PIPPA HAS to force her eyes open as she wakes up, her surroundings blurry and bright from the morning sun streaming in through the window. Disoriented and exhausted, she confusedly looks around from the large bed of white to the to her clothes scattered on the floor. She sits up straight for a few seconds trying to take in her surroundings- for some reason she still never expects to wake up in Rome. A smile forms on her lips as she rubs her eyes and jumps out of bed to go jump in the shower.
The sun continues to peak through the slightly open curtains of the bathroom, streaming onto every edge of the room with the water running. The rays paint onto the rich cream walls inside. Pippa is now standing in the shower, the warm water cascading down her body. Her body and mind feel relaxed from the state she previously woke up in, tired and confused. The mirrors are completely fogged up, the steam starting to run out from under the door.
Showers are a place where she can get lost in old conversations and memories; good or bad. Waking up this morning, she's pissed to see she only got a few hours of sleep.. which is how it usually goes but it resonates with her emotions as well, the moments she realized the other room was empty. Pippa isn't too ecstatic to remember that she's alone while her friend is in Florence. That means she'll have to entertain herself until her friend is back.
Finally the water turns off and Pippa exits the shower and into the cold, fogged up bathroom. She wraps a towel around her and walks out into the bedroom to get dressed; probably just to sit around anyways.
Her bare feet pad against the cool hardwood, she glances at the clock and sees it reads 9:03 a.m., and then she sees her discombobulated state in the mirror. Wet messy hair and dark bags under her eyes; more than likely caused by the all-nighter she's still recovering from with Nana... or probably from her fucked up schedule in general. Most likely from her lack of sleep these last few years.
Before she adventures out of the bedroom into the living room she figures she should get dressed. The sound of her stomach grumbling drags her back down to earth that she needs food when all she wants to do is curl up on the couch. Throwing on a sun dress she decides she'll go get something from the café about a five minutes walk away. For a second she's about to walk into Nana's room-
But oh yeah, Nana left for Florence already.
So then Pippa brushes it off and becomes busy focusing on the straps of her dress when she reaches the doors to then realize there's an envelope on the floor.
"What are you..." she wonder aloud as she bends down to pick the paper up. It appeared to have been slid under the door.
No words are written on the envelope so carelessly Pippa opens it up.
However, she can't read it.
The words are written in Italian, the only thing she can make out is that it's addressed to her and from a family named 'Fiorentino'. Chills run down her spine and make her hairs stand straight up. There's something not quite right about this and she feels physically sick as she shoves the paper back into its envelope.
Pippa begins to pace as her fingers grip onto the letter. She's trying to figure out what she should do- all thoughts of getting food and going for a nice walk are out the window. Not just anybody could translate the letter for her because it could be personal, dangerous, or mental. Her grandfather isn't amazing with his Italian and this will only worry him, and she can't bother Nana.
'Fuck', she thinks getting frustrated because she has no freaking idea what's going on. She's nervous and paranoid something bad is going to happen to her. There's only one person she realizes she can go to-
Santino.
But she's not even sure if she should leave the Continental since she's alone and she doesn't have his number to call him. If he's not at his penthouse then she wouldn't know where he is either. It's a gamble, but one she's willing to take because she's scared. Any other normal person would never be going through this, and her family always told her to never take something lightly. So that's what she's doing, not taking a mysterious letter lightly.
Pippa's heart is racing as she opens the sliding glass door which leads to the balcony of Santino's penthouse. The guards let her up easily because it's her, but Santino probably doesn't know she's coming; and here she is invading his space right in the morning. Pippa sees his form easy enough sitting on the patio furniture looking over the city; she's surprised to see what he's wearing, and that he's smoking. Standing there for a few seconds she has to work her way up to speaking because this is definitely weird.
He's perceptive, he can probably tell someone's there but she takes another second or two before she says anything.
"Hey-"
"Wondering when you'd finally say something the suspense was killing me," Santino turns around and looks at her through his sunglasses. He brings the cigarette back up to lis lips, breathes in and then lets the smoke out. There's a small upturn to the corners of his mouth seeing her, stomach immediately filled with butterflies, "come sit, don't just stand there any longer."
"Yeah," she responds. She takes a seat on the couch next to him. Her hair's wet, the sun dress she's in has droplets on it, and the bags under her eyes are what he's drawn to the most.
"Not expecting you this early, what can I do for you?" Santino's happy to see her, much happier than he's letting on, probably because he still won't let himself show anything around her. It's foreign. She looks beautiful but panicked, so it makes a nervous pit form in his stomach. And it's clear somethings wrong; with the way she's fidgeting with her hair which isn't taken care of like normal. If something's upsetting her he wants to know.
Pippa is once again finding herself intimidated by Santino because this isn't the version of him she's used to. He's always put together in how he acts and wearing a suit (which for some reason is a comfort for her) However, here he is in a light blue robe lounging around like a teenager and she can't help but gawk, and feel tingly. And feel thrown off because this is a sudden change. Also because he has sunglasses on she has no idea where he's staring, "d-did you know I was coming?"
