Dante pulled up in front of my old home and turned off the engine before he faced me. “I assumed as much. I still don’t understand why. That man you’re protecting, he’s not your blood and from what I gather you were never close, after all he stole your husband, so why do you insist on choosing him over me?”
“I don’t choose him over you,” I said, honestly shocked. “But I know what you’re going to do to him, what you have to do to protect the Outfit, and I can’t condemn him to death. If you swear that he won’t come to any harm, then I might change my mind.”
“You know as well as I do that I can’t swear it. There are rules for a reason. We have to protect the secrets of the Outfit. If details about our structures, our business, or traditions went public, many people you know would go to jail, me and your father included.”
“He would never tell anyone about the Outfit. Antonio told him about our oaths.”
“But he isn’t bound by it. We all keep the silence because we’re bound by honor and duty, and because we would all pay the price if we didn’t, but that man has no reason to keep our secrets now that Antonio is dead. Not everyone honors a dead man’s wish as much as you do.”
“But he loved Antonio.”
“How can you know that? But even if it were the case, wouldn’t that make him hate our world even more?”
“What do you mean?”
“Because of the rules of the Outfit, Antonio couldn’t live his sexuality openly. He had to hide his desires and his lover, and ultimately he died because he was a Made Men. The Russians killed him because he was one of us. You see, the man you’re protecting has a lot of reasons to despise our world and want it gone.”
I’d never considered it from that standpoint, and was seriously freaked. What if Dante was right? I hadn’t seen Frank since I’d told him about Antonio’s death a year ago. He’d left quickly, silent and out-of-it. He hadn’t tried to contact me, and I had only known his mobile number, but that had stopped working shortly after the funeral. I’d simply assumed Frank had wanted to cut off anything that linked him to the mob. Had he talked to anyone about Antonio? About the Outfit? I didn’t want to believe it. He had reason to detest the Outfit and its ways. Not only had he been forced to hide his relationship to Antonio but he didn’t even get the chance to say goodbye to him. Neither had I. All that had been left of Antonio was a burned corpse. I’d never seen it. Father had forbidden me from doing it. He’d said there was nothing left for me to recognize. The Russians had even cut his head off before they’d set him on fire. The Outfit never found it.
Dante watched me closely. Or was he trying to manipulate me? Even so, what he’d said was the truth.
“Will you come to the door to say hi to my mother? She’ll be disappointed if you stay in the car,” I said to distract him.
Dante had a knowing look but didn’t try to push the topic of Antonio’s lover. He got out of the Mercedes, walked around the hood and opened my door for me. His hand found its usual spot on my lower back as we walked to the front door. I’d barely rung the bell when the door was already opened and my mother beamed at us. She’d probably been spying on us through the windows.
“Dante, I didn’t expect you to come. How wonderful of you to pay us a visit,” she said with a wide smile. She pulled Dante into an embrace. He remained stiff but briefly patted her back. At least he was against public displays of affection in general and not just with me.
“I’m only here to drop Valentina off. I don’t have time to stay. There’s still much work to do.” He straightened and Mamma had no choice but to release him.
Her face fell. “Of course. Now that you’re Capo, you have many responsibilities. How wonderful of you to take time out of your busy schedule to drive Valentina around town.” Mamma smiled at me. “You got yourself a gentleman.”
I gave Dante an I-told-you-so-look. A flicker of something softer filled his eyes before he excused himself and headed back to his car. The moment he’d driven off, Mamma closed the door, gripped my arm and practically dragged me into the living room. “Giovanni! Valentina is here!” she screamed.
“Papà is here?”
“I told him you’d be coming over. He wanted to have a word with you as well.”
I groaned.
“Don’t be like that. Your father and I are worried about your wellbeing. We want to know if married life is treating you well.”
“You mean you want to make sure I’m not messing up with Dante.”
Mamma pursed her lips. “You are twisting my words in my mouth today.”
Papà came into the living room, closing his cufflinks, his checkered jacket slung over his shoulder. “I don’t have much time. I’m actually having a meeting with the Consigliere and your husband later. So how are things between you and the Boss?”
“If you’re meeting my husband anyway, then you could ask Dante how my marriage is going so far and if he’s satisfied with me,” I said in an overly sweet voice.
“Sometimes I think I wasn’t strict enough with you. Your insolence was much more endearing when you were a little girl,” he said affectionately. I stood and wrapped my arms around his middle. He pressed a kiss against my temple. I knew as Underboss Papà was almost as ruthless as Dante and probably had killed more men than I had fingers, but for me he’d always be the man who’d carried me on his shoulders when I was younger.
“Things are going well between Dante and me, don’t worry,” I said as I pulled back. “I think he’s still not over his first wife though.”
Papà exchanged a look with Mamma. “It took Fiore a long time to convince Dante to marry at all. I’m glad he chose you. Don’t push him.”
