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“I’m curious, Don Powers, who was that wise man?” I couldn’t help but grin. After what Dominick had told me, I’d almost gone on a rampage, but Maxwell had offered his support, Viper remaining in town with his lovely wife for the duration. We were a force to be reckoned with.
“That would be a courageous man I served with in the Marines. We were in a foxhole, our unit almost destroyed. He’d shoved me into the dirt, protecting me as the bullets continued to whizz by. He’d been forced to punch me in the jaw to keep me from trying to protect more of our team. If he hadn’t, I would have died overseas. That brave man who’d taken a bullet for me was your father.”
It was a story he’d never told me, something that caught me off guard. “Why are you telling me this now?”
“Because it’s something you need to hear. Your father was a good man, but he had a job to do, and he did it well. You blamed him for his own death. I don’t need to tell you that it kinda pissed me off. The love of his wife and his children didn’t get him killed. Nor did it make him careless. I’ve learned since taking this position that life is far too short. It’s time for you to take control of it. You found the love of your life. You were given a second chance, something that almost never happens. Don’t take it lightly.”
There was a slight jovial sound to his tone, but I knew better. Max was reminding me how much of a dumb ass I’d been, a kid with a chip the size of a boulder strapped to his shoulder.
“That’s why I need her with me right now, Max. Every day spent apart is a day too many.”
He glanced at Viper, as if tossing the baton. Viper grabbed his sunglasses, shoving them onto his face before patting me on the shoulder. “Patience can be a virtue. That allows the perfect situation to be created, a trap that is foolproof,” Viper said curtly.
“I want Roberto’s and Dante’s blood.” As soon as I issued the words, I knew they’d been testing me. “But that will begin a period of retaliation dangerous to all of us.”
“He’s getting it,” Viper said. “It usually takes hotheads longer.”
“Very funny. I’m standing right here. Fine. A few more days. I’m counting them down.”
The Consigliere shifted in front of me. “Her father is a piece of work. I will tell you that.”
Snuffling, I rolled my eyes. “Another one I’d like to put a bullet in.”
“Prison will better serve him. You know that,” Maxwell said from beside me.
Granted, that was the current plan given he held the fate of my child in his hands. We’d yet to locate him, although we’d hired professionals to help determine if the boy I was calling Tony for my father was alive or just a lie to try to keep Christiana on a short leash.
Up to this point, there’d been no birth records found, no indication that the original lie wasn’t the truth.
That the baby had been stillborn.
I couldn’t imagine putting Christiana through another tragedy. But I knew her well enough to know I wouldn’t be able to keep whatever truth I found. If I wanted her in my life.
“I’m waiting for a call from the man I hired,” Viper added. “But I need to tell you not to get your hopes up, Francesco. Without the picture or any concrete information, it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack.”
I nodded, cinching my eyes closed. “I will kill that motherfucker.” She’d provided details about the picture she’d been allowed to see, but it meant nothing. Hell, it could have been swiped from a picture frame in a luxury home goods store.
“Yeah, well, I might let you do it,” Viper added. “Let’s just get through the wedding.”
Laughing, I knew Dominick was eager to play his part, which had surprised me. For a few seconds, I’d thought the man had betrayed me. He was family. “Yeah. I hear you. Everything is in place.” And the wedding was the next day. Goddamn it. This shit was risky as hell.
Maxwell glanced out at the street, a slow smile spreading across his face. “I think the show is about to begin, boys. Are you ready?”
I took a deep breath and for all the right reasons maybe at the wrong time, Christiana’s face popped into and remained in my mind.
Just as I heard the screech of tires.
And several popping sounds.
But with every well-established plan, there was always a way for something to go wrong. As bullets tore into my shoulder, pitching me forward, the look of horror on Maxwell’s face couldn’t blot out the vision of the woman I’d fallen head over heels in love with.
* * *
Christiana
Trust.
Yes, I did trust the man I was hopelessly in love with, but I was still fearful he’d underestimated Dante and his father, especially since I’d neither seen nor heard anything from Francesco or any of his men. Up until late the night before, I’d sensed their presence. Then they’d disappeared, or maybe my nerves were getting the better of me.
