Taviano hated to tell her otherwise, but he wasn’t about to lie to her. “I’m sorry, amore mio, we had the best doctors available, and all of them came to the same conclusion. There is no recovery for Sandlin, and he’s slowly deteriorating. Sasha is aware of it. Giovanni and Sasha spend most of their free time at the care facility with him, or they bring him to their home. He’s used to both places now. A nurse accompanies him if they bring him home. They are amazed he has lasted this long. We believe it is his bloodline that has managed to keep him going, but even that will not save him forever. We all see the signs.”
“I hate that for her.”
“We all do,” Stefano said. He turned his attention to his cousins. “You’ve met Giovanni’s wife, Sasha, of course.”
Severino nodded. “Yes, a beautiful woman. I actually have met Sandlin on two occasions as well. I needed to speak with Eloisa on an urgent matter and she was visiting him at the medical facility where he lives. He’s quite interesting. He had the capability to be a very powerful rider. I imagine Sasha did as well.”
“Eloisa visits Sandlin?” Nicoletta asked.
Her voice was so filled with disbelief that everyone turned to look at her. She didn’t seem to notice, but Stefano’s eyebrows went up and his eyes met Taviano’s in a question. Why was it that Nicoletta was so adamant that Eloisa wouldn’t ever go visit Sandlin? Especially when Nicoletta was aware Eloisa often visited the elderly and sick in the Ferraro territory. She looked incensed. She vibrated with outrage.
“Piccola.” He tried his gentlest tone to calm her, to remind her that one didn’t ever give Stefano any kind of a puzzle. He always solved it.
“Is Eloisa still a terrible trial to everyone?” Velia did her best to turn the attention onto herself. “My aunt is a holy terror when she gets going.”
Taviano shot her a grateful look. “She’s made it very clear to both of us that she doesn’t like Nicoletta.”
“That’s not unusual,” Stefano said, leaning back in his seat, one arm stretched casually along the back of the chair, his piercing eyes on Nicoletta. “So far she hasn’t approved of any of the women we’ve chosen. You’ve been around a long while now, bella, and she’s been bad-mouthing you every chance she gets. How is it any different now that you’re married to Taviano and a part of the family? There really isn’t much she can do about it but make herself miserable. She can’t tear your shadows apart.”
“She would if she could,” Taviano said, to keep Nicoletta from answering. He wasn’t certain what she would say. She was still too angry with Eloisa for her choices when he was just a little boy.
“She was here,” Nicoletta said, making an effort to smooth out her tone. She sent a smile to Velia, silently thanking her for the diversion while she got herself under control. “I lost my temper with her. It’s just that this is our home and I feel that if she wants to be rude to me, that’s all right, just not here. Not in my home and not in Lucia and Amo’s home. It distresses them and I told her that. She doesn’t have to speak to me, and I won’t speak to her. But if she comes here, that’s different. This is where Taviano and I live. This is where we should be able to have peace.”
Taviano leaned into her, tilted her face up to his and brushed her lips with his. “I’m so in love with you, woman.” It had taken one small reminder, and she’d gotten herself under control in seconds and immediately given Stefano a very good reason for her to be angry with Eloisa.
“I applaud the fact that you refuse to back down from Eloisa,” Stefano said. “If you show her weakness, she will eat you alive.”
“I made that mistake,” Velia said, with a mock shiver, her fingers stroking her throat. “I thought she was going to rip my heart out.”
Severino froze. A muscle ticked in his jaw. “When was this, angioletto?”
There was a sudden stillness in the room. Velia uncrossed her legs and pressed her lips together. “It was nothing, Sev.”
When her brother continued to stare at her, her fingers stroked her throat again. Taviano recognized that gesture as a nervous habit. It surprised him that his cousin, so sophisticated, could have developed such a tic.
