Once I’d stepped through the set of double doors, the men in black suits closed and locked the heavy barricades behind me. Then the lights from the chandelier over the massive dining room table went out, leaving me in complete darkness, and my gasp filled the empty room.
My heart pounded in my ears and fear in the form of a cold sweat broke out, rolling down my back. Just as the panic and desire to turn and run kicked in, the glow from a candle broke through the darkness. One ring of light became two, and then three, and soon the room was glowing in candlelight, all held by the women I’d seen many times in this house, some names I recalled while others held only recognition of familiarity.
Karla and Sophia stood side-by-side, a united front of grace and charm, angelic in the light of the candles they each held. Sophia raised her head as she looked around the room, fixing a glance on each of the women surrounding me in a circle before she started.
“Whether by birth or position, we have each been given a title, a blanket of protection from the harshness our world creates. In loving our men, we look past the scars, the unanswered calls, and lonely nights spent between cold sheets. We bandage the cuts and wounds while looking past the bruises and cut lips. Knowing the answer to where it all came from would be an admission worthy of death.”
Reflection from the candles sparkled on something silver on the table. At first glance, I assumed it was silverware, from a place setting, but a longer look revealed more roses, absent of color unlike mine, the look of glass remaining. The cold glass of my own rose was nestled in my clenched fist.
“Our leadership has shifted, and tonight we celebrate new power. A bright future of new challenges and, God willing, more celebrations of new unions and blessings only the birth of a child can bring. Our ritual dates back over one hundred years, to a time where this organization was formed to give a helping hand to the ones left behind. Now, we maintain that same support, but even more, we lift one another up and have an eye on each other’s backs, a Sisterhood born from the Brotherhood our ancestors created.” Slowly the lights came back up, and each candle was blown out. Everyone remained in their places.
“Arianna, you have been asked into our inner circle tonight with the hope you will accept our invitation to join our numbers. In a few minutes, you will be asked to swear a giuramento, or oath. While our men live their lives in stolen secrets passed down from generation to generation, we protect each other, not with guns or knives, but with a safe harbor, a shoulder to cry on or listening ear whenever needed. Where the secrets of the men’s ceremony are kept secure, they’re bloody knuckles, cuts, and bruises give us the impression a change of power is not without violence.”
Dominick had come into my shop, his hands bandaged and smelling as though he’d celebrated until the morning light. I had never questioned why he referred to his father by his Christian name, or how both of them were able to hand out orders to the men in the room. Sophia was right, the power had shifted, perhaps entirely onto one set of shoulders.
“In your hand you have a crystal rose, around your neck you have a cornicelli charm. Every rose stem is protected by a spattering of thorns. It’s no coincidence the cornicelli and a thorn are shaped the same. Each issues protection to its owner. Arianna, you have a choice, you can accept our invitation to join our society or walk away. Know that if you choose the latter, every Untouchable in this room will ignore the cornicelli around your neck. You will be treated like you’re any woman we would pass on the street, regardless of whose bed you warm every night.”
Looking around the room while turning in a slow circle, the reflection of every horn pendant glistened on the chests of the women. No two pendants were the same, some gold, some silver, and others covered in gems and pearls. Sophia’s was the most intriguing of all. A tiara of diamonds sat atop hers, reflecting rainbows of light with her every movement.
“If your choice is to join us, take the silver chain around the neck of the blossom, tug off the seal, and drink the wine inside. If you chose to walk out, place the rose on the table beside the others. A car is waiting to take you back home.”
In Louisiana, I’d never had a choice. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. I’d had a choice. Keep my mouth shut and live, or tell the cops what I knew and be a story on the six o’clock news. I could walk away from this, remain with Dominick, and live happily ever after, but I would never really be a member of this Family. Would never truly be accepted. And though the Santos’s were a Family bathed in organized crime, they were still a family… one I wanted to be a part of.
The seal severed easier than I expected, and the wine was the worst I’d ever tasted, but it hadn’t mattered. I had been given the opportunity to become a part of something instead of being just a spectator. My empty rose joined the others who’d been emptied of the Kool-Aid on the wooden tabletop. A few still red held their wine, reminders of those who had chosen not to join. Sophia had a smile and knowing look gracing her face as I pulled my hand back.
In unison, the group of ladies spoke, “I pledge my loyalty.”
Sophia poured each of us a cup of tea. “You know in the old country, tea was more than refreshment in the afternoon. It symbolized a need to reach out and connect with each other.”
It clicked. All those afternoons when she’d come into the shop and made a pot of tea, they’d been her way of opening the door, allowing me to slowly grow comfortable with her.
With a loud click of the doors being unlocked, the three men who’d greeted me earlier entered the room and then stood with their arms crossed in a relaxed position over their midsections. “Miss Covington, I have instructions to escort you to another room where your presence is requested,” one of them said stiffly.
I worried briefly if this was the part of the ceremony where I had to drink the blood of a chicken or run through the streets naked. Sophia hugged each woman and wished them a good evening, and I wanted to smack myself for having an overactive imagination.
