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“Do make sure the bourbon is restocked for Leo.”
“Of course, sir.”
When Leo and Sandro saw Darian, they had their doubts. I’ll admit I did the first time I saw him, too. He’s slender, pale, and particular, and only in his twenties, but he has enough gravitas to make even Chef listen to him. A veryseriousyoung man, and all his background checks were perfect.
He’s nice to look at, as well, which contributed to my decision to hire him. I told Leo that I wanted to make sure he enjoyed the environment at Redwood, since he’s stuck here now. And Leo reminded me that people aren’t things, and besides, the only man he wanted to look at was me.
Idolove Leo.
Darian has finished now, and exits after bowing to me. Very respectful. I like that.
I continue playing for a while, but the tune refuses to end on anything but a poignant note, and the silence that follows seems to emphasize the emptiness in Redwood Manor. When Leo is not home, it feels extra quiet these days, despite the new staff. I’ve grown so used to his presence here, and he fills up the space. Even several rooms away, I sense him when he’s here.
My thoughts drift to Leo in the outside world, wondering how he fared with Legs Liggari, who was due for a visit today. Wondering what Leo really thinks of this life we’re building together within these walls. He doesn’t seem at ease here in Redwood, never wanting to “bother” the staff with requests, refusing to let them clean up after us.
When Gino Bernardi and Monkeys Scignatti turned up that night, I had to absolutely insist on Pedretti taking me downstairs to sit in on the emergency meeting, during which my medic started patching up Monkeys, while everyone else looked grim and upset.
The Bernardi Family was in chaos! The Don overthrown! Aldo Junior had taken control!
I couldn’t help but think how sad Vito DiPietro would be to miss the drama.
Gino, reunited at last with Roxanne Rochford, seemed to think they were doomed, but Leo reassured him that he would be safe here in Redwood Manor. And Sandro agreed, promising to protect them all.
That was when Monkeys—while the medic pulled a bullet out of him that had been meant for Aldo Senior—insisted that Leo had to return, take control of the Family.
And I was afraid.
Afraid that Leo would agree. That he would leave me, leave Redwood, for the chance to be Boss Bernardi.
Because whowouldn’twant to be Boss, after all? He’d assumed it of me from the start. Maybe because it was what he wanted himself? But my fear lasted less time than a tick of the grandfather clock at the end of the room.
“Absolutely not,” Leo snapped. “I don’t give a fuck if the Bernardis go down, and I’ve already made agreements with Sandro. And besides all that…” He paused, then plowed ahead. “Besides all that, I’m staying here with Julian. I’m in love with him, and he’s in love with me, and we’re—“ He gestured, waving between us. “Together.”
I don’t know if it got the reaction he expected. Since Gino and Roxy already knew about us, and Monkeys was losing rather a lot of blood at the time, the announcement passed by without comment from any Bernardis in the room.
ButIknew how much it had taken for Leo to come out with it. And when Leo looked at me and winked, I was so proud of him.
Still, Monkeys was right about one thing. The Bernardi Family has broken in two, half of them coalescing around AJ, and half around Gino, of all people. Gino was a terrified little mouse that night, more interested in sniffling into his fiancée’s bosom than taking up a position of responsibility.
It was Roxy who talked him into it. Calm but insistent, she pointed out to him the logic of it all. The power he could wield. Theprotectionit would grant the two of them. And Monkeys, once he realized exactly who the power behind the throne was going to be, came around to the idea, too.
I rather think Roxanne Rochford will become a force to contend with in this town—if AJ doesn’t kill her off first.
Sandro is the kind to take lemons and make them into limoncello, so he didn’t complain, either. As far as he was concerned, several people in that room now owed him favors—a good position for any Don to find himself in. And so he supports the Bernardi splinter group where he can, helping install a Gino-friendly crew at the port instead of AJ’s picks, that kind of thing.
I wanted to help, too. Leo and Sandro both told me I wasn’t well enough yet. They’re wrong, but I always obey Don Castellani…
And more importantly, Leo. Because despite the darkness of my past and the coldness that has long defined me, I find myself experiencing emotions I never thought possible, and the world seems richer for it.
I want Leo to feel that richness, too, which is why I’ve encouraged him to stay here at Redwood without asking whether or not it was what he really wanted.
Perhaps he would be happier somewhere else. Somewhere like that one-bedroom apartment he used to live in, the one we haven’t been back to since gathering together his possessions. I shudder at the thought of it, but sometimes I get the feeling Leo misses it.
Why, I have no idea.
But I want him to be as happy as I am.
* * *
