She watched me leave her presence without acknowledging her, and I was told she stood there, in what seemed to be a short stint of disappointment as I left. I was pleased at this if I am being brutally honest. Because no one will ever be given the chance to break me again.
One day I know that this little act of kindness towards my soul, my body and spirit will be the best decision I had made in my entire adult life.
Ah, love, how well you failed this time. You see, to me, love was hard. I preferred to be hated, hate is easy it took care of itself, feed, nourished, fueled itself, while love needed too much action out of sheer desperation to keep. Love is not the kindness people think it to be and I was not fooled. I preferred to be hated, to be loathed, I knew how to handle that, I knew what to expect, but not love. I knew it and I could tell that she was going to love me one day. I did not need that. Keep your love away from me.
Now I heard the radio go on about the events that had happened earlier at the airports, the shoot and fighting. The running and destruction of properties, the car chases, and deaths. But I had not yet heard anything about my right-hand man and friend Rodrigo Sampha. As much as I was worried about Caputo, I was even more worried about Rodri. The police casualties had reached a total of seven policemen as against zero deaths from my camp. Several arrests had been made but you know, that was not going to do anything to my name, the men will be home any moment now, all they needed was a phone call away. But Rodri, he was the engine to this highly functional machine, and I could not lose him.
"Don Vicente" a soft voice called, "I am Gabriella Santiago. My brother, Caputo di Santiago sent me to you with a good word about his well-being." The devil had indeed come to my home and was determined to drag me down to hell with him. Oh, he was smooth, he was smooth about it. She was just like her (Helena), wanting and asking, pushing, and tugging like a hungry thug. "I heard you the first-time lady." I said, as I walked away from her, swiftly this time. The Irishmen followed as paced as I was going. Connelly could tell that I was uncomfortable with her presence, and I avoided his eyes to maintain what control I might have had left. She followed us, almost struggling to keep up "Don Vicente" she said, as she followed "he would like some time away to hide till things cool out." She continued. "Then he can have it." I responded, still trying to flee from her. The Irishmen would stay with me a week longer. In Italy, in Venice, under Alessio Rugani's tenure, everyone who looked like anyone was a suspect and business with the Irish needed to be secured. I must confess that I also wanted to keep them so I would convince Connelly to remain with me here in Venice. "One more thing Don Vicente!" she pressed, at this point I had developed an irritation for her continued perseverance. "Listen to me Gabriella, I am a very busy man, I do not have the time for baseless conversations." I said sternly. It was one of those moments when the expectation did not match the reality. "I promise to leave you alone after you answer me this question." Now, I do not negotiate with terrorists, but she did not look like she was going to stop if I did not give her my ears. I could not order her death because she was family, Caputo's family. "Alright, go on." I urged, eagerly waiting to hear her speak, "why are you such a coward?"