by Reilly, Cora
Dante chuckled darkly, his eyes taking in my face almost reverently. “Trust me, Val, I have plenty of my father. But it’s a side of me that you and our children will never get to see.”
I dipped my head forward, nicking his lower lip playfully. “You are everything I want.”
He rolled us over, pressing me into the bed. I slung my leg over his hip. “Can’t let me be on top, can you?” I teased. Dante ground his growing erection against me in response and bit my shoulder lightly. “Don’t play coy, Val. You get wet the moment I force you to surrender.”
God, he was right. I’d tried to ride him a few times out of curiosity but it wasn’t for me. I loved Dante’s dominant side in bed, how he took absolute control. I always got my reward after all.
The next day, the weather was beautiful and warm, the first hint of spring after a too-long winter. Anna and I sat on our bench, dressed in our coats and with a blanket draped over our legs because it was still cold despite the sunshine. Leonas obviously didn’t feel the cold. He ripped his coat off again and threw himself into the sandbox.
Anna giggled, looking up at me. She’d never been this daring and wild. She preferred to watch and consider her actions thoroughly. She snuggled closer to me and hummed the new song she’d learned in her last lesson. My phone vibrated in my coat pocket and seeing Orazio’s name, I took the video call. I wondered if it was an accident because we’d never done a video chat before and even his calls were few and far in between.
I smiled into the lens. “Hi Orazio.”
“Uncle Orazio?” Anna piped up, peering at the screen. Since Anna and Leonas were born, I’d seen my brother frequently. My kids loved him, but his relationship to our father still hadn’t improved.
“Hey Val,” he said, looking and sounding exhausted. His hair was disheveled and dark shadows spread under his eyes. I’d never seen him like that. Orazio always took care of his appearance, which was why so many girls admired him and would have loved to become his wife. “I wanted to call to see Leonas and Anna.”
“Hi!” Anna shouted and waved wildly, almost knocking the phone out of my hand.
Orazio smiled slightly but it was off. What made things even stranger was that he was in a car.
“Where are you?”
He glanced to the passenger side briefly then shook his head. “Nowhere important. How are you? How’s Leonas?”
I held the phone camera toward the sandbox where Leonas was building what looked like a pyramid. “He’s got bees in his bum as usual,” I said then turned the camera back on me and Anna who practically pressed her face against mine.
“When will you visit?” she asked.
Orazio’s eyes darted back to the right then his smile became even tenser. He didn’t reply.
“Did you have another fight with Dad? I don’t understand why you two bullheads can’t get along.” Orazio had managed to wiggle out of his promise to settle down with a wife until now, but Dad was close to exploding because of it.
“It’s too late,” he said.
I frowned. “Is it really so bad to marry someone Dad suggests? It can work out.”
“I’m going to marry in a few weeks.”
I wasn’t sure if I’d heard him right. Again his gaze sought whoever sat beside him on the passenger seat. “You want to spring this on our parents?” I whispered. If he married a girl from a soldier family our parents didn’t approve of, that wouldn’t improve his relationship to Papa in the slightest.
“I won’t tell them. They’ll find out, of course, and they won’t approve. Dad has made his standpoint very clear.”
“He knows?”
Orazio laughed darkly. “He doesn’t know that I’m going to marry, or that Lucy and I are together but he knows of Lucy.” The bitter, furious note to his voice startled me.
Anna sank back down, obviously bored by the topic when my insides practically burned up with curiosity and dread. “Lucy?” I repeated. Maybe it was short for Lucilla? Or another Italian name, but deep down I knew it wasn’t.
I swallowed. “You’re in love with an Outsider?”
Orazio grimaced. Suddenly I realized that this call was meant as a goodbye. I felt it deep down. If Orazio was marrying an Outsider, Papa would disinherit him. Unless I could convince Dante to talk to him, even if family matters were off limits for a Capo, but he could do it as son-in-law. “Maybe—”
“No,” Orazio said. “I have to leave, Val. There’s no other way.”
The truth I didn’t want to believe. I lowered my voice. “Orazio, you know the consequences of running away. That’s betrayal.”
