Nonna gave me a reassuring smile. “You’re safe now. We’re going back to my house and he can’t reach you there. He wouldn’t dare. What can you tell me about Bones?”
“He’s with someone named Natalia. She’s claiming to be his sister and said she just wants to talk to him. To tell him the truth about what happened to their father. She said the Marianis killed him.”
Nonna frowned. “Whatever happened, I’m sure Dom will get it sorted. He’s smart and fair. I’m certain he will see through whatever plan Carlo has up his sleeve.”
I hoped so, but I wasn’t so certain. Trying not to think about that, I replied, “Thanks again for coming for me.”
“Of course, dear. But now I think you should call your sister and let her know you’re okay. She’s worried sick about you.”
Accepting the phone Nonna offered me, I called Markie and assured her that I was fine. She asked all sorts of questions I couldn’t answer before I cut the call short, so I could get back to my conversation with Nonna.
“What’s going to happen to Bones?” I asked, handing her back the phone.
“Don’t you worry about that,” she replied, patting me on the arm. “Bones has protected my family for years. Now it’s our turn to protect him.”
“Thank you,” I said as more tears stung my eyes. “Thank you for everything.”
“That’s what family’s for, dear.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Bones
“WELL?” I ASKED, staring at Natalia.
“Well what?”
Blood or not, she was fucking infuriating. “You kidnapped my woman, fucked up my life, got my capo gunnin’ for me, what was so goddamn important you did all that shit just to talk to me?”
“The truth, Bones. The truth that those assholes have been hiding from you.”
I leveled a glare at her, waiting for her to continue. Waiting for her to say something worthwhile. When I’d opened the van door, I’d gotten a good look at Natalia. She couldn’t be much younger than my brother, David. She wore a blue sweater and slim-fit jeans stuffed into black knee-high boots. Her long dark hair was loose and messy, and her high cheekbones, plump lips, and dark eyes bore a striking resemblance to a picture Pops had shown me years ago, a picture of his mom.
As much as I wanted to deny it, Natalia looked a hell of a lot like family.
“I can’t get over how much you look like Dad,” she said, almost as if she was reading my thoughts.
“You remember his face?” I asked, doing the math in my head. “You couldn’t have been more than four or five when he disappeared. Hell, I was ten and barely remember him.”
Her jaw jutted out and anger flashed in her eyes. “I was nine, Bones.”
I choked. “So the bastard must have knocked your mom up shortly after he knocked mine up. Then he came back and got Ma pregnant with David. Un-fuckin’-believable. Fuckin’ asshole is what he was.”
“No he wasn’t. You didn’t know him like I did. He used to bounce me on his knee and call me hisprincipessa. He smelled like gun oil and tobacco, and he would always read me a story before tucking me in at night.”
I laughed. “Pretty sure we didn’t know the same guy, because my dad didn’t do any of that shit.”
“Gino Leone was a good father,” she insisted.
Natalia’s tone and posture grated on my nerves. After being robbed of a childhood with my old man, I felt entitled to a little anger. Especially after finding out that he’d knocked up Natalia’s mom between me and David. “No matter what you remember, Pops wasn’t some stand-up guy. He was a liar who cheated on his wife, abandoned his kids, and informed on the Durante family. He was almost solely responsible for your mother’s family’s demise. You should hate him even more than I do.”
“He was a complicated man.”
“Complicated?” I snorted. “I’ll have to take your word for it, because I don’t remember shit about Pops. Probably because the bastard was so damn busy with his other family he had no time for me and my brothers. While he was sitting you on his lap and calling you princess, he was bailing on my school conferences and missing family dinners. Disappearing was probably the best thing he ever did for me.”
“He didn’t disappear, he was murdered!” she shouted.
“Oh yeah? Who whacked him then?”
