“But I want you to be prepared.”
I swallowed again. “For what?”
“For anything,” he said. “Everyone will be focused on your father, and I’ll do my best to keep him alive. But I’m just one man. I can’t be everywhere at once.”
“Then maybe we should consider getting out now. Selling the business to someone else?—”
“Your dad would never go for that, and you know it,” he said. “And if he shows weakness, they’ll try to take everything instead. Not just the guns but the winery and the land. And your dadwould rather die than let these fields fall into someone else’s hands. They’ve been in your family since the eighteen hundreds. Every olive tree here is watered by the blood of the Mancinis who came before you. I understand why he would never let it go—and I wouldn’t let anyone take it either if it were mine. It’s your legacy, something that belongs to you and Leo and the future children you have.”
7
WOLFE
“I’ve managed to pull two guys,” Leo said when he entered the office. “Used to work at the docks, so they know how to look the other way when they spot contraband in the fishing boats.”
“I said thirty,” Don Mancini said, like Leo wasn’t his own son.
“And thirty is a lot of fucking guys,” Leo snapped. “You expect me to pull that out of my ass?—”
“Find the guys, Leo.”
Leo released a furious growl under his breath before he marched out.
“I’ve got a long list of favors to call in,” I said. “If you need help to find more men. I also know a lot of people.”
He was seated behind the desk, leaning back slightly in his old armchair. “I don’t want anyone associated with Cosa Nostra.”
“I know people outside of that. There are more than just the main gangs, the little factions on the street handling minor operations, small distribution drops, et cetera. I have some oldfriends in Florence who might be interested in the position as well.”
“When were you in Florence?”
“Don Russo sent me there for a couple years. This is before the Skull King gained as much power as he has now.”
Don Mancini considered the offer in silence for a while, shifting his chair forward eventually and moving his elbows to the surface of the desk. “Do it. Because I don’t think Leo is going to deliver.”
To be fair, it was hard to find good guys in a bad business. “I’m on it.”
“Are you free tonight?”
It was a weird question and one he’d never asked me before. “Got a job for me?” I sat at the edge of the couch, knees wide apart and my body slouched into the cushion. I’d spent my entire day at Port Gela yesterday, and I wasn’t interested in doing something like that again so soon. I’d had dinner with Francesca, made love, and then went straight to bed. I just didn’t have the energy for anything else.
“Meet here at eight.”
“Alright.” I didn’t ask questions, but I sure wanted to. It was odd he didn’t explain himself since he was pretty direct, but out of fear of looking suspicious, I chose not to challenge him. A little part of me was worried this had something to do with Francesca, but why would he schedule his tirade ahead of time?
I went home at the end of the day and showered for the evening. I wouldn’t have time to see Francesca beforehand, and I was afraid stopping by would be a stupid move when I didn’t know Don Mancini’s intentions.
I returned to the winery at eight on the dot. Drove past the guys standing outside the villa smoking cigars in the bright exterior light before I parked my Range Rover in the parking lot in the rear. I walked over and saw Leo leaning against the side of the house with a cigar sitting between his lips. Andre was there too, regarding me in silence. Some of Don Mancini’s other trusted cronies were around as well, like Ricardo, Enzo, and Gabriele. I did a quick scan of them all, unable to spot their intentions. The air wasn’t hostile, but there was a definite tension that I could smell like rotting flesh.
Maybe Don Mancini knew I was screwing his daughter. Maybe they intended to give me death by a thousand cuts.
I hoped not because I would have to annihilate all of them. Francesca would lose her brother, her father, and all the people who supported her.
It’d be a damn shame.
The staredown continued before the front door opened and closed. Don Mancini appeared, walking down the stairs with Elio behind him. There was a heavy silence as he made his way to the bottom step then came down the path to join us.
All the men straightened and put out their cigars.
