“It wasn’t long before she wasn’t visiting me alone,” Mateo glances at me. “A baby brother. She brought you with her, Dario,” he says. “I can’t tell you how much I hated you at first. The tiny prince to an empire I wasn’t privy to. The child who could claim my other as his own.”
I give a light snort. “Not for long,” I mutter.
“You’re right,” he agrees. “I was young, but not too young to see that she wasn’t happy. There’d be times when she came, that I saw bruises. Torn flesh. She couldn’t hold me on occasions. In hindsight, I suspect he’d broken her ribs.”
I feel a wave of hot rage begin to build. “He hit her.”
“More than hit, Dario,” Mateo says. “Your father beat her to a pulp. Probably raped her to conceive you.”
I hiss out a breath. These are not things I want to hear. I knew my mother was troubled, but I don’t want to think about how she may have been suffering all those years.
“But she loved you, Dario,” Mateo’s voice has softened now. “More than anything. Probably more than me.” His eyes cloud. “You kept her sane there. Something to love. To hold.” I feel my chest go tight. “Yes…she loved you. And she stayed because of you. Even when you believed she’d fled, it was a lie. Because he’d finally gone too far. He killed her.”
The rage that had begun to swell has now surged up my chest. My face feels hot with it. I can hear Raoul’s breath beside me; he’s as enraged as I am. But it’s my turn to be up on my feet now. I feel myself sway slightly, and then begin pacing. Following Raoul’s previous track along the line of windows overlooking the cityscape.
“She told me to take care of you, Dario,” Mateo goes on. I stop and narrow my eyes at him.
“You’ve got to be kidding me, right?” I snap. How the fuck does he expect me to believe that?
“I know I couldn’t be there when she was gone,” he acknowledges. “I was barely much older than you. But I made a vow that I’d be there. I knew what he’d done. Never could prove it. But I knew.”
Now this, I can believe. I’ve seen how my father operates. Always just outside the reach of the law.
“When I left school, I went into law enforcement,” he continues. “I was determined that somehow, I’d find a way to get justice for her. I studied hard, progressed up the ranks. Applied for a position with the FBI. It wasn’t hard to get into the task force investigating cartel operations. And I wanted Caraldi. So, I dug out my old identity. Mateo Ricci replaced Matt Richards. When I reappeared in your father’s world, it wasn’t hard to convince him I was a long-lost cousin of the Ricci family. There weren’t many of them left at that point, and most could remember the kid who’d grown up among them. Matt, Matty…it wasn’t a stretch.”
“And then you ended up with me,” I say, rubbing my chin as I stare at him. Half of his journey seems to have been pure luck.
“It took years, Dario,” he says. “I began as a runner for one of your father’s captains. Moved up the ranks. Ended up in his firm. When you cut loose, he sent me to spy on you.” He gives a dark chuckle. “The irony is fucking beautiful.”
“Spy?” I ask. I’m not surprised, though it’s yet another reason to hate the man who fathered me.
“I’ve been feeding him bullshit for seven years, Dario.” Mateo shrugs. “Small subterfuges. Little lies about where you’d been. Who you’d seen. Business decisions. Nothing that would make him suspect me of deceit. But enough to keep him out of your backyard.”
I stare at him silently. It’s beginning to make sense now. Why my father had allowed me to leave the fold. Why he’s barely been on my case all these years. He thought he knew all my moves. I don’t want to admit it, but I owe Mateo a debt.
I hate fucking owing people.
I want to pace again, but I know it won’t help.
“Why?” Raoul asks, when I don’t fill the silence. “Why would you lie all this time? Why would you do this thing? Devote so much to this fucking game of yours?”
“It wasn’t a game!” Mateo snaps. And I know he’s being true. Mateo has given up his entire life for this cause. He’s been at my beck and call for all the time he’s worked with me. No friends. No family. Nobody as important as I have been in his life. It’s unnatural.
“Why?” I repeat Raoul’s question.
“Because I promised, Mama,” he says firmly. “She asked me to take care of you and I promised her that I would. A man is nothing if he can’t keep his word.”
I nod slowly. It’s a rule I’ve held to myself.
“When you decided to go straight, I knew it was what our mother would have wanted. Since you left the family, I’ve moved heaven and earth to keep you clean.” He’s right. He’s been my guiding light when I’ve almost strayed. Kept me on course to a world that I could rule without bloodshed. “But not just that,” he admits. “Ernesto Caraldi killed my mother…ourmother.” His face is all hard lines and rage as he says it. “I won’t rest until he goes down for his crimes. I will not!”
I give another nod. More definite this time. He’s right. My father has to be punished for this. And Mateo no longer has to take on this task alone.
“Tell me how I can help,” I say. His eyes widen. There’s a flicker at the corners of his lips.
“I have a pretty good idea,” Raoul says out of the blue. The pair of us stare at him. “I’m taking over.” The smile he aims at us is pure malice. “For the past few years…I’ve slowly been building relationships, seeking allies. Senor Caraldi has enemies. And the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”
My eyebrows shoot up. Now this was entirely unexpected.
