by Sienna Mynx
“That explains what is happening at my warehouses. The raid. We lost the guns.”
“Mirabella is in charge. My brother may be awake, but he wouldn’t be able to do all of this in two days from his sick bed. It was Mirabella. She lured Marietta home, rejected me to keep me out of the way. She set this all in motion? How could she be this cruel? Why is she doing all of this? It’ll get everyone killed. Does she know that?” Catalina asked.
“I think she does,” Armando said.
“She’s forcing us out of Sicily,” Lorenzo said. “The Gambettas will tell the Dons that the guns were Armando’s, and that he stole them from Giovanni. Soon Palermo won’t be safe for any Mancini.”
“Giovanni will stop her.”
Armando laughed. Lorenzo rolled his eyes.
“He will. He never wanted Mirabella to be him. You both know Giovanni is not going to stand for this.”
“Giovanni could give two shits about me and Lorenzo. And when he finds out about the two of us, cara, he won’t change a thing.”
“Have either of you looked at the television?” Lorenzo asked.
They both said no. Lorenzo wheeled his way to the parlor and turned on the television set to the Italian news. “It’s been running non stop. The Camorristi is being swept in some big organized crime sting at the Bay. Licciardi and Racchi are both in custody. All of their men are being rounded up. Do you see who’s missing?”
“Tacchini, and the Battaglias,” Armando answered.
“She’s taking everyone down. This move is a permanent one. It’s shifting the scales of power in Giovanni’s favor. Marietta is sick. Very sick. And Mirabella keeps her locked up in villa Rosso. She wants to have her committed to an insane asylum and take my fucking kid. She’s on a warpath for revenge. Against us all.”
“I’ll handle her.” Armando started to walk off.
“I have a better plan!” Lorenzo called out to him.
“Fuck you! Fuck your plans!” Armando drew his gun. “How do I know this isn’t your doing? You were the one to convince me to take those guns and delay telling the Dons. A stupid fucking move. I should have exposed Gambetta the moment I had the power to. But I listened to you. And now they have the Carabinieri at my door. My lawyers won’t hold them back much longer. You were the one who sent Marietta home. This is all part of your plan to take over!”
“Stop it!” Catalina stepped in front of Lorenzo and blocked Armando from acting on his threat. She turned and looked to her cousin. “This is all of our doing. When did we turn on our own family? When did we become these people Lo? You raised me, Gio raised me. Everything about this goes against the grain of who I am. We thought Mirabella would be too weak to fight back. We all counted on it. She is Giovanni’s other half. His Donna, like I’m yours. You men think you’re in control. But are you? Ever?” she glanced back at Lorenzo. “No more fighting. We have to find a way to get Giovanni’s and Mirabella to forgive us. All of our lives depend on it.”
Done with the conversation and Lorenzo she turned her attention to Armando. He lowered his gaze but held his gun. She took his wrist and then pulled the gun from his hand. “You were almost killed today. We both were. It’s not safe in Palermo.”
“Are you in this with me? For you there will be forgiveness. Hell, there might even be forgiveness for Lorenzo. But not for me. Do you understand Catalina. They have stolen everything from me. All I have now is you.”
She touched the side of his face. “A month ago I would have helped them destroy you. And I can tell you I will never betray my family or Gio. It’s not who I am. But I am in this with you. To the very end. On my life.”
Lorenzo held back his anger. He glared at the affection between them. It was too intimate, and it wasn’t forced. Catalina actually attended to Armando as if she cared. And when her hand went up to his cheek and touched it, he saw it again. The large diamond on Catalina’s ring finger. If he had a gun at that moment he’d have shot Armando himself. But he didn’t. All he had was his plan. And his plan was much better.
“I called my contacts.”
The lovers stopped kissing and looked at him.
“What contacts?” Armando asked.
“Armenians. I told them the war has divided the family and the Gambettas have lost their guns to the Carabinieri. I made a deal.”
“You don’t make deals for me,” Armando said.