"They called me when you first entered the building. It's why I didn't bother changing." he puffs on his cigarette again. The smoke rises into the sky making her feel nauseous.
"You smoke?"
"I'm subtle about it." Santino catches her staring. He likes the way her eyes are wandering over him in a hesitant schoolgirl fashion, "what?"
"You're just... not in a suit." seeing him like this makes her blush. He honestly seems more human like this.
"What, do you think I sleep in one?" he smirks.
"Well no.. it's just.." she frowns realizing she looks stupid digging herself into a hole. He's definitely looking at her amused and it only makes her feel more like an idiot.
"So again, what brings you here this early? I don't mind the visit but..." Santino can tell she's not here to spend quality time with him and he wants her to get to the point.
"This." Pippa holds up the letter, "it's in Italian. I found it on the floor in front of the door in my room, and I can't read it."
"In your room, like it had been slid under the door?" he questions, heart racing at the sight of it.
"Seems so."
Santino rips off his sunglasses tossing them onto the coffee table with a clink. Reaching out a hand, Pippa hands him the letter which he then takes with speef. He brings the cigarette to his lips as he begins to read the letter, fear creeping into his chest.
She can't tell what he's thinking right now. There's no emotion in his eyes or face as he meticulously scans the paper. The only thing she can see is how his thick brows are in a frown, other than that she feels like the letter may be unimportant by his reaction.
"What does it say?" Pippa asks meekly.
He lets out a loud sigh. Pushing the cigarette into the ash tray he stands up, readjusting his robe, "follow bella."
"Huh?"
"Come, I need to change."
Pippa follows him like a confused puppy as they re-enter his flat. She's never seen all of it and she's curious as he leads her up a staircase and towards the end of the hall. It's an absolutely beautiful place with pristine artwork and decorations. Everything here is probably worth millions, more than her life. Pippa has begun to realize that even her family (and probably organization) doesn't have as much money as he alone.
They enter into a huge bedroom that's wide and open, with a king sized bed centered on the back wall. There's a small sitting area with white leather couches and some dressers. The furniture is mostly rich dark wood, or black and it goes perfectly against the white walls and decorations. It's a modern space, which doesn't appear to be common in Italy she's at least noticed.
"Sit where you'd like bella, I'll be right out." Santino disappears behind a door which she assumes is the closet- which is probably big as well, holding all his designer suits, shoes, ties, and wallets. Jesus the man probably has more clothes than her when she thinks about it.
Pippa looks around some more before she walks over to the loveseat besides the couch. In plain sight lays a gun on the coffee table and it makes the young girl stop for a second. Her eyes quickly dart around the room as she realizes there's probably plenty of weapons hidden around here. She takes a seat and does her best to avoid any contact with the gun, as it makes her stomach queasy.
It's hard for her to relax because her mind is running at millions of miles a second. She keeps looking around as if she's expecting something or someone to happen; and it's awkwardly quiet and she wants Santino to hurry up. What was he thinking as he read the letter? Pippa just want to know what it says.
Finally, the closet door clicks open and out walks Santino; in all his glory. He has his normal suit on, pants, shirt, vest, tie- but he's holding the jacket with on an arm while he puts his watch on. Pippa feels her voice caught in her throat by the sight of him. He's in dark blue and fuck he looks hot as his toned body is flaunted. His gaze falls to her before he stops in front of a mirror straightening himself out. As he slides on his suit jacket Pippa asks,
"What's going on?"
He's quiet, "don't worry right now."
"How can I not worry?"
Santino doesn't answer, he just focuses on fixing himself up and taking care of his hair. Yes she's sitting there enthralled by him but she doesn't understand why he seems so- normal. There's no urgency in his body language and it makes her grow agitated. Pippa's full panic mode! She's thinking of all the worst case scenarios and he's well, not.
"How are you so... calm right now!?" she blurts out exactly what she's thinking.
"Oh bella, my life gets much more complicated than this." he chuckles in what seems to be a cruel way. He's trying to stay collected. Trying not to freak out himself because this was almost exact to what his sister received. When he looks and sees the panic in Pippa's eyes, it makes him sigh at the fact he's acting so nonchalant about it, "things get dramatic here."
Santino glides over and crouches down in front of where she's sitting. He takes her tiny hands into his and brings them to his lips. Her nerves are sliding off onto him and he hates it, because he does take this seriously. Nobody threatens the girl he loves and can think they'll be okay, he is just staying calm for her.
"Santino, please tell me what's going on."
"I'm not going to tell you, okay?"
"What, why?" she asks becoming angry. How could he sit there and say that?, "I deserve to know, I mean the letter was probably intended for me."
