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"He’s making sure he gets his message across to all those who are present, making sure they’ll take the message out to whoever was responsible for what happened."
Nonna firms her lips. She pulls her hand away and I stare straight ahead.
Michael sweeps his gaze over the audience, then nods. "I will hunt down the murderer who was responsible for my brother’s death, and when I catch him... Not even God will be able to save him from what I have planned."
Goosebumps pop on my skin. He returns to his seat and the priest takes his place to read from the Bible.
Two hours later, I glance around the living room of my husband’s home.
For all practical purposes, we are still married and I am still in the role of the Capo’s wife… A role I am hoping to keep for a long time, despite Michael’s insistence to the contrary. Fact is, I can’t see myself anywhere else; can’t see myself with anyone except him.
If I’d had any doubts about this… If I’d held onto any notion of escaping from him before… The car incident completely wiped all of it out of my mind. Somewhere between sleep and wakefulness, where I had floated after being ejected from the car… When all my barriers had dropped and I had sunk into the depths of my subconscious mind… At that point, I had shed all of my inhibitions, all of my fears, all of my insecurities, and I had embraced what I truly want. Him. I need him as much as I need the air I breathe. I yearn for him as much as I wish for a place to belong. I hunger for him, thirst for him, covet him with a passion that comes from somewhere deep within.
I ache to know him fully, completely. I hanker to have a family with him, to carry his children, to envelop myself in that sensation that I only get when I am with him. When I am secure in the knowledge that he belongs to me and I to him… That our darkness cancels out that of each other, that our hearts and minds and intentions are in sync… Maybe because I had lost the child I had briefly carried, because I had almost lost my own life, I know now what I am meant for. To not only embrace my art as a fashion designer, but to also embrace my heart’s calling to be a mother, to embrace my soul’s purpose to be his other half, to be the Beauty to his Beast, to be his.
There’s a touch on my shoulder, and I turn to meet Nonna’s shrewd gaze.
"You’re in love with him," she declares.
I half smile, "Am I that obvious?"
"You wear your heart on your sleeve." She peers into my face. "It’s why you took a knife to him… It’s why you now follow him with your gaze, in the hope that he’ll recognize what almost anyone else can read from your expression."
Shit.My shoulders slump, "Iamthat obvious."
"Except to him," she glances toward where Michael is speaking with Seb.
Christian and Luca are glowering at each other, while Massimo is speaking with a woman I don’t recognize.
In another corner, Nikolai Solonik, stands quietly sipping his vodka—yes, Michael had provided for everyone's tastes. Nikolai’s two brothers stand on either side of him. None of the three are speaking. With their imposing height and wide shoulders, not to mention the tattoos that peek out from under their collars and from the edges of their shirt sleeves, they should seem threatening… But somehow, the feeling that emanates from them is more of curiosity as they follow the proceedings.
In a third corner, a tall, broad-shouldered man sips his whisky. His lean features are striking, and there's a tightly leashed sense of power about him.
"That's JJ Kane, head of the Kane Company," Nonna offers.
"The Kane Company?" I wrinkle my nose, "Why do they sound familiar?"
"They are the most powerful organized crime syndicate in England."
Of course. I have read about him in the news. "And he's here, why?"
"He wants an alliance with the Cosa Nostra to grow his presence beyond the UK."
"I thought Mafia men don't share their business dealings with women?"
Nonna chuckles, "But then, I am not just any woman. I am the Nonna of the Capo and the mother of the Don." She turns to me, "Besides, I have my sources."
"You mean you have spies within the clan?"
"Also, people who owe me who keep me informed of all important developments." Her eyes gleam, "Of course, if I were to ask my son and grandson, they wouldn't refuse to share information with me, but this way is more interesting, don't you think?"
"Interesting?" I open and shut my mouth, "You really are quite a woman, you know that?"
After the funeral, Michael had driven me here. We hadn't exchanged one word the entire way. Hell, he hadn't even directly looked at me for the duration of the trip. It's almost as if he's trying to avoid me.
"So why is he avoiding you?" Nonna's voice interrupts my thoughts.
What the—!Is she reading my mind or what? I blink, turn my attention to her, "Who’s avoiding me?"
