She nodded. “I think I’ll take a nap. He wants to take us all for dinner this evening.”
She placed her cup on the table and left.
“What did she mean, you are an amazing man?” I asked.
“I don’t know how much of his plan Rocco has told her. The deal is—and it’s not finalised, of course—I take over all his US operations and some here. I’m only interested in what can be made legitimate, of course, or as near as. I bought this house for us all—a base because we’ll need to travel back and forth. That allows him to semi-retire, to move away from Rome and be with her. He felt he couldn’t do that until he was secure he had someone who could take over.”
“And he thinks you’re the one?”
“Yes. Franco negotiated a lot on both our behalves. Rocco is a very traditional man, Brooke. His family is not like ours, there’s a lot of…” Robert signed.
“I don’t need to know, okay? I just need reassurance you won’t end up in prison, or worse,” I said.
I noticed his lack of answer but he did take my hand and give it a squeeze.
“I’ll leave you to plot or plan or whatever it is you do. I’ll be out by the pool.”
I had hoped to do a little sightseeing that day but the kids were enjoying themselves, and it wasn’t often I got to sunbath by a fabulous pool with the most amazing view.
“Was that Evelyn?” Katrina asked as she rolled on to her back.
“It was. She met with a man she hasn’t seen for many years last night. It was a little overwhelming for her.”
“I can imagine.”
I settled on the sunbed mildly annoyed that I had to keep the sundress on and opened my e-reader. It was a good excuse to catch up with some reading. As I was about to wonder where Sam was, I heard him call over the balcony.
“Someone needs to sort this jet lag out,” he said.
I chuckled. “You need to set your alarm.”
“Did, slept straight through it. Be down in a bit.”
****
“This dress or this one?” I asked Robert. I was stood in my underwear in the dressing room deciding what to wear for our meal out with Rocco.
“That one, easier to get off,” he replied as he buttoned up his shirtsleeves.
I sighed and chose the other one; it was cooler. The heat was tiring me, and I was finding myself sleeping a lot throughout the day.
“I’ll be downstairs. Want a glass of wine?” Robert said.
“Sure, I just need to find shoes then I’ll be down.”
I met him a couple of minutes later on the terrace. He had a bottle of wine that he was already sharing with the others. I was the last to arrive.
Evelyn looked nervous, she twisted a tissue in her lap. She was the first to look up when the cars arrived to collect us.
It was a short drive to a restaurant carved into the hillside. We were shown to a private dining area housed on a balcony overlooking the countryside. We could see our villa, the village and the surrounding olive groves. As we walked to our table, Rocco stood. Two men stood to attention in the corner.
His eyes searched out Evelyn and he smiled when he saw her. He stepped forward and gently touched her cheek before extending his hand to Robert. Instead of a simple handshake, it was the hug and kisses that I was becoming used to seeing. He did the same to Travis and me. The others were greeted with a handshake only. He ruffled Gerry’s hair and high-fived Harley. When he saw Gary and Dan, he waved his hand over to the corner. A table had been set for them slightly away from us.
“Sit, sit, please,” he said.
He took the head of the table, Evelyn to one side and Robert to the other. The restaurant manager fussed, and I noticed we were the only guests. Not that Rocco was rude but he wasn’t friendly either to the manger or the waiters. Not once did he smile at them.
“I’ve taken the liberty of ordering local dishes that I think you will enjoy. Roberto, I’d like you to tour the wine cellar with me after dinner.”
I studied him as he spoke; he was a good looking man. Through his white cotton shirt, I could see tattoos. He reached into the breast pocket and pulled a packet of cigarettes, he shook one loose, offering the packet around the table. Robert smoked a cigar occasionally but none of us took up his offer of a cigarette. He patted his breast pocket again before raising his hand and clicking his fingers. One of his men jumped forward with a lighter. No thank you was given as he stepped back.
“That will kill you,” Evelyn said as she waved her hand in front of her face.
