Violet, Mitch, Mick, Young Emory, and Ina, the woman he had been seeing, sat around the kitchen table playing poker.
“We decided to crash here tonight,” Mitch said, handing out cards.
“I made hamburgers,” Violet said, checking out her hand. “And there’s beer in the fridge, and my famous mermaid cocktail concoction on the counter, if you’re feeling a little colorful.”
“What’s going on, Fausti?” Mick said, setting his beer down.
The table stopped their shuffling and stared at me. I was double checking windows and locks.
“The kids,” I said.
Violet, Mitch, and Mick stood, all pointing toward the room Mitch usually slept in. I led the way, the three of them trailing behind me. The boys were in a teepee beside the bed. Mary was asleep in the middle of the mattress.
“Put her in there with her brothers,” I said, pointing. “I want all of them on the floor.”
The three of them didn’t move. Their eyes kept flicking toward each other and then at me. I didn’t understand the problem, so I lifted her gently from the bed. Her eyes popped open, like she had been electrocuted. Her thick, black eyebrows, fringed by sandy blonde hair, gave her an almost comical look.
“Hello,” she said in a scratchy voice, almost otherworldly. It was something straight from the effingPoltergeistmovie. “Play, BRANDPOW.”
“Tomorrow,” I whispered, slipping her slight body between her brothers. “If you go back to sleep, I’ll give you a sucker.”
“K,” she said, touching my cheek, drifting back to sleep.
Violet cursed under her breath. “She’s like a live wire! Once up, she’sup. Do you have a magical touch, BRANDPOW? Or should I call you BRANDWOW?”
“Scarlett thinks so.” Mick snorted.
“So does your daughter.” Violet laughed.
“He’s gotthevelvet touch,” Mitch said, wiggling his fingers at me. He stopped. “Again, Fausti. What’s going on?”
I had them follow me back into the kitchen.
“Where’s Old Emory?” I said.
“He went home after the event.” Emory eyes darted from his cards to me. “He can only sleep in his bed.”
“Have you spoken to him since he left?”
“Oui,” Emory said. “His legs were aching.”
“Ettore.” I said. “He’s here.”
Violet said she was going to stay in the room with the kids.
“He’s not going to come out and charge you, is he?” Mick said, taking a seat at the table. He pushed his cards to the side, bringing forth his beer.
“No,” I shook my head, pacing. “He’s going to draw this out—taunt me. He’s going to make this into a game. He had me there tonight, but he stood back, watching.”
“If he catches you, he’s going to torture you,” Mick said, almost to himself. His eyes were on the floor.
“Olivier is in cahoots with him. They have been associates for a time,” Emory put in. “Dangerous vipers, both of them.”
“Why didn’t you take the men Rocco offered?” Mitch said.
“We both decided that if I did, Ettore would know. He’s too smart for that. Rocco still has men on him, just not too close.”
Rocco had told me that Ettore had been to see Luca. We all knew that he couldn’t stay too far into the shadows. His big brother was too much of a temptation for him. He ran first and ratted, giving his side of the ordeal before Luca could order him dead, backing up Lothario’s order. Though the man was behind bars, he still had great power. Even more so after Marzio had been killed.