Dante may not send out many men to search for Orazio as a favor to me, so maybe my brother could stay undetected. But what could he work? He’d never done anything but been a Made Man. “Let me talk to Dad and Dante. You know that there have been exemptions in the past where Made Men were allowed to marry outsiders.”
“Low soldiers, not the heir to Chicago,” Orazio corrected. “And trust me, there won’t be an exemption for Lucy.”
He glanced toward the side then nodded and a gorgeous girl came into view with pitch black hair… and an exotic face. An Asian girl. No, Dad would never accept her, nor would the still very traditional Outfit. I’d heard enough off-handed comments at social gatherings to know the lingering racism in our circles.
I forced a smile. “Hi Lucy.”
She smiled shyly, then peered up at my brother, and the look that passed between them made me realize nothing could stop Orazio. Nor would I want to get between them.
“Nice to meet you, Valentina,” Lucy said in a soft voice.
Could love ever be a crime? Could wanting to be with your love no matter what be considered betrayal?
“I’ll put in a good word for you with Dante. If you run off to Europe, maybe England, you could be safe.”
Lucy bit her lip, giving my brother a pained look. “I wish we could have met in person.” With that, she disappeared from view.
Orazio’s expression became tight. “Valentina, I’m sorry that I blamed you for my problems with Dad. You did your duty to marry again and somehow that made me even madder for a while. I’m glad I got to see Anna and Leonas one more time.”
“What’s going on, Orazio? I don’t understand.”
“I’m in a safe place so you can tell Dante what I just told you. You don’t have to think you need to protect me. Bye.”
“Bye, Uncle Orazio!” Anna called.
I couldn’t say anything, only watched the screen go black, feeling completely confused. Leonas came running my way, grinning but his good mood didn’t reach me. I stood and caught him as he threw himself into my arms, glad for the distraction and the necessary time it gave me to sort my thoughts. I didn’t understand what Orazio meant with a safe place. Was he already out of the States? For some reason, I didn’t think he was. The small part of the car I’d seen had looked like Orazio’s BMW.
Anna jogged after me as I walked back into the house. Leonas dropped sand everywhere. “Mom, I’m hungry,” he chimed.
“First, we need to change your diaper.”
Leonas shook his head wildly but I carried him up to his room anyway.
“Who was that girl with Uncle Orazio?” Anna blurted as she followed hot on my heels.
I put Leonas down on the changing table despite his protests. My clothes and the table were covered in sand, and I cursed myself inwardly for being so lost in my thought that I didn’t clean him in the bathroom first.
“Mommy?” Anna asked, standing on her tiptoes and holding onto the edge of the table.
I smiled shakily. “That was his friend.”
“Like Luisa and Sofia are my friends?”
“Yes, like that,” I said.
After changing Leonas’ diaper, we headed downstairs into the kitchen. Zita was in the utility room ironing Dante’s shirts and it was Gabby’s day off, so I had the kitchen to myself. To distract myself and because Anna and Leonas loved them, I prepared French toast
with a vanilla-mascarpone crème on top.
Anna helped me whisk the eggs while Leonas dipped his fingers into the sugar and licked them clean. They loved their learning tower and I loved that it gave them the chance to feel involved when I cooked. We settled at the table and both Leonas and Anna dug in eagerly. They looked utterly content, their faces dusted with sugar and cream. I tried to cling to the sense of peace I felt watching them but my worry over Orazio soon took over. On the one hand, I was happy for him, happy that he’d found someone he loved, but on the other hand, I worried for his future, for his life. What if this was a spur of the moment thing? How long had he even known Lucy? Was she really worth leaving everything behind for? He couldn’t just change his mind in a few months when things didn’t work out. He’d be considered a traitor and… God, would Dante really kill my brother? What about Papa?
I closed my eyes, terrified for my brother, for my family.
A hand on my shoulder shook me out of my reverie and my eyes shot open. Dante towered over me, his blond brows pulled together in obvious worry. “Are you all right?”
