by Nicole Fox
“I will, Mommy!” He trotted off after Carlita, his dark curls bouncing as they wove their way through the crowd.
I turned to Ciro. We’d hardly said anything to each other since he had come home the other night from the hospital. I knew there was little enough to say. He had done everything he could in an attempt to keep me safe, but it had cost him his best friend. “Ciro, I—”
“Don’t.” He laid a hand on my arm. “I’m going to have everyone here telling me how sorry they are. I don’t need it from you as well.”
Slowly nodding, I tried to accept this. But I was living in Ciro’s world now, and that was what I needed to learn to accept more than anything. I wasn’t an independent woman carving out a life for myself and my son. I was a possession now, a woman who was expected to follow her husband’s wishes and not argue. Ciro hadn’t treated me poorly, but I still felt as though my opinions and my feelings didn’t really matter. He was the leader of our family, if not the Santoras, and he was the only thing that stood between me and certain death.
I followed along dutifully on his arm as he greeted the guests and accepted their condolences. There were so many faces I didn’t even recognize from coming to the parties. I plastered a smile on my face and tried to think about the good times. It was in this very house that Ciro and I had first met. I had been sitting by myself while Joe had gone off to talk and drink, eventually forgetting that he had even brought me.
But it hadn’t taken long for Ciro to notice me. “I don’t remember seeing you here before.”
I had been instantly entranced by those clear, green eyes and those full lips. I no longer remembered how the rest of our conversation had gone, but I did remember following him up the stairs like a woman hypnotized. Thoughts of my husband had flown right out the window when I had realized that Ciro wanted me. Our night of passion hadn’t even been a night, as he’d had a party to return to and somewhere I had a husband. But for those brief moments, ensconced in a dark guest bedroom, I had lived more fully than I had in years.
Still, being in this mansion again was not likely to be a romantic reunion for the two of us. Ciro was now tied down to me. We were bound together, whether we liked it or not. I came back into the current moment with a new weight on my shoulders and glanced around at the other guests, wondering if Ciro was eyeing any of them the way he had eyed me on that fateful night.
“Sophia, can you come help me in the kitchen for a moment?” Carlita was at my elbow, her slim eyebrows arched. She wore a surplice-top black dress that skimmed her knees and matching ballet flats. Her makeup was fresh and well done. Even at a funeral, she managed to look beautiful in her advancing years. It was no wonder Tonio Santora had chosen her as his wife. I wondered if they had been forced into their marriage as well. Carlita had told me they had married for love, but that didn’t mean there weren’t other agendas forcing them along the way.
“Of course.” I was grateful for the chance to get away from the reception and hide in the kitchen for a bit. The air was too thick amongst the crowd.
“I’ll warn you that I’m no gourmet chef, but I can chop and mix and put things on plates,” I said with a smile as we went through the swinging door. It was a massive kitchen. Custom white cabinets rose from the floor to join the matching white-paneled ceiling. The granite counter tops gleamed under numerous trays of hors d’oeuvres. Unlike the shabby enamel sink in my old apartment, the stainless-steel sink was so clean it looked as though it had hardly been used. Wide windows looked out over the pool in the back, and the island itself was as large as the floorspace in my kitchen. “What can I do?”
Carlita checked over the kitchen briefly to ensure we were alone. “I don’t need anything. It’s what you need.”
I gaped at her for a moment. “What?”
Her voice was low as she spoke. “Things are going to get messy around here. It’s bad enough that Ciro went behind Tonio’s back and issued that hit. That much could be dealt with in time, but someone betrayed us. If both the Vincenzos and Pitera knew Frankie was coming for him, then there must be a mole in the family.”
“Oh.” I instantly felt stupid. It made sense for Ciro to be upset about the death of his friend, but I hadn’t realized that there was so much more at stake. His entire family could be in danger, not just Christopher and me. “What am I supposed to do about it?”
“There’s nothing you can do. But if you want to get out, this is the time to do it. The two of you haven’t been with Ciro very long, and Christopher is young enough that he’ll move on quickly. I can give you enough money to get a new start in another city. Another state.” Her voice was urgent, desperate that I understand the situation.
My heart caught in my throat. This was what I had wanted in the first place when I had come running to Ciro. I had never expected him to protect us, and I certainly hadn’t expected to marry him. I just wanted to get away and start over. But it was more complicated now. “Is that what Ciro wants?” He had been distant the last couple of days, but I had chalked it up to grief.
She shook her head. “He doesn’t know I’m talking to you. But I’m speaking to you as the wife of a lifetime mafia man. I know I told you all that nice stuff at the wedding, but the truth is that it’s hard being in this life. I’m worried about you, and I’m worried about Christopher. I fear that things will only get worse before they get better, and I don’t want anything to happen to either of you.”
“I don’t know what to say. Won’t Ciro be mad?” It was more than my brain could process, and I couldn’t even begin to decide what my best choice was. I didn’t want Christopher to grow up in the mafia, but neither did I want us to be murdered when Joe eventually found us.