“Listen to your father, Valentina. Men don’t like pushy women.”
“What is it that I hear you convinced Dante to give you a job?” Papà asked.
“Don’t pretend you don’t already know everything about it. I bet half of the Outfit is already ranting about it.”
“What do you expect? A woman of your status isn’t supposed to work,” Mamma said.
“Some people think women aren’t supposed to interrupt their husbands either and you do that all the time.”
Mamma huffed. “I don’t interrupt your father.”
“You don’t?” Papà said in mock surprise. Their marriage hadn’t always been for love. Like Dante and I, they’d married for convenience, but over time they’d grown fond of each other. When I saw them, it gave me new hope for my own marriage.
I couldn’t hold back a smile. “Dante doesn’t mind me working. I think he likes that I want to do something useful.”
“What could be more useful than raising beautiful children? When are we going to become grandparents?”
I sent Papà a pleading look but he shrugged. “Fiore really wants a heir to his name. Dante has responsibilities. What if he got killed without having a son to inherit his title?”
“Don’t say that. Nobody’s going to get killed. I lost one husband already, I won’t lose a second,” I said desperately.
Papà patted my cheek. “Dante knows how to take care of himself, but what’s wrong with having children?”
“Nothing’s wrong with it. I want children, but not because it’s my duty to produce an heir. I want children because I want something to love and that loves me back unconditionally.” God, when had this conversation turned so horribly emotional?
“Val,” Papà said carefully. “Did Dante do something?”
I gave him a shaky smile, grateful for his concern but knowing it was useless. Even if Dante had done something and I told my father about, there was hardly anything he could do. He wouldn’t go against his Capo, not even for me. “No, he’s a gentleman.” Outside of the bedroom, I added silently. Not that I minded. “He’s only really closed off. I feel lonely, but working will keep me busy, so that should make it better.”
“Give him time,” Papà said. I could tell he was getting increasingly uncomfortable with my emotionality. Why were Made Men cowards when it came to expressing feelings but didn’t bat an eye when confronted with death? He glanced at his Rolex, then grimaced. “I really need to go.” He pressed a kiss against my temple before he bent down to give my mother a proper kiss. Then he was gone. Mamma patted the spot on the sofa beside her. I plopped down with a sigh. “I really need cake right now.”
Mamma rang a bell and our maid entered the living room with a tray full of pastries and Italian macarons. I bet she’d been waiting in front of the door since I’d arrived. For as long as I could remember she’d always been a bit too nosy. She gave me a quick smile, set the tray down and then disappeared again. I grabbed a delicacy made of marzipan, chocolate and puff pastry, and took a big bite. Mamma poured me coffee, never taking her eyes off me. “Careful with these. They are full of fat and calories. You have to make sure you take care of your body. Men don’t like plump women.”
I made a show out of finishing the rest of my pastry, then washed it down with coffee. “Maybe you should write a book about what men want since you seem to know all about it.” I opened my eyes wide to lessen the impact of my snippy words.
Mamma shook her head before taking a pastry for herself. “Your father is right. We should have been stricter with you.”
“You were strict with Orazio and it didn’t help.”
“He’s a boy. They are all boisterous. And he’s really shaping up nicely. He said he’s even thinking about settling down.” I doubted that. He’d probably only said it to get my mother off his back. And given that he didn’t live in Chicago but helped keeping our business in line in Detroit and Cleveland, our parents didn’t often get the chance to bother him. And he was a man of course. Nobody cared if he slept with a new girl every night, as long as he didn’t tell them who he really was.
“I’ve never gone against your wishes, so I don’t know why you complain. After all, I married Dante because you wanted it.”
Mamma looked offended. “He’s the best catch we could hope for. Who wouldn’t marry a man like him?”
I drank my coffee, not bothering to reply. It was a rhetorical question anyway.
“Does Dante seek you out at night?”
I almost spit out what was in my mouth. “I’m not going to talk to you about that, Mamma.” My cheeks burned up from embarrassment and Mamma gave me a knowing smile.
I loved her, but she was the most infuriating woman on this planet.
***
Enzo picked me up in the SUV. Except for a bit of smalltalk, we didn’t speak during the short ride. When we drove past Bibiana’s street, I said, “Wait. Turn the corner. I want to pay Bibiana Bonello a visit.” I’d promised her I’d tell her how things between Dante and me had progressed. She’d hopefully be happy to see me.
Enzo didn’t argue. He steered the car toward Bibi’s house and parked at the curb. “Do you want me to wait?”
I hesitated. “If you don’t mind?”
Enzo shook his head. “That’s my job. He reached behind his seat and pulled out a magazine about Oldtimers.
“It won’t take long,” I said even though Bibiana and I could spend hours chatting.
I climbed out of the car and strode toward the front door. I rang the bell, then waited. Nothing happened for a while and I was about to return to the car when the door opened.