She shrugged, a delicate little motion. “I was visiting with Emmanuelle. Clubbing actually, and Eloisa dropped in. She was her usual charming self to her daughter, and I couldn’t help myself. I don’t like it when she’s so ugly to Emme. Emme never stops her. Never. She’s always so nice to Eloisa and yet Eloisa is venomous to her, stripping her raw, especially about Val Saldi. She knows it hurts her, but she just keeps lashing at her. I knew better, but I still told her to stop. She’s my aunt and it was rude, but honest to God, Sev, she was tearing strips off Emme, and I was already worried that Emmanuelle might . . . I mean, what is she trying to get her daughter to do?”
“What did she say to you?” Severino bit out between his teeth.
Taviano had seen him like that a few times. Nothing good had ever come of it. He almost wished his mother was in the room. He knew exactly what Velia meant. Eloisa couldn’t seem to help herself. The moment she was around Emmanuelle, she seemed to tear into her, hissing out the ugliest venom, throwing out recriminations, practically accusing her of selling out the Ferraro family for sex. Sometimes he’d like to remind his mother that she’d chosen Phillip over her son’s welfare and see how that went over, especially when they all knew Emmanuelle had never once given Val a single piece of information on the Ferraro family.
“Sev, seriously, it was a while ago.”
“You were here to go clubbing with Emme no more than three weeks ago, Velia. Answer me now.”
Even Marzio moved closer, and in the corner, Tore actually stirred, making his presence known. Taviano was grateful to know that his LA cousins protected their sister with the same fierceness that he and his brothers did their sister and now, the other women in their family.
Velia sighed, the expression on her face telling all of them that none of them, including Stefano and Taviano, were going to like it.
“She said I was nothing but a beautiful whore like my mother. Everyone knew what she was like, and my father had to marry her because his father made him. She said naturally I’d side with Emmanuelle because look who I came from. She would expect nothing less of someone like me.”
Her hand went to her throat again, and Sev caught it and pulled it down to her lap. “You had gotten over this habit, cara, but suddenly, in just this last couple of weeks, you’re back to it. Now I understand why. I think I’ll have a word with Eloisa if you don’t mind, Stefano.”
“Not at all, Severino. I will be going with you.” Stefano stood up.
“Now?” Velia looked shocked. “Sev, you can’t. Stefano and Taviano have work tonight. Don’t say anything to her. She’s vicious. She might say more ugly things about our mother. I don’t want you to hear them.”
She had her head down, and to Taviano’s consternation, he saw tears glistening on her lashes. He’d never seen Velia cry, not since she was a little girl. She was a shadow rider, a very good one, seasoned and, like Mariko, a force to be reckoned with.
“Angioletto, look at me.” Severino’s voice was unexpectedly gentle, but it was nevertheless commanding, more than ever reminiscent of Stefano. It was very evident who the head of the family was and who the head of the LA riders was.
Velia lifted her head and Severino wiped at her tears with his thumb. “You are mine to protect. No one abuses you. They don’t say vile things about our deceased mother, especially to you or to hurt you. I don’t tolerate this from anyone, let alone a family member. This will never happen again.”
“She’ll think I’m weak. A tattletale.”
“She said these things about my mother. About Marzio’s mother. Tore’s mother. She said these vile things to you, Velia. She is your aunt, and she should protect you. She should be protecting Emmanuelle. She said them about another shadow rider. I don’t k
now why she’s lost her way, but dragging everyone else down with her cannot be tolerated.”
Without another word, Severino and Stefano turned, stepped into a shadow and were gone, leaving behind silence.
Velia closed her eyes and pressed her fingers to her temples. “I can’t believe I just did that. Taviano, Eloisa is going to go after Emmanuelle. Whenever anyone confronts her, she turns around and gets ugly with her daughter.”
Nicoletta had gotten up to refill Velia’s refresher. She stopped and turned. “She does that? Taviano? Why didn’t you say so earlier? I made her so angry. If she could have, she would have ripped my face off. She tried to slap me.”
Velia gasped. “Hit you? Strike you? Physically? Eloisa actually tried to hit you?” She looked to Taviano for confirmation.