I let the gentleman point me in the direction of the back of the house, where a light glowed at the end of the hall, from the same room Miranda had been arrested in. Upon entering, I noticed right away that all of the furniture had been removed. The space appeared ready for some renovations. A single table sat in the center of the room, a vase full of flowers in its center. Lights from the around the garden filled in the shadows through the windows where the candlelight couldn’t quite reach. Dominick stood with his shirt untucked, top two buttons open. His scar peeked out, reminding me of everything he stood for. He had gotten some rest; the dark circles under his eyes had vanished, and the bloodshot eyes had been replaced with the mischievous ones he was known for. I started to open my mouth, to ask him what the meaning of all of this was, but he held up a hand to stop me.
“Anna, this room is special to me, for so many truths were unearthed within these four walls. You stood here clinging to me for the first time, trying to find comfort and I celebrated in being able to provide it for you, even though I knew you hated me. This is also where you got to see the real me, Nicky, the regular guy, faults and all. The man with his heart on his sleeve and all of my guards down. You make me a better person, stronger and wiser. You make me look inside myself, find any good hiding in there and then do everything I can to make it grow. You’ve been able to look past the bad side of me, both the one I have to carry as part of who I am and the one I created. Somehow, you accept all of me.”
Moving closer to me, his tone was different from any I’d ever heard come from him, gentler and thought out. “You turned down Dominick the asshole, who was too thickheaded and arrogant to understand why you would say no. But Nicky, the guy from the neighborhood, who wore braces until he was sixteen, who failed his driver’s test twice, and the same guy who loves you with his whole heart, asks you to ignore the Dominick part of him and agree to let him show you so much more. What I’m trying to say, and failing miserably is…” Warm fingers fold over my cold, shaking ones, clasping them together inside his double fi
sted hands. With his brown eyes full of hope, he lowered himself to one knee.
“Will you marry me?”
It has been my experience not all secrets are bad. Sometimes they serve us better than knowing the truth. Believing a lie can make life a little more bearable. Like withholding the truth to protect a loved one left behind, such as in the case of a spouse dying in a horrible accident and the remaining partner being told they perished instantly. Or in the case of knowing your friend’s sister is sleeping with her husband, the truth ripping apart two relationships and sending your friend into a deep depression.
In my case, the secrets I’d kept were to further my life and keep me from becoming another breaking news story. They’d also kept me from knowing what true love could feel like or enjoy it. When Dominick proposed the last time, I meant every word when I said yes. He accepted my condition when I asked for a long engagement. I wanted time to make certain he was going to remain the man I’d fallen in love with. To my delight, not only did he remain that man, he became so much more.
Marissa graduated in the top five of her class. The Santos Family filled four rows of the auditorium, clapping and cheering as she walked across the stage to accept her certificate. Dominick did this super sweet fiancé thing as he arranged for Caleb to be waiting in uniform on the other side of the stage. When she shook the Dean’s hand, Caleb came out with flowers in hand to hug a crying, yet happy Marissa.
Caleb left the Marines to start a business of his own and Marissa had an interview with someone in charge of makeup for production companies. He’d insisted on taking her to the interview and while he waited outside, a limo pulled up and a man he didn’t recognize stepped out only to be surrounded by paparazzi. The cameras and microphones overwhelmed the man making him fall on the sidewalk. Caleb rushed in, pulling the man to his feet and helping him into the building. The man had been so impressed he told Caleb if he ever needed a job to give him a call. To which Caleb replied he just happened to be unemployed at the moment and could use one. The man, who turned out to be the CEO of the production company Marissa was interviewing for, hired him immediately. Marissa and Caleb are working together, are very happy, and in love. He hadn’t proposed, but I expected it to happen any day.
Logan and Gabby did get that transfer. Guam has been home for the past six months. She works for a local florist and although she isn’t as happy as she was here, she tells me the weather is so much better. Dominick has offered to fly us over to visit, but business has been really busy for me and I can’t seem to find the time.
Karla is currently expecting. She and Demetri announced the news not long after returning from their honeymoon. Sophia was overjoyed, and then turned to Dominick telling him she expected the same when we returned from ours.
I would love to say that life with Dominick has been complete bliss, but that would definitely be a lie. Dominick is human, and a man, who at times can get on my last nerve, jumping up and down repeatedly. He’s learned which buttons to push to get particular reactions from me. In turn, I’ve learned what phrases will get the biggest rise out of him. Sometimes couples intentionally start arguments just to get the emotions so high the tension can only be relieved by hot, hard sex. I’d tested this theory and could say with complete sincerity that it’s true. I’ve also learned inside the man who took the lives of people who wanted to harm me, is a heart which beats for me alone. His love and devotion for me knows no end. He may not always agree with me, but he loves me without conditions or prejudices.
SNOW FELL GENTLY OUTSIDE, THE large flakes covering the ground at an alarming rate. It had been doing this fairly steady since yesterday afternoon. JFK was closed, and not expected to reopen for several days. City transportation had become nonexistent. Essentially, the city of New York had shut down.