Tommaso stood in front of me. My eyes widened in surprise, then worry. “Hello Tommaso,” I said, forcing my voice to be pleasant. “I hope I didn’t come at a bad time. I wanted to talk to Bibiana. Is she there?” Is she okay was the question that I really wanted to ask. Tommaso was sweaty, his skin red and his fly was still open. A feeling of dread cursed through me.
Tommaso bared his teeth in a wide smile. He took my hand in both of his. “She’ll be down in a moment. We have always time for Dante’s wife.”
I fought the urge to pull away. His skin was clammy with perspiration and the thought that the reason for his rumpled appearance had something to do with what he’d been doing with Bibiana made me want to scrub my palms raw until no trace of him was left on me. “Bibiana, hurry up. Valentina Cavallaro is here.” As if Bibiana didn’t know who I was.
I gingerly pulled my hands out of his grip.
“I hear you’re taking over the casino,” Tommaso said curiously, his small beetle eyes keen as they watched me.
“Did Raffaele tell you that?”
Tommaso guffawed. “He didn’t have to. Everyone’s talking about it. I wouldn’t allow Bibiana to work, but Dante has been trying to change things up in the Outfit for a while now, even before Fiore retired.”
I tried to figure out if I could construe his words as traitorous, but sadly they were only mildly critical. Nothing that would cause Dante to put a bullet in Tommaso’s head. “Even the Outfit has to keep up with the times,” I said neutrally.
Bibiana appeared at the top of the stairs, her hair all over the place, her blouse dress buttoned wrongly and she didn’t wear shoes. Tommaso winked at me. “Please excuse me. I have a meeting with Raffaele to discuss tomorrow night’s girls.”
Keeping up the smile was almost painful and the moment he was out of sight, I dropped the charade and hurried toward Bibiana who’d come down the stairs. “Hey, everything okay?”
She swallowed. “Can we talk upstairs? I really need to shower.”
“Of course,” I said quickly. She gave me a tiny smile. I followed her silently upstairs, trying to suppress my fury toward Tommaso. I was already looking for ways to make Dante kill him and that wasn’t something I should ever consider. I’d never been responsible for someone’s death. Even if Tommaso was the lowest scum on earth, I shouldn’t want him dead.
Bibiana led me into their bedroom. I pretended I didn’t notice the ruffled sheets as I followed her into the adjoining bathroom. Bibiana and I had seen each other naked before, especially when we were younger, so I wasn’t surprised when she got undressed in my presence. I perched on the edge of the bathtub.
“If I’d known Tommaso was home, I wouldn’t have come over.”
“No,” Bibiana said. “I’m glad you’re here. That way, at least, Tommaso won’t go for a second round right away.” My eyes flitted over the bruises on her hips, inner thighs and upper arms. I lowered my gaze to my lap and blinked away angry tears. Bibiana stepped into the shower and turned the water on. “Val?”
I stood and approached the shower stall. Bibiana’s expression was imploring. “I know I shouldn’t ask you this, but is there anything you can do?”
“Is he doing anything that goes against Dante or the Outfit? Anything at all?”
Bibi shook her head as the water plastered her dark hair against her forehead. “He’s loyal to the Cavallaros.”
That’s what I’d suspected. “Dante won’t act unless he’s a traitor, but maybe we can set him up.”
Bibiana’s eyes became huge. “You would trick Dante if we did that. You can’t go against him, Val. I can’t ask that of you.” She put on a brave smile. “I’m being overdramatic. Women have been going through this for centuries and they all survived.”
Maybe, but that didn’t mean Bibiana should suffer through it.
She stepped out of the shower and I handed her a towel. “Let’s talk about something else. How are things going with Dante and you? Have you?”
I nodded, a blush heating my cheeks. “Twice.”
“And? Was it bad?”
“No, actually it was…” I trailed off, realizing what I was doing. I couldn’t talk about how much I’d enjoyed being with Dante when Bibi had just been mounted by her pig of a husband. “…okay,” I finished halfheartedly.
Bibi gave me a look. “I know you Val. I can tell that you’re lying. You don’t have to hold back because of me. I know that there are women who enjoy sex.”
“It was good,” I said.
Bibi took my hand and squeezed. “That’s good. You deserve some fun after the years with Antonio.”
I wanted to throw my arms around her and hold her, wanted to have Tommaso killed for her, but instead I merely squeezed back. “One day Tommaso will be gone and then it’s your turn.”
She nodded, but the hopelessness in her eyes gutted me. “He’s 52. With my luck, he’ll live another thirty years. I’ll be old and bitter then.”
***
Twenty minutes later, I was back in the car with Enzo heading home.
As we pulled up in front of the gate to the premises, my eyes were drawn to a man standing on the other side of the street and I jerked in surprise. It was Frank.
