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“Get to your feet,” I snarl and step forward, fully prepared to kill him.
Slowly, Genaro obeys. He’s not in good shape, but he manages to remain upright. He sways a bit, blinking at me in curious surprise, pain written on every wrinkle in his face.
“Turn around and walk away. Don’t come back to this house again until your daughter’s gone. Do you understand me?”
Genaro nods once. “If you think you can hide behind your family name, you’re dead wrong, boy.” He steps backwards and nearly goes down. He curses and catches himself, limping hard. I think I must’ve broken a bone or two and the thought brings me great joy.
I step forward, moving as if I’m going to raise my cane again, and he flinches back before he turns and hurries away. The guard watch everything, measuring my performance against Genaro. They’ll spread the story of what happened here and the Famiglia will know that despite my injuries, I am still capable of breaking bones. Genaro’s car is parked down the slope, and he climbs in with some effort, grunting as he does it, and drives off.
I watch him go. The guards say nothing, only return to their posts. I know what they’re thinking, but it can’t be helped. I lost my temper and nearly killed a Capo in my own Famiglia.
It’s not good, but he did deserve it. I only hope the fallout isn’t too costly.
Chapter 13
Mirella
The dining room table is set with plates, glasses, and about fifteen bottles of wine. I follow Olivia inside and two people are already sitting: Karah, wearing a navy-blue dress and looking fabulous as always, and a blonde woman that must be Elise. She stands, smiling sweetly, wearing this ridiculous gown that wouldn’t be out of place on a Real Housewives reunion, and comes over to greet me.
“Welcome, welcome, I’m sorry I’m only meeting you now,” she says, kissing both my cheeks. “Any friend or colleague of Fynn’s is a friend of mine. I’m Elise, nice to meet you.”
“I’m Mirella.”
Elise grins at me. She’s pretty, a little bit older than the others, and she’s clearly had a ton of work done: lips, cheeks, nose, basically every conceivable inch of her has been shaved, smoothed, rounded, made into a perfect facsimile of a real human. Her hair’s dyed platinum and it’s pulled back into a chic bun. She guides me to the table, pours an enormous glass of wine, and shoves it into my hands. The drink is big enough for three people, but I don’t want to be rude as she beams at me.
“To surviving the Brunos,” she says, clinks her glass against mine, and drinks.
I glance at Karah, who’s laughing, and at Olivia, who only shakes her head like, you don’t have to consume all that. But Elise is watching expectantly, and I’m not one to ruin a toast. I take a nice, long sip.
“There we are,” Elise says leading me to the table. We sit down on opposite sides with Karah next to me and Olivia with Elise. “Tell me the gossip. Tuscany was dreadfully boring and London was even worse. Did you know they’re wearing hats again in Paris? Frightful. Hats! Imagine it. Everyone speaking French and wearing these little pill box numbers. Just terrible. They loved me though, always do.”
Karah laughs and tells Elise about the latest about the staff and the boys and the various Capos and lieutenants. I sit back to listen, recognizing about half the names involved, though Elise nods along like she’s aware of everyone and all their myriad intricate relationships. The Bruno Famiglia is large, one of the biggest mafia families in the country, and its membership is filled with cutthroat thieves and killers, which makes for a lot of drama.
“Most importantly though, Fynn’s been mooning after this one,” Olivia says, gesturing at me with a sly smirk. “She’s about to deny it, since she’s a consummate professional, but it’s true.”
“It’s definitely not true,” I say which only makes the girls laugh.
“Fynn’s a tough one. Tougher since he woke up from the coma, which was about the worst thing in the world, let me tell you.” Elise shakes her head, staring down at her plate like she’s remembering something. Lunch consists of fancy Caesar salads with grilled chicken and wine, so much wine. Basically, mostly wine. I get the sense the menu was set by Elise herself. “Everyone was a mess, especially Casso. Olivia remembers, it’s hard to forget. But then he woke up and things were better, but they also weren’t. So much changed.”
“What do you mean, they weren’t?” I ask, unable to help myself. Curiosity can get me killed in this place, but the girls are nice so I feel comfortable enough to speak up.
She shares a look with Karah. “Fynn’s always been tough. He’s quiet and deals with things his own way and doesn’t like to share what he’s thinking and feeling. I think he internalizes a lot and processes it that way, but sometimes that’s not healthy. When he woke up and could barely walk, you should’ve seen him rage and scream and break things. He threatened about a dozen doctors and nearly killed this one poor male nurse, it was ugly. But he improved bit by bit. And now you’re here.”