“Just think, Giovanni, this summer when the snow is gone, Nona will fill up your swimming pool so you can splash around and show these ladies your Olympic swim team moves. Not to mention getting your momma in her red bikini.” At barely nine months old, my son was already wrapping the ladies around his little fingers. Anna swore it was the same curse my father eluded to. She was always threatening me she was going to make our boys wear shirts with cuteness warnings.
Giovanni watched with mild appreciation as the snow continued to fall, his fist firmly in his mouth a sign he was about to let the entire house know he was ready for his lunch. A job his mother took seriously.
“You know, Giovanni, two years ago I stood in this very room, more nervous than I had ever been, which is saying something for me.” My son babbled in response, like he knew what I was saying. He and I had a connection, though; it’d been there since the moment he took his first breath
“Anyway, your mother had turned me down at least a million times.” I noticed his reflection in the window, the removal of his fist like he was about to argue. “Okay, dude, maybe it wasn’t a million, but it sure as shit felt like it.” I kissed the dark hair of his head, loving the sweet smell of him. Anna called it baby crack, and claimed it was an aphrodisiac for her since she is ready and willing to get pregnant again.
“She stood there, looking at me as if she could see right through me, waiting for me to disappear or something.” Anna had made me wait, left me holding my breath while she’d studied my face. When she’d finally answered me, her voice was so soft I’d almost missed it. I’d wrapped her in my arms and kissed her within an inch of her life, which hurt like fuck after all the punches I’d taken. Slicing the fuck out of my finger had been the easy part. In order to lead this Family, I’d had to stand up to each member, let them try and get a punch in on me. A few connected, most had found their asses kissing the ground.
“In all the places and things I have seen, nothing compared to the look of your mother gliding down that aisle.” Uncle Carmine had invited us to his home in the Hamptons, and then Aunt Corina guilted us into allowing them to throw the engagement party. “That party lasted three days, or maybe it was just the hangover.”
When Anna took a tour, she fell in love with the house and the gardens surrounding it. Sophia never let her know that had bothered her; especially since I reminded Mom she would have all the Christmas and birthday parties at her house, so a tiny wedding would be nothing. Sophia had taken Anna by the arm, letting her get every detail she could imagine, never letting her see a price tag or worry about anything.
Uncle Carmine cried actual tears when Anna called him up one evening, asking him if he would walk her down the aisle. Uncle, being the man he was, hadn’t followed protocol or the wedding planner’s instructions. He took Anna by the hand and danced her the entire way. She worried she would cry when she caught my eyes, but Uncle made sure the only tears she shed that day were happy ones. When they’d reached where the Priest and I stood, Carmine held out his hand to me palm up, and waited. “You think beauty like this comes for free? I had an offer of a goat and two sheep from the guy sitting three rows back.” Everyone had laughed, including Anna, her fear of ruining her make up never came to fruition.
“It was the first time I took her to Italy, that time she oohed and awwed as she got on the family jet.” Our plane saw some major action that trip; Anna and I spent the six hour flight there naked and connected. However, when it came to our vacation, she’d been all tourist during the day. At night she was my dream come true.
“Even with all of the love we shared, I’m pretty sure you were conceived in this room as well.” Sophia hadn’t been feeling well when Anna came over one afternoon and found her doubled over. She called an ambulance. Mom was rushed into emergency surgery for appendicitis, and Anna moved in to help take care of her. One day Dad had to step out for an issue at one of the warehouses and Anna noticed something strange on the monitor. She called me in a panic and I raced from the warehouse to find the pool guy had left his equipment behind, choosing three in the morning to come and collect it. Anna clung to me as while watched the man collect his things. No words were spoken when we tossed our clothe
s and loved each other until the sun came up.
“Giovanni, as your father, it’s my job to protect you and your mother, and any other children we are blessed with. One day, I’m gonna teach you how to shoot a gun, take command of a room, and even how to break a heart or two. But for now, I’m going to show you how to treat the woman you love above all others. And someday you will share that love when you have children of your own.”
Spinning him around, the green eyes of his mother looked back at me. I’d prayed hard for our child to have her eyes, green and mysterious. He got my complexion and hair color, but with those eyes, I would need to give him extra lessons in restraint.
“How about this for lesson number one? Actually, this one I learned from your mother. Write your secrets on your heart and trust no one, except the person you give your heart to.” I kissed his chubby cheek even as his hungry fussing rose to the surface. “Okay, okay, enough lessons for now. Let’s go find your mother and get you some lunch, and me a long overdue kiss.”
Marco stood just inside the door; he and London had tried unsuccessfully to have a baby of their own. “Hey, Gino.” Marcus crossed his eyes, and puffed out his cheeks, all in order to get a giggle out of my son. I’d selected Marco to be my caporegime. Uncle Carmine was finally able to get his wife to forgive him, he came to me almost a year ago and asked to let a younger guy step in.
“Got a call from Patrick Malloy.”
“And?”
“He has called for a meeting.” Marcos eyes turned to mine, crossing his arms, as he straightens his shoulders. “Andrey Kumarin wants Detroit.” Searching his face, knowing there had to be more to the story. Michigan wasn’t an area we concentrated on since the seventies.
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