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My choices for the next De Marco consigliere are limited. Antonio Accardi is the most suitable prospect to fill Emiliano’s boots. It will make him the third most powerful man in my organization; a power he no doubt will embrace.
Antonio is power-hungry, always has been. My father took him in as a teenager, and he has steadily worked his way through the ranks. He’s faultlessly loyal to the De Marco family and has proven his allegiance over and over in the thirty years he’s been with us.
He’s a schemer by nature and able to maneuver situations to a desired outcome. It’s a handy skill which both my father and I have harvested, advancing the territories he’s looked after.
He, no doubt, will make a good adviser, but my gut tells me to stay vigilant around him. Our working relationship will be entirely different from what I now have with Emiliano.
If only I could persuade him to stay on another year. But he’s got health issues and wants to spend however long he’s got with his family.
Antonio offered to help find Ella several times, but he wouldn’t be any better than the specialists I’ve got on the case.
Besides, Ella didn’t like him. She never said so, but her body language screamed unease when she met him at Renaldo’s birthday party. I’ll keep him away from her as much as possible.
With him as consigliere, though, he’ll be around the house more often. I might make certain parts of the house off-limits for him.
But what if he wants to visit Mariella? No, that’s not likely. He’s never visited his daughter before. Why would he start now?
He doesn’t hide his disappointment at only having girls and no heir to pass on what he’s built. He’s looking for suitable husbands for his daughters so he can groom them to take over, and he’s counting on his daughters to give him the male heirs he so desperately wants.
Mariella is set to marry Renaldo next weekend, and he’s negotiating with one of my other capos for her older sister.
It sickens me how he uses them as chess pieces. Any girls Ella and I are going to have will be loved and cherished. They will marry for love… within our ranks, of course, but I will not cajole them for my own gain.
Ella…
How much longer before I have her back? Physically, anyway. She’s forever rooted in my soul. Everything revolves around her.
I never thought I could love anyone as much as I love her.
Without Ella in my life, there’s no light.
I’ve been thrown into a pit of perpetual darkness. I sit back at my desk, rolling the tumbler of whiskey between my fingers. I never realized just how dark my world was until she brought the light and warmth of sunshine to it.
Sunshine. Yes. That’s what she brings.
Is this what Papa felt like when my mother died? Despair and anguish? Is this karma biting me in the ass for the lives I’ve taken? I scull my drink. The burn of the alcohol a welcome distraction, letting me know I can still feel something.
I guess I do have a purpose after all—finding Ella and bringing her back.
Rubbing my eyes, I take one more look at the email I’ve been attempting to read. Tomorrow… I’ll deal with all this shit tomorrow.
I lean back in my chair and close my eyes, trying to sense my angel. Immediately my stomach churns and an unbearable heaviness weighs me down.
Fuck. That can’t mean anything good.
Where are you Sunshine?
Coo-coo coo-coo coo-coo.
I drag my eyes open. I’m still in my office. Shit, I’ve fallen asleep. I search the room for the source of the unusual noise. Is Mateo pranking me? Has he hidden a coo-coo clock?
I glance at my computer. Eleven twelve. I dozed off longer than I thought. Normally, these clocks go off at the full hour, don’t they? I must have imagined it.
I leave my office and head to the bedroom. I don’t bother getting undressed; it’s too much effort. I fall onto the bed, my eyes closing the moment my head hits the pillow.
Suddenly, I’m sprinting through the woods. The fresh forest air cools my skin, and the scent of pine surrounds me. Running just ahead of me is a coyote. What a beautiful creature; I want to see it up close.
I pick up my pace to catch up to it. But it remains just out of reach. We run together for a while, but anger is building beneath my skin. Why can’t I reach this creature? We keep on running until I’ve had enough. Pulling my gun from my back pocket, I take aim and shoot. With a yelp, the coyote goes down, I approach and circle its lifeless body.
