“When we visited San Francisco, a formal deal was struck between Caruso and my father, and I knew I needed to act, so I told them I wanted Gina. Told them exactly what Caruso claimed because I needed them to think I was on board with this. But I would’ve protected her and even married her to do so.”
I think about my father aligning with Arturo, but my mind and body instantly reject the thought that he would condone this, let alone be involved.
“Arturo has something over your father, but I don’t know what, Tommaso. That’s why the marriage and—”
“They want to bring it to a vote at the Don’s meeting,” I connect the dots.
With Arturo, my father, plus Vincenzo’s vote, which is weighted double, they could push it through if they had another Don who voted yes.
“Gina needs to be protected, Tommaso. I can keep her in Catanzaro until this is figured out.”
I damn near levitate with rage. “You’re not fucking getting anywhere near her.”
“Tommaso”—he doesn’t back down, even though he can see the multiple ways I’m plotting to kill him—“you don’t know Stefano’s role in this, or his intention. Arturo has something overhim; that much is obvious. And you’re not Don here; you have no power to protect her, especially not if your father decides against you.”
“She’s my wife,” I say through clenched teeth. “She’s carrying my child. Myheir.”
He nods. “And our laws will protect her; you have my word as Don of the founding family. But this is all happening behind closed doors, Tommaso. Arturo desperately wants this source of income; not just for the wealth, but because he’s in serious arrears with the cartel. He and his co-conspirators will stop atnothingto make sure this happens, including ensuring that your marriage to Rosa happens. Gina and your unborn child aren’t safe, and you can’t protect them the way you think you can.”
My stomach drops as that brutal reality slams into me. “I don’t fucking trust you, Vincenzo. Not with my wife and child’s lives.”
He levels me with a serious look. “I’m your only option. But to convince you that you can trust me, I’ll give you something you can use against me. Something no one else knows…something that would mean my death if it came out.”
He leans in again to speak into my ear, so only I can hear. “My father’s heart problems… They’re because I’ve been poisoning him ever since I found out his intention to try to allow human trafficking in our syndicate. I killed my father to stop this, Tommaso.”
I lean back, stunned.
Patricide is the ultimate sin in our world. Instant death of the accused. Because it stops the next generation from becoming too impatient or greedy to speed up their succession into power.
Vincenzo just gave me the weapon I could use to kill him without lifting a finger. The ultimate sin confessed to build ultimate trust.
As I stare at him, and as much as I hate this reality, I know that he is my wife and child’s best hope.
I promised I’d do anything and everything to protect her...
I just had no idea it would be ultimately out of my hands.
Chapter 39
Gina
Myhandsareclaspedtightly in my lap as I sit on Tommaso’s private plane.
After his meeting with Vincenzo, he returned home and told me everything. Marco and Silvio were there with us, with Tommaso’s other brother, Riccardo, on speakerphone. He wasn’t hiding this grave, horrendous reality from me. Instead, he included me in the debrief and their analysis of everything Vincenzo revealed. Involved me in the discussion, and argument at times, whether we could trust the Pisani Don.
Tommaso refused to tell them what had ultimately made him trust Vincenzo, but he confided it to me in the privacy of our bedroom.
He wanted me to know why he decided to trust Vincenzo with my welfare, and he wanted me armed with all the information to form an opinion on whether it happened or not. Tommaso is giving me some power. I know that the decision is ultimately his, and he’ll do whatever he feels needs to be done, but the fact that I have some say in his decision means everything to me.
Tommaso returns to the seat beside me and pulls my hands apart, intertwining our fingers. His touch settles me, and I look from him to the two men he had been talking to.
They sit farther away in the private plane, talking quietly with Salvo. Tomas Jude, the leader of the Saints, and Zeus, the president of the Havoc Guardians, are accompanying me, along with Salvo, to Vincenzo’s home, and will be my personal guards. They’re Tommaso’s newest allies; both are dangerous-looking, rugged and fierce in their jeans and leather jackets.
My father will be at Vincenzo’s home. Salvo, who my father knows, is the one ‘turning me over’ to Vincenzo, pretending he’s betraying Tommaso and wants in on the action. We’re taking a risk that my father won’t know who Tomas and Zeus are, even though they’re leaders of criminal factions in San Francisco. He’s never dealt with the Saints or the Havoc Guardians, and these leaders tend to keep a low profile.
Tommaso insisted that I have men around me that he trusted, and whatever was in the Chamber agreement seems to make Tommaso trust them, even though their alliance is new.
He’s a strong leader, a strategic analyst who dissects the plan as thoroughly as possible before acting, and this plan has received extra scrutiny. I know that he wouldn’t put my safety in anyone else’s hands if he absolutely didn’t need to; however, his back was to the wall.