“This is a deal you’ll want. We have to leave Palermo. Pull whats left of your men out. We go to Spain. We do it now. The Armenians will take us in from there. Give us both time to regroup. Give you enough power to strike back.”
“At what price? You get your freedom and your life, I get to be a slave to the fucking Armenians?” Armando spat.
“You need allies. We both do. And right now they are offering. Go to war with the Dons and the blood will flow back to you. The Carabinieri are coming here. Time is short. We have to leave.”
Armando glanced to Ignacio who observed and listened. His consigliere spoke. “The lawyers are meeting with the Carabinieri about the raid. They have insisted you come in for questioning. It’s scheduled for the morning, Boss. Whatever you want to do. You have to do it tonight.”
“Listen to Lorenzo. We need to go baby. If the Mafiosi doesn’t come through that door Giovanni will, and soon.” Catalina held his face to force him to kiss her. He did. She smiled up into his eyes. “We belong to each other. That’s what’s important. Right?”
He pulled her in close and kissed her deeply. His gaze flashed over and locked with Lorenzo’s to make sure he was watching. He squeezed her ass. Then he let her go. “Pack your things. I’ll have our boat ready. We have to leave at night. There will be patrols. Ignacio! Come with me!” Armando kissed her one last time and then turned and walked off. Catalina watched him go like some love sick school girl.
“So you’re his whore now?” Lorenzo seethed.
She tossed her hair and glared at him. “You make me sick. I don’t know who is worse, you or Marietta. But I do know you both are going to pay for destroying the family. For shooting Giovanni. Mirabella will see to it.”
“And how will you pay? You think sucking his dick makes you special to him? You’re nothing but his whore! La Puttana! La Zoccoletta!” he spat at her.
Catalina raised her hand. “I am his wife now! What was promised before you and Gio changed it and married me off to Franco.”
Lorenzo’s eyes stretched and then his brows lowered with disbelief.
“That’s right. Armando told me that Patri wanted me to marry him. Deny it!”
“I don’t have to deny it. Gio and I will never let it happen.”
“Too late. I am Donna Catalina Mancini. And you are fucking nothing!” She then walked out.
“We’ll see!” he yelled after her.
“Excuse me, Donna,” Isobel, a young woman who was part of the household staff whispered in her ear. Mirabella was with Giovanni. She waited in a chair for the doctors to finish their exam. The woman put a crumpled up letter in her hand and whispered in her ear. “We found this in the trashcan in Signora Minnie’s room. She made a call earlier. A private call. The number was redialed. It was to Sicily, Mancini’s.”
“Grazie Isobel. That will be all.”
Mirabella unfolded the letter and read the words. When she folded the letter back she looked up to see her husband watching. He observed her in that silent way that demanded an explanation. Should she tell him everything now? Should she wait?
“Don Giovanni, you are a miracle. Your reflexes are strong, so are your vitals. Your blood pressure has normalized. I can’t explain the coma, but sometimes the body heals itself better than medical intervention. You should be on your feet in a few days, maybe sooner.”
“Sooner?” Mirabella asked.
“He’ll need to regain his strength. Full recovery will be a process, by my guess a very accelerated one.”
“How soon can I have sex?” Giovanni asked. Mirabella double blinked in shock.
> “I... uh, that depends on you, Signor. Listen to your body. If you feel that you are ready to perform then... ease back into it is my suggestion.”
Mirabella stood. She slipped the letter in her pocket and she knew Giovanni noticed. “Doctor, I want to thank you and the staff for everything. You saved his life. I will make sure you are compensated for your time and investment. That will be all for now.”
The doctor nodded.
“I will stay on a few days longer, to make sure his transition into physical therapy goes well. And I also suggest you keep a nurse to help you.”
“Of course.”
Dominic arrived with Umberto. The doctor bid Giovanni a good evening and left with his staff. The door closed. Giovanni’s eyes never left her.
“So, who wants to go first?” Giovanni asked.
“So much has happened, sweetheart,” Mirabella said with a nervous chuckle.
“I have all the time in the world,” Giovanni responded.
