“No, he is not.” Ellie crossed her arms. “Even I know that.”
I spoke quickly, telling her what I’d told Don Manca, Loppa, Firenze, everyone… “He saved my life twice and didn’t kill me.”
Ringo threw a pointed hand in the air. “You know, I hate being talked around like this so I’m going to have my say right now. Mario, you cannot do this alone. I’m going to the uncles. I know I’m not wanted there anymore. But I know they all want a piece of that bastard. Even if his villa is a fortress. They’ll follow your dumb ass in and mess this up permanently whether you want it to happen or not. Use your brain. Make a plan.
“The walls of Don Conti’s office are reinforced with iron. The door is nine inches thick. It’s made from two slabs of cypress banded around a metal core. There’s three layers of security before you even hit the castle. Best way to get in is?—”
“We are not starting a war!” I yelled. It would ruin us all.
Ringo stepped back. His eyes flashed as he searched mine.
“Protect my home.” I lifted Allie’s hand, the one with my mother’s ring on it. Then, I indicated her twin, forcing him to face the damage he’d done.
His eyes held pain I’d not seen since he was a student abandoned to the world with no home to return to when classes completed for the year. I’d taken him with me to Sardinia that day. He’d been mine ever since. I’d given him my family, my home, my life. We taught him a code to embrace when the world was too cold.
He studied me with those pain-filled eyes.
“Are you sure, brother?”
Ringo could protect Allie and Ellie. He was the only person who I trusted completely to do whatever was necessary to ensure their safety.
“Sì.”
“Mario,” Allie’s tone held a note of warning. Even without understanding us, she knew I’d released her. I could see it in her eyes.
“Questa vita che volevo darti si è sgretolata tra le mie dita.” I touched her hair before tipping her face to mine. “I swore I’d protect you with my life. I also swore to protect my family with my life. It is… honorable to live this way. I’m sorry.”
Her eyes remained dry, but the tears were plain to see because her shattered heart was right there. I hadn’t been careful enough with her or her family.
“You say live, but I hear die.”
I tipped my head. She understood what I hadn’t said. “Everyone dies.”
Her mouth tightened, and her jaw was tight. “I’m not ready for you to die yet.”
As if she could stop fate. I smiled.
“My heart.” I brushed her hair away so I could touch her soft cheeks.
“I’m not ready.” She fisted her hands in my shirt and shook me. The glint of gold on her finger drew my attention. I kissed it, reminding myself that life wasn’t complete without dying. No one knew how long of a gift we were given. I’d done my share of shortening that span for others. I’d guided men like Ringo into that circle.
My mother died because of men like me. “Let me show you another photo.”
She released me reluctantly.
I found what I was looking for in the pile of information on the desk. There were four photos in total. Two were taken from a sniper’s blind. One was snatched from barely six feet away. The final one was too dark to understand the full image, but Ringo told me what the camera couldn’t reveal. “These were taken in Venice, two days ago.”
I laid them carefully, leaving space between the edges so Allie could see every detail.
In the first, Ellie laughed at a ragged juggler who plied his comedy in the Piazza San Marco. Over her shoulder, a man in a dark costume and mask stared at her, not the fool. In the second wide shot, the man who’d taken a seat behind her followed her as she moved through the square.
The close shot was of Ellie and her stalker. Someone snapped the photo for them. She stood too close. Trusted too much.
That man died in an alcove between buildings, a victim to Ringo’s vigilance.
Ellie inhaled a shaky breath. “How did you get those?”
I tapped the two shots that were taken from far away. “A cousin took these from one of the rooftops.” I slid the close-up and the alley scene to cover the others. “These were from a member of the Conti contingent’s phone.” I laughed bitterly. “They thought you were Allie and tried create proof that my wife was unfaithful. They failed, miserably.”