“Does Stefano know?” Shockingly, it was Tore who asked. He came out of the corner and handed Nicoletta his glass, but his gaze was on his cousin, demanding an answer.
Taviano shook his head. “No, I told her to leave. She wasn’t welcome. I thought it better not to let Stefano know. Already, there is too much between Stefano and Eloisa. Much more, and there would be no going back. Eloisa needs to find her way, although it might not be our way.”
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Nicoletta half turning toward him, shaking her head, indicating that Eloisa’s way was never going to be their way. She poured the refresher for Tore and handed it to him.
“She didn’t manage to claw me, and I did provoke her. I can get quite nasty when I want to, and I wanted to. She had been very ugly to Taviano. I didn’t like it and I let her know.”
A ghost of a smile played around Tore’s mouth, making him look younger. “I’ll bet you did. Your woman is quite the find, Taviano. I envy you.”
Taviano smiled and put his arm around Nicoletta. “Believe me, I know how lucky I am. The moment I laid eyes on her, I knew. The first time I saw her with Lucia, she had my heart for sure. The way she loves Lucia and Amo gets me every time. I wanted a part of that.”
He had. It had shocked him that Nicoletta had the capacity to love so deeply and so readily after what had happened to her. He hadn’t thought she’d be open to Lucia and Amo. The Ferraros had watched her closely, fearing for the older couple, but from the moment she’d met them, Nicoletta had been more about taking care of them and protecting them than looking after herself. That had shown him her heart.
“Anyone want food? Who knows how long those two will be,” he added.
“If you’re cooking,” Marzio said.
Velia and Tore nodded their assent and Velia hooked her arm through Nicoletta’s. “We can get to know each other since we’re now cousins.”
Taviano gave his woman up to Velia as they followed him into the kitchen, happy to see she was in good hands.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Giovanni Ferraro peered down at the small group of men wearing the Demon colors of the LA chapter. These men were definitely loyal to Benito Valdez and spent more time reporting to Benito than to their president, his brother Tonio.
The leader of the group was a thin man with crooked teeth and a scar that ran the length of his face, from temple to jaw. He had multiple prison tattoos, creating sleeves on both arms and around his neck and up onto his face. Most were skulls, giving his face a strange, dead-like facade. His name was Victor and he appeared very driven. Giovanni pegged him for a plant.
If he could so easily see that Victor and most of those with him were really men Benito paid to spy on his brother, he was certain Tonio could as well. Tonio was an intelligent man. Giovanni was certain all the brothers were. Benito had succumbed to alcohol and drugs. He’d been on a power trip too long, and eventually the chemicals had eaten away his brain cells to the point that he had forgotten all about finesse and ruled his world with brute force. That worked sometimes, but not all the time. Real loyalty counted, and he’d forgotten that.
Tonio had sent the right army to support Benito’s cause. Victor was happy that he was on his way, more than halfway to Chicago with his men. Benito had requested at least fifteen men from each city, and Tonio had been generous and sent eighteen of those he considered his “best.” He’d had the conversation with his brother in front of Victor, and Victor had soaked that praise right up. He confirmed to Benito that the men Tonio sent were all very loyal to the president of the Demons and none of them were slackers.
They were fueling their vehicles and grabbing food and they’d be on their way. They weren’t calling attention to themselves. They didn’t want the cops to identify them or watch their progress to Chicago. They’d get the girl for Benito and make certain to identify anyone who had helped keep her from him. He could come in and kill them himself and then take her back to New York with him. Victor, on the phone, nodded several times and told Benito that they’d be there at the same time.
Giovanni exchanged a long look with his cousin Maximino. Benito was definitely on his way to Chicago. They had confirmation. If Rigina or Rosina could get a lock on Victor’s cell they might be able to trace where Benito actually was, and they could send riders to intercept him. The family didn’t want him getting anywhere close to Nicoletta.
Not one of the Demons was drinking. None of them appeared to be doing drugs. There were four vehicles. The drivers and two others stayed with each SUV. While they were putting gas in the cars, the others walked across the street to the diner. Six men walking into a diner didn’t raise alarms. They went in quietly and sat down in two separate booths.
