.

By the time I'm washing up the plate I used to eat, Salvador is on the phone talking with someone, it sounds heated. I grab a towel and go out onto the beach, bringing my phone. I haven't texted any of my friends in Italy for a while. Not that I care about them. Not that they care about me. And not that they don't know how dangerous and unreliable I am.

I get a sudden notification from my father. As if he knew I had turned my phone on right at that moment.

"Me and the boys are in the Holiday home in Catania and we're thinking of you x"

That was unexpected. Did he really just text me that. I almost want to text back. But maybe it's a trick of some kind. I won't text him back, I can't. But I miss him and my brothers painfully. And I miss Milan and Catania. I feel an inescapable guilt suddenly, here I am sitting on a beach in Brazil, while my lovely, crazy family are texting me and thinking about me. "Shit" i mutter, lying down on the sand in self-annoyance. My eyes sting slightly from oncoming tears.

"I'm all yours now Bonita." I hear Salvador say as he sits down beside me.

"How many people did you have to kill to achieve that?" I joke, but he doesn't laugh. I look at him with a worried face and he looks back sternly. His eyes instantly put me in my place. I sigh, feeling even sadder than I was before.

Salvador holds my face softly, examining my features. "What's wrong?" He asks. He must've seen the trace of leftover tears. I don't answer him, i look out at the ocean instead in deep thought. "Bonita," he protests "tell me what's wrong. I'll fix it."

"I think-" I hesitate to tell him, this could ruin everything, these words could be the death of me "I think I have to go home Salvador."

I see a flash of anger in his eyes.

He lets go of my face and looks away from me.

"Listen Mona," he mutters angrily, having finally decided what to tell me "if I could send you back, no complications, no war, no death, I would. But you know that's impossible. If you want to go back, then you have to fix the mess you made. I like you a lot Mona but you're being careless and selfish," his words cut deeply and a lump forms in my throat "You came here. An utterly reckless move. Take responsibility for your actions, and if you want to go home, you have to do so in a way that will ensure that the minimal amount of lives are lost."

He stands up and walks away with a scoff and I feel the word falling around me. He's right. How could I be such a brat? And how could I be so fucking oblivious?

***

Around three hours have gone by and I'm still sitting at the beach. I'm too embarrassed to go back inside and face Salvador. So I'll just sit here until I die of malnutrition or old age or sharks. All of that sounds better than having to look at Salvador's furious, disappointed face.

"Why did one of Carlo Estaban's men just raid the house in Milan, Mona?" My dad texts me. For fucks sakes. I've had enough of this shit. Men are fucking idiots.

"Sorry about that papà. But I'm dealing with it. Trust me like you always have. And, I'm the boss of the entire Capriotti empire now, watch your tone."

Actually pressing send took a long time but I fucking did it. Shit. It's about time I took my crown. He quickly replies.

"I love you figlia [daughter]."

I am eternally blessed to have a father like Roberto Capriotti. I smile at my phone and sigh. Now what? I need a coordinated plan. My spontaneity has been extremely dangerous thus far. I need to think before I act.

***

After a few minutes of decisive thinking and planning. I know what I'm going to do. I stand up abruptly, my legs almost collapsing beneath me. I've been sitting here for a long fucking time.

When I walk inside, Salvador is leaning on the counter still looking at his phone. He faces me and looks up at me with no emotion. Before he can speak, I grab the gun from the coffee table in front of the sofa and hold it up. Walking towards him. His eyebrows furrow in annoyance.

He looks around the room in a calculating manner.

"Look at me." I say and he does. The way he always does. And I try hard to keep my balance, to keep my strength.

"You're right Salvador, the way I've acted is dangerous and spoilt. But we're together now," I slam the gun behind him on the counter and look at him with a frown "We're together."

He doesn't say anything, or change his expression, he just looks at me in a hollow way. I begin to walk away. I need a shower.

"I've taken over Capriotti, Salvador," he turns to face me as I speak "that's a warning, not an announcement."