“To talk to you,” he replies before his attention turns to the little boy in the pool. “And to see my favorite nephew. What’s up, L-train?”
Leo giggles. “Hi, Zio Elly.”
I get to my feet in the meantime, sharing a brief look with Roscoe to let him know I’m heading into the house. He nods in reply, continuing his silent vigil over my son. Elio follows me without another word.
Inside the house is quiet, still. My footsteps carry faintly across the stone as I move through the entry, the space opening up without obstruction. High ceilings, clean lines. Everything in my home is placed where it belongs. Nothing is allowed to shift without my permission,
Soon enough we’re in my office. We take a seat on the couches with a round table between us. Elio’s gaze lands on the chess board and he looks up at me with a smile.
“Wanna play?”
“Sure, if you’re ready to lose,” I say.
He sets the board up, playing black like he always does. Says it helps him think better, whatever that means. He’s the only one who can play chess with me and manage to keep up. Salvatore’s too impatient when it comes to the game and the idea of Raffaele sitting down to play chess is almost laughable.
While Elio will play with me, he’s yet to win a single game. I think only one person in our family’s capable of that. Too bad the Don’s declared war on him.
“We need to talk about Dante and Salvatore,” Elio states like he can read my mind. “Where’s your head at with Sal’s proclamation?”
I shrug, moving a pawn one step forward. “The Don made an order. We have to follow it.”
“Really? Because I didn’t see you following it the night of the proclamation or the other day when the men tracked Dante toJersey,” Elio states, putting his knight into play. “I stopped by to talk to you the other day, but you were MIA. Where were you? I thought you’d be front and center, leading the men in the search for Dante.”
My jaw tightens slightly as I remember exactly what I’d been doing that night. And my mind flashes with the same thing I’ve been trying to keep buried for two days. But the regret in Lindsay Beaumont’s eyes has been seared into my memory.
For the most part, I’ve tried not to think about her. Which has been working perfectly. Except when I close my eyes at night. The way she looked at me, it both burned and invigorated me.
“We’re not going to find Dante,” I say to my brother, who has been patiently waiting for a reply. “He’s too smart to be caught like a mouse.”
I’m talking about my brother, but my mind is on Lindsay. Contrary to what she might believe, I didn’t go to the hotel planning to sleep with her. While I might have intended to mess with her a little by fucking with her head, I didn’t think getting to fuck her was in the cards.
Nearly every minute of my life is planned; every move I make is one I could see coming. I didn’t plan Lindsay, and I didn’t expect her, either.
That night caught me off guard. Everything caught me off guard in a way that’s still making it hard for me to think.
“That’s not the point. The point is that you disagree with Salvatore on this,” Elio continues.
He moves a pawn of his own, watching my hand more than the board.
“I disagree with Salvatore on a lot of things.”
“But this feels different,” he retorts.
I make a small non-committal sound before moving my bishop, sliding it across the board with quiet certainty.
“Matt,” he starts, making another move, “I need you to be better. There’s too much on the line and we can’t afford for you to lose your head.”
“You worry too much,fratello,” I say on a smile.
He clicks his tongue, leaning back slightly in his chair, waiting for me to take my turn. His eyes are narrowed onto the board like it might rearrange itself if he stares long enough. It won’t.
Silence settles between us, broken only by a soft clink as I take his knight.
“See?” I say. “You’re predictable when you start talking too much.”
“That’s not fair. You talk and play just fine.”
“I don’t talk.”
