La Vita Dolce Ch. 16

Her mouth twisted as she held back tears, blinking rapidly. She stood hurriedly and silently left the room before a sob broke free and she woke him.

She hurried back to her room, finally putting down her handbag, and sat down on the edge of the bed as she frantically attempted to reign in her emotions. She'd constantly been fighting with herself over the past three years. She'd had a vague idea of what Luca was into; drugs, gambling, kidnappings, the occasional disappearance. Natasha had consoled herself by thinking, 'they were bad people and what could she do about it.' She was protecting the people she loved with her silence and her acquiescence. But now she'd come face to face with one of Luca's victims and she could no longer ignore the sense of guilt and complicity that overcame her.

Snatching up the handbag she retreated into her spacious walk-in closet, past the racks of clothes and shelves of shoes and into the small adjoining room with a vanity and small dresser and closed the door.

She dug through her purse until she pulled out the cell phone Gianni had given her and dialed the police.

"I'd like to report a crime," she said in halting Italian.

"Regarding what, Signorina?" came the voice on the other end of the line.

"Human trafficking," Natasha forced out.

There was a pause on the other end. "What is your name Signorina?"

"Does it matter?" Natasha blurted. "My husband, he...I saw..." her voice wavered.

"Slow down, Signorina. Tell me what happened. Where are you?"

Natasha's mind began to race. Luca had half the cops and judges in Italy in his pocket. What she had seen might not be reported at all and might simply get back to Luca. There was no way of knowing who was on the other end of the phone.

"Signorina?"

Natasha ran a hand through her dark hair. "You know, I think I made a mistake." She closed the cell phone and stared mutely at the carpet. The faces of the girls who'd been taken were there, a permanent fixture in her mind.

She opened the cell phone again and scrolled through the phone to the contact list. There were five numbers: work, personal cell, fax, office phone, apartment phone.

Natasha tentatively dialed Gianni.

***

After following Natasha's cab back to the villa Gianni had gone back to the apartment he kept in the city. He'd paces, tried watching TV, had a couple drinks but each second passed slowly and was a constant effort not to storm into Luca's villa and take Natasha and his son.

He leapt for the phone on the coffee table when it rang.

Silence.

He glanced at the phone. It was Natasha's number. Had Luca found the phone already?

"Gian?" Natasha's tentative distressed voice on the line made his stomach drop.

"Baby, what's wrong? Are you okay?" he demanded, hearing her sniffle.

"I'm fine," she was quick to reassure him. "I'm fine. I just..."she let out a whoosh of air. "I saw something."

"Tasha--"

"I saw them taking these girls--Alejandro and Pietro." rushed out. "They were drugged and they looked so young. They were terrified, Gian, and I couldn't do anything" He could hear her holding back tears. "I didn't do anything. I don't know what's going to happen to them."

Gianni cursed.

"I'm going to bring him down." Natasha said quietly. "And I'm going to need your help."

Gianni stopped pacing abruptly. "No, Natasha," he said roughly. "I don't want you putting yourself in any danger."

"Too late, Gian," she sighed. "I'll get you all the information you need. Do what you need to with it."

"Natasha--"

"Goodbye, Gian..."

She hung up the phone and he stared at the handset. He sank into the couch burying his head in his hands. Patience. He had to trust her. He had to wait.