Page 4 of Mafia’s Final Play

“Because I don’t.” He said it gruffly, without conviction, because he knew it was a lie.

“Fucking liar. You do and you can’t handle it. That’s why you’ve suddenly become Bluebeard with his wife locked away from the world. Just try not to kill her or cause her to kill herself by keeping her locked away for fuck’s sake.”

“That’s just a little bit rude, Trina.” Matteo frowned and glared at the wall. “Am I going to have to cut off your allowance for a month?”

“Do it, see if I care.” Trina accepted his dare and spit it back at him. Damn.

“Seriously?” Matteo could think of a dozen other ways to get Trina off his back but knew she was right. Deep down, he knew she was.

“Seriously, Matteo. You need to tell your wife you love her and get her away from here. If she can’t walk freely around New York, maybe you should take her somewhere else, where she’s fucking safe.”

“Now that would be a perfect idea if I didn’t have to be here. But, you know I have to be in New York, I can’t leave the family business to anybody else. Not when she’s only just given me the reins.”

They both knew he was talking about Celeste.

“It’s not even really our family business, Matteo. Technically, it’s Marie’s isn’t it?”

“Ah. Yes, I suppose it is.” He’d known that they’d even talked about it, but to hear Trina say it out loud really brought the words to life.

“But, you can’t give up the baby you were trained your whole life to take over, can you?” Trina sighed loudly and clicked her tongue. “I don’t think this is going to end well for you, Matteo, not at the rate you’re going.”

“That’s a chance I’ll have to take, Trina. She’s worth it.” It was all a little confusing, this being in love after the life he’d lived. The things he’d been trained not to need.

“She is. Look, I know you’re doing your best, but you have to let her out, soon, Matteo. She can’t go on like this too much longer.”

“Yeah, yeah, go put your face on or something, Trina. I got shit to do.” Matteo hung up before she could interrupt him again.

Damn women, always on his ass. Except Marie wasn’t. She had promised him she would be a good little wife, and she had been. She’d done everything he’d ever asked of her and it was unfortunate that he had to pay that obedience back with what amounted to imprisonment. That was the way it had to be until he figured out who had put the hit out on her. Then she could leave.

He thought over what Trina had said about going somewhere, about leaving New York. It might come to that at some point, but he didn’t think it had gone that far yet. Not yet.

“I’m here,” Penelope, the 58-year-old Jill of all trades, that didn’t ask too many questions and knew how to do as she was told, called as she walked into the building. She had iron-gray hair and skin so sun-damaged she looked far older than her 58 years, but she did her job. That was all that mattered.

“Good. I need you to go over the purchase orders that Leon’s been putting in for the last few months, see if you find any discrepancies.”

“You think he’s buying too much and selling it off on his own?” Penelope sat at her desk and turned the desktop computer on. With a slight turn and a flick of her wrist, she turned on the office coffee pot on a table behind her. Penelope was all about efficiency.

“Maybe.” Matteo stared at her for a moment and wondered how something like that could get by her. She was the accountant here after all. She didn’t seem worried though like she would be if she was in on it. There was nothing about her movements that betrayed any kind of guilt and Matteo knew that she was probably innocent.

Penelope was an accountant, not a project manager or planner. She’d have no clue how much material would be needed. “Look for large increases in supplies, you know, where they were buying three boxes of nails, they started buying 20. Anything like that.”

“Will do, Matteo.”

Penelope got on with her morning routine, and Matteo soon left to take care of other business elsewhere. He was supposed to have gone down to Louisiana in February to open his casino down there, but he hadn’t gone, because he wouldn’t leave Marie. He’d sent a representative from the family down in his place. He’d put off going back down there because he hadn’t wanted to take Marie back. He didn’t think it would be good for her, so he’d delayed the visit. He’d kept telling himself he would go down, but he hadn’t made it and now he wouldn’t leave her at all. Even if the contract on his wife was finally taken care of, he knew he wouldn’t want to leave her. Would it ever truly be over, he wondered as he watched the buildings pass as he drove through the city. This need to be near her, to protect her, from him and the life he lived? The bad that came along with living the good life.

He had a feeling it wouldn’t be.

The alert came on through his sound-system that he had a call and he hit a button on the console. “Hi baby, what are you up to?”

“Nothing, honey, just making breakfast.” Marie’s voice filled the interior of the car and he smiled automatically, totally unaware that he had. Her voice just made him happy.

“Do you need anything?” he asked, curious about why she’d called.

“No, just wanted to hear your voice. I did wonder something, though.”

“What’s that?” He’d picked up on the irritated note in her voice and wondered if this would be their first fight.

“Do you want me naked when you get home or dressed? Because I really, really need you.” Her voice, always sultry with that southern twang was even more alluring over the phone. His body responded instantly, and he pressed down hard on the gas pedal without meaning to. He eased the pressure of his foot as he regained control and chuckled.