“I haven’t even met our family there,” he considers. “Can you tell me about them?”
“You met some of Carmine’s men,” I remind him. “Or maybe you didn’t meet them, but they helped rescue you.”
“I’ll have to thank him for that,” Brandon says.
“Francisco already did,” I inform him.
“Right,” Brandon considers my statement with a frown. I’m not sure what he’s thinking. I want to make it clear that Francisco is on our side. Just because Brandon doesn’t know him or trusthim doesn’t make him a bad person. I hope that my brother can trust my judgment and appreciate that I didn’t choose my husband lightly.
“Are you sure that this is what you want?” I ask Brandon carefully.
“No,” he exclaims, “this isn’t what I want. In what world would I want this?”
“I don’t mean the…” I trail off, unable to finish my sentence.
“The kidnapping?” he asks.
“Yes,” I say.
“I don’t want to tell you what I lived through,” Brandon says roughly. “I don’t even want to think about it.”
“We’re safe here,” I say in a small voice.
“I thought you said that Italy was a done deal,” Brandon claims.
“It is,” I assure him. “Yes, it is,” I repeat the words to myself, trying to overcome the immense sorrow that they cause.
“Marlena,” Brandon complains.
“I love him, Brandon,” I say, unable to keep it bottled up any longer.
He sighs, putting his head back against the sofa. “Then don’t go to Italy.”
I look at him hopefully, wondering if he really means it. The more I think about leaving Francisco, the more I wonder if I can actually do it. It feels like I would be tearing my own heart out of my chest.
“But what will you do?” I ask plaintively.
“I don’t know,” Brandon says. “I don’t know what I would do in Italy; I don’t know what I’ll do here. Either way, I can’t go back to school.”
“Maybe you can,” I insist. “Maybe after this is all over?—”
“What do you mean?” Brandon cuts me off. “After your husband tracks down and kills everyone responsible?”
I open my mouth to deny it, but that’s exactly what I meant. Though I told Francisco I didn’t want to know anything about his business, there’s no other conclusion that I can come to. There’s a price on my head, and on Brandon’s. We have two powerful families at our backs, but no one is going to jail. That’s not how these people solve things. There’s only one way to stop Carlo Andretti from harming us, and that’s by letting Francisco handle it. I’m not naïve, but I also don’t want to spell it out.
“That’s not what I meant,” I say softly.
“But it is what’s going to happen,” Brandon continues.
“It will happen whether we go to Italy or not,” I say, daring to raise my voice.
“Maybe if we’re not around, then there won’t be a need to start a war,” Brandon suggests.
“The war has already started,” I inform him. “Carlo Andretti kidnapped Don Corello’s wife. He has to pay for that.”
“Careful, sis,” Brandon warns me. “You’re starting to sound like a mafia wife.”
I give him the stink eye until he cracks a smile. The tension releases and I realize that he’s giving me his blessing andpermission to stay. I throw my arms around his shoulders, not remembering all his injuries. Brandon winces and sucks air through his teeth, making me back up and apologize instantly.