“It will probably do the job the bullets didn’t,” he replied with a laugh.
I winced. “Bambino,” Robert said looking down the table.
Thankfully, Gerry was engrossed in yet another game of cards with Harley and Sam.
“My apologies,” Rocco said.
The waiter poured wine and left jugs of water on the table before leaving, his reverence obvious. He actually bowed as he walked backwards.
Rocco chatted, switching between English and Italian when he wasn’t sure of the correct word. He told us of the village, the olive groves had belonged to his family. He told us tales from his childhood.
“Have you spoken to Adriana?” Evelyn asked.
Sadness washed over his face. “No, that is something we can talk about another time.”
I recognised the name. Adriana was his sister, the sister Evelyn wrote to, and a sister who also believed him to be dead.
In one way I regretted that Rocco had invited us all. He and Evelyn needed time alone but I enjoyed his company once I got used to him. There was something that held me back from being totally open with him though. Perhaps it was the power he held, perhaps it was his indifference to the staff that so clearly wanted his approval.
An array of dishes was placed on the table, the manager explained what each contained, and took pride in explaining whose farm the produce had came from.
“Brooke, you came from London, yes?” Rocco asked.
I had just taken a sip of wine. “I did, five years ago now.” I smiled at him.
“I was there recently. My daughter lives there.”
The table grew silent and I looked at Evelyn. Was that news to her? It didn’t appear so. She continued to smile at him.
“Your daughter?” I asked.
“Yes, her name is Evelyn,” he replied, looking at the Evelyn sitting to his side.
I was interrupted from replying, and thankfully so, by Robert topping up my wine.
We ate, we talked and we drank wine. When the dishes were cleared, Rocco rose and asked Robert to join him on a tour of the wine cellar.
“Did you know he had a daughter?” I asked Evelyn as soon as he was out of earshot.
“Yes, he told me last night. His wife died many years ago. He has a son too.”
“Wow.”
I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. Evelyn hadn’t married, hadn’t had a chance of children because of Rocco, and there was a little bit of me disappointed that he hadn’t done the same.
“Don’t overthink it, Brooke. There was a reason for him marrying,” she said, perhaps having seen the disappointment on my face.
Sam shuffled up to sit in Robert’s seat and I felt a little guilty that I’d hardly spent any time with him and Scott. Although we had only been in Italy for three full days, I’d spent no more than a couple of hours with them outside of dinner times.
“He is one scary fuck, isn’t he?” he said. Then apologised to Evelyn for swearing.
“He’s not. He doesn’t speak English very well, so I guess he comes across as abrupt,” she said, defending him.
“No, he is one scary fuck,” I said then laughed.
“I remember when I first met him. He made my heart flip every time. He was so kind to me, so gentle when he spoke. I also remember watching him smash a man’s head into my father’s desk because he touched me.”
“See? Scary dude,” Sam said.
“What do you see when you look at Robert?” s
he asked him.
“Another scary dude.”
“But to me and Brooke, we don’t see that. We see the real men, the ones beyond that.”
“Well, from that end of the table, it’s like looking at the devil and his right hand man. I just can’t figure out which one is which.”
“Do you know what Vassago, or rather, who Vassago is?” I asked. Sam shook his head. “Commander of the largest army in Hell,” I replied.
“Well, that fucking figures,” Sam said.
I laughed. We were interrupted by the waiter placing a crate of wine beside the table, another on top. I guessed Robert had selected some to take home.
Rocco and Robert walked back to the table, and when I looked at them together it startled me to see a resemblance. They were both dark haired, although Rocco’s was peppered with grey, and they both had dark eyes. Robert was bigger built but what gave them the resemblance wasn’t body form even. They both exuded power, they had similar mannerisms, and I wondered if what I was really looking at was Joe.
“It’s very odd, isn’t it?” Evelyn whispered. I looked at her. “They could be brothers. They were both brought up by my father for a while.”