“First, we need to know how Rocco is doing?” she asked Dominic.
“Not well. I went to see him and Zia. I have left Nico with them both. The doctors can’t operate. His heart is their concern. With his low blood pressure, his limbs and his muscles aren’t getting enough oxygen.”
“How did he fall?” Giovanni asked.
“We argued. He grabbed my arm and I pushed him. He fell.”
“What were you arguing about?” Giovanni asked.
Mirabella cleared her throat. “When you were shot, honey, Rocco stepped in to help me. We disagreed at times. Dominic was... upset about Catalina.” Mirabella couldn’t handle how he stared at her. It made her nervous. She closed her eyes and continued. “After your shooting the Carabinieri started investigating the family. The Camorristi were ready for war with our family over the killing of Benicia. Rocco and Dominic had to prepare me. So I went to Secondigliano and met with the clan bosses. I made a deal to stop the war. My idea, not theirs.”
“Bella?”
“Let me finish. Please. I did what I could. I decided to give them the Bay. To let them have our territory.”
Giovanni’s gaze swung to Dominic.
“Don’t blame him Gio. It was my call. Dominic had no choice but to approve. I am the head of this... ah, I was the head of the family. You were hurt, and Lorenzo and Armando were plotting against us. I had to come up with a way to hold this family together. Rocco understood at first. Then he didn’t. We argued and it was an accident. I feel so bad about it.”
Giovanni stared at her and her only.
“Say something,” she said.
“You went to Secondigliano. How was that? How did they treat you? How did Piero treat you Bella?”
“Tacchini had nothing to do with it. I went there to meet with them all. Tell him. I made the decision.” She glanced to Dominic. Both he and Umberto remained silent. She’d have to suffer the interrogation alone. As she should. Because she did it alone. And she wanted her husband to know that but not now. She just wanted to be close him to him now.
Giovanni’s eyes narrowed on her.
“Maybe we should stop for now. Let you get some rest.”
“Continue,” he said.
“I told you.”
“You haven’t told me enough. Continue.”
She sighed. She rubbed her hands at her sides and cleared her throat. “The first meeting went as I suspected. The Camorristi...”
“First meeting?” he asked.
“I met with Tacchini in Napoli for another meeting.”
“Alone?” he asked.
“I went with her,” Dominic lied.
Mirabella’s gaze swerved over to him. A lie to her husband was the greatest offense. If she corrected Dominic he would see it as she did something wrong. And she hadn’t. But the way Giovanni was looking at her, she was grateful for the lie. Her husband had yet to say a word against what she’d done, but the tension in the room was so thick she had a problem keeping her explanation straight.
“What happened at this second meeting? What did you give away to Piero?”
She flinched. But she held down her true feelings. “Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Piero explained that I was premature in agreeing to Licciardi’s demands for restitution. He said he was working with you. That there was a bigger plan at play. And we had to be careful, because Licciardi was leading the revolt. See the first meeting is the important one. It’s where I put my plan to work. To let Licciardi and Racchi take the heat from the Carabinieri. I met with them too. And they gave me a very detailed history of your business affairs. Even affairs within my own company.”
“Our company,” he corrected her.
“They gave me a book of dead men, told me that you killed the Benicias the way you killed the Calderones. Offered me a way out. If you died, and your enemies came for me they told me they would kill our children.”
“And where were you when everyone was telling my fucking wife that I am a monster and what my business deals were?” Giovanni asked Domi.
“I was there, and I wasn’t.”
“Domi, don’t...”
“No. This isn’t on you alone, Mirabella. Gio, I started drinking again. I had a hard time facing everything. She and Rocco couldn’t fully count on me.”
“But that changed! I had a psychiatrist come in and talk to Domi and he...”
It was the one thing she shouldn’t have said. Umberto smirked. Giovanni looked at Dominic with a look of disgust. It was as if she threw a pot of piss on him.
“No, Gio, don’t do that. Please, It’s not what you think.”
“I want to talk about Piero,” he cut her off. “This new friendship you have with him. Tell me more about it?”
