Angelo calls Fina once we leave his father’s house. She picks up as we hit the freeway. The sun’s low in the sky, marking the end of another beautiful day. In another universe, if I’d taken a regular job, perhaps in construction, I’d be clocking off around now.
Heading home to my wife or hitting a bar for a quick beer with the boys.
If only my father hadn’t drunk himself to death, my life would have been very different. But then I’d never have met Chiara.
Angelo tells Fina to meet us back at the house and then hangs up.
“Maybe I can send her out of the country,” he muses.
I say nothing. We both know that unless Lorenzo drops dead, there’s no way out of this. He might not be running the business full-time anymore, but he still holds plenty of leverage. And if Fina tries to run, he’ll kill her.
“I can talk to Santini.” I’ve met the guy once. He’s no threat.
“The problem is,” Angelo mutters, “Santini has connections to Tim Remington, so if we renege on the deal Dad has made, Remington could cause me more problems. I suspect at least some of the negative stories in the press originate from him, although Fina’s not found any proof yet.”
There’s been a flood of stories over the last few weeks. Nothing too obvious. Just subtle hints and insinuations here and there that the Di Rossis are not quite what they seem.
Fina’s done a good of managing the negative PR by having the stories pulled as well as burying them with more positive news, but this, on top of the FBI shit, is worrying.
It highlights the fact that someone is trying to take Angelo down. Why isn’t clear.
In the old days, disputes usually involved gun battles and bloodshed, but these days, rival organizations are likely to adopt more nefarious means of taking down their competitors.
Thank fuck Fina is on the ball.
Only she’s being sidelined, and soon we’ll be stuck with the lovely Francesca, whose best skill is sucking Lorenzo off.
Happy days.
28
Angelo
Fina and Chiara sit at the kitchen table, their heads together as they talk in low voices. Matteo watches from the far end of the room. He straightens his back the moment I walk in and with a quick nod, leaves.
The poor guy must know what’s coming, and I feel for him. Loving a woman destined to marry another man is pure torture.
God knows I’m living that hell every single day.
No matter how many accommodations I make for my wife, she still refuses to lower her defenses. The damn woman drives me nuts.
“I need to talk to my sister,” I bark at her. She cocks one eyebrow.
“And?” Her attitude will get her killed one of these days. Not by me, but by my father. He has no time for mouthy women.
“In private,” I add, doing my best to remain calm.
Instead of standing and walking away, she rolls her eyes and reaches for a grape.
“Fina and I have no secrets.”
Lord, give me strength.
I glance at my sister, but she stays silent. I note the dark circles under her eyes and the way her hair isn’t as polished as usual. Is she ill? There’s definitely something wrong. I don’t buy the stomach-bug anymore.
“Are you sick?” Kane throws me a look that says my tact is severely lacking, but I ignore him.
Chiara doesn’t give Fina a chance to reply. “Sick of being treated like a prize camel, yes.”