“Just say you’ll think about it, and don’t worry about him. Ciro will never end things between the two of you, no matter how bad it might get. It’s a point of pride. He thinks he’s done the right thing by marrying you, and of course, his father thinks the same thing. It’s one thing they agree on at the moment. But I don’t want you to be stuck in a loveless marriage, and I want my grandson to be safe. Ciro would come to understand in time.”
I bobbed my head dumbly. “Okay. I’ll think about it.” Carlita had mentioned that there were other women in Ciro’s life. I hadn’t met any of them, but that didn’t mean they didn’t exist. After all, I had been one of those women once. Maybe it would be easier to just run away. “Can you tell me where Christopher is?”
After following her directions through the wandering mansion, I found my son in a large entertainment room at the far side of the house. Jimbo was posted at the door, and he nodded politely at me as I cracked the door. Christopher was laughing with another young boy about his age, his mouth covered in Cheeto dust as they decided what game to play next. Ciro was trying to protect us, but was I doing enough to protect Christopher?
Chapter Sixteen
Ciro
My suit was rumpled by the time we finally returned to the house, and I felt the same way. I had been thinking so much about Frankie and Pitera and my father that I had worn myself out. I didn’t even know quite what to think anymore, because the more I pondered, the less sense it all made.
I pulled the sedan into the garage. Jimbo was right behind us, and I pushed the button on the remote to close the door. “I’ll get Christopher.”
The boy had fallen asleep in the backseat. Whatever festivities my mother had planned for the children must have kept him thoroughly entertained. His face was angelic as he slumped in his seat, a large dash of red juice spilled down the white shirt of his suit. I grimaced as my vision overlaid the scene with the image of Frankie, his gunshot wound bleeding profusely. No, I reminded myself. This was nothing like that. I would have to find a better way of doing things, and I didn’t know how yet, but nothing like that would ever happen again. I carried him up to his room, his weight almost nothing in my arms.
Sophia had followed us. “I’ll get him changed,” she said with a small smile, her eyes gentle as she watched me
lay him on the bed.
Slipping out of the room and down the hall, I yanked off my suit as soon as I was in my room. I chucked it into the hamper, uninterested in wearing anything that reminded me of Frankie. A quick shower cleaned my skin, but did little to make me feel better. There were people all around me, but I was all alone in the world. I pulled on a pair of cotton shorts and a t-shirt and sat on the edge of the bed, unsure of what else to do with myself. It was late, but there was no chance I was going to sleep.
When a gentle knock came on the door, I realized I had been staring off into space for some time. “Come in.”
Sophia had changed out of her little, black dress and now wore a cotton nightgown that grazed the tops of her thighs. She had washed off her makeup, revealing the smooth beauty of her skin underneath. Her hair was down, cascading in various shades of brown and gold. She looked sad as her eyes found me on the edge of the bed, but not the kind of sad that came from going to a funeral. Something else was going on. “I just wanted to check on you. I know you don’t want my sympathy, but this can’t have been an easy day for you.”
My cheeks burned. Sophia had a way of making me feel ashamed. I had been an ass to her earlier in the day, and all because of my own inner turmoil. “Come in. I’d like to talk to you for a moment.”
She closed the door behind her and came tentatively over to where I sat. We were husband and wife, but we didn’t know how to act like it yet. I could only blame myself. “Things are not how I hoped they would be. I wanted to have you here so I would know you and Christopher would be safe from Joe. That much seemed reasonable. I know you didn’t want to marry me, but it was one more step to ensure nothing would happen to you.”
“It’s all right.” She looked down at her hands. Her fingers, perfectly manicured in a pale pink polish, twisted around each other. “We’ve found ourselves in an odd position.”
“Yes. I have to agree with that. I just …” I broke off, trying to find the right words. “I’ve made so many mistakes lately. They seemed like the right choices to make at the time, but they haven’t worked out. I haven’t eliminated the threat to you, I haven’t been able to get rid of Joe, and I’ve lost Frankie. I don’t know what to do anymore.”
“I’m sorry. I know we haven’t helped with that at all. We’ve only made your life more complicated. If I hadn’t shown up at your door, and if I had just gone on with my original plan to run away—”
“No!” I snapped. “Sorry. I’m sorry.” I took a deep breath. I was irritated with myself, not with her, and I couldn’t take it out on her. “But Joe just would have caught up with you, and it wouldn’t have worked out. Don’t think any of this is your fault.”
“It’s hard not to,” she admitted. “I see everything happening around me and there’s nothing I can do about it.”
I gave a gruff laugh. “I know that feeling. Did you know that I wanted to be Don someday? At least, I thought I did. The idea of ruling the family and our little share of the city was so appealing. I would be rich and powerful and nobody would be able to touch me. But I’m not so sure now. Maybe the mafia life isn’t going to work out for me. My father is already wanting out, and I was so pissed when he told me. Now, I’m starting to think maybe he was right.” I turned to look out the window. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have unloaded on you like that.”
