Mafia by Blood (wlw)

21 - Rescue

"Can I have a word, Capo?" Mac asked her mother, who was still in disguise. Michelle excused herself from the urgent meeting with her inner circle, who were discussing how to rescue Madison and Jackson after their crashed auction. They had barely slept, and were now almost done with their plan. None of them had wanted to sleep, but Capo had insisted everyone to rest, knowing they needed to be sober and having a clear head for the coming day. She believed Madison wouldn't be harmed if her captors knew who she was, as she was worth more alive than dead, which was betting on. She couldn't say the same for Jackson.

"Yes, my dear?" Capo asked lightly, trying to distract herself from the distressing thought of her other daughter being tortured in a dark basement somewhere.

"I've been thinking," Mac began. "I think I want to stay."

Her mother's eyes lit up. Although the timing wasn't ideal, she was thrilled. Finally, they could live as a family. Sort of.

"That's great, Mac. And you're absolutely sure?" Capo asked, wanting to hug her daughter but refraining as they were still in sight of the others. Mac nodded with a faint smile, she was also thinking about Madison, afraid of what had happened to her.

"I'll make the necessary arrangements for your new room by this evening. I'll also send someone for your things. We'll talk more later, once your sister is back, okay?" Capo reassured her before returning to the meeting. Noelle cast some glances at the blonde now and then, her focus wavering from the conversation. She couldn't understand why Capo had taken such an interest in Mac.

Mac decided to wake Marley, assuming she had stayed the night, with Massimo. It was early morning, so her friend was probably still sleeping. The blonde was usually never up this early, but since she stayed in Noelle's room, again, she got up when Noelle did. She liked the idea of having her own room but preferred sleeping with Noelle.

She asked a random guy for directions to Massimo's room. The guy smirked, making Mac realize how her request might sound. Ignoring his reaction, she thanked him and barged into Massimo's room moments later.

"Marley, wake up. We need to talk," Mac said, plopping onto the huge bed. Marley squinted, adjusting to the light, and patted the other side of the bed.

"Where's Massimo?" she asked, realizing he wasn't there. "And what time is it?" She yawned and reached for her phone, her eyes widening as she saw how early it was.

"He's downstairs... with the rest. Marley, has he told you what he does for a living?" Mac asked seriously.

"What do you mean? He is a scientist," Marley said, confused.

"No, he's not..." Mac said, exhaling deeply. She hesitated at first, but knew she couldn't keep Marley in the dark after yesterday's events. Marley furrowed her brows, waiting impatiently for Mac to elaborate.

"He might be a scientist in the day time, but at night... he and everyone here... are members of the DeCavalcante mafia," Mac said, letting out a deep breath she didn't realize she was holding.

Marley's eyes widened in disbelief, but as she thought about it, she realized that it made sense. She had also noticed the tattoos, and the things their teacher Mr. Winchester had mentioned, and last night's events clicked into place. She had refused to believe it at first but she understood she couldn't deny it.

"How long have you known?" Marley asked after she had come to the realization that deep down she knew it all along.

"A while. I figured it out myself. I didn't tell you this, but a few weeks ago, I was kidnapped by Bonnano, their rival mafia. That's why I missed school for a few days—I was injured," Mac began.

"You what?!" Marley exclaimed, sitting up properly in bed.

Mac pulled up her sleeve, showing the stab wound turning into a scar. Marley's face fell, and she inched closer, gently touching it.

"So what do we do with this information?" Marley asked, after examining the wound. 

Mac shrugged. "I'm still torn, but Capo and Noelle asked me to move in. After a lot of thinking, I accepted," Mac replied, having forgotten about the video she recorded with the murder confession.

"Oh, wow. Is it because you're Madison's sister? And I had no idea you and Noelle were that serious already," Marley said with a cheeky tone on the last part. A smile formed on Mac's lips as she thought of Noelle.

"Yeah, probably. And Noelle and I... I'm excited to see where it goes," Mac smiled. "But Madison was kidnapped yesterday. And Jackson. Say what you want, but I think these people have a better chance at finding them than the police. They're working on it as we speak."

"When are these surprises going to end? You couldn't have told me they were kidnapped when you walked in?" Marley exclaimed, hurrying out of bed to get dressed.

"Marley, there's nothing we can do," Mac sighed.

"Well, I'm not going to sit here and do nothing. Jackson's our friend," Marley replied, searching through Massimo's closet for something that fit her.

"We've been waiting for hours, Mac. Shouldn't they be back by now?" Marley sighed in frustration. Mac sat quietly in a lounge chair near the front door.

"I don't know, Marley, I—" Mac started but was interrupted by the sound of the elevator, making both girls run toward it.