Be with Me by Gabrielle Sands Summary, Characters and Themes

Be with Me by Gabrielle Sands tells the story of Mia Morales, a New York-based fashion stylist caught in the crossfire of family loyalty, political ambition, and the dark world of organized crime.  As the daughter of a mayoral candidate campaigning against the mafia, Mia’s life becomes complicated when she discovers that her best friend, Fabi, is engaged to a man from a powerful crime family.

The novel explores Mia’s struggle to protect her own career, navigate complicated friendships, and confront dangerous forces, all while balancing her feelings for Romolo Ferraro, a charismatic but menacing figure tied to the mafia.  The story highlights the conflicts between personal desires and public duties amid a backdrop of secrets and power struggles.

Summary

Mia Morales is thrown off balance when she finds out her closest friend, Fabi, has gotten engaged and hosted a party without inviting her.  This shocking discovery comes through a cryptic text from Fabi that disappears before Mia can respond.

Their friendship, once close, has become strained, partly because Fabi recently returned to New York and quickly got engaged to Cosimo Ferraro, a member of the notorious Ferraro crime family.  Mia is devastated and confused about why such a secret was kept from her.

Meanwhile, Mia’s life is under increasing pressure due to her father Carlos Morales’ mayoral campaign, which aggressively targets organized crime.  She finds herself pulled into public events and media appearances, often at the expense of her own styling business and personal freedom.

Still, she feels compelled to confront Fabi directly and sneaks out of a political rally to attend the engagement party held in an affluent neighborhood.  There, Mia discovers the unsettling truth: Fabi’s real last name is Messero, linked to the criminal underworld, and her fiancé’s family is deeply involved in the very mafia her father is fighting.

Fabi and their mutual friends finally reveal these hidden connections, explaining they hid them to keep Mia safe.

While hiding in a guest room, Mia overhears a violent argument involving Romolo Ferraro, Cosimo’s dangerous brother and enforcer for the mafia family.  When Romolo discovers Mia hiding, he threatens her but is also intrigued by her presence.

Despite his intimidating nature, Mia manages to slip away when he is briefly distracted.  Romolo later reflects on the encounter and suspects that Mia is someone familiar, though he hasn’t fully realized the connection.

The Ferraro family sees Mia as a potential threat and possible leverage due to her father’s campaign.  Romolo unexpectedly shows up at Mia’s styling studio, locking the door behind him and confronting her.

The charged tension between them mixes fear, attraction, and suspicion.  Mia insists she was unwell at the party and denies spying, but Romolo’s interest in her is undeniable.

When a visitor arrives, Mia hurriedly hides Romolo to avoid exposing their uneasy alliance.

Mia faces a difficult choice—remain loyal to her father’s fight against organized crime or grapple with the reality of her best friend’s involvement in that dangerous world.  Meanwhile, Mia’s rival stylist, Kassandra, threatens her business by stealing clients, pushing Mia toward financial ruin.

Just as things seem bleak, Romolo offers Mia an unexpected opportunity: to dress him for an exclusive, elite party, potentially boosting her career.  This offer comes with risks, including scandal and further jeopardizing her father’s campaign.

At a speakeasy gathering with her friends, Mia learns more about Fabi’s engagement to Cosimo and the oppressive, abusive nature of mafia marriages.  Fabi’s family history and the control the Ferraro family holds over her weigh heavily on the group.

Mia is torn between protecting Fabi and advancing her career while resisting Romolo’s advances and complicated motives.  Romolo, meanwhile, pursues Mia with a blend of manipulation, charm, and genuine fascination, offering her a dramatic, astrology-inspired outfit for a high-profile event.

Despite warnings from his cousin, Romolo cannot stay away from Mia.

Mia’s home life is strained.  She cares for her stepmother Aris, who suffers from the effects of a stroke, while her father’s campaign keeps the family under constant pressure.

A sudden trip by her father leaves Mia to manage alone, increasing her stress before a girls’ weekend in the Hamptons with Fabi and friends.  The trip exposes their struggles with loneliness, work stress, and the harsh realities of their lives intertwined with mafia influence.

At a masked ball, Mia wears a necklace from Romolo, symbolizing the hold he has on her.  Despite wanting to keep a low profile, she is confronted by Romolo, sparking a charged and complicated encounter.

He admits manipulating her friends to bring her there and shows concern for her health after she faints, revealing a tenderness beneath his tough exterior.  Their night ends in a passionate but risky encounter, reminding Mia of the dangerous emotional territory she’s entered.

Back in New York, Mia is forcibly confined by her father after a fainting episode.  Sedated and isolated, she feels imprisoned and betrayed when she discovers her father and stepmother orchestrated her captivity to control her.

