I clear my throat. “If you’re referring to what happened to your brother and cousin, that has nothing to do with me. Not all families want to shed blood. However, many times we have to in order to protect others.”
Dominic snorts. “Protect others? Yeah, right. Most of the time these families only want to protect themselves, no one else. I did a background check on Valerio and the list of the things he and his family are rumored to have done and gotten away with disgusts me.”
“Yeah. A lot of these families have a cemetery’s worth of secrets in their closets. I understand your hatred for the mafia, but I can’t hate it. It’s too late for that anyway. I didn’t choose this life, it chose me. If I let it go now, I’ll lose everything I bled for.”
“Personally, I think you’re bleeding now and pretending you’re not,” Dominic retorts.
“Well, I was bleeding. After all, I did get shot.”
He grips the steering wheel tighter. “You don’t understand. You were never meant to live like this, Cipi. You were meant to burn brighter, not just outlast others.”
“Dominic, you don’t understand. Once you’re in this life, you can’t just walk away. There are serious consequences. Once you’re in, you’re in until you die. And I can’t let someone else take the throne my father wanted me to have.” I pause. “I’ve been angry with you for a long time, but now I don’t blame you for walking away and not wanting to share this life with me.”
“I didn’t walk away from you, Cipi. I didn’t want to leave you. I walked away from the version of you who thought blood was currency.”
“It still is,” I murmur.
His jaw tightens. “You think I like seeing you all bandaged up, a half step away from death. Being shot in your own home around people you trusted. Always on edge. Trying to find a killer before he finishes you off.”
“It’s the price of power, Dom.”
“It’s a fucking prison, Cipi.”
“Well, we all can’t be like you. You had a choice about what you wanted to do with your life. My choices died with my father.”
“That’s another reason why I left. I couldn’t bear to watch you turn into your father.”
I don’t respond because he’s right. While my father was a kind man to those who were close to him, he was a ruthless leader and killer who would shed blood first, then ask questions later. He had become one of the most notoriously vicious capos in Chicago. After all, he did wipe out a whole family and didn’t even shed a tear. Throughout the years, my heart had turned cold. Ibecame my father, not as ruthless but as Gigi refers to it, I wear lipstick when I pull the trigger.
“I’m sorry, Dominic. The mafia is who I am and there’s nothing I can do about it. I know I blackmailed you into working this case with me, and I shouldn’t have done that. If you don’t want to continue, you can turn the car around and drop me off. I’ll figure something out.”
Dominic exhales through his nose and grips the wheel tighter. “No. I’m still in.”
“Why?”
“Because despite everything, I still give a damn whether you live or die. I would never allow you to go see a mafia king by yourself. I know you’re a queen and have your fair share of bodies, but I’ll rack up a few if anything happens to you. I know there is a mafia code and all that, but you still shouldn’t see him by yourself if he really is the one behind this.”
I sigh. “Even the Devil wears a suit if the fit is tailored just right.”
“This isn’t a joke, Cipi. Valerio is dangerous.”
“So am I.”
“If he really is the one behind the trigger, that means he has to be working with someone in your circle.”
My throat tightens. “I know. No matter what the outcome is, someone on the inside is out to get me. I just wish I knew who.”
Dominic doesn’t reply. He pulls up to a set of iron gates that are sealed shut. A booth next to it contains a guard.
“Can I help you?” The guard asks.
“We’re here to see Valerio Neri,” Dominic replies.
“He isn’t seeing anyone at the moment. He is very busy.”
“Call up to the house and tell him that Cipriani Capuano is here and needs to have a word now,” I interrupt.
The guard gives me a look then closes the window on the booth. Through the glass, I see him picking up the phone and talking to someone. Then he reopens the window.
