"Nico." Aria sets down her cup. "Sit. I need to talk to you."
I pull out a chair across from her and sit. "How's your throat?"
"Sore." She waves a dismissive hand. "Dr. Marchetti gave me something for the swelling. I'll survive."
Barely. The word lodges in my chest like a splinter.
Pietro glances up from his tablet. "You look like shit."
"Thank you. Very helpful."
"Did you sleep at all?"
"Define sleep."
He shakes his head and returns to his reading. Classic Pietro. Ask a question, move on before the answer matters.
Aria reaches across the table and touches my hand. Her fingers are papery-thin. When did her skin get so fragile? When did she start looking old?
"Stop that," she says.
"Stop what?"
"Whatever you're doing in that head of yours. I can see you spiraling." Her grip tightens. "I'm fine. Because of that woman. I need you to find her," Aria says.
I blink. "What?"
"The woman. The one who saved my life." She releases my hand and sits back, straightening in her chair like she's about to deliver a verdict. "I need you to find her. We have to thank her properly."
"I already?—"
"A dinner," Aria continues, steamrolling right over me. "Here. At the compound. We'll invite her and her family. Give her money. Whatever she needs. A woman like that, working catering jobs..." She shakes her head. "She deserves more."
Pietro looks up again. Interest sparks in his dark eyes. "You want to bring a stranger into the compound?"
"She's not a stranger. She saved my life."
"She's a civilian."
"She's a hero." Aria's voice sharpens. "And we will treat her like one. This family knows how to show gratitude. Your father would have done the same."
The Giuseppe card. Of course. She always plays it when she wants to end an argument.
Pietro's jaw tightens, but he nods. "Fine. Nico can handle the arrangements."
Both of them turn to look at me.
I exhale through my nose. "I've already got Liam looking into her. He should have information by this afternoon."
Aria's eyebrows rise. "You anticipated this?"
"I anticipated something." I reach for the espresso pot and pour myself a cup. "I figured we'd want to send her a thank-you gift. Maybe arrange a dinner at one of Lorenzo's restaurants. Something private."
"No." Aria shakes her head firmly. "Here. In this house. At our table."
"Mamma—"
"Every member of this family will be present," she continues. "Pietro. Nora. Lorenzo. Sophia. Vittoria. Bruno, if he's able. Even Valentino, since he's still in town." She ticks them off on her fingers like she's planning a military operation. "We will sit down together and thank this woman for giving me another day with my children."
