AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Lorenzo stared at me. “Curiosity killed the…”
“Cat,” I finished. “Yeah, I get it.” After how mad he was with Wilbur causing him to have an asthma attack, I knew that I should keep my mouth shut. He’d probably been exaggerating when he’d said at the hospital that Wilbur had to go, but I wasn’t taking any chances.
“Don’t get out of the car, Anni, and keep the doors locked. This isn’t the safest area. I’ll be back in about twenty minutes.”
I nodded. I didn’t need to be told twice. The factory looked half-derelict, and it gave me the creeps.
After a quarter of an hour, getting bored with the wait, I called Christian on my cell.
“Hey, Mrs. Marchiano,” my brother greeted me.
I rolled my eyes, even though he couldn’t see me. “Hey, Christian. What are you up to?”
“Oh, you know, just admiring the view over Staten Island.” I resisted a snort—Christian was always working and plotting on how to increase the influence of the Venetis. “And what are you up to, little sister?”
“Just sitting in some parking lot, waiting for Lorenzo. We’ve just come back from the doctor’s clinic. Turns out he’s allergic to cats, including Wilbur.”
Christian laughed out loud. “Good old Wilbur, I knew he wouldn’t let down the Veneti name!”
I couldn’t help a little smile at that. “I’m telling you as I thought you might be a little more sympathetic given your own allergy issues. Anyway, it’s not funny—he threatened today that Wilbur has to go, but I told him that my cat isn’t going anywhere.”
“Lorenzo is an annoying fucker, so it’s not easy to feel sympathy for him, especially as he’s such an ass toward you sometimes.” Christian was suddenly more serious. “Has anything improved on that front?”
“At times, I think we’re getting closer and that he’s starting to trust me more; at other times, though, he still seems so closed off toward me. I just hate that we don’t have an equal partnership, particularly when it comes to the children.” I remembered how quickly he shot down my suggestion two days ago that the children visit their mom’s grave. “He doesn’t always value my opinions or my views on how to deal with things.”
“Are you saying that Lorenzo doesn't appreciate youruniquepersonality and approach to life?”
“Haha, very funny. I'm not that weird.”
We chatted for a while until I saw Lorenzo exiting the factory. “I better go. Lorenzo’s back.” He started to walk over to our car. “By the way,” I added quickly, “don’t mention that I told you he has a cat allergy—he doesn’t want anyone thinking he’s weak in any way.”
“Okay, sis. Just let me know if he ever threatens to get rid of Wilbur again, and I’ll sort the fucker out for you.”
“Thanks, Christian,” I said drily. “Love you.”
“Yeah, love you too, Anni.”
At the same time as Lorenzo appeared, Aloysius pulled up outside the factory and got out of his SUV. He walked over to talk to Lorenzo, and then they both walked toward the car.
I rolled down the window as Aloysius approached the passenger side and smiled at me.
“Hi Anni.”
“Hi Aloysius. It’s good to see you. Lorenzo didn’t tell me that you’d be here as well.”
“I wasn’t due to be here today—I was just saying to Lorenzo that one of our men, Tommaso, told me that Lorenzo hadn’t made it to the factory today, so I thought I’d drop by and check on things.”
“See, Lorenzo—you didn’t have to stop by. Aloysius would have taken care of things here for you.” I tried to keep the exasperation from my voice.
“I wasn’t expecting to see you here, Anni,” commented Aloysius.
“We were on our way back from the doctor’s clinic, and Lorenzo insisted on making a stop here.” I wrinkled my nose as I looked around at our less than salubrious surroundings. “He brings me to all the best places.”
“That’s my brother for you,” he laughed. “How are the kids?”
“They’re good, thanks. They stayed at your mother’s house last night, and we’re going to pick them up now and take them home. Why don’t you come by for dinner tonight? They’d love to see you.”
“I’ve got quite a bit of work to handle today. But I’ll come by later in the week, for sure.”
