The Mafia's Good Girl
The Mafia’s Good Girl – Chapter 60

~ Violet ~

– – – – – Two Weeks Later – – – – –

“Do you think she’ll like these?” Damon asked, holding a bouquet of flowers and an expensive bottle of wine in his hand.

“She’ll love it,” Violet said reassuringly. “Now come on, we’re gonna be late,”

Violet was pulling Damon’s hand and leading him out of the room. She was wearing her favorite floral dress and sweater while Damon was wearing his signature suit and jacket. They looked sharp and ready for Thanksgiving dinner tonight at the Carvey apartment.

Violet had promised her mom that she’d introduce Damon to her and Thanksgiving seemed like the perfect occasion. Barbara got really excited when she heard Damon was coming, but the same couldn’t be said for Dylan. He couldn’t be less enthused while Barbara went all out to prepare her famous turkey and stuffing.

Violet chose to ignore Dylan’s apathetic attitude and joined her mom in excitement. They had been planning and waiting for this day to come for weeks. Violet told her mom many stories about Damon, the tame ones of course, and her mom seemed to like Damon so far.

Damon, on the other hand, knew all about Barbara through the files he got on her. He was excited to meet her, but also very nervous. He knew that Dylan didn’t approve of his relationship with Violet, so he was desperate for Violet’s mom’s approval. He also knew how much Violet loves her mom and that her approval would mean the world. Which was why he went all out with the flowers and the wine.

Making their way down the long staircase, Violet and Damon were full of smiles and their hands were clasped together. This Thanksgiving dinner was such a special moment because Damon and her mom were her two favorite people in the world and Violet was looking forward to bringing them together. Other than Italy, this was also the first time they would be out together as a couple. Violet was absolutely overjoyed about it and she refused to let anything or anyone ruin their night. Nothing could bring her down, not even her disapproving older brother at the dinner table.

“Damon,” Adrian’s voice was heard as Violet and Damon approached the front door.

Violet and Damon stopped their tracks instinctively. Damon turned around and found his consigliere standing by the stairs. Behind Adrian were Damon’s other guys who were all gathered like they were about to go somewhere.

“What do you want?” Damon asked. “We’re late for dinner,”

“There’s been… an emergency,” Adrian replied with a stern look on his face. He almost looked sorry to say it.

“Are you fúcking serious?” Damon let out an irritated breath. “Right now?”

“It’s Trenton,” he replied.

Violet turned to Damon with a confused look on her face. What was Adrian talking about? What emergency?

“Just give me one second, I’ll be right back,” Damon said to her and he gave her a quick k**s on the cheek.

Letting out a big sigh, Damon released his hand from her grip and went upstairs to the study. Adrian and the other guys followed quickly behind him. Violet didn’t even get a chance to ask questions or protest. Judging from the look on their faces, she knew that this must be very serious, so she didn’t even dare try.

“Hey,” Talia’s voice was heard and Violet whipped her head around.

“Tal? What’s going on?” Violet asked. Talia also had a sullen look on her face as she stepped closer to her.

“I don’t know the details, but it looks bad. Adrian almost threw his phone out the window when he got the message,” Talia explained.

“What message?” Violet pressed.

“He wouldn’t tell me,” Talia shook her head. “But I think it’s about Victor Maranzano,”

Violet’s heart fell to the floor when she heard that name. Although he didn’t want to admit it, Violet knew Damon had been worried and anticipating Victor’s next move. Some nights he didn’t even sleep and he went to his study to work and plan out his next moves. Victor went quiet for some time and it was making Damon nervous because he’d rather see his enemy out and on the move.

Violet turned her head up to the second floor and stared at the closed office door. She could only imagine what kind of bad news were Adrian giving Damon, and what this would mean for them. Violet paced around nervously and prayed that nothing too horrible happened. Talia was also nervously standing and fidgeting, biting her nails while occasionally looking up.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the door to the office opened and Damon and his guys exited the room. Some of the guys were adjusting their weapons as they walked down the stairs, and Violet knew this couldn’t be good.

“Hey,” she said as soon as Damon appeared in front of her.

“Hey, listen, I’m gonna have to take care of something but it’s just gonna take an hour,” Damon said quickly, almost too quickly.

“But…”

“Don’t keep your mom waiting, go over there and I’ll meet you guys at 8,” Damon said reassuringly. “These guys will come with you,”

Damon gestured to two big guys in black suits who nodded their heads at Violet.

“You’re meeting us there?” she asked him. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah,” he said, cupping her chin with his hand. “Don’t worry about saving me the turkey, just save me some dessert,”

Not giving her a chance to question him, Damon leaned down and placed a soft, tender k**s on her lips. Violet let out a sigh and all her worries faltered after his k**s. Damon then pulled away and took one more second just to look at her face.

“I love you, angel,” he said, sounding like he was in a hurry.

“I love you, Damon,” she replied. “Be careful,”

Damon nodded his head and his lips twitched into a smile. And with that, he turned to his heels and headed for the door. Adrian and the other guys followed closely behind him. Violet couldn’t do anything but watch his back disappeared out the door with an uneasy look on her face.

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“The turkey’s really good, mom,” Violet said as she put a spoonful of the turkey into her mouth.

“Yeah, they’re super tender,” Dylan agreed.

