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Santo drips blood onto the leather back seat, leans back, and closes his eyes.
“I’m not sorry, Tavi,” Elise says resolutely. “I’m not.”
But she isn’t a violent person. She may have been born a mafia princess, but she’s made of sterner stuff.
I reach my hand out to her knee. “I know, baby. I know.”
This time, she doesn’t tell me not to call her baby.
She rests her hand atop mine.
The entire time we’re driving, I’m on high alert. I’m watching for signs of somebody following us, an ambush, or Santo not giving us the truth. I don’t trust him for a minute. I secure his wrist the second we get in the car, hand Elise the gun and instruct her. “Keep this gun pointed on him, and if I tell you to pull the trigger, do it.”
She gives me a nod. “Believe you me, I would be happy to.”
Santo looks at me in surprise.
My voice is hoarse, merciless. “She knows about Piero.” I sigh. “Start talking, Santo.”
I want to beat the shit out of this guy for what he’s done, but I also know that he’s my direct line to the truth I may not get any other way. And I won’t forget the signal he gave me. It appears he just killed my enemies, so it’s entirely possible that he was undercover.
But without telling Romeo? Without telling Orlando? No matter what, he’ll pay.
“Anna Regazza wanted to prevent your wedding. But you were supposed to be getting married weeks out. You threw a wrench into her plans when you got married early, which is why she tried to crash your wedding.” His voice is hoarse and weak. He draws in deep breaths. I shrug out of my jacket and take off my T-shirt, ball it up and press it to his shoulder.
I’m bare-chested and shivering, my hands covered in blood. Elise stares at me before she looks back to Santo.
“My mother?” Elise asks. She looks a little stunned, but I don’t blame her. She knew her mother didn’t have her best interests in mind. I knew she didn’t show up to give us a fucking wedding gift.
“Yeah. She was due money from your father’s death that went to you if you married. She’s been trying to plot against you getting married for… for a while.”
I glare at him. How long has he known? “And how do you know this?”
He looks away. He’s hiding something, obviously. I press my tee into his shoulder wound. His whole body arches and he swears out loud.
“Tavi,” he pants. “I promise you I’ll tell you every single thing I can. I promise. But there are some things I can’t, not now, but I will as soon as I can. I promise, brother, you have to believe me.”
I’m not gonna fight this battle now. I’m not even sure it’s mine to fight.
“Tell me everything you can.”
I can’t help the note of resignation in my voice.
I’m exhausted. My wife hates me. I don’t know what happens next.
“You’re not gonna wanna hear this, Elise,” Santo says. He’s panting heavily. “Your mother was working with Piero.” He scowls. “I don’t regret killing him.”
Her hand holding the gun shakes and she goes almost as pale as Santo. “What are you talking about?”
Santo closes his eyes and turns away from her. “Piero took you away from here. He stopped your wedding to Orlando, Elise.”
I hate hearing this for her. I’ve never felt so much sympathy for someone else.
I ordered his death. He stole what belonged to my family. That doesn’t mean she isn’t hurting, deeply.
“He protected you, that’s true,” Santo said. “But he had ulterior motives.”
She looks to me, as if I can help her, as if I have any answers to this. I only shake my head.
“He didn’t want you to get married, because Anna promised him a percentage of the payout. You made it—you made it easy. It hurts to talk, Tavi. It fucking hurts to breathe.”
“Keep going,” I tell him. “Be brief if you have to. I don’t know how much time we have.”
If the Regazzas seek retribution, we’ll have to protect ourselves.
“Jenoah knew. He overheard their plans at a bar in Tuscany before they relocated. Regazzas were sloppy.” He grimaces. “Leo had him executed.”
We’ll find Leo, and we’ll have to see what he knew.
The pieces are starting to fall into place.
Anna didn’t want her to marry, because she wanted the money from her late husband. Leo betrayed our family, and was working with Luigi Regazza, Elise’s father, from the beginning. Fucking rat. Jenoah was killed because he knew information he wasn’t supposed to. The Regazza family has relocated to Lombardo because they want nothing to do with us. Piero took Elise because he wanted to prevent her marriage to one of us.
I did the right thing having him killed. I’m not sure Elise will see it that way. But there are still unanswered questions.