During this time, a bomb explodes in Manhattan, killing one person—likely Romolo’s father—tying Mia’s personal turmoil to the city’s political and criminal conflicts.

Romolo desperately searches for Mia, uncovering that she is held captive and monitored by people working for her father.  Fueled by anger and love, he plans her rescue, signaling an imminent clash between the Ferraro family and Morales’ political ambitions.

Meanwhile, the Ferraro brothers unite to protect their family’s power amid internal disputes involving their mother and missing documents from their father’s will.

In captivity, Mia secretly records a conversation with her father, revealing his alliance with the Santoro crime family and the brutal political tactics behind his campaign.  Morales coldly admits that his anti-mafia platform is a facade supported by criminals.

Though devastated, Mia finds strength in this truth.

Romolo arrives just in time to rescue Mia, confronting Morales and reaffirming his commitment to keep her safe.  Together, they escape, deepening their bond.

Mia finds solace in Romolo’s protection, while he pledges to cherish her moving forward.  They decide to expose Morales’ corruption using the recorded evidence, sparking an FBI investigation that derails the campaign.

The story ends with Mia and Romolo stronger together, ready to face the future openly and build a life free from secrets and danger, supported by their allies and driven by love.

Characters

Mia Morales

Mia Morales is the emotional and narrative core of Be with me.  She is a young, ambitious fashion stylist navigating the intersecting pressures of her professional aspirations, complicated family dynamics, and a politically charged environment.

Mia’s character is defined by her resilience and vulnerability; she is caught between loyalty to her father’s mayoral campaign—which champions fighting organized crime—and the painful betrayal she experiences when uncovering her best friend’s secret mafia connections.  Mia’s sense of betrayal deepens as she realizes her father, Carlos Morales, is willing to manipulate and even imprison her to protect his political ambitions.

Despite the emotional turmoil and physical constraints, Mia demonstrates strength and determination, seeking truth and justice even when it means confronting dangerous forces.  Her personal evolution is marked by a growing awareness of the moral ambiguities surrounding her family and friends, as well as a conflicted but intense relationship with Romolo Ferraro, which challenges her notions of love, trust, and survival.

Mia’s struggle is as much internal—balancing ambition, loyalty, and self-preservation—as it is external, facing threats from both political and criminal worlds.

Fabi Messero (Fabi Castellano)

Fabi’s character reveals the hidden complexities beneath the surface of friendship in Be with me.  Initially introduced as Mia’s best friend, Fabi’s sudden engagement and secretive behavior catalyze Mia’s journey into the dangerous underworld that Fabi is deeply entrenched in.

Fabi is portrayed as someone living a double life—outwardly a close, supportive friend, but secretly bound by the oppressive and dangerous ties of her family’s involvement in organized crime.  Her real surname, Messero, connects her to a mafia lineage, and her engagement to Cosimo Ferraro further entangles her fate within the mafia’s rigid and violent world.

Fabi’s character embodies the theme of constrained agency, as her decisions are influenced by family loyalty and survival rather than personal freedom.  She experiences a profound internal conflict between her past friendship with Mia and her current reality, where secrecy and protection require painful deceptions.

Fabi’s presence highlights the costs of loyalty and the sacrifices demanded by family ties in the shadow of crime.

Romolo Ferraro

Romolo Ferraro is a central figure whose complex characterization oscillates between menace and magnetism.  As a member of the notorious Ferraro crime family and a ruthless mob enforcer, Romolo epitomizes the dangerous allure of the mafia world within Be with me.

He is cold, calculating, and willing to use intimidation to achieve his aims, yet his fascination with Mia reveals a more layered personality capable of tenderness and vulnerability.  Romolo’s interactions with Mia are charged with a blend of intimidation, flirtation, and reluctant respect, underscoring a power dynamic that is both threatening and deeply personal.

His loyalty to his family and the mafia’s code contrasts with his growing emotional attachment to Mia, which complicates his role as both antagonist and protector.  Romolo’s pursuit of Mia—despite warnings and risks—reflects a man caught between duty and desire, navigating the dangerous intersection of love and power.

His strategic mind, combined with moments of genuine care, makes him one of the most compelling and unpredictable characters in the story.

Carlos Morales

Carlos Morales, Mia’s father, is a powerful political figure whose ambition drives much of the conflict in Be with me.  As a mayoral candidate publicly committed to eradicating organized crime, Morales embodies political hypocrisy and ruthless pragmatism.