Robert looked over to me; it was time to leave. As we stood, Rocco stepped forward and took Evelyn’s hand. He whispered to her, she nodded.
“I’ll, erm, see you tomorrow,” she said, her cheeks coloured and I raised my eyebrows at her.
“Well, that was interesting,” I said as we drove back to the villa.
“In what way?”
“There’s something about him… He makes me uneasy.”
We were whispering because Gerry had fallen asleep across our laps; the time difference had finally caught up with him.
As we pulled onto the drive, Sam was pacing and he seemed distressed. I hadn’t realised his car had left before ours.
Before the car had come to a stop, he’d wrenched open the rear door.
“What’s wrong?” Robert asked.
Sam handed him his phone. I climbed out holding Gerry in my arms. Robert looked at me, and my heart stopped.
“What? What’s happened?” I said.
“Let me take him,” Sam said as he lifted Gerry from me.
“Come and sit down,” Robert said. By that time the car with Travis and Katrina had arrived.
We sat on a low wall that bordered the drive. Travis walked over.
“Your parents, they’re dead, Brooke. That was a text from Sam’s mother.”
“What? What do you mean, they’re both dead? Like, in an accident or what?”
“I don’t know. The text just said they were dead. I’ll make some calls and find out. Was Sam’s mom close to your parents?”
“Not really. Elsie knew them but not as friends.”
I was confused. How do two people die at the same time unless it was an accident? I didn’t know what to feel. I wrote every year to them, once a year at Christmas with a card. In the five years I’d been away, they had never replied. Robert had invited them to our wedding, he’d even offered to send a private jet to collect them, but they had declined. Should I be crying? I felt nothing but numbness.
“What do you need me to do?” Travis asked. I looked up at him. “Sam texted me,” he added.
“Why not me? Why the fuck did he not text me?” I asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe he didn’t want you to hear the news that way,” Travis said.
“We need to find out more,” Robert said as he stood. He took my hand and encouraged me to my feet.
I was happy to be led. I didn’t seem to be able to put one foot in front of the other without guidance. Robert pulled out a chair at the dining table and I sat. Katrina sat beside me and took my hand in hers.
“It’s okay to cry, Brooke,” she said.
“I don’t want to cry. They never liked me, Katrina. I don’t feel anything right now. Other than confused, I feel confused. Why didn’t I know this?”
Both Travis and Robert were on their phones. I tried to listen. I heard Robert use Elsie’s name and I stood to stand beside him. Sam and Scott walked into the kitchen having taken Gerry to bed.
Sam wrapped his arms around me. “What’s happening?” he asked.
“I don’t know. I think Robert is talking to your mum.”
“Okay, thank you for that. Yes, that would be much appreciated,” Robert said before his disconnected his call.
He pulled out a chair and gently unwrapped me from Sam’s arms. I sat as Robert knelt in front of me.
“Your dad died a month ago it appears. Your mom was found a couple of days ago. She had died in her sleep. It’s not clear yet how.”
“And she didn’t think to fucking tell me? A month ago! He died a fucking month ago and that bitch didn’t tell me!” I shouted.
I balled my hands into fists and struggled to catch my breath.
“Breathe, baby, breathe,” Robert whispered.
I rested my head on my knees, I felt faint. “Get her a glass of water, Sam,” Robert said.
“Jet’s on standby,” I heard. I looked up at Travis.
“What do mean?”
“There is a jet just waiting instructions if you want to fly to the UK,” Robert explained.
“Do I? Do I have to? I don’t know what to do.”
“We don’t have to make a decision right now. Drink your water.”
“I don’t want water. I want to know why the fuck she never told me. I wrote to them. Every damn year, I wrote to them.”
I knew I was becoming hysterical but didn’t seem able to stop it.
“Where are they? Where’s my dad?” Finally tears began to flow.
