Omertà

Chapter 24: Lost

I woke up in the bed, Dimitri nowhere to be found. There was, however, a hug box next to the bed that was labeled 'Open Me.' My eyebrows drew together in confusion as I pulled the sheets off my legs and stood up. I padded my way over the the box and cautiously opened it.

Then I melted.

I immediately fell in love with the tiny German Shepard puppy sleeping in the box. It lifted its small head up to me and yawned.

"Hey there." I whisper, picking him up in my arms. "Hey, cutie." I immediately made my way back to the bed and sat up against a pile of pillows, letting the puppy curl up in my lap.

I look up just as Dimitri opens the door and comes into the room.

"You're awake." He says with a small smile.

"Yeah." I smile back. "Why was there a puppy in a box?"

"Oh," he starts, rubbing the back of his neck nervously and looking down. "I got you a dog. I know that you're life isn't really going according to plan, so I thought I'd get you a puppy because last night you mentioned you wanted one and I was thinking, later, if you want to go house hunting we can and-"

"Dimitri." I cut off his rambling. I never thought I'd see him ramble and look nervous. "This is perfect. And I'd love to go house hunting with you." He was being so kind to me, but I finally learned my lesson. It wasn't going to last. House hunting was the perfect way to get away from Dimitri. For good.

He let out an audible sigh of relief, sitting next to me on the bed, pulling the dog into his lap. "I, um, I have a few names picked out for him, but if you want to pick one, you can."

"What did you have in mind?" I ask, leaning my head on his shoulder and looking up at him.

"What about Zitto?"

I can't help but let out a chuckle. "Ew, no. That sounds like some kind of acne cream."

"Okay, okay, what about Rocco?" He tries again.

I smile slightly. "Rocco." I say slowly, trying it out. "I like it." I smile.

"Good." He whispers, leaning down to kiss me. His lips moved softly against mine. Dimitri pushes me back and swings a leg over me, taking control. He takes my wrists and pins them above my head, while deepening the kiss. I moan softly before turning my head to the side, breaking the kiss.

"We should probably get breakfast so we can get an early start on house hunting." I whisper.

Dimitri sits back, resting his weight on my thighs and I prop myself up on my elbows. He runs a hand through his tousled hair and sighs. "Okay, we can head down. I have to make a call first, but I'll meet you in the kitchen in ten?"

I smile and nod, pulling him down to my lips for another kiss. "I'll get dressed and meet you down there."

Dimitri reluctantly crawled off me and walked out the door, already pulling out his phone. I counted to fifteen before reaching for the home phone on the night stand. I dial Alyssa's number and wait. While it rings, Rocco cocks his head to the side, his ears perked up. "Don't give me that look." I mutter. "I'm doing this for the baby. I have to." I reason with him. I can't help but wonder if I'm convincing him or myself.

"Hello?"

"Alyssa." I sigh. "I'm ready to go through with this."

We quickly go through the details of our plan and Alyssa sets up the meeting place for my getaway car. Ten minutes later, I'm sitting in the kitchen waiting for Dimitri, with Rocco at my feet.

"Principessa." I look up as he comes through the doorway and smile. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah." I ignore the nervousness and guilt swimming in my stomach.

"Come." He offers me his hand and I take it. Dimitri guides me out of the estate and towards a sleek, black Porsche.

For the next few hours, we drove from house to house, just looking around, trying to get a feel for different neighborhoods. Every house Dimitri brought me to was big, gated and isolated from other houses. I watched the clock as it neared noon and finally spoke up.

"Lets go to a different neighborhood." I suggested, trying to sound casual.

"Where did you have in mind?" He glanced at me before returning his eyes to the road.

"What about the suburbs? I've always loved it there. I could show you were my grandparents used to live." I suggest. That's were Alyssa and I suggested we meet. The house was for sale, so we could visit the inside, and I could slip out at 12:30, when the getaway car was supposed to pick me up.

"Yeah. Yeah, okay." He agreed quickly.

By the time we got to the house, it was a quarter past noon. I was growing nervous and fidgeting with the bottom of my shirt.

"Are you okay?" Dimitri asked me as we entered the house, making me jump slightly.

"Yeah, sorry I'm just a bit jumpy." I murmured.

"Why?" He asked me suspiciously.

I took a deep breath and then offered him a smile. "I haven't been here in a while. The house brings up memories, that's all." I lied.

Dimitri looked at me for a few seconds longer before nodding and leading through the house. It was 12:28 when I excused myself to go to the bathroom. Dimitri nodded and I quickly locked myself in the bathroom I knew had the biggest window. I double check to make sure he door way locked before I unlocked the window. With as much strength as I had, I pushed the window open, but it was sticking and it was making a loud noise.

"Annabelle?" Dimitri asked, suddenly outside the door. "Is everything alright?"

My heart was pounding in my chest. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'll be out in a minute." I called back.

I shoved the window the rest of the way open and started to climb through.

"Annabelle! Open the door! What the hell are you doing?" He shouted, banging on the door.

I quickly slipped through the window and ran towards the front yard. To my relief, a car was waiting for me outside. I ran over to it and opened the door just as Dimitri burst through the front door. He stopped on the porch as he took in the scene in front of him.

"Annabelle." He said cautiously, holding his hands out. "Don't do this, stay with me." He begged.

"I'm sorry Dimitri." I whispered, a tear escaping my left eye.

"Annabelle, don't you fucking dare!" He yelled as I got in the car. "Don't fucking do this, don't fucking leave me!" He yelled.

"Mi displace," I said to him. "Lucio deserves better."

"Annabelle, no! Per favore, ti prego! Don't fucking do this!" He yelled, running towards the car. I quickly shut the door and the car took off. I watched Dimitri run out into the street and stand there as I drove away.

"Where to, Miss?" The driver asked me.

"As far as you can take me." I whispered.