His old man saw to it by trying to get rid of him in a body bag. I’d seen it before. Father and son. Brothers. Best friends. If it was time to go, it was time to go. Vittorio Scarpone did a stupid thing by not killing the entire Palermo family, and stupid things had punishments.
Deep down I was thankful that he spared my sister. I wasn’t a fucking monster. Besides, killing children was against our code. If anything, Arturo Scarpone should have gotten whacked because he even ordered such a thing. But I wouldn’t give Vittorio Scarpone a pass for doing it. The Scarpones had no feelings for the woman I called mother—and they all needed to be destroyed.
I actually wanted to applaud this motherfucker Kelly for helping take out Arturo and his sons. The commission had been considering taking out Arturo for a while, and since his underboss happened to be his son, all of the men who could rise in ranks had been destroyed at once. It was about time.
If Mac Macchiavello was Vittorio Scarpone, Cash Kelly would tell him I was here. Hopefully he’d get the message: where his old man had failed, I’d fucking succeed.
23
Alcina
His hands slid around my waist as he helped me walk from the Cadillac to…wherever he was leading me.
“Are you bringing me somewhere quiet?” He had tied a silk scarf around my head again, hiding my eyes from the surprise he had for me.
He kissed me behind the ear. “We have a place where you can scream as loud as you want.”
I smiled. “The last time you blindfolded me…” Cool air rushed over my face, and familiar scents almost made me take the scarf from around my eyes. I could tell we had moved from the busy street to a quiet area. “We are not in a library?” I whispered. I wondered if he was going to take me there like a dare—see if he could keep me quiet enough to get away with it.
“Even with something in your mouth, you’d draw attention in a library.” He roared with laughter.
“Apparently not as loud asyou,” I said, searching for him. He had moved away from me. His heat had become something reassuring to me. Something I was drawn to. Addicted to. I could not sleep without him by my side now.
He hands found mine, and I intertwined our fingers together, holding on tight. I leaned in, and he knew what I wanted. He kissed me. As he did, he untied the blindfold. Even though I could open my eyes, I didn’t. Not until the kiss ended.
“Where are we?” We were inside of a store, that much was clear, and it was Sicilian-inspired. It brought me home with the tiles and textures of Palermo. Vintage looking wooden shelves lined the walls. They were all empty. There was a checkout area with no one behind it.
I stepped away from Corrado, narrowing my eyes against two painted ceramic heads that were the focal point of one wall. Her brown hair was pulled back, a crown atop of her head. Lemons were woven into her side-parted hair, but the inside fruit looked like the inside of figs. The man next to her was clearly a king. Red chili peppers and the same lemons with figs weaved around his crown.
“This place is perfect,” I said, reaching out to stroke the king’s face. “What do they sell here?”
After a minute or two went by, I turned to look for Corrado. He stood next to a shelf, a few of my candles lining them. He lit them one by one with a lighter from his pocket.
“Candles,” he said. “Yours.”
I stared at him, not truly understanding.
“I called Anna and had her send some of your candles from Bronte. The ones that you had ready to sell before we left.” He looked around the store. “I invest in men every day. In business that I know won’t fail.” He looked at me. “You, Alcina Maria Capitani, invested in me. Not the other way around.”
I smiled a little. “Let me understand. If you fail me—”
“I fail at life.”
Our eyes connected from across the room.
“I’m going to fuck up, angel eyes,” he said. “But I’ll always redeem myself with you—understand?”
I touched the necklace around my neck, the cross, and then my throat. I nodded. “Sì. Love does not come naturally to you.”
“It came naturally for you, but not how to react to it.” He grinned. “I understand it in these terms. Plain and simple—I can’t afford to lose. I can’t afford not to pay my debt back. Because make no mistake. I’ll never be able to pay you back. We’ll never be square. There is no price on your love.”
“Instead of roses or jewelry, you buy me a…candle shop?”
“Bella Luna Candles by Alcina Capitani.” He pointed at his chest. “My wife.”
Anna had encouraged me to do something special with my candles when I lived in Bronte. The furthest I got was choosing a name for a business I never thought I’d have. Bella Luna Candles.
I smiled a little but then stood up straighter. I walked around him, my hands behind my back, eyeing him from head to toe. “This business will be legitimate, yes?”
