FOUR

Gianna expects the car ride to be awkward, but it isn't.  They bond over their shared interest in rap songs, they name drop some of their favorites rappers and lip-sync any song they know that plays on the radio. As time passes, her strong grip on her suitcase slowly eases as Jacob becomes less of a stranger.

At 11; 58 pm, Jacobs pulls up into the driveway of his home. A four-bedroom bungalow, far cry from what Gianna expects. She had something worse in her mind, like a trailer.

Jacob turns off the engine and looks over to the passenger seat, "Let's go in?" Jason says with a small smile. He opens the door and gets down.

Gianna's nerves are back. Her tight grip on her suitcase is also back. She is to enter uncharted territory and her instincts are to flee, as dramatic has it sounds.

Gianna summons courage gets down from the car and follows him into the house. Jacob tells her they have to be extremely quiet because everyone is asleep. They sneak into the house like a bunch of teenagers coming back from a party.

"I will go prepare the room, it might take time given the fact that men slept there,"  Jacob says.

Gianna nods, standing in a spot as if she moves a dragon might wake.

"Please, have a seat." Jacob gestures to the brown leather chairs in the living room.

Gianna nods again, still not moving. Jacob nods back in understanding before he walks into a dark path leading to the bedrooms.

As time pass, Gianna's legs start to hurt so she walks around the dimly lit living room. From the living room, one can see the dining and kitchen. Everything looks small compared to where she's from. It's cozy and she likes it.

"Done," Jacob announces as he returns to the sitting room.  "Come with me," Jacobs says before disappearing into the dark path again.

Gianna hesitates at first but follows behind him after a deep breath. They walk into a room that smells like it has been recently sprayed with air freshener, courtesy Jacob.  For one, it's far better than the room at the Sunshine motel. No whore moans, if they are rats; she can't hear them and the sheets look clean.

She notices stuff in cartons, probably the things of the previous occupant.

Gianna turns to Jacob who is watching her every move, to see if she likes what she sees because he feels he did a good job getting rid of his brother's trash.

"Thank you," Gianna simply says putting her suitcase on the ground.

"So, I didn't catch your name."

Gianna pauses for a second, "Ann," She says, recalling what her fake Id reads. 

Ann Wheeler.

It sounds so foreign but it's something she will have to get used to.

"Ann," Jacob whispers, "Have a good night, Ann." He says before walking out.

~~~

24 hours of Gianna's disappearance. The Rae's Mansion.  Kaylee and Angelo in the sitting room, no-one utters a word, there are no words to say.

"I have called the police," Gio walks in like a hero, ready to save the day. "I will contact all media houses, her face will be all over the news. I will offer a million dollars for anyone who knows her location. Everyone will be looking for her."

"No," Kaylee says. For the first time since the incident, she looks up at her son.

Gio's heart skips a beat but he doesn't show it. That love of a mother is gone, he can see it.

"Let's stop acting like she is missing or kidnapped." Kaylee looks over at Angelo, "She ran away."  She spits.

"She's scared..."

She cuts Angelo off, "She is a brat!" Kaylee yells.  "She runs away when her family needs her the most." She tries to say without her voice breaking the way her heart is.

"We need to find her," Angelo says firmly.

"No, what we need is to plan our attack on the Texas people." Kaylee stands up.

Angelo shakes his head, "We don't have men. The marriage was our hope."

"We have the element of surprise. They think it's over, but we are not done with them."

"We can't attack when your daughter, our daughter, is not under our protection. If they find out she is unprotected, after we attack, they go for her." Angelo stands up as well. They are inches close to each other.

"When we attack, we don't give them a chance to retaliate.  We cut off the head. After we are done, we can expand to the Texas market."

Angelo gives a low laugh, "That's quite an imagination, even for you."

"We are attacking," Kaylee says with authority.

He has never seen her like this. He gives the orders and she takes them without question. These past few days have changed her.

She moves a lot closer to him, "You owe me," She whispers.

Those words carry weight for Angelo. Two years ago, Kaylee found out it's her husband that killed her father and brother and she didn't do anything. Most women will pack their bags and leave or have him arrested or try to turn his children against him but Kaylee just stayed quiet. She played dumb as if nothing happened. Her actions scared Angelo.

So he knows what she is referring to when she says those words.

Kaylee leaves the two men in the sitting room.

Angelo takes a sit on the couch before he speaks, "I want this done discreetly. Find your sister. Find who helped her run away. The person who helped her and the person she is staying with." Angelo pauses.

He stands up and walks over to his son, "Kill them." He mutters before walking past him. 

~~~

She presses her eyelids together to shield her eyes from the steaks of sunlight penetrating the window. She is still sleepy. She shifts on the bed, trying to get comfortable. When the realization hits, she pauses for a second then she jolts up. She sits on the bed and begins to scan her surroundings. The Star Wars poster is an indication that she is not dreaming, she is actually in a stranger's house.

Her thoughts go to the money. In haste, Gianna jumps out of bed and falls on the blue carpet to drag the suitcase she kept under the bed the previous night.  She drags the zip then opens it. It reveals her cash safe and sound.

