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“Sal, I am so sorry,” she says, and I can hear the shudder in her voice. We have all grown up together, our generation was supposed to change the mafia forever. We were better than senseless murderers, but until every single one of our fathers is dead and buried, there will never be peace.
“Thank you for taking him,” I say to her, looking at the little boy in her arms. “I have no idea what to do now,” I admit and try hard not to let her hear the tears I wish weren’t shining in my eyes.
“The Kings will meet in two days. Lorenzo has sent word,” Elodie says walking beside me into the home I rarely stay in. “I have added ten of my men to your security here and arranged for our nanny to help until you can arrange one for yourself — that’s a priority, Sal, he is only a month old and you are going to need help.” I am so far out of my depth. An understatement, if there ever was one.
“Thank you.”
I am like a robot. Those are the only words I can muster up, and she puts the sleeping infant into a bassinet that is now in the center of my all-white living room.
“Vito and I are here for you,” Elodie says, “whatever you need.”
“I think we need to arrange the funeral before The Kings meet, and then I can make arrangements from what Lorenzo thinks is best for all of us.”
I don’t want to leave them somewhere in a morgue, they must be at peace, no matter what happens after that.
“I agree, we will help you with the arrangements. Is tomorrow too soon for you? Do you need time?” she asks me, and I have to breathe deeply.
“That’s fine, let’s get it done,” I nod and watch as my team and hers sweep the house and set up additional monitoring and security. “I don’t want a public affair, no one needs to be there. I will do it alone, please Elodie.” She understands my need for privacy. This is not a side show, they were my family. Felix was my twin brother, and I will not have his death become a press circus.
“I will arrange it for you, you do not need to worry about anything.”
She is one strong woman, and I admire her. Not many could live this life and thrive the way she does.
“I appreciate it, all of it,” I say to her, and she puts her arms around me and hugs me.
“Kings, Sal. We look after one another. That’s what it means to be a part of this family.”
I have no other family now, only the sleeping baby and The Kings. My loneliness takes me by surprise when I look around and appreciate just how much I have lost in a matter of hours.
“We will let you settle in, and I’ll be back later tonight to finalize the arrangements. Will you be okay?”
I nod, and she leaves me there with a strange nanny, a baby, and a sadness that drowns me. This shouldn’t be happening, it should have been me.
***
It’s raining warm summer showers and I stand under the black umbrella holding Raul in my arms. He’s asleep, and as his parents are buried next to mine, I allow myself one minute to cry. A second where I am human. I allow my grief a chance to live and breathe. Then, when their coffins are covered in damp earth, I put it away and allow the anger and vengeance to surface in its place.
I have lost a part of me. It is not going to be left to fate to make the men who did this pay. I will be the one. Blood for blood. I will scorch the earth, so they have no place to hide from me. I will take everything they love and kill it — I am not a violent man but today I became a new monster.
As I trudge across the cemetery I look at the statues. Hundreds of years of tradition line the rows of this resting place. Mafia families have been laid to rest on this land since they first started killing one another. The gorgeous Angel of Resurrection looks over the poets, artists, assassins, and mobsters. I hope my family find the same peace I see in her marble eyes. That they can rest here because I feel as if I will never rest again.
At the gates a single car waits to collect me and the infant I am now responsible for, and he is the heaviest burden I have ever carried. The driver doesn’t look at me or say a word, the silent respect for my mourning as we drive back to city is not unnoticed. I have to leave immediately to meet with Lorenzo and the other Kings in the morning, but I had to bury my family first.
The Agliotti jet waits for us at the airfield, and when I get on board, I am relieved to see both Elodie and Vito will be flying with me. The company will take my mind off the agony of loss. They are mostly quiet, but their presence is enough to make the trip bearable.
“Where is he?” I ask Vito not knowing where we are even going. I just got on the flight.
“Malta,” he says, “for this meeting, then he will go back to honeymoon somewhere undisclosed.” This assassination ruined his wedding, yet another thing I have to feel guilty for. I had no way to know this was coming, and I still have no know how that is possible. My security should have at least had a tip off or an idea that I was at risk. I close my eyes, and the exhaustion of being awake for two days finally catches up to me and I sleep until the wheels touch the ground when I bounce awake.
Lorenzo is standing on the tarmac, hands in his pockets, waiting for us and the others to arrive. We all know that this is not going to be a fun trip — we are here to clear up business and decide on a course of action to deal with the Zagaria threat. Because they are a threat to all of us. They are loyal to no one, and have almost nothing to lose, that’s a dangerous combination.
“Vito will take care of the sons, I don’t know what to do with the little bitch,” Lorenzo says, “I will think of something suitable.” He hates Lucia, so much I am surprised she isn’t already dead. “The old man is in the wind, well in the ocean. He has taken refuge on the family yacht so he’s going to be hard to catch.” Not for me he won’t be. I don’t say it because we don’t go after personal revenge. This is about all of us, and I cannot let Lorenzo see what it is I want, he will not allow it. “Until the threat is neutralized, I think it is best if we all lay low — out of the city.” Lorenzo says looking around the table at each of us, “you all have a safe house, a fall out plan. Now is the time to use them. Do not tell anyone, not even those in this room where you are going. I will send for you when it’s time.”
I know where I need to go, but dear God, with a baby and a small team of security, this will not be easy. The island isn’t the most practical place to hide with a baby, but it’s the safest place. No one knows about it, other than the Russians who use it to transship cargo occasionally, that is. The men around me all look concerned, and I watch as they all make their own arrangements.
Elodie looks at me. She knows I have the baby and she’s worried. “I will be okay,” I say to her, wondering how in the fresh fuck I will do this. I don’t even know what supplies to order or where I will put him to sleep. There’s a long boat trip and a charter flight to work it all out.
As The Kings slowly leave, ready to hide for the next while, I stop to speak with Lorenzo.
