AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“So, you finally sobered up enough to crawl out from under a rock. What do want, Mariano?” I watched Vinni’s head tilt at the name as he glanced at me in the rearview mirror. We hadn’t heard from Mariano in a long time, and I was sure he was also wondering at the timing.
“Can’t a guy say hi to an old friend?”
“And?”
“I wanted to hear your voice and find out if the rumor that she was dead was true, but the fact that you answered and aren’t out on a killing spree with Tieri just told me my answer.” I rubbed my eyes, massaging the tension that found me whenever Mariano was around. “I’d ask how my girlfriend is, but that’s right, the two of you played me. You slept with her while I thought she and I were finally making progress as a couple.”
“First, she was never yours to begin with. You knew who she was from the very beginning and tried to use her as a pawn to take me down. Of course, you failed because you can’t keep your nose out of the powder, and she saw you for who you really are. An addict who can’t keep his dick in his pants.”
“You never let her give me a chance! You just stepped in and stole her from me. Every chance I had, there you were luring her away with your money and flashy suits.” He snapped, and his angry rant morphed into a dark laugh. “But not this time.” He paused. “This time I have the advantage because I’ve been watching her.”
My blood ran cold. I knew he’d run to the Coppola house for protection.
“I’ve been watching how Salvo slowly sank his claws into her while you weren’t around. Their bedroom talks, their garden talks, my favorite was when Anna tried to get between them, and Salvo made sure he defended Sienna. It’s always the subtle moments that you don’t see right away that mean the most. How’s it feel, Romeo? Now you might just lose your Juliet.”
I closed my eyes, knowing Sienna and I had been parted for ten years and had still found our way back to each other. I knew a few weeks within enemy territory, as much as it pained me, couldn’t affect us. “It’s sad where you spend your energy, Mariano. Maybe you should be a real man and come visit me yourself. Or be a decent son and visit your parents.”
Silence. There was a reason it was only Donte serving dinner that night. We’d made sure the rest of the staff were not on duty and were away from the house. We couldn’t risk the news being spread about how we’d had the DeSimones over for theirlastdinner. Mama had sent the odd text to Mariano and to some of Bria’s close friends from Bria’s phone to make sure people thought they were still around. I made sure to say something just this once to plant the seed in his chaotic mind. It was just a matter of time before I played my cards on that one.
“You know what the best part of this is?” His voice strained like he’d just taken another hit. “There are people around you, people you know, and they’re just waiting to make their move.”
There were always going to be those people, which was why whenever we did anything big, like murder another Don and his wife, we did it with as few eyes as possible.
“It wouldn’t be a crime family, Mariano, if everyone around you was loyal.” I hung up, knowing he always needed the last word.
I’d slept for what felt like days, but in reality was probably only several hours. My eyes burned from all the crying I’d done the night before over Theo’s death, and I rubbed them to get some relief.
“Well, I see you have finally settled down.” Aunt Giana sat down next to me and reached over to tuck my hair behind my ear. “Want to talk about why you showed up on my doorstep in tears?”
“No.”
“How about Bosco? Should we give him a call?”
“No.”
“How about your mother?”
“No.”
“Why don’t you start by telling me why you’re pregnant with another man’s baby, yet you’ve been seen on the arm of Theo Coppola?” I closed my eyes again and tucked my legs up to my belly. “I’m not one for judgements, dear. I mean, you do you, but you’re playing with fire. If the Capris ever spotted you with Theo, they’d be racing to tell Bosco Capri.”
“Trust me, no one is looking for me right now,” I whispered through the hole in my heart. “I don’t love Bosco. I love Theo.”
“Does Theo know it’s Bosco’s baby?”
“He did, yes.” She looked at me, confused. “Theo needed a boy, and that wretch of a wife of his couldn’t even do that.” I snickered and sat up. My head pounded, and my heart squeezed tight as I continued with the story Theo and I had gone back and forth on many times. “Bosco and I met at a dinner one night through friends and ended up sleeping together. He was still dating Amara at the time, but that didn’t seem to worry him.” I paused to wet my dry mouth. “I was so angry about Theo’s wife, I wanted to make him jealous by dating the one person he hated the most. But when he found out I was pregnant, he wanted me back. Told me he’d always wanted me but needed a son to make it happen. He said if the baby was a boy, he’d get rid of Elenora and take this baby for his own.” I shoved my trembling hands under the pillow and swallowed the knot in my throat, avoiding eye contact with her.
“Noemi,” Giana shook her head, clearly disappointed with my life’s decisions, “that’s incredibly dangerous. If the Coppolas ever found out your son was a Capri, they’d kill him. It wouldn’t matter what Theo wanted. You two need to end this now.”
“It has.” I felt the pain bubble up my throat and steal any breath I had inside my lungs. “He was killed yesterday.”
She gasped and drew closer to me as I leaned over in a heart wrenching sob.
“What? How?”
Hate coursed through me as I squinted at my aunt. I wanted to claw her eyes out for forcing me to speak the words. “Elenora shot him. I saw the whole thing. They didn’t know I was there.”
“His own wife shot him?”
