I was jolted from my thoughts by the car stopping. I followed Nero out and joined him in the library. The room was filled with Nero’s men and my guys, but my eyes went right to Tori, whose relief at our return was visible. Slowly I watched fear steal into her face as she looked between Nero and me. I walked over to comfort her, but then stopped. What the hell comfort could I offer her? We had accomplished nothing. Caterina had won. I turned to the sideboard and poured myself a drink. I took it all down in one swallow, set the glass down and looked to Nero. “Do you have anything to give Maria to make her calm for the trip home?”
I had no doubt that Nero would make the trade, so the words that came out of his mouth shocked me. “She won’t need it. I’m not turning the lot of you over to die.”
There was no relief at his words because I knew that I had to talk him out of it. Looking over to my boys I saw the acceptance in their eyes and knew that they understood. This was the only way our family stood a chance. “You have to turn us over, Nero, and you know it. Right now your people are not responsible for the deaths of any of ours, no matter what my father and brother think. If you don’t turn us over my family will be responsible for the death of your men. Once that happens your guys will rightly demand vengeance.”
“And if I turn you over what then? I’ll still be responsible for the death of three of their people, one being Salvatici’s own son. Besides, do you really think from the reactions today that either your father or brother will ever believe that my family didn’t play a part in the deaths that have already occurred—or in what was done to Maria?” Nero snarled in frustration.
“No they won’t, but Angie, Lucca’s wife, will. Once Angie realizes what’s going on she can put a stop to this all,” I told him.
Nero looked at me like I was insane. “How the fuck will that help? From what that Joan said she’s still bedridden. Never mind that the woman probably welcomes the annihilation of my family. How the fuck are we supposed to even get word to her? It’s not like any of us will be allowed anywhere near her.”
“I’ll place a letter in Maria’s bags explaining everything. Joan is still here, and she’ll be traveling with Maria. Once she finds it, she’ll take it to Angie.”
“You understand that…” Nero started to say, but I cut him off.
“I understand,” I said in a hard voice, not wanting Tori to realize that by the time Angie received the letter it would be too late for Marcus, Chris, and me. Unfortunately she understood too well. I watched her race from the room. “We’ll need to hurry if we’re gonna make the two- hour deadline, so I suggest that we stop talking about this and get ready.”
At Nero’s, “So be it” I left the room. There was nothing more to be said.
Upstairs I passed my bedroom and went to Tori’s. The room was dark with the shades down. It had just barely enough light to see the huddled form on the floor. I sat down and gathered her into my arms. “This is the only way, you know that, right?” I whispered into her hair.
A sob tore through her body as she gripped me tighter. “Why the hell do I care? I should hate you.” She cried into my neck.
“You care because you’re too good of a person, baby. After the shit I did to you I wouldn’t blame you for wanting me dead. Hell, I will never forgive myself for it so I don’t know how you could, but I’m too much of a selfish bastard to ask.” I gently pulled her face from my neck so I could look into her eyes. “If there was any other way I would do it. I risked my family’s wrath for you, knowing that it could lead here, and I would change nothing.”
I cupped her face with my free hand and used my thumb to wipe her tears before capturing her lips. Slowly and gentle I worshipped her mouth, knowing that it would be the last time. There was a soft knock at the door. As I gazed down into her eyes the reality of what I was giving up came crashing down on me. I pulled her face into the crook of my neck and cradled her in my arms. I carried her to the bed, carefully set her down and untangled her arms from around my neck. I leaned forward, kissed her forehead and left, unable to say the words in my heart. They would do no one any good, especially her.
As I stepped from Tori’s room I found Marcus leaning on the wall. Understanding filled his eyes as he looked at me. “Are we ready?” I asked, unable to bear the pity in his gaze.
“Yeah, Maria’s been taken to the car. Chris and I came to get you.” Looking over, I noticed Chris for the first time. His somber expression matched ours.
