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