“He loved me, I’m sure of it. It was her; she stopped him showing how much as soon as David was born. My brother was the apple of her eye, the one that could do no wrong, the precious one. She’d stopped loving me the minute he was born. My dad couldn’t be that awful, could he?” I added.
I was rambling, talking to no one in particular. “What do I do?” I whispered.
“Get hold of Peter’s, tell him we want a lawyer in the UK,” Robert said to Travis.
“Why do I need a lawyer?” I asked.
“There will be things to sort out, paperwork, their house. A lawyer can deal with that for you. Sam, ring your mom back, I didn’t get the address.”
“I know the address. It’s…” My mind was blank.
Sam walked from the kitchen with his phone to his ear. Travis was on his and I sat looking at Robert who was still kneeling in front of me. He wiped his thumb under my eyes, catching tears.
“I think I need to go there,” I whispered. Robert nodded.
“Let’s pack a bag,” he replied.
We walked from the kitchen—which had become a hive of activity—to the hall and up the stairs. Robert grabbed our hand luggage bags and began to stuff them with clothes. I just stood in the middle of the room and watched.
“Gerry,” I said.
“He can stay here. We’ll be gone a couple of days, no more, okay?”
I nodded but then shook my head. “No, I can’t be in a different country than him.”
“Brooke, he will be safer here than back home, trust me.”
“And we’ll be gone just a couple of days?”
“Yes, no more. All we need to do is meet a lawyer, give instructions and then leave.”
“What about a funeral? Don’t I have to plan that?”
“The lawyer can. You don’t have to do that, if you don’t want to.”
“Who will go to her funeral?”
Robert laid the bags on the bed. “Do you want to?”
“No, but does that make me a bad person?”
“Not at all. You spent your life making excuses for them, you visited them every week. I remember you telling me. You have nothing to regret or feel bad about.”
We collected the bags and before I headed back downstairs, I looked in on Gerry. He was sound asleep. I kissed his forehead before closing his d
oor and joining Robert in the hallway.
Sam was standing there with a bag in his hand. “I’m coming with you.”
Robert nodded and used the intercom to call across to Elvira since we needed a car. Travis was on the phone to the charter company to give approximate times for our arrival in Rome.
“Gary, pack a bag, we need to leave,” he said into his phone. He also instructed Travis to book us a hotel and arrange for a car at the airport.
“You can’t take your guns,” I said.
“I know. Trav, let Rocco know our plans, he can tell Evelyn. Ask him if he has a contact. He might already have a lawyer.”
I was watching a hive of activity yet my mind was on slow motion. Words whirled around my brain—hotel, car, guns, contacts.
“Tell Gerry I’ll phone him in the morning,” I said to Travis as Vinny arrived with a car.
“I will. Ring me when you land.”
We made the three hour journey to Rome in a little over two. I had been silent the whole way. All I could think about was the fact she hadn’t told me my dad had died. What kind of a person does that? No matter what she felt, I was his child, his only daughter. Revulsion bubbled in my stomach.
With no luggage to load, we were rushed through to the waiting jet. Our captain, a different one from our previous journey, met us. Maybe he had been told of the urgency but he seemed to have us buckled in and ready for take-off in record time. It was a smaller jet than the one we had arrived in. I guessed because it was only a short flight we didn’t need anything more.
I declined the glass of champagne and closed my eyes as we taxied down the runway.
“You okay, baby?” I heard.
I opened my eyes to find Robert was staring at me.
“I don’t know. I’m so angry.”
“I know. We’ll get this done as quick as possible then get back.”
I closed my eyes again. I woke as the plane landed. The only words I took in were that we had landed on a runway in Kent. It took me a moment to fully understand I was back on UK soil. And then it dawned on me.
“Shit, how are you? This must be hard for you?” I said as Robert pulled our hand luggage from the rack above.
Robert left the UK when he was six years old; he hadn’t been back since.
Fallen Angel, Part 4 - A Mafia Romance: Fallen Angel Series Page 27