I ignore the question and return his cold smile, wanting this over with. “I wasn’t sure you’d be here. I would’ve sworn I saw you in Calabria earlier this week.”
Surprise and then fury burns in his dark eyes and again I wonder if Sofia might’ve been there after all. “How strange. But, if it had been me, I’m sure, as we are brothers by marriage, you would’ve stopped me to say hello.”
“Brothers?” I repeat. If it weren’t for Caterina’s presence, I’d spit on Zeta Morelli’s polished parquet floor for his audacity. “I was too busy keeping that man in my sights and debating over whether or not to pull the trigger to say hello.” He will never show it, but I think my words rattle Dante, a small moment of satisfaction today. I turn to my wife. “You will stay at your parents’ house until things are decided.”
Her mutinous expression is much cuter than she realizes. “I’ll come with you.”
“If all goes well, you’ll come later,” I promise her with a grin.
Her blush tells me she understood my meaning, and I hear Dante cursing quietly behind me. Kissing her softly, I ask Zeta to keep her close, peeling Caterina’s iron-tight grip away from my hand, and then follow Dante back to the waiting car.
“Where are we headed?”
“If it was up to me, Lake Michigan to dump your body.” I chuckle at the threat, refusing to show him any weakness. “As it is, we go to my brother’s house where the others wait.”
That’s a surprise. Tribunals aren’t normally held at someone’s home. They often end with a mess to clean up.
As promised, they are all there when we arrive – Daniele Vicini along with Carlo from New York, Sabatino from Phoenix and Nico. I’m unsurprised to see Enzo present as well. He would be expected to give his testimony.
“Nico, as this is your home…” the Don says with a very slight bow of his head.
“My office is through here.” Nico leads us through his luxurious townhouse, not quite as large as his parents’ mansion but more than enough space for one widower and his two infants.
The elegant dark-stained wooden floors, expensive works of art and Persian rugs seem at odds with the brightly-colored evidence that his children live here at least part of the time even if the little mouse doesn’t. The whimsical playmat and abandoned pacifier on the floor by the fireplace has my mind turning in a different direction – to my wife and the things we might have someday.
And suddenly, I know I would beg and even crawl on my knees for Nico, Dante, the Don, or any other man necessary if it meant I might hold my wife in my arms again and give her that future which I can only picture with her.
Once the heavy door of Nico’s office closes behind me though, I fight against the rising tide of emotion to give a clear account of matters that led up to me killing my Capo. Enzo’s words follow mine and, though he is hedging his bets by not speaking clearly against me, he doesn’t speak for me either.
Sabatino listens with a grave expression. Carlo whispers the occasional word in his father’s ear, and I wonder if Sofia’sactions may doom me. I don’t have to wonder in Nico’s case. His cold gray eyes study me like an insect he means to squash.
“Thirty minutes for us to reflect and then we’ll put this matter to an end, one way or the other,” the Don announces.
Normally, the man facing judgment would be excluded from any conversation while his fate is being decided, but Carlo strolls over to me no sooner than his father steps outside to smoke a cigar. “I spoke with your father at length about Francesca before he left New York.”
I nod. “I was not fully informed of his intentions, but I ordered my wife’s bodyguard to accompany my cousin back to Vegas to keep her safe because I assumed he would agree to your proposal.”
“It seems he decided otherwise.” The eldest Vicini son is renowned for his coolly measured manners, but Carlo’s rage simmers close to the surface. “As for your protection, Francesca was nearly raped by that piece of shit.” Before I can point out that she wasn’t thanks to my wife, he continues. “I was promised a De Luca bride, but it's Francesca I want."
"Even if Sofia should suddenly reappear?"
"Even then. I will have Francesca. No other woman will do if we are to maintain harmony.”
I’m not certain why he’s so keen to have her take Sofia’s place but, like Caterina, if I die, Frankie won’t be safe in Vegas. She won’t thank me for it, but I have to act in what I hope will be her best interest. “Personally, I was in favor of the match. I will agree to a marriage pact if I am named Capo instead of being dumped in a river tonight.”
“Come dici tu.”As you say.
He strides away with no further words, but I’m not left alone for long. “Want a drink?” Nico asks me, walking toward his bar.
Dante lingers by the door, displeasure written all over his face. “May as well,” I answer, watching him pour the amber liquorinto the glass. I don’t fear poisoning. He can shoot me in the face soon enough if this goes badly for me.
“Your wife has forced me to block her number. She won’t stop calling me tonight.”
I struggle to bite back a smile. “I didn’t ask her to.”
“I didn’t think you would.”
“She can be persistent and persuasive.”
