After I was done with two high-profile debtors in the early afternoon, I called Diego to tell him I’d take over a few of his customers. He was glad for the free time that gave him so he could visit his sister. I couldn’t return home right now, not knowing that Nevio was back, that it would be so easy to kick his sorry ass. I needed more time, and I needed to get rid of some of the violence that filled every fiber of my being.
I sent Leona a short message so she wouldn’t worry, though she probably would anyway, then I drove to the first address that Diego had given me.
I hardly felt less violent when I eventually entered our mansion shortly before midnight. Leona had fallen asleep at the kitchen table with her head on her work folders. Her maroon hair was a mess, having fallen out of her ponytail. A pen was still clutched in her fingers. I gently pried it from them then lifted her in her arms. She stirred but I shushed her and carried her upstairs. After I’d put her down on our bed, I went to pull the curtains shut but spotted light in the former ballet studio on the Falcone premises.
Nevio, no doubt. I jerked the curtains shut and stormed out.
“Fabiano?” Leona called drowsily but I didn’t stop.
When I reached the ballet studio and ripped open the door, it wasn’t only Nevio who was inside. Of course not. The Unholy Trinity was finally reunited and was up to no good again. They sat on the ground. Alessio was smoking a cigarette while Nevio and Massimo drank beer.
“Fabiano,” Nevio said with a tight smile. His eyes were vigilant. Seeing him back in this place, already looking as if he had never been gone in the first place only multiplied my anger.
“I hope you’re not drunk. Kicking your ass will be less fun if you’re inebriated.”
Massimo put down his beer and got up, opening his arms in a disarming gesture. “Fabiano, this is something Aurora and Nevio have to settle.”
“Don’t interfere. This isn’t your business.”
“You two can leave. Fabiano and I will talk about this like adults,” Nevio said as he put down his beer and rose to his feet too.
“Now you’re trying to be the reasonable adult?” I growled.
Alessio and Massimo left the studio. I hoped they wouldn’t run off to their father.
Nevio pushed his hands into his pockets. I stalked toward him, but he remained like that, as if he didn’t have a fucking care in the world.
“The only reason I’m not killing you is that you have a son who needs you, if only to show him how not to behave, and because I’m loyal to your father.”
Nevio nodded, and smiled tensely. “The reason you won’t kill me is because I won’t let you.”
Wrong thing to say. I smashed my fist against Nevio’s chin. His restrained demeanor vaporized like I knew it would. It felt good to kick his ass. I wasn’t sure how much time passed before Leona’s voice rang out and then strong arms wrapped around my chest and dragged me back, while Alessio did the same with Nevio. Nevio was bleeding from his nose and a cut in his hairline. My mouth quickly filled with blood too and every inch of my body felt bruised. I definitely had a one or two broken ribs, and I hoped it was the same for Nevio.
“What’s wrong with you?” Leona seethed as she stepped between us, still in her dressing gown.
“The list is long. Even if he likes to think otherwise, Fabiano is a messed up killer like myself,” Nevio said, wiping his forearm across his nose and smearing blood across his cheek.
“So that’s what this was? You were trying to kill each other?” she asked, her wide eyes darting between Nevio and me.
“If they were intend on killing each other, they would have pulled their knives,” Massimo said with a nod toward Nevio’s knife at his hip. I had briefly considered pulling my knife. But if I’d done it, I might have taken something from Aurora I had no right to take. She had to settle things with Nevio, as Leona never grew tired to emphasize. Plus I honestly wasn’t sure I could beat Nevio. I’d probably die in an escalating fight too, and I couldn’t do that to Leona and my children. I’d once made Leona watch a death fight and she’d often told me how terrified she’d been.
“I still need to talk to him,” I said, then spit some blood on the floor.
Leona shook her head. “I won’t let you two alone. This is madness.”
“We won’t fight again,” Nevio said firmly. “But Fabiano is right, we need to talk.”
“We’ll stay in front of the door,” Leona said, giving me a warning look. She, Massimo and Alessio left the room and closed the glass door.
“So now let’s chat,” I said.
Nevio nodded. Blood had started flowing out of his nose again, and my mouth was filled too. I spit out once more.
“What are your intentions toward Aurora and Battista?”
I didn’t only feel protective of Aurora, I also cared about the little boy who had lived under my room for almost a year.
“I want to be a decent father for Battista. I want to make up for the lost time, and I want to prove to Aurora that I deserve her. I want to be with her. I want everyone to know that she’s mine.”
“And that you’re hers. I won’t watch you cheat on my daughter.”
“I have been hers for a while.” He lifted his shirt, revealing a tattoo I had trouble figuring out in the dim light but then I realized what I was seeing. The aurora borealis right over Nevio’s heart.
“Grand gestures are fair enough, especially to impress a woman, but they don’t mean anything if your actions don’t match.”
He lowered his shirt with an acknowledging nod. “I know and my actions will show the truth behind the gesture and the words.”
“Has Aurora seen the tattoo yet?”
“No. There wasn’t the right moment yet.”
I’d known Nevio all his life and found many of his antics amusing. He’d reminded me of Remo when I first met him, and even the recklessness of my younger self. Remo and I had grown up. I wanted to give Nevio the benefit of the doubt, that he too had grown up enough to make up for his past fuckups.
Nevio stepped close, his expression serious, no sign of the trademark smirk. “I’m serious about Aurora. I’ll stop at nothing to prove to her that I’m ready to commit, that I want her and no one else.”
“You better succeed. If you mess up again, I can’t promise you I won’t try to kill you, even if it means we’ll both die.”
“If I fuck up again, my parents will be the first to kill me. They love Aurora.”
“Do you?” I asked. I wasn’t sure if Nevio was capable of love, but I’d thought the same about Nino and Remo, and both had proven me wrong.
His expression was hard. “I think I’ve said enough. The rest is only for Aurora’s ears. I respect you Fabiano, but that doesn’t mean I’ll pour my heart out to you.”
“I’m still not convinced you have one,” I said but most of my anger was gone.
“For a long time, I wasn’t either.”