His character is defined by his willingness to sacrifice his daughter’s autonomy and safety to protect his campaign, illustrating the dark underbelly of political ambition.  Morales’ alliance with criminal elements like the Santoro family reveals the corrupt compromises he makes behind the scenes, betraying the ideals he publicly espouses.

His authoritarian control over Mia, including drugging and imprisoning her, paints him as a man driven by control and fear, blinded by the pursuit of power at great personal and ethical costs.  Morales serves as a stark representation of corruption and moral decay in political leadership, creating a direct personal and ideological opposition to Mia’s growing quest for truth and justice.

Fabi’s Friends: Nina and Zo

Nina and Zo function as crucial supporting characters who add depth to the social and emotional fabric surrounding Mia and Fabi.  Both are part of the close-knit friend group that navigates the complexities of loyalty, secrecy, and survival within a world dominated by mafia influence.

Nina, particularly, serves as a voice of caution and realism, especially in her warnings to Romolo about Mia’s resilience.  The friends’ collective experience sheds light on the emotional costs borne by those connected to crime families, especially the women, who often face oppression and limited choices.

Through their interactions and revelations, Nina and Zo amplify the themes of friendship tested by secrets and the struggle to protect one another amid dangerous circumstances.

Kassandra Proctor

Kassandra Proctor stands as a foil to Mia in the professional realm, embodying rivalry and sabotage.  As a rival stylist actively undermining Mia’s business by poaching clients, Kassandra represents the external pressures that compound Mia’s personal struggles.

Her cold and taunting demeanor during her confrontations with Mia highlights the harsh realities of competitive ambition.  Kassandra’s actions push Mia to the brink of financial ruin, inadvertently setting the stage for Romolo’s intervention.

She is a catalyst that propels Mia deeper into the intersecting worlds of crime and politics by escalating the stakes of Mia’s professional desperation.

Aris Morales

Aris Morales, Mia’s stepmother, is a more subdued but emotionally significant character.  Following a stroke, Aris requires care and emotional support, which Mia reluctantly provides, adding to Mia’s burdens and feelings of isolation.

Aris’s condition and dependency illustrate the fragile family dynamics within the Morales household and symbolize the emotional weight Mia carries beyond the political and criminal conflicts.  Aris’s role deepens the narrative’s exploration of family obligation and the personal costs of public life.

Themes

Betrayal and Loyalty

The theme of betrayal runs deeply through the narrative, shaping much of Mia’s emotional and psychological journey.  Betrayal manifests in both personal and political dimensions, blurring the lines between trust and deception.

Mia experiences betrayal initially through her best friend Fabi, whose secret engagement to a member of the Ferraro crime family is kept hidden, shaking the foundation of their long-standing friendship.  This personal betrayal echoes throughout the story as Mia discovers that her own father, a man publicly campaigning against organized crime, has secretly aligned with criminal elements for political gain.

Such duplicity creates a pervasive sense of mistrust, forcing Mia to reevaluate her relationships and allegiances.  Her father’s willingness to drug and imprison her, ostensibly for her own protection, crystallizes the ultimate act of betrayal, where familial love is subordinated to political expediency.

Despite these layers of treachery, the narrative also explores loyalty as a counterpoint, particularly in the complex bonds between Mia, Fabi, and Romolo.  Loyalty is tested and redefined as Mia struggles to reconcile her love and commitment to her father’s ideals with the realities of his corruption.

Meanwhile, Romolo’s loyalty to his family and to Mia puts him in direct conflict with the Morales political machine, adding a tension that questions whether personal bonds can survive the corrosive effects of betrayal.  The theme thus interrogates the fragility of trust within families, friendships, and political alliances, highlighting how loyalty can be a fragile, shifting currency in a world fraught with secrets and power struggles.

Power and Corruption

Power is portrayed as an omnipresent force that shapes the characters’ lives and decisions, often exerting a corrupting influence.  The political campaign led by Mia’s father, Carlos Morales, ostensibly aimed at eradicating organized crime, ironically depends on alliances with the very criminals he claims to oppose.

This paradox underscores the theme of systemic corruption where ideals are sacrificed for practical gains and survival in the cutthroat world of politics.  The Ferraro family represents another facet of power—the raw, violent control wielded by organized crime.

Their influence extends beyond illegal activities into social manipulation and intimidation, showing how power can be enforced through fear and loyalty within tight-knit criminal networks.  Mia’s navigation of these intersecting power structures—her father’s political sphere and the Ferraros’ mafia world—exposes the compromises and dangers inherent in such environments.