Barbara smiled proudly as she sat at the dinner table. The table was filled with all kinds of side dishes surrounding the big turkey. She went all out this year because she was expecting a special guest. Unfortunately, Damon didn’t end up coming, but she was still happy to spend the night with her son and daughter.

“The secret is in the olive oil, and don’t forget the lemon juice. And you have to roast them for a long while to get them soft and moist. There’s no shortcut around it, time doesn’t lie,” Barbara said to her kids. Then she turned to Violet specifically and said, “I can teach you how to make them, honey. And later you can make it for Damon,”

“Or he’ll just eat the one you made,” Violet forced out a smile. “He’s coming, he’s just gonna be a little late,”

Violet glanced at the clock again which now showed that it was 8.50 PM. Damon said he would be here by 8, but there was no sign of him around. He also didn’t answer his phone or reply to the past five texts she sent him.

“It’s almost nine already,” Dylan pointed out the obvious. “I don’t think he’ll make it,”

“We can pack him some leftovers,” Barbara suggested.

“I don’t think he’s the type that’ll eat leftovers, mom,” Dylan scoffed.

Violet didn’t even care for Dylan’s comments about Damon anymore at this point. Her mind was somewhere else entirely. She kept staring at the clock and she flinched every time her phone buzzed. But no, none of the messages she received were from Damon.

“Stop looking at the damn clock,” Dylan said when he caught her dozing off for the millionth time that night. “He’s not gonna come,”

Violet let out a sigh as the clock showed that it was past 9.30 PM.

“But he said he will…”

It’s so unlike him to break a promise.

“Hey, it’s okay, maybe he’s just busy,” Barbara said in an effort to cheer Violet up. “I can always meet him some other day,”

Violet forced out another smile and put her gaze down to her plate. The food her mom made was amazing, but Violet couldn’t even finish a quarter of it. She felt sick to her stomach thinking that something bad might’ve happened to Damon. For the rest of the night, all she could do was bite her l*p and send a little prayer to heaven, hoping that he would call her soon.

Please be okay. Please God, let him be okay.

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Violet couldn’t get a wink of sleep as she lay on the bed that night. It was already past midnight and Damon hadn’t come home yet. Violet asked Talia if she heard anything from Adrian, and she also said no. This only reaffirmed her fears and Violet felt more and more anxious as the minutes passed.

Oh God, please bring him home… safe and sound.

Violet found herself pacing back and forth inside the room as laying in bed was useless. She also checked her phone every so often, but so far there was nothing. All her ten messages went unanswered and when she tried to call him, the call went straight to voicemail.

Suddenly and when she least expected it, the door to the room opened and Violet saw Damon standing at the door. Her eyes went wide and her mouth fell open. His suit that was neat and sleek was now ripped and there were splatters of b***d all over.

“Hey,” he said. “I am so sorry I missed dinner,”

“Oh, thank God, you’re back!” Violet raced over to him and linked her arms around his neck. She felt the biggest relief when she held him in his arms again.

“I’m really sorry,” Damon said as he hugged her back. “The errand I had to run went kind of long,”

“What happened?” she asked.

Damon didn’t answer right away, so Violet peeled herself back to look at his face.

“What’s with all this b***d? Are you hurt?” she pressed again.

“No, this isn’t mine,” Damon shook his head and took off the dirty clothes. Violet watched in silence and waited patiently for him to continue.

“Victor went after one of our warehouses. The one in Trenton,” he explained. “It’s a place where we stash a lot of cash and weapons,”

“Oh, no,” she said as her hand went to cover her mouth. “But you guys are okay, right?”

“We lost a couple of guys,” Damon said as he put his gaze down. “Beau was hit, but he’ll live,”

“Oh my God,” Violet gaped and she felt her heart falling to the floor again. It just dawned on her that people actually died tonight. Even Beau got hit.

What if it was Damon…?

“Victor also got the warehouse, but we want him to have it,” Damon continued talking, sounding rather cold.

“What?” she asked.

“We have to make him think like he’s winning. And when he least expects it, we’ll strike him down,” he explained.

“I… really don’t understand what’s happening,” she said as she shook her head. “Is this a good thing?”

“It’s not a good thing, but it’s going according to plan,” Damon said simply.

Violet was horrified and scared. She kept looking at the bloody shirt Damon threw to the ground and wondered how close it was to be his own b***d. But Damon, on the other hand, didn’t look fazed by it one bit. He let out a sigh and stepped closer to Violet, holding her face with his hands.

“Can we reschedule the dinner?” he said softly. “I really want to meet your mom,”

Violet stared at him in disbelief. He just went through a bloody war but all he was worried about was the dinner with her mom.

“It’s fine, don’t even worry about it,” she told him. “We’ll do it some other time,”

Violet forced out another smile and she put her hand on the side of his face. She caressed his skin with her thumb and she felt so grateful that he came home to her safe and sound. She wouldn’t know what to do with herself if he got hurt. Just thinking about it made her want to cry.

“Hey,” he said as he put his hand on top of hers. “You’re not worried about me, are you?”

Violet didn’t have to answer him. The tears pooling around her eyes were enough to speak.

“Don’t,” he said again. “I got this, okay? Trust me,”

Violet closed her eyes and the tears fell from her face. Damon let out a sigh and leaned closer, resting his forehead on top of hers. He wiped her tears with his hands and she buried her face into his chest. Damon wrapped her body in his arms and stroked her hair gently, whispering again and again for her to trust him.

“Just five more weeks, sweet girl. Trust me,”