“This is my fault. I’m gonna try and reason with my father and get you two out of this mess. I know that there’s no chance for me but the two of you might still have one,” I said, as guilt filled me.
Marcus shook his head. “We knew the risk, Dom. No one forced us.” He pulled me into a quick embrace before walking away, leaving me with a silent Chris.
Chris threw his arm around my neck and got us both walking, so that we were following Marcus. No words were needed. These two were as brothers to me. “So do you think the chicks are hot in the afterlife?” he asked, causing me to snort. I stopped in the library and quickly wrote what needed to be said down before joining the others in the car. I slipped the letter into Maria’s bag and looked over at her. Nero held her still form on his lap, unconsciously twirling his finger in her hair as he gazed out the window. I leaned back and closed my eyes.
We arrived all too quickly but I was ready. Calmly I stepped from the car then turned to take Maria from Nero. Once I had her in my arms I stepped back so that Nero could step out. Flanked by Chris and Marcus, we made our way toward my father and Lucca. Nero’s men hung back. Rage clouded my father’s eyes the closer we came as Maria’s condition became more apparent to him. Even dressed as she was, it was obvious I carried a bag of bones. The wind blew her hair around, making visible the thick bruises on her neck from the collar that she had been forced to wear and to her face, where a heavy hand had struck it. Stopping a few feet from him I wasn’t surprised when he and Lucca stepped forward—Lucca practically ripping Maria from my arms. My death filled my father’s eyes. He obviously blamed me for Maria’s condition. With a quick motion of his hand, Nero’s guys were brought forward.
Stepping forward to finish this I was stopped by Nero’s hand on my shoulder. “I will tell you this once more, Salvatici, you are making a mistake. Your son has not betrayed you. My family has not moved against you. This has all been the plan of my sister Caterina, Victoria’s twin, to destroy both of our families for revenge and power,” Nero said, in a last chance to make my father listen.
“Do you think I’m stupid, Genovese?” My father said, surprising me. “I know that you have no sister named Victoria, no twin for Caterina. This exchange is finished. Take your men and go.”
Marcus had been able to find the truth. Why the hell hadn’t Paulie? The fucker was a genius with computers once he knew what he was looking for. He should have found it, no problem. He had to be working for Caterina. It was the only explanation. Opening my mouth to say just that I was stopped by the sound of a gunshot and the bright red spot that welled in the middle of Nero’s man’s chest before he toppled to the ground. Throwing myself forward, I pushed my father back and took a round in my shoulder meant for him. Surprise filled his eyes as our guys rushed forward to get him to cover. Shots filled the parking lot from all directions. Pushing myself from the ground I watched as Chris dragged a wounded or dead Marcus for cover. Unarmed and unable to help them, I dove between two cars, narrowly missing a bullet that would have had my brains painting the ground.
I could hear the sound of Nero’s and Lucca’s orders as they tried to take out the shooters so that they could get to the cars. I made my way toward one of Nero’s guys that lay sprawled out near the wooded area and reached for his gun. My fingers had barely touched the handle when I caught something coming at me from the corner of my eye. I took a hard hit in the temple as the butt of a rifle connected and everything went black.
Chapter 20
Two months later
War f
illed my world. Though there had been no deaths at this point it was only through some miracle. Businesses had been burned; men with gunshot wounds filled the hospitals. There was no end in sight. If something wasn’t done soon, funerals would become a daily occurrence. In the two months since the trade, Lucca Salvatore had become a man possessed with the thought of destroying my family. Thinking that the ambush that day had been Nero’s doing, Lucca now hunted my brother and me with a single-minded obsession that bordered on insane. Men on both sides died that day but Lucca didn’t care. To him, Nero killed his own men to cover up his involvement in the attempted assassination of a boss. Weekly men that Lucca captured and tortured where sent back barely alive with a message: hand over Dominic.
No one had seen Dominic since that day. Either he had run, was dead, or captured. In my heart I knew that he had to be dead or captured. After everything he had done to ensure that this war did not take place there was no way that he would have run. Day after day I waited for Angelica Salvatici to end this madness, but it didn’t happen. Dominic and the others had willingly sacrificed themselves in an attempt to send her a letter that I can only assume never reached her. I tried to tell Nero that she must not have gotten the letter but he dismissed the idea, saying that she, above all others, would relish the demise of our family.
Last week word arrived that our war had drawn in the commission. The violence had escalated to the point that if we didn’t stop it they would. In this day and age we could not risk the attention of the authorities and bribes could hold them back only so long in the wake of this destruction. A meeting was set for ten days from now and there was a chance that one of our family’s leadership would not leave it. Fear of this finally brought my grandmother Rose to my side. Willing to defy Nero to save his life, she agreed to help me leave the compound and travel to the Salvatici’s territory. We knew that there was a good chance that I would die in this attempt but it was just as great that the commission could call for my life as well as Nero’s to satisfy Lucca Salvatici.
Since arriving I watched a store that I knew from my previous surveillance was where the woman named Joan did her grocery shopping. She would be my only way in. As each day passed I became more terrified that they would never let her leave the Salvatici home. It was finally on my fifth day that my persistence paid off. When I saw three dark cars coming toward the store I raced in through the back before they had a chance to park. I rushed to the bathroom, hid in one of the stalls, and waited for the store clerk that I had paid off to do his job. Fifteen minutes passed before Joan finally came in. Silently I waited to make sure that she was alone before coming out of the stall. Shock filled her face. I held my finger to my lips silently begging her not to scream. Finally she gave a jerky nod, and I almost cried out in relief.
“What the hell are you doing here?” she whispered, eyeing the door in fear.
“I’m sorry, I had to come. I need your help,” I whispered back.
She motioned to the handicap toilet and pushed us in. “If they find you, they’ll kill you.”
“I know. But I have to take the chance. The commission has called a meeting. If something isn’t done one of our families won’t leave it alive. I need your help. I need to speak with Angelica. Dominic said she is the only one who can stop this,” I hurriedly told her, terrified that we’d be interrupted at any minute.
She narrowed her eyes in distrust. “You’ve seen Dominic?”
“No. He told me this before the trade. No one’s seen Dominic in months—since the trade went bad. He placed a letter in Maria’s bag, thinking that you’d find it and bring it to Angelica.”
“There was no letter in Maria’s bag when it was brought to me. If it was there, it must have been removed.”
I gripped her arm. “Dominic explained everything in that letter. He was sure that after Angelica read it she’d stop this before a war could truly start. He knew he’d never make it home alive to tell her.”
“What do you mean?” she demanded.
“They thought Dominic was a traitor. Family or not, traitors are disposed of.”
“Oh my god.” She looked away for a moment and her face hardened when she looked back at me. “Even if I can get you in, you may not get out.”
“I know,” I said, having accepted this before I ever boarded the plane.
“Meet me at the south wall of the compound tomorrow at two o’clock sharp. I’ll draw the guards away so you can slip over. The patio doors will be open. Slip in and wait for me and I’ll take you to Angelica.”
A knock sounded on the door.
“Thank you,” I whispered after her departing form.
Joan looked back at me. “Don’t thank me. If you’re lying, I’ll kill you myself.” She motioned me out of sight, turned and exited the bathroom.
Chapter 21
This was insane. Standing in the pouring rain, I watched the south wall from the woods. What the hell was I thinking? As the rain pelted me I looked down at my watch. One minute to go. I look around, terrified of being seen by one of the guards that walked the perimeter so I forced myself to stay still, knowing that this was my only chance. The sound of an alarm drew my attention. This was it. I raced forward and launched myself at the wall. Clawing in desperation I reached the lip and pulled myself over dropping heavily onto the hard ground below. Ignoring my pain, I pulled myself up and rushed to the waiting doors. I looked at the darkened room and dove behind a chair, shaking in terror.