Giovanni immediately signaled to his cousins to choose a shadow that would take them to the parking lot where the drivers would bring the SUVs. The lot was on the small side but well kept, with trees shading many of the spaces from any afternoon sun. Two overhead lamps illuminated the lot, presumably making it safer at night. The lamps, coupled with the trees and their twisting boughs, threw interesting shadows in all directions across the lot, giving the riders quite a bit of tubes to choose from.
The first SUV pulled into the lot and the driver parked right in the front in a space to the right of the handicap parking. It was just out of sight of the plate glass window where the booths faced the lot. Vico, the youngest of Giovanni’s cousins there, moved immediately, catching a shadow and riding it straight to the SUV and inside. He was on the man in the back seat, delivering the wrenching signature kill and out of the vehicle before the driver had turned it off.
The passenger opened his door and turned slightly in his seat to pick something up. Vico immediately caught his head between his hands and wrenched, murmuring that justice was served as he pushed the body back into the SUV and quietly closed the door. The driver had jumped out and slammed his door just as Vico closed the passenger door.
“What are you doing?” the driver asked, turning back toward the window.
Vico came up behind him, catching his head in his hands and wrenching. He heard two more of the SUVs in the parking lot, but those weren’t his problem. He lowered the body of the driver beneath the vehicle and stepped into the shadow, allowing it to take him away from the parking lot and back to the vantage point overlooking the little diner. Giovanni signaled to Vico to watch the six men in the diner. They had a good view of the lighted parking lot. No one had emerged. No one had seen. It had taken him only seconds to kill the three Demons, and the bodies couldn’t be seen in the dark where they lay.
Remigio and Maximino both stepped into two different tubes, each one small, the narrow ones that moved fast, tearing one’s body into what felt like a million pieces, scattering them everywhere and hurtling one out as viciously as possible. The shadow riders couldn’t be seen when they slipped out of the shadows and delivered the signature killing moves to those in the vehicles. They couldn’t take chances that anyone in the diner would call the cops; Victor might alert Benito that someone was killing his army.
They wanted Benito to show himself, not go int
o hiding. As long as he thought he had a huge backing of his men behind him, he would swagger into Ferraro territory demanding everyone in his path to tell him where to find Nicoletta and anyone who might be hiding her from him. They needed Benito Valdez to show himself so they could dispose of the threat to Nicoletta.
Giovanni took the last SUV as the three Demons turned into the parking lot. He rode the shadow right to it, timing it perfectly to enter the back of the vehicle just as it entered. There was a dark strip to the left, and the driver chose that direction so he could park next to the other cars. He was driving very slowly, using care as he entered the lot.
Behind the Demon in the back seat, Giovanni gripped his head, wrenched and laid him gently to one side, and then was on the front seat passenger before either he or the driver knew anyone else was in the car. He killed the passenger just as the driver parked the SUV and turned off the ignition. As he turned his head slightly, just as if he might have sensed something might be wrong, Giovanni was already on him. It had taken only seconds to kill all three men.
It was necessary to exit the vehicle via a door, as there were no shadows to catch inside, but he was wearing gloves. He used the driver’s side door and immediately stepped into a shadow, deliberately leaving the door to the SUV open behind him. No one could see the bodies unless they came up to the vehicle and looked inside.
He waited there, just in the mouth of the shadow. Vico came closer, as did Remigio and Maximino. It was only a matter of time before Victor and the others came out to see what was keeping the rest of their crew.
Shadow riders learned patience very early. As young children they were taught to be still, no matter how long they had to lie in grass or rock or whatever the circumstances and wait. They couldn’t fidget. They couldn’t be seen. They had to remain absolutely still, and if they were spotted, the exercise was often repeated over and over until they could do it before they were allowed to stop for that day. Then it was done the next day and the next. Learning not to move was drilled into them, and yet being ready to move at a moment’s notice was just as important as the next lesson to be learned.
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