“Forgive me if I don’t believe you, and you were more than ready to take revenge on my wife. I’ve tortured and killed for far less, especially when it comes to her.”
Caterina stiffens by my side, soaking in that news while Enzo takes a shaky breath, ready to accept his fate. I would oblige but, while I hate him, he could be useful.
“For now, I believe you need some time to grieve and reflect before you decide if you’re going to be smart about things or not. Take him somewhere safe until Don Vicini gives his ruling,” I tell the two guards. “Oh yes, Uncle," I assure him when he raises his bushy eyebrows in surprise. “I will face the Tribunal for my sins. If at all possible, I wish to maintain the peace my marriage bought.”
Granted, it could mean my death but at least I trust that no Morelli will allow Caterina to be harmed.
“Your shoulder,” my sweet wife whimpers once the men have left with Enzo. Those mesmerizing brown eyes of hers fill with tears and, distantly, I hear Frankie saying she’ll go get more help.
I glance at the wound, unperturbed. “I’ve suffered worse. You are safe, and that’s all that matters to me,” I murmur, holding her tighter.
The tears glittering in her eyes spill down her cheeks. “Alessio, you killed your father… for me.Why?”
I tilt her chin up with my index finger, gazing down at her beautiful face. Like a faulty dam surrendering to the force of a spring flood, my feelings for her won’t be contained any longer.
“Because he was going to hurt you, and I couldn’t let that happen. The world needs more people like you in it and less like my father. That psychotic murdering sadist was never going to get what he wanted out of our marriage, not from the moment I laid eyes on you.” She melts against me, and there’s so much more I want to say, but the dead men surrounding us have witnessed enough. “Let’s get out of here.”
Holding her close, we walk down the hallway. Frankie rushes toward us with Valdo. A fresh wave of relief greets me when they report that Armando is alive though wounded. “Get the doc for him. I’ll be by his side shortly.” I’ll need Armando more than ever, and I’ll need other men I can trust. I have calls to make, favors to call in and warnings to send.
“You have much to do,” Caterina says, recognizing the weight that rests on my shoulders. She was born a Capo’s daughter. Now, she’s one’s wife. She is even younger than I am, but I know she’ll be my rock for years to come, the one that no man in our world will realize I’m leaning against but the person who will mean the most to me for all my days.
“Yes, I do,” I sigh, resting my forehead against hers. “I wish for-”
“Time alone and for quiet. I do, too. Alessio, facing the Tribunal is no trivial matter.” She starts chewing on her bottom lip with worry, worry because she loves me. “If they don’t side with you-”
“It’s a risk I must take to ensure you are protected, Caterina,” I assure her, keeping my voice calm. “Without the support of New York and Chicago, I’ll fail, and Las Vegas will tear itself aparttrying to usurp my family. I’ll face the Tribunal a million times to avoid that and to protect you… because I love you.” Her teary eyes search mine as if she can’t believe her ears. I regret that even if I can’t blame her. “I do, my darling wife. I love you. I didn’t mean what I said in New York. You may be trapped in this life with me, but that doesn’t mean I won’t try every day to give you your fairytales.”
“The good ones, right?” she whispers, standing on her tiptoes to nuzzle my cheek. “Not the dark ones.”
“Only the good ones, my love,” I vow before lowering my lips to hers.
36
Caterina
His words and that kiss have my heart soaring, but there is too much to be done for any time alone right now. The doc and I barely get him to sit still long enough to be stitched up from his bullet wound, and nothing slows down from there.
Alessio has been on the phone with Don Vicini, my father and all the underbosses and captains he trusts most in his territory for the past three hours after he watched Valdo fall asleep. Breaking the news to the boy was the task my husband dreaded most, but he handled that first and said it went better than he hoped.
I offered to call Gia for him, but he refused, saying he should tell his sister that he killed their father. I have to wonder if Sofia will learn of Silvio’s death wherever she may be. If he worried Gia might fall apart on the phone over the news, he was mistaken. She said she’d be on the first flight to be with her family, and her husband would just have to deal with it. I’ll be glad to have her here despite the circumstances.
My bodyguard was badly beaten. He has broken bones and a severe concussion, but the doc says it’s nothing life-threatening for a strong, young man like him. Giovanni and I sat with Armando while Frankie flitted in and out of the room. She’s had a worse day than me, and I kept urging her to get some sleep now that she’s safe. She said she would never be truly safe.
When we met two years ago, Frankie was so certain she wouldn’t be forced into an arranged marriage because no one would want her. Now, she feels the invisible noose tightening with every passing hour that Sofia isn’t found. I can sympathize but, if she marries Carlo, I pray she might find some happiness in the end as I have. I don’t know enough about him to say if it’s possible, especially if Frankie is dead set against the match from the start.
Once the clean-up crew finished their grisly task, Bibi got drunk and smashed some dishes, screaming that her life was over. Despite the theatrics, she doesn’t seem terribly heartbroken for a new widow – not that I blame her. Alessio takes me aside once I have her calm again. “I may move her to another residence… if things go my way with the Tribunal.” He sees my surprised look. “Not far from us – it’s my duty to protect her no matter how unpleasant she is – but I won’t have her scheming under my own roof. You’ll be the lady of this house, and Bibi will need to accept that.”
I appreciate that he realizes the difficult position I would be in if Bibi was still living here and trying to run things. “What about Valdo though?”
“I’ll have to keep him close. He’s my heir for the time being, and he’ll need guidance. Plus, I…”
“You don’t want his mother poisoning him against you. If she filled his mind with hatred, made your father into some twisted martyr and convinced Valdo he should be Capo someday…”
“My clever wife.” His proud gaze makes me flush with pleasure. “I don’t want him to ever be my enemy, Caterina.”
No, he wouldn’t want that. “Will you do the same things to him that your father did to you?”
He quickly shakes his head. “Never. I will have to be strict with him, and he will learn to do things I suspect you’d rather never know about, but I won’t torture my little brother… nor would I do so if we have a son someday.”