Power is not only external but internalized in the characters’ struggles, particularly Mia’s battle between ambition and morality, and Romolo’s tension between ruthless enforcement of family interests and his unexpected emotional vulnerability towards Mia.  The story critiques the way corruption permeates institutions and personal lives alike, revealing how the quest for control often leads to moral erosion, collateral damage, and complex webs of obligation and resistance.

Identity and Secrets

Identity is a recurring theme that revolves around concealment, revelation, and the struggle to define oneself amid external pressures.  Many characters live double lives or guard secrets that challenge the authenticity of their public personas.

Fabi’s hidden last name and mafia engagement symbolize the divide between the life she presents and the reality she inhabits, raising questions about selfhood in environments dominated by fear and expectation.  Mia herself wrestles with identity conflicts, balancing her role as a daughter of a prominent political figure, a fashion stylist struggling for independence, and an individual caught between opposing worlds of legality and crime.

The concealment of truths by friends and family exacerbates Mia’s sense of disorientation, illustrating how secrets can fracture relationships and complicate trust.  Romolo’s complex identity as both a feared mafia enforcer and a man capable of tenderness further complicates the narrative’s exploration of what lies beneath surface appearances.

The act of uncovering and confronting hidden truths becomes a pivotal process for Mia, shaping her understanding of herself and those around her.  This theme underscores the tension between who people are, who they want to be, and who they must appear to be, especially when survival depends on masks and silences.

The story suggests that embracing one’s full identity, including its darker or concealed aspects, is necessary for empowerment and authentic connection.

Friendship and Female Solidarity

The relationships between Mia, Fabi, Nina, Zo, and other female characters highlight the theme of friendship and female solidarity amid adversity.  Their bonds serve as emotional lifelines, offering support and understanding in a world fraught with danger and betrayal.

Despite the betrayals and secrets that strain their connections, the women’s loyalty to one another persists, demonstrating the complexity of friendships tested by external pressures.  The group’s shared experiences—navigating mafia control, personal trauma, and societal expectations—forge a collective resilience that challenges the isolation imposed by their circumstances.

Their gatherings, such as the speakeasy meeting and the Hamptons weekend, function as safe spaces where vulnerabilities are voiced and plans made, underscoring the importance of communal strength.  The narrative also reveals how female friendship intersects with broader themes of power and oppression, as the women confront patriarchal structures embodied by the Ferraro family’s dominance and the political machinations of Mia’s father.

In this light, their solidarity becomes an act of resistance, asserting agency in situations that otherwise limit their choices.  The theme celebrates the potential for women to create networks of care and empowerment, even in environments designed to control and silence them.

Love, Desire, and Danger

Romantic and sexual desire in the story is inseparable from risk and danger, producing a charged, often volatile dynamic between Mia and Romolo.  Their relationship defies simple categorization, combining elements of attraction, manipulation, and emotional complexity.

Romolo’s charm and menace create a tension that challenges Mia’s boundaries and forces her to confront her fears and desires simultaneously.  Their encounters are marked by intense passion that is both exhilarating and fraught with peril, reflecting the broader theme of how love can be intertwined with power struggles and threats.

The mutual fascination between them complicates loyalties and intentions, revealing how desire can be a double-edged sword that offers both connection and vulnerability.  Mia’s willingness to engage with Romolo despite the risks underscores a yearning for autonomy and emotional fulfillment beyond the confines of her controlled existence.

At the same time, the dangerous context—mafia rivalries, political betrayals, and potential violence—amplifies the stakes, making every interaction a potential turning point.  The theme highlights how love and desire are powerful forces that can defy logic and convention, compelling individuals to take risks that might cost them everything but also offer moments of intense life and meaning.

Family and Duty

Family dynamics are central to the emotional and narrative tension in the story, presenting conflicting demands of loyalty, protection, and personal freedom.  Mia’s relationship with her father epitomizes the strain between filial duty and moral conviction, as Carlos Morales’ political ambitions clash with his paternal responsibilities.

The decision to control and confine Mia, under the guise of protection, reveals the ways in which family duty can be manipulated to justify oppression and control.  Meanwhile, the Ferraro family embodies the darker side of family loyalty, where bonds are maintained through violence, secrecy, and obligation, often at the cost of individual autonomy.

The arranged marriage of Fabi to Cosimo Ferraro exemplifies how family duty can become a form of imprisonment, especially for women trapped in mafia traditions.  Throughout the story, characters negotiate the tension between their roles within their families and their desires for independence, illustrating how family can be both a source of strength and a cause of profound conflict.

This theme explores the complexities of familial love when intertwined with ambition, power, and survival, and how personal identity is often forged or fractured through these intimate ties.  It questions the limits of duty when it demands sacrifice of one’s own values and freedom.