Belladonna (Tom Holland)

Six

Lorenzo. The man who my father considered a brother. The man who came to my Christmases and brought me gifts that could only come from his heart. The man who told me bedtime stories and took care of me when my parents were out of town. The man who helped me escape from Harrison and put me into the witness protection program. The man who killed my father.

My knuckles were white and bloody as my nails dug into them. My rage silenced me as I stared out the window. Jacob was trying to talk to me, but his words were muffled. Everything around me was blurred. In my mind, all I saw was red. I wanted Lorenzo dead. Fuck the BIancattis, I'm only loyal to the Dantes.

"Bella!" Jacob shouted loud enough to break me from my trance. I cleared my mind of all the violent thoughts from before and faced him with gritted teeth. "Yes?" I seethed. "I know what you're feeling right now-" "Do you, Jacob?" I cocked my head to the side, "Do you know what it feels like to have your parents slaughtered like animals? Do you know what it feels like to find out that the man I considered family didn't think the same? That my defending the Biancattis during Tom's investigation was for nothing? I don't think you do."

"I know more than you think," Jacob said lowly, "But that's not the point." "Then what is the point?" "That you don't let those emotions ruin you. You still have a job to do, like it or not. Your life is still on the line. Don't get swept up in this now, wait until the time is right." As much as I hated to admit it, he was right. If I went in Lorenzo's house right now and confronted him, or even shoot him, I'd ruin everything Tom was trying to do. So rather than acting on impulse, why don't I succumb to Tom's wishes and finally do my fucking job?

As if on cue, my phone with the blue electrical tape started to ring. Jacob and I shared glances until I picked up the phone and answered the call, "Hello?" "Jesus fucking Christ, are you okay, Bella?" "Yeah, I'm fine," I said, noticing the fingernail sized gashes on my palms. They were bleeding, but not profusely. Lorenzo laughed nervously on the line and I could picture him running his hands through his graying hair. "You've been back with us one week and someone's already trying to kill you. You're on your way back, right?" "We're a few minutes away. We should be pulling in soon." "Good. The Wonderland meeting's been moved up to tomorrow night and I need you there," Lorenzo said. "Wait a minute," I asked, "First you're worried about my well being, but then you tell me you're taking me to a meeting with a bunch of mobsters running around?"

"Word got round about your return, Bella," Lorenzo sighed, "I need to make sure I get the best protection possible and these guys are able to do it. You can't just follow Jacob around for the rest of your life." "I wasn't planning on it," I said, resulting in dry laughter from the receiving end. "Plus, in light of the DeLuca incident, we need to be on edge. You understand that more than anybody, don't you, Bella?" I didn't understand what he meant by the question, but I was barely listening to our conversation in the first place. The only thing I needed to take notice of was the change in schedule. The rest just made Lorenzo sound even more guilty than before. I wonder how I never figured it out in the first place.

Lorenzo and I said our goodbyes and I ended the call. As I told Jacob the change in plans about Wonderland, he frowned. "Tom's not going to like that," he said, "Now he's going to have to revise everything." "What do you mean?" "You'll find out tomorrow, I guess," Jacob shrugged and pulled into Lorenzo's driveway.

Lorenzo was standing outside, watching us as we exited the car. His arms were folded across his chest and his face was embellished with an expression that was a cocktail of worried and pissed off. "How in the fuck did we lose three of our men to DeLucas? Our allies?" Lorenzo was tapping his foot now. "Beats me, Lorenzo," Jacob said, "Only men who can answer are sleeping with the fishes." "One survived the shootout," Lorenzo said, "Tommy DeLuca. Frank's kid. He's in the ICU right now, but he should be conscious soon. You two fuckfaces go over to Memorial Hospital and ask him what happened." Lorenzo then turned on his heel and went back inside the house.

"Looks like we're going on another field trip," Jacob mumbled as he shuffled to the car. I followed him, but my leg was beginning to hurt, so I stayed a few paces behind. I heard a phone ring from my pocket and I fumbled for both of them. Noticing that it was Tom's phone that was ringing, I foregone my injury and dashed to the car so I could talk without surveillance. "You need to tell me about these schedule changes, princess. That's why you're there in the first place," he opened the call. There was no 'hello' or 'how was your day?', just more berating.

"I found out five minutes ago," I said, "That wasn't enough time." "That was definitely enough time. Jacob texted me as soon as he found out from you," Tom said and I scoured my recent memory for one of Jacob texting. None came up. "I'm sorry I'm not your instant postman," I said, "If you wanted someone like that, you should have hired the fucking UPS guy." "Watch your tone, Dante," Tom scolded, "I may not be with you in person, but I still have dozens of men who are waiting to put a bullet in your brain." "Like Lorenzo did to my parents?" I asked and there was silence over the phone.

When Tom spoke again, he was quiet. "What did you say?" My stomach dropped. He didn't know. He had no idea. He probably lived with the belief that Dom was the one that ordered the hit. "Bella," he said again, "What the fuck did you just say?" "Your father didn't kill my family," I was beginning to stutter, as if the information I received was wrong and Tom knew it. "Lorenzo did."

"That's not right," he stammered, "He had me track your location. Why would he do that if he wasn't the one that did it?" "The fact that you're desperate to cling on to the death of my family is grotesque, for starts," I said, "Second, I have no idea why your father did what he did. Forget what I said, okay? Go back to your little world where you think you have power over me."

"Think? Princess, I know I have power over you," Tom returned to his usual self, "It doesn't matter who killed your family. I'm still the one that tracked you down and put a knife in that pretty leg of yours. I'm still the one who has you in Lorenzo's home with the threat of a bullet being put in your head for any act of disobedience. Bella, you have no power. Whatever faux strength you have in this moment is from your own little world. You think just because I'm not near means that you can talk back to me. Just wait for when you return, princess. I'll make you pay," and with that he hung up.

Jacob entered the car after the conversation was over, not wanting to impose. He asked what Tom said and I gave him a little information, but not much. Truth was, my emotions were all over the place, so whatever I was feeling couldn't be justified. I had been through so much in the past few days, whatever I felt in each moment was brought by an onslaught of confusion. Which is why as Jacob drove to the Memorial Hospital, I was reassuring myself that I wasn't actually turned on by what Tom said, but it was because of my haywired hormones.

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~Not edited ~