"I won't answer that-"
"That gives me my answer." Pippa sighs angrily feeling her chest constrict. She goes to stand up but Santino follows suit. He stops her easily, gently placing his hands on her shoulders. He towers over her and it's intimidating, but Pippa can see the sincerity in his eyes.
Santino stares at her with a sad look, "you seem tired." he carefully runs his fingers against the side of her face, "the bags under your eyes..."
"You're used to seeing me with gallons of concealer or brightener on." she laughs, her growing anger disapparating with his gentle touch. She can feel her eyes growing misty though, as she sniffles trying to hold back her emotions.
He's quiet for a few seconds before he says, "I'm going to take you back to the Continental, have you eaten?"
"No, but I can get something there."
"You should try to rest too." he says going to get up.
"Wait." she says feeling her chest starting to beat again.
"What?"
Pippa takes a deep breath, "I just, I don't want you to treat me how my papa and every other person in my life treats me. I'm not a kid, I can handle what's in that letter."
That makes Santino's stomach twist and force him to take a deep breath, and say what she won't want to hear, "I know you think that, but no."
Her face twists in a sudden anguish and she looks away from him, tears pricking at her eyes, "you too then?"
"Pippa..." he sighs exasperatedly, (she's surprised he used her real name). He knows how much Pippa adores him and how he treats her as an equal, she said so herself as they looked at art many, many days ago. It's hard for him to do this to her and reduce himself to her greatest fear, "I'm sorry."
"Is it just that bad?"
"I don't want you to be scared."
"I will be regardless." she huffs, "just take me back to the hotel now I guess."
It's like everything they've built is shattering around them. Pippa feels betrayed, even if he's doing this for her. She thought he'd be straight and honest with her, he always has been. But her heart hurts because of him right now, even if he tries to apologize she won't hear it. Santino feels guilt ridden, which is rare, he wishes it didn't have to come to this. But, it's just another reminder to him of what Pippa's life would be like with him.
•••••
"So what does this mean?" George asks staring at the letter, "I can make out some of it but.."
When Santino took Pippa back to the Continental, his first stop was to George. It clearly isn't the conversation he'd been expecting or wanting. There's clear rage radiating off the elder man as he realizes this could mean war, especially by bringing his granddaughter into it.
"Basically means, I want you to tell me how you want this handled because there's many ways to go about it." Santino normally wouldn't tread lightly but he has someone to impress and knows not to let his emotions get in the way (which is normally easy). What he wants to do is hunt down the Fiorentino clan and make sure bullets ends up in all their heads, but he knows better than that for right now.
"Why was it sent to Pippa?" George rambles completely ignoring what Santino just propose, "I want to know what every inch of this letter says." he shoves the letter into Santino's hands. He's pissed off.
"Hell if I know why Pippa. Just scare her probably, which worked. My sister got one as well and even freaked her out, and she's hard to crack."
"That's comforting," Mr. Adams mutters, "did you tell Pippa what the letter says?"
"No."
"That's probably for the best."
"She isn't happy about it, I wouldn't bring it up to her." Santino warns. It should be the last thought in his head, but all he cares about is if Pippa is truly upset with him. He cares far too much about how she feels.
"Oh I can imagine."
Santino reaches into his overcoat pocket and pulls out the letter his sister had received. He shows George the comparison between the two, "however, we're lucky they showed themselves in the letter to Pippa. Which I don't know why I didn't think of them initially."
"Who exactly are the Fiorentino's?"
"Started as some group down way south, middle of fuck nowhere." Santino runs a hand through his hair as his frustration increases, "did some favors for us so we didn't bother them. Weren't bad until about a year ago. Guess they're a damn cult now with how they act and how they recruit. Freaky stuff. But they consider themselves to be above the Camorra and love toying with us."
"Why haven't you crushed them?" the elder Adams asked with a raised eyebrow.
"It's always been tiny things we didn't give a shit about that they've done. About now it's different, I take this personally."
"Are they stupid?" George asks right out, "do they not realize if they even touch Pippa they'll be dealing with the Camorra and firms?"
"Well they're obviously not smart." Santino crosses his arms as he stares out the window. He's watching the bustle below him as he thinks, "have a preference on how I handle it?"
"What would you normally do?"
"Have them killed." it's not a lie.
George nods, "most permanent course of action... Actually think they'll act? Or is this a ploy to cause a rift."
"Can't say, never pinned them as ballsy enough to do anything like this. We'll make sure we're ready for anything though." Santino hates when things don't go his way. He hates when someone or something challenges his control and way of life. Thinking about Pippa being hurt in anyway makes his whole body light on fire; he'll never be able to forget the way she looked at him with wounded eyes as he refused to answer her questions. Normally, he'd never care, people's requests meant nothing to him- but then Pippa meant everything. The twisting in his chest makes Santino feel backed in a corner with limited options, that are running out. Love is consuming him.
note- so ready for these next few CH's