“Mom made us French toast!” Anna said brightly. Dante stroked her hair but his eyes remained on me.
Leonas raised his arms and after a moment Dante bent down and picked him up. For a second, I allowed myself to enjoy the heartwarming scene of Dante holding our son carefully in his arms. I hadn’t eaten a bit of my French toast, not feeling hungry. “Do you want some?” I motioned at my plate.
Dante shook his head. “Have you heard something from your brother?”
My eyes widened. I stood slowly. “Why?”
Dante became tense, worry settling on his face. “Because he didn’t show up to a meeting with your dad this morning. I thought you might know what’s going on and it seems I was right.”
“He just called. A few minutes ago.”
“And?” Dante asked carefully as he put Leonas down on the floor before he came over to me. He touched my shoulders, searching my eyes. “What did he want?”
I had a feeling Dante knew something was horribly wrong. What was Orazio doing? I glanced at our children, not sure if I wanted to have this conversation in front of them. I picked up my plate and went over to the sink. Dante followed me.
“We did a video-chat and he told me he had to leave… because he was going to marry a girl named Lucy,” I whispered.
“Goddamnit,” Dante growled, his face flashing with fury.
“Dante?” Cold fear spread in my body.
The way he looked at me made me worried about what he had to say. “It’s a Chinese girl?”
I shrugged. I wasn’t sure of the girl’s nationality but that Dante knew made me wonder how long he’d known about this. “You knew?”
Dante shook his head but his thoughts seemed miles away. “Before we married, your father mentioned his problems with Orazio to me. It was about that girl. Orazio refused to give her up for a long time until your father finally convinced him.”
“How?”
“I don’t know. I wasn’t Capo back then and even if I had been, I wouldn’t have gotten involved as you know.”
“So they’ve been together for years? That makes sense.”
“Does it?” Dante asked angrily. “Your brother is bound by his vow. By betraying the Outfit he risks the life of fellow Made Men.”
“He only wants to be with the woman he loves. How does it hurt his fellow Made Men if he goes into hiding to be with her?”
Dante’s fingers on my shoulders tightened. “Because you know I suspect that there’s a spy among my soldiers. Maybe it wasn’t Fabiano…”
I exhaled sharply. “You think it could be Orazio?”
Dante sighed and pressed our foreheads together. I wrapped my arms around his waist, trembling. “Tell me he wouldn’t do it.”
I wanted to say it but I’d seen the look that had passed between Orazio and Lucy, and I didn’t want to lie to Dante. “I can’t,” I whispered thickly, my eyes prickling.
“Val,” Dante said quietly, sounding tortured. “If Orazio has been helping the Famiglia…”
I didn’t want to imagine it. I couldn’t.
“Do you know where he might be right now?”
I shook my head. “No. But he was in his car.”
Dante cupped my head and closed his eyes for a moment.
“Please don’t kill him.”
Dante took a deep breath. “I’d do almost anything for you, Val. I’ve chosen you over the Outfit before and part of me wants to do it again, but if Orazio betrayed the Outfit by working with the Famiglia, I have to punish him accordingly.”
“Mamma will be devastated… and Papa. God, I can’t even think about it. Maybe it’s not as we think.” I swallowed, trying hard not to cry, not to lose it before I knew all the details.
Anna headed our way with her empty plate. I blinked hastily and swallowed, then forced a smile. “Do you want Mommy’s toast?”
Anna shook her head. “I’m full.” She glanced between us as if she could sense that something was going on. I’d noticed it before. Anna was perceptive, especially when it came to gauging people’s emotions. It was a beautiful talent but also worrying because I wanted to protect her from so many things in our world and her empathy would make it harder for me to succeed.
Word about Orazio’s disappearance spread like wildfire in the Outfit. Pietro had tried to exert damage control but the men who’d worked with Orazio had obviously spread speculations. Rubbing my temples, I stared down at a report about an attack on a storage facility and lab near Cleveland.
“When’s my father going to be here?” Valentina asked, carrying Leonas against her chest as she stepped in. He was only in diapers and a shirt, and already twisting on her arm to get back down and undress more. She looked tired, which wasn’t surprising because her worry over her brother had kept her up at night and during the day Anna and Leonas kept Val busy so she couldn’t try to catch up on sleep then. With the escalation of the Famiglia situation and Orazio’s defection, my workload had doubled and even as I tried, I wasn’t much of a help. I stood and walked over to her. “Do you want me to take care of him for a bit so you can take a hot shower and have a coffee in peace?”
Val raised her eyebrows, looking down at herself. “Do I look that bad?”
I touched her hip, my thumb slipping under her cashmere sweater to feel the smooth skin beneath then I leaned down to give her a lingering kiss. “You are beautiful as always, Val.”
She pursed her lips. “I don’t feel it right now. I feel like a mess.”
“This is difficult,” I said quietly and took Leonas from her. His eyes snapped up to me and he grinned. “Daddy, play in garden!”
“So when’s my father going to be here? I know you’re going to discuss the Orazio situation with him again.” This was another reason for Val’s sleepless nights.
“In ten minutes. Your brother isn’t our only topic. The war with the Famiglia is taking up many of our resources.”
Val nodded slowly. “You don’t have any hints where he could be.”
“Not yet.” Val regarded me as if she wasn’t sure I was telling the truth. She had every reason to be wary. While I didn’t have a trace to Orazio’s whereabouts yet, I wouldn’t have told her even if I had. When I caught Orazio, I wouldn’t tell Val. Giovanni and I had agreed on that.
Leonas squirmed in my arms. “Please down!”
I set him down and he stumbled toward my desk chair, trying to climb on it.
“Okay,” she said. “I’ll grab a shower now.” With a last glance at Leonas and me, she slipped out of my office. I glanced down at my son, remembering Giovanni’s shaken expression when he’d found out Orazio had run off. Giovanni didn’t know it yet, but I wouldn’t tell him if I ever caught his son either. Maybe Orazio was clever enough to go into hiding somewhere we didn’t have contacts, Scandinavia or Asia would be good options. The desk chair was spinning around itself, making it impossible Leonas to climb up. I walked ove
r to him and held the chair by its backrest. Leonas finally managed to pull himself up then throned on my chair with a proud grin. His blond hair was all over the place, definitely in need of a cut. So far it hadn’t darkened much, but when I had been his age my hair had been lighter too.
I tried to imagine how I would feel if he’d run away from his family, from his duties. The mere idea hit me like a punch in the stomach. Maybe Giovanni should have been more lenient when it came to Orazio’s wish to be with Lucy. But the Outfit would have been against the union no doubt. An Asian woman, or really any woman without Italian ancestors, would have a hard time being accepted in our circles.
I hoped this would change by the time Leonas was old enough to fall in love.
The bell rang. Anna’s delighted scream followed and despite the tension in my body, I couldn’t help but smile. I picked up Leonas and walked toward the front door where Giovanni was hugging Anna to his chest and lifting her up while Gabby held open the door for him. He seemed to have aged ten years since the news about Orazio’s disappearance. “There’s my favorite princess,” Giovanni said as he kissed Anna’s cheeks. She beamed all over her face then grinned at me with flushed cheeks. Giovanni headed my way, the smile becoming tenser. He set Anna down then pressed another kiss to the crown of her head. “Your dad and I have business to discuss, bambina, but I’ll read you a story later, how about that?”
Anna pouted but nodded. I stroked her head. “Why don’t you help Gabby?”
Anna nodded even though she looked disappointed. Giovanni tousled Leonas’ head who giggled in response.
Gabby grabbed Anna’s hand and led her into the kitchen.
Giovanni peered down at Leonas squirming in my arms. “He’s already grown so much.”
I handed Leonas to Giovanni who cradled him to his chest with a wistful smile. Leonas calmed down for a moment. “I remember when I held Orazio for the first time…” He fell silent and I could tell he was fighting with himself. I squeezed his shoulder. “Maybe it’s for the best if he stays in hiding. Right now, we don’t have the resources to waste on searching for him.”