“Oh my god, what have I done,” I whispered before throwing my hands over my mouth at the sound of the door opening. Petrified, I forced myself into a little ball. I almost cried in relief when I heard Joan’s voice yelling from the doorway. “How the hell was I supposed to know I couldn’t open that window? Next time put a sign on it.”
She slammed the door shut and cut off the terse reply of whomever she was speaking to. Not daring to move, I listened to her footsteps as she walked to the patio doors and closed them. Nothing but the sound of muted rain now filled the room, so I jumped a little at the sound of her voice. “You can come out now. We’re alone.”
I pushed back my fear and slowly rose. The first thing I saw was Joan’s hand and the gun that was in it. I’m such a fool.
“I want you to turn around and raise your shirt,” she told me in a hard voice. Unable to do anything else I did what she demanded. Flinching at the sound of the hammer being released I looked over my shoulder to see Joan lowering the gun. “I needed to make sure you weren’t Caterina.”
“How did you know?”
“The day in the hospital when Angie was shot I heard Dom say that Caterina had whip marks covering her back before I was told to go sit with the family.” Joan put the gun down and picked a towel up off a chair and held it out to me. “I figured you’d need this. I can’t have you tracking water through the house. Someone might notice.”
Hands still shaking in fear, I took the towel and rubbed it through my hair. “Thanks,” I murmured as I rubbed hard, trying to get the worst of the moisture, but it was impossible. I was soaked to the bone. I handed the towel back to Joan. “What do we do now? Are you going to get her and bring her down here?”
“No, you’re going to have to go to her. She’s been on bed rest at Lucca’s orders since the shooting. There were complications. Also, I’m not allowed to be alone with her. Lucca’s orders since my trip to your house.” She brushed away the hurt that I could see in her face. “I’m going to get the guard in her hall out of the way, and you are going to slip into the third door on the right.”
Jesus, this was worse than I thought. Could Angelica even help us or did I just sacrifice my life for nothing? My thoughts must have shown on my face because Joan’s expression hardened. “If there is a chance to fix any of this, it will be through her.”
No there was no other option I followed Joan out of the room. I could hear voices coming from rooms that we passed but Joan just kept us going, unwilling to stop now. There was no other way for either of us
. She stopped at a door and opened it to reveal a narrow staircase. “Go to the top and wait. I’m going to go the other way and draw the guard around the corner. You won’t have long. So once the hallway’s clear you’ll have to hurry and get inside Angie’s room.”
I squeezed her arm in thanks as she pushed me in and closed the door.
Darkness surrounded me; terrified, I left the light off and silently hurried up the stairs. I could hear murmuring as more than one person spoke on the other side of the door. Joan said that there was only one guard. Would she be able to lead them both away? Keeping my ear pressed to the door I finally heard a loud thump and what I could have sworn was, “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.” How the hell could she have a sense of humor at a time like this? Two sets of pounding footsteps moved through the hall, rushing toward the groaning woman. Not wanting to waste any of the time Joan just bought me I cracked the door open. The hall was empty. I hurried into it and quickly closed the door. I counted the doors as I went. When I reached the third one I gripped the doorknob, turned it, and stepped in, sealing myself in with my fate.
The room was filled with shadows. The only light was from a fireplace that blazed with life. I kept my back pressed to the closed door and let my eyes sweep the room. I saw nothing. Terror filled me. This was my last chance, and it was slipping away.
Suddenly a voice spoke from the shadows. “Why are you here, Victoria?” it asked softly, filling me with terror. I watched the shadow as she rose from a chair and stepped out into the light. Dressed in a flowing white nightgown she glowed in the fire’s light as she cradled a babe in her arms. Stepping to a crib she gently set her son down and turned back to me. “Why have you come, child?”
Dominic (The Family Book 2) Page 10