I felt a weight pressing slowly into the mattress, and when I turned back, Sophia was sitting next to me. “I appreciate you being honest with me, and I’d like to do the same.” Her voice trembled as she spoke, and I could see the fear in her eyes.
It sent my heart pumping, wondering just what she was about to tell me. “Go on.”
“It’s true that when I first came here, I was ready to run away. When everything changed and Tonio insisted that we marry, I did my best to accept that I would stay here. I didn’t really want to. I’ve felt like little more than a pawn in the big scheme of things, but I didn’t see that I had a choice.”
I covered her hand with my own. Her fingers were cold, but her thigh was warm. “I’m sorry you’ve felt that way.”
“I didn’t think I had a choice, but your mother offered me one this evening.”
I turned further, so that I could look directly into her eyes. “What do you mean?”
“She said things are going to get worse and that it might be safer if I left and took Christopher with me. Carlita was willing to give me enough money to get a fresh start far away where Joe would never find me.” Her teeth captured her lower lip as she looked up at me, her blue eyes wide.
My heart sank down into my stomach. My thoughts of being alone weren’t just me feeling sorry for myself. Sophia was leaving, and my own mother was facilitating it. She could have slipped off into the night and I might never have known—not if she got past Jimbo. And he liked her, so he probably would have let her go. “I see. At least give me a chance to say goodbye to Christopher.”
“No, you don’t understand.” She twisted on the bed so that her knee touched mine. “I don’t really want to go. I thought I did, but once I had the option of actually leaving, I realized I couldn’t take it. I was too worried about what would happen once I was gone. Carlita said there was an informant in the family, and I didn’t want to leave you to work it all out alone. I was worried about you.”
Her words caught me by surprise. “I’ve always been able to take care of myself. You don’t have to stay for me. You should do what you think is best. I’m not going to stop you.” I didn’t want her to leave. Now that I knew she was going to, I realized how much I was enjoying having her at the house. Even though we weren’t really sharing a bed or acting like a married couple, I wanted to have her with me. I was losing everything.
“I don’t want to leave, and don’t try to convince me otherwise. There are a lot of reasons I should go, but none of them are good enough. I want to stay here with you.” She looked so determined, with her slim eyebrows crunching together and her fists curled.
I reached out and took her hands between my own. “I want you to stay, too, but my mother is right. Things are only going to get more dangerous. I have to figure out who betrayed me, and there’s no telling how long it will take. I may never know.”
“Yes, you will.” She was on her feet again and she stood in front of me. “There’s only one way to really find out. You’ll have to get Joe to tell you.”
“Just how do you expect me to do that, Sophia? Joe wouldn’t give me the time of day, much less reveal who’s protecting him.”
Her hands were on my shoulders. “You’re in the mafia, Ciro. I think you can figure out how to make a man talk.”
I laughed, a sound that was far too loud for the quiet house. “You’re only subtle when you want to be, huh?”
“We’ll leave Christopher with your parents, where he’ll be safe. Then you can use me as bait to get Joe.”
Every muscle in my body hardened at the thought. “Absolutely not. I’m not going to put you in harm’s way.”
“I’m in danger constantly as long as he’s out there, Ciro. It’s the only thing that makes sense and it’s the fastest way to draw him out. I’ll be fine, because you’ll be there watching over me.” Her eyes were blue flames as she formulated her plan. “He’ll be so caught up with getting to me that he won’t even see you and your men until it’s too late.”
I sighed. I didn’t like the sound of this, but I had to admit there was a lot of logic in her idea. “Are you sure about this?”
“There are a lot of things I’m not sure about right now, Ciro, but this isn’t one of them. That man has run and ruined my life for long enough, and I’m sick and tired of trying to avoid him. We can kill two birds with one stone, and I’ve got my sling ready.”
I realized that I didn’t know Sophia all that well. I had seen her cute and sexy. I had seen her scared and vulnerable. Never before had I seen her determined and damn near murderous. I liked it. “Fine. I’ll do it. But you have to do something for me first.”
I grabbed her by the waist and pulled her forward. Her nightgown rode up on her thighs, teasing me with the gorgeous flesh I knew was hiding underneath. “Stay here with me tonight.”
The anger and resolution in her face faded to a smile as she straddled my lap. “Whatever you say.”
Chapter Seventeen
Ciro
I had done plenty of covert business dealings as an underboss of the Santora family. After so many years of being exposed to hits, drug deals, and money-laundering schemes, I had become desensitized to it. Unfortunately, none of that prepared me for this.
“I still don’t like the idea. If you change your mind, I’ll understand.”
“Not a chance.” Sophia sat down on the edge of the bed to tie her shoes. “I said I was going to do it, and I don’t see a better way. Joe will never go near you or any of your men if we don’t.”
I frowned. She was right. I supposed most men didn’t like it when their wives were right, and at least in this case, I didn’t either. “Just promise me that you’ll be careful. Check in with me constantly.” I pulled a small box out of my pocket and handed it to her.