Page 206 of Diego

I sit down again and pull my feet onto the sofa.

The laptop remains closed.

For now, the strange pattern in the properties can wait.

Donna is having a baby.

Chapter Thirty Seven

Diego

The airfield is already lit when we arrive, white runway lights cutting through the dark and throwing long reflections across the pavement beyond the hangar. Ricardo drives in ahead of me with Dante beside him, while Matteo and Tomasso follow in another car.

Mario stayed back at the office to coordinate the people we have pulling records and checking the information Giovanni sent over earlier, which leaves the five of us to meet the Atlantic City contingent when their plane comes in.

I check my phone before I get out of the car.

Blair sent me a message twenty minutes ago telling me Victoria and Julia had arrived, and yes, they were making sure she ate and rested. Nothing about pain, bleeding, or anything else that would send me back toward the house.

I send her a quick response, put my phone away, and step out into the cold evening air.

Ricardo is standing near the edge of the hangar by the time I reach him. Dante has moved farther out with Matteo and Tomasso, the three of them talking quietly while they wait. There is none of the loose atmosphere that usually comes with the boys being together. They understand why we are here.

“Anything from Lorenzo?” I ask.

“Donna’s admitted. They’re waiting.” Ricardo slips his hands into the pockets of his coat and looks toward the runway. “Edoardo and Alessio are with him. They'll keep us updated if Lorenzo can’t.”

I nod. At least Donna is where she needs to be. Lorenzo has his sons with him. There is nothing any of us can do at the hospital except crowd the halls and make Donna deal with more Contis than necessary while trying to give birth.

Though that's exactly where we'd prefer to be tonight.

But we have another problem.

The distant sound of engines reaches us before I see the plane.

A few minutes later, the jet comes into view and descends toward the runway. Nobody says much while it lands. Ricardo watches with the same calm he gives almost everything. Dante stands beside him now, while Matteo and Tomasso move closer to us as the plane taxis toward the private section of the airfield.

I have met Roberto and Vito, and the son-in-law, Adrian. Until tonight, they have been the only Atlantic City Contis I have dealt with face-to-face.

That makes this different.

The plane comes to a stop, and the engines begin to wind down. Ground personnel move in, and after another minute the door opens.

Giovanni comes down first.

I know him immediately even without having met him. There is enough resemblance among the Atlantic City brothers that nobody needs to make an introduction for me to know which one he is. He is older than Antonio, younger than Luca, dressed in a dark coat, and carries himself with the kind of authority that does not require anyone around him to announce who he is.

He spent years as Luca’s underboss, then stepped into the top position while Luca was in prison. A man does not hold either position by accident.

There is nothing theatrical or performative about him. He doesn't need it. He walks toward us with an even stride, his expression composed, despite the fact that one of his people has been missing for days. The restraint tells me more than visible anger would have. Whatever Giovanni is feeling, he has packed it away until it can be useful.

Antonio follows him down the steps.

The difference between the brothers is obvious.

Antonio has an ease to him that Giovanni does not. Even under circumstances like these, there is something naturally approachable about the way he carries himself, a trait that probably serves him well when he wants something from someone who has no intention of giving it to him. I can see why he has the reputation of being the charmer in their family.

Tonight, though, none of that becomes levity.