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Pain coursed through me at his words, and my eyes slowly opened and took in his face. The room was dark, darker than I’d thought it would be. I could barely see anything. The curtains were drawn, and the only light source was a dozen candles sitting on the ornate mantlepiece across from the bed. Antonio and his father were standing on the left side, closest to the door, both men’s guns prominent on their hips. I tried to sit up, but a sudden jolt of pain filled my head. It felt like I was stuck in a small room, and the walls were closing in on my head.
“Ow,” I exclaimed, regretting the word as soon as it was out of my mouth.
“Callie…” Antonio rushed to my side, a look of concern on his face. He was a much better actor than I’d given him credit for. I wanted to punch him, but I had no energy.
“Whhaat is…” I started to speak, but he dropped to his knees and pressed his finger against my lips.
“Save your energy. You’ve had a shock.” His eyes shimmered as he gazed at my face. “You can talk later.” I hated myself then because I almost melted at the concern on his face, even though I knew it was all false. Then Don Roberto came up from behind him and looked down at me.
“She’s very beautiful and very young.” He stared at me and then at Antonio. “Maybe you are ready to take over, after all.”
“What does that mean?” Antonio looked back at him.
“The famiglia code you always talk about, we never harm women or children.” Don Roberto’s voice was snide and excited, as if he could barely get the words out of his mouth. “Looks like there’s a woman here that’s about to be harmed, or do you need me to finish the job?”
“Leave now,” Antonio said, jumping back up. “I have the situation under control.”
“We still have the dinner tonight. Tommasso will not be agreeable if we have more changes.”
“We will be there.” Antonio looked down at me, and if I’d had the energy, I would have laughed. Did he really think I was interested in going to the dinner with him now?
“You’re still bringing the girl?”
“Her name is Callie.”
“Callie Rowney…” Don Roberto sounded almost gleeful. “Does her father know?”
“Soon enough.” Antonio sighed and looked down at me to see if I was listening and comprehending. I tried my best to glare at him. I’d fainted, not undergone brain surgery. The look he gave me was almost sorrowful. As if this was hurting him as much as it was hurting me. I wished I could jump up and knee him in the groin… hard. Then he’d have something to look pained about.
“It’s been nineteen years since Mom has been gone,” Don Roberto said, nodding. “It’s been a long time.”
“Yes, it has.” Antonio nodded, and I could feel my brain working. His mom had been dead for nineteen years? My mom had also been dead for nineteen years. Was there a coincidence there? My heart nearly stopped for a few moments… We didn’t have the same mother, did we? No, there was no way. I felt sick that the thought had even crossed my mind.
“She was a slu—” Don Roberto’s voice turned to a wail, and I heard a thud. My eyes flickered to the side. Antonio had his father against the wall, his fingers gripped around his neck, and it looked as if he was going to strangle him to death.
“Antonio…” I called out, but he didn’t even look back at me.
“Don’t you dare talk badly about my mother.” Antonio’s voice was ice.
“She was the one that cheated on me,” Don Roberto spat out.
“You’ve never been faithful in your life.” Antonio’s fingers tightened, and Roberto started sputtering.
“Antonio, no…” I said louder. I didn’t particularly like Don Roberto and hated Antonio right now, but I didn’t want to witness a murder. Life was already moving in a direction I didn’t like or understand. “Antonio, please…”
Finally, Antonio looked back at me, his eyes in my direction, but his expression blank. He was looking at me, but not really. I felt invisible. And cold. He let go of his father, and I watched as his dad grabbed his gun and placed it against Antonio’s head.
“You wanna fucking choke me?” He pulled the trigger, and the room started spinning around me. “Who da fuck do you think you’re playing with, Antonio? You have no respect for your papa now? You want me to blow your fucking brains out and blame it on this bitch?”
“You don’t have the balls.” Antonio didn’t even flinch as he gazed into his father’s eyes. “Put the gun down before I blow your cock off and stuff it down your throat.”
Silence filled the air. I could hear a shuffling from the floorboards above and a creaking in the walls. My heart was beating so rapidly now that I was positive I would have a heart attack. I blinked as I saw a fly landing on Don Roberto’s ear. I wanted to crack a joke about flies always finding the trash, but even I knew that now wasn’t a good time. And Antonio didn’t deserve my jokes anyway.
“Fucking take care of this shit,” Don Roberto said finally, looking over at me. “If you’re lucky, I’ll let you suck on my balls…” He gestured down to his crotch and chuckled as Antonio stepped forward, a furious look on his face. “Don’t forget who I am, dear son. Your disrespect is out of control.”
“And there’s nothing you’re going to do about it.” Antonio opened the door. “Get out.” I was confused by their power play. If Don Roberto was in charge, why was he letting Antonio get away with his blatant disrespect? I was pretty confident men had been killed for less in the Mafia. Something was just not adding up. In fact, there were so many things that weren’t adding up. The door slammed as Don Roberto left the room, and Antonio headed over to me.
“Would you like another shower before dinner?” he asked me softly as he bent down and kissed me on the forehead. “You’ve had a shock.”