“So much has happened that...”
“Tell me!” he shouted. His voice was loud a few times before, but this was the first time he shouted at her. She flinched. After everything she’d been through, all the heartache and tears, he shouted at her.
“He introduced me to Arielle,” she said. “Your friend.”
The news had the desired affect. Her husband was now the one on the defense. She took a step forward and seized that moment. “She and I had an interesting conversation. Do you want me to share it in front of them?”
“Get out. Everyone leave but my Bella. Oh wait, you aren’t my Bella anymore. Are you? You’re Donna Mirabella. Everyone leave me with your Donna.”
“Let’s not fight, Gio. There is something we have to deal with now.”
“So you are still in charge?” Giovanni asked. “I gave them an order!”
“Stop it! Don’t do that. Not with everything I’ve been through. I don’t deserve it.”
“Oh I think I’m getting an idea of what you deserve Bella.”
“You’re mad at me? Me? Well good! You never prepared me for this. You never once told me what I should and shouldn’t do. So don’t think you can hold me accountable for anything. Everything I did was to protect this family.” She removed the letter from her side pocket. She handed it to Giovanni. “Here. Take it!”
He accepted the letter and turned his glare to the contents on the page.
“I have Marietta here. I keep her locked up in villa Rosso. I brought Minnie because I knew she would be useful. I knew she would try to help her. And she has done exactly that. Armando and Lorenzo stole the guns the Gambettas were sending to Spain. They wanted to expose Gambetta to the Dons. To expose you. But we tipped off the authorities...”
Giovanni’s gaze lifted from the letter to her. “You tipped off the authorities? You called the polizia?”
“I didn’t take an oath of Omerta. I’m just your American wife. They called me Donna Nera, and no one thinks I understand the rules of your life. So I behaved that way. The polizia raided Armando’s factories and found the guns. The Gambettas should know by now. With this they will force them out of hiding. And we think Lo’s going to call on the Armenians to protect them. You have to call your allies and stop Lorenzo from escaping. We can then b
ring Catalina home and deal with Lorenzo. Tacchini is in contact with the Gambettas, but it’s delicate now, Gio. Especially if the other Dons learn that you have cut them out of your business affairs in Sicily.”
“Is that all?”
“The Carabinieri also did another raid in Naples. The Licciardis are being brought down. The Racchi clan has fallen. That is my plan. And Adara helped me do it. I activated her.”
Umberto’s gaze swung to her.
“She’s your gem, isn’t she, Gio?”
Giovanni smiled. “Domi, do not interfere. Let the Armenians help Lorenzo.”
“But...”
“Stai zitto!” he said to Mirabella.
Stunned, she fell silent. He continued to speak but kept staring directly at her. “Umberto, find Carlo, and Renaldo. Have them here in this room, in an hour. Send someone to bring Nico in from the hospital and stand in care of my uncle. If that is okay with you, Donna?”
The question hurt, but she didn’t let them see her pain. She nodded out of respect as if she agreed.
“Now. Can we talk alone, cara?” Giovanni asked.
Dominic stepped forward. “Rocco, he met with the Dons in Sicily and...”
“You heard him, Domi. That’s not important,” Mirabella said. “Rocco is fighting for his life. That’s what we focus on. Getting him well.”
Dominic frowned and then nodded. He turned and left with Umberto. Mirabella went to the door and made sure it was locked. Her heart raced so fast she rubbed her hand over the door, and silently counted down her anxiety before she dared turn around and face him.
“Nothing happened between me and Tacchini. He was a friend to me. I needed help and...” She glanced back at her husband. The rage on his face was unchanged. She walked over to him. “He told me everything. How much you love me. How you were when you thought I had died. He told me about the Calderone children you hid away, so did Arielle. I knew you couldn’t hurt children and women. I knew you wouldn’t.”
“Tacchini kept you strong, Bella. I understand that.”
“Everything was falling apart. Everything I did was to buy us time. Give you time to get better. That’s all I ever wanted.”