Romeo and Julian - Free Fall E-Book

Bealevon Nolan

• Herausgeber: BookRix
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2015

Beschreibung

Two men – two secrets – one war.

In the middle of Italy in 1943…

Romeo, a young Italian undercover informant for the communist party, is the only local witness of a historical event. But for him meeting the German paratrooper Julian is more important than that.

Julian had to live by the strict rules of his country for many years, hide away what he feels. One tragedy after the other undermined his will to live and he is ready to give up.

His final jump changes everything.

Leseprobe

Bealevon Nolan

Romeo and Julian - Free Fall

Historical Gay Romance

For the m/m romance group of Goodreads - you rock!BookRix GmbH & Co. KG81371 Munich

Romeo and Julian - Free Fall

Romeo and Julian - Free Fall

By

Bealevon Nolan

Milan, Italy, summer 1940

“Ro, come to me!” his mother’s voice called to him from the spacious kitchen at the back of their house. He went to her and knew that now, at last, he would learn what was to become of him. The elders of his family had gathered after church the previous day, and he had waited impatiently to hear their verdict. As the youngest son, he was the only one not in the fascist military or working underground for the communist party.

Maria Luisa Cantone was a matriarch to be reckoned with, a mother of fourteen children, and part of a huge family herself. Her highest priority—deeply ingrained—was the protection of her family. Therefore, despite being stout communists, all of her elder sons were soldiers for Mussolini, Il Duce, the fascist leader of Italy. Romeo expected to join them, now that he was finally done with school.

She pointed to the chair next to hers at the big oak table, took his smooth hands in her callused ones, and looked him in the eyes. He was shocked to see her expression softening, her gaze almost tender.

“Ro, we discussed your future yesterday and you will not join the army.” He gasped and wanted to protest; he was sixteen and longed to become a hero like his brothers. Although his parents worked hard to counteract the relentless propaganda of the newspaper and cinemas, no-one—especially an adolescent boy—was immune to the brainwashing, and he wanted to join the army.

“You are small and unremarkable, an easy-to-forget average boy—you are the perfect choice as an informant for the Resistenza. Uncle Pietro will be your contact. You will do as he says and be his apprentice.” He sighed. An informant?

“But mother, I want to become a soldier like Luigi, Micha, and…” Her hand stroked his cheek, and she smiled.

“I know you have the courage,” she said gently, “otherwise I wouldn’t have agreed to this. But I also know that it would be too dangerous for you to join the army. All those men, living together all day, sleeping together in close quarters at night…” He swallowed hard, his eyes widening in shock. “I know, my son, I know.”

He closed his eyes in shame and hung his head. Romeo had been so sure that he had cloaked his desires completely from everybody.

“How…how?” He stuttered avoiding his mother’s eyes while a deep blush painted his cheeks.

The wise smile of generations of parents before her played around her lips. “Because I know you my child and because my younger brother, your Uncle Anton, is like you. He lives with cousin Paolo on their farm in the Tyrol Mountains for a reason, you know. I always pray to the Madonna to keep them safe, and I will pray for you, too.”

And so he went to work as an apprentice for Uncle Pietro, officially as a toolmaker—one of the few professions that were excluded from the military draft—unofficially as an informant. In between, he worked as a waiter, a shoeshine boy, a mechanic, and anything else necessary to get him close to the sources of information his uncle needed. His mother had been right, he blended into the background, nobody took notice of him, and he was never caught.

*~*