“It’s unfortunate you don’t pick your men very well, Vittoria. First, Zorzi, the illegitimate son of the’Ndranghetadon. The oldest child, but never able to inherit. Then, your co-conspirator at the gala. And finally, Alejandro. Why couldn’t you settle down with a nice boy from Venice?”
If Salvatore’s tone weren’t so fucking patronizing, his expression might be one of a kindly uncle. I half expect the next words out of his mouth to be, “you should smile more.” I know he’s doing it to goad me, so I won’t let it work.
But it’s an effort.
“If you know aboutZiaCosima and Zorzi, and you know about Patrick, then help me understand what’s really going on. Who hired me?”
I look between the couple, and neither shows any sign they’ll cooperate. Fucking infuriating. I knew they likely wouldn’t, but I’m risking everything with Alejandro for this. I need something. Eventually, Salvatore relents.
“Vittoria, you’re looking in the wrong places.”
“What?”
“The person who hired you isn’t Italian. However, I suspect the person who ordered the hit on you is.”
“They’re separate?”
“Yes. Poor coincidence.”
That leaves my mind scrambling.
“So, the person who ordered the hit on Alejandro—are they here in the U.S.?”
“That’s my best guess. It could be from somewhere else. I don’t know for sure, but I’ve at least ruled out the four Mafias for that. Who you pissed off enough to want to kill you is beyond me. I haven’t found that yet.”
“Have you been looking that hard?”
I should’ve stopped while I was ahead. The moment the words tumble from my mouth, both Sylvia and Salvatore glare at me. I sound incredibly ungrateful. I’m certainly not making friends and influencing people with this attitude.
“My apologies, Don Salvatore. I’m not exactly at my best right now.”
“Understandable.”
“I’m trying to determine which attacks were about Alejandro and which were about me.ZiaCosima said it was the Galicians who went after Alejandro, but I don’t think that’s right. I think she spewed lies.”
“She most certainly did. Almost every other word out of that woman’s mouth was a lie if she wasn’t in the classroom. How somebody so wretched could be so good with children absolutely defies all reason.”
Clearly, Sylvia was not a fan of my aunt, even in death. Her conscience doesn’t bother her to speak ill of the dead.
“If it wasn’t the’Ndranghetaafter Alejandro, could they still be after me? And the kidnapping and explosion were just wrong time, wrong place for Alejandro?”
Salvatore cocks an eyebrow. “Possibly. My guess is those were two separate events. Somebody tried to cash in on yourziaalready having the two of you tied up.”
“So, myziakidnaps us to get to me. And then whoever wants to take out Alejandro blew up the warehouse.”
“It wouldn’t surprise me if that were the case.”
“If this wasn’t about punishing me for an unfinished job, what have I done to piss off somebody else enough for them to order my death?”
I speak my thoughts aloud, and Salvatore and Sylvia’s expressions match. They basically silently ask me how stupid can I be when the list is a mile long? I have over one hundred and fifty confirmed kills. That leaves a lot of families and employers pissed off.
“Assuming it’s not your family or my people, could it be the Camorras working with the’Ndrangheta?”
Salvatore shakes his head. “No. I highly doubt that. They prefer to stick closer to home right now after all that went wrong and started this petty war.”
“Okay, if you’re right that it isn’t one of the four Mafia, then why did Zorzi andZiaCosima work together?”
Revulsion flashes across Salvatore’s face. “Don Pasquale wasn’t the woman’s only lover.”
