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“Not both of us.” An honest thief.
“Do not do anything with that piece. Do you understand me?”
“Just get me to the buyer.”
“No.”
I hung up, and the blue dot returned to the screen, but this time it didn’t comfort me. Vinny had put a target on my back. These people would use any means necessary to get to me, including putting those I loved in harm’s way.
“Fuuuck.” I slammed a fist against the steering wheel, causing the horn to let out a sharp blast, the driver in front of me shaking his middle finger at me. The traffic loosened, and I wheeled around the vehicles as they picked up speed, dialing Donato as I drove.
“Daniel.”
“Get your brother under control,” I said tightly before hanging up.
He needed to hurry the fuck up before Vinny Salvatore got me killed.
* * *
“Muriella,”I called as I stepped into her apartment. I’d spent the last three days holed up at the Connecticut farmhouse of my lawyer, stewing over the conversation with Vinny just before I left and the inconvenience of being out of the city. To say my mood was sour was an understatement, but Zegas had finally finished what I’d put off, the result in my hands.
She didn’t answer, so I ventured into the kitchen, where she was most likely to be. She was unloading clean dishes from the dishwasher.
“Are you ignoring me?” I asked. The silent treatment was an extreme for Muriella.
Again, no reply. She wouldn’t even look at me, just kept running a dishtowel around and around a plate. She was angry with me about Vivian. I sighed, wishing I could make her understand, knowing it was a lost cause. “I need you to do something for me.” Something in my voice must have gotten through to her, because she jerked her eyes to mine. I held out two envelopes, one with her name written on it, and one with Vivian’s.
She set the plate and dishtowel on the counter. She took the envelopes from my hand, examining them. “What?”
“If something happens to me, I need you to see to it that Vivian gets this. You’ll know when the time is right to open them. Until then, you need to keep them safe.” The contents of the envelopes were only meant for Vivian and Muriella. I reminded myself this was just another step toward preparing for the inevitable, as a lump formed in my throat. I couldn’t remember a time I’d cried as an adult, but I was close now.
“Is that why you’re behaving this way? Is something wrong?”
I brushed off her concern. “I should have taken care of these matters a long time ago.”
“You want her to have this, you give it to her yourself,” Muriella said with more bite than she’d ever used toward me. She tossed the envelopes on the counter as if they were nothing.
“This is important.” I spoke firmly.
I’d seen her angry before, but not like this. She came around the island, her mocha eyes blazing, and was in my face in a nanosecond. “Do you have any idea what it’s like to watch a man you admire—love—more than anyone on this Earth destroy his life? And you’re doing iton purpose.” She stuck a finger in my chest. “I don’t know what’s happened to you, but I’m tired of tiptoeing around this for your benefit. You can’t destroy Vivian, but you’ve come about as close as it gets, and if you don’t fix it, I willneverforgive you. We are afamily, Daniel. You promised you would always protect us.”
“What do you think I’m doing?” I asked, running a hand through my hair.
“Being a fucking idiot.” My mouth dropped open in surprise when she swore. “Vivian taught me there’s a time and place for that word and believe me, this is it.” Her gaze was frosty as she looked up at me, putting a hand on her hip. “You can lie to yourself. You can keep lying to me. But you love her. She is your heart and soul. Your whole life. She’s had you since the first time you saw her—”
“Stop. Just stop,” I commanded, holding up a hand.
“No. That’s the problem. We’re letting you behave this way, and I won’t any longer. You’re splitting up the troops, and you know it’s a tactical error.” She was speaking in a language I understood, and I admired her fight, but the most sacred rule was simple: know your enemy, know yourself.
She didn’t know the enemy. I had to fight this battle alone. “This is how it has to be.”
Disappointment filled her eyes, and she laughed bitterly. “This is how youchoosefor it to be. If you can look me in the eye and tell me you don’t love her, I’ll let it go.”
I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.
“You can’t do it.”
I gave the slightest shake of my head. “I don’t have the right to ask anything of you, but I need you to do this for me.”