"Thank God," She says leaning on the bed.

~~~

Gianna walks into the living room, taking notice of things she hadn't the previous night. Like the family pictures on the wall leading to the sitting room. They are indeed a big family. The white wall that needs repainting, school awards on the shelves, the thick white curtains that  hides the long windows across the walls, amongst other things.

"You slept in," Jacob says from the dinning when he spots Gianna walk in.

It's 10 am.

Gianna turns to the direction of the dining where she Jacob is sitting, nursing a baby in his arms.

"Yeah, I guess." She says as she walks towards Jacob.

"Have a seat, there are still pancakes left." Jacob stands up, letting the baby rest on one arm. "Want some?"

Gianna's eyes roam around his naked upper body, thinking about how he is 10 times as hotter than she imagined last night. The morning sun gives quite a revelation.

"Ann?" Jacob calls out to her.

Snapping out of her momentary trance, "Yeah, I would like some." She replies, looking away in embarrassment.

"Your kid?" Gianna asks breaking the tension.

"No, my sister's," Jacob says dropping a plate of pancakes before her.

"Thank you,"  She smiles at him. "Oh, by the way," She takes 50 dollars from her back pocket and slides it on the wooden table.

"Nice doing business with you," He says taking the money and putting it in his pocket.

She takes a seat.

"You are not from around here are you?" Jacob asks, pushing the carton of juice to Gianna's side of the table.

"Yeah, I am not." 

"So, going or coming?"

"Going,"

"Not to be nosy, but to where?" Jacob says putting the baby in the stroller just beside the kitchen counter.

Gianna pauses before stretching to get the syrup on the table.

"I honestly don't know," Gianna says truthfully.

"You are not a fugitive are you?" Jacob jokes.

She doesn't look like one, but then again it's not usually written in the face.

"I shoplifted one, so I don't know," Gianna mutters.

Jacob laughs, the baby giggles as well.

Not wanting to ask any further questions.

"Well, that room is available if you want to stay." Jacob offers, "For a price, of course," He quickly adds.

At the back of her head, she knows she should keep moving but then, if she is always on the move, when will she ever stop?

This place is not that bad. There's a kid here and pancakes, what could go wrong?

"I will take you on that offer." 

Just as she says, a woman walks into the living room. Long black hair, brown eyes, average height, her tank top revealing a butterfly tattoo on her arm.

She looks scary.

Like Gianna is a ghost, the woman walks past her and enters the kitchen. She opens the fridge and takes a carton of milk. She opens it and starts drinking it from the carton.

Gianna looks away not to appear judgmental, maybe if she doesn't stare or move, she will indeed be invisible.

"Who's the chick?" The woman finally says, acknowledging Gianna's presence.

"Beth," Jacob gestures to Gianna, "Ann"

"Ann, that's my sister Elizabeth."

"Hi," Gianna waves awkwardly with a small smile.

Beth nods before returning the carton back into the fridge. She walks to the stroller and picks up the baby.

"How's my little boy doing?" She shakes him a little as he giggles.

"Is she your girlfriend or what?" Beth asks.

Gianna gives Jacob a questioning look. She can recall being told he is gay.

"I met her at the motel last night. She needed a place to stay, so I offered Nico's room. She agreed to stay here for a while for a price."

"Cool," Beth says.

Is it easy to accept a stranger into your home? Gianna wanders.

"This little one is hungry," Beth coos, carrying the baby and walking out of the dinning to the living room.

"Welcome aboard." Jacob winks.

"I am staying over to Rudy's tonight, you will babysit David tonight," Beth says.

"No," Jacob says sternly.

"Thank you," Beth yells ignoring Jacob's protest.

~~~

"You can't just bring a stranger to live with us?" Sarah, Jacob's second sister starts off.

This won't be an awkward conversation if Gianna isn't sitting amongst them as they are having it.  Jacob wanted to introduce Gianna to the rest of the family before dinner, so he called them to the living room to do just that.

There's Sarah, a 17-year-old teenage girl and then his cousins, twins; two boys, 11 years old.

"I think it's weird," James mutters.

"I think she's hot," Jonah winks at Gianna. Gianna rolls her eyes.

"You didn't even ask us first." Sarah folds her arms.

"I informed Beth, last time I checked we are both the adults in the house."

"Oh request permission from the person that hardly stays in the house," Sarah rolls her eyes, "She's always at Rudy's."

"What if she murders us in our sleep?" James says.

"She can murder me in my sleep." Jonah blows a kiss towards Gianna's direction.

"Shut up." Sarah nudges his arm.

"Ouch, that hurts," Jonah says.

"Well, she has paid to live here so you just have to live with it." Jacob shrugs.

"Where is she going to sleep anyway?" Sarah asks.

Jacob stays quiet making Gianna for the first time, wonder who was the previous occupant of the room she will be staying in.

"You have to be shitting me, Nico's room?" Sarah stands up in anger.

"We need the money."

"Bullshit,"

"The auto shop is going to be closed down and with the money, I can ensure it doesn't. With the shop still being mine, we have food on our plates."

"You are so full of shit, we find out he is going to be released next week and you sell off his space."

"There's always the basement, Adam slept there for years."

"He is our brother Jac, and he is coming home," Sarah mutters before walking away.

The room falls silent. All that is on Gianna's mind is, who is this Nico guy is anyway?

~~~

WHO IS READY TO MEET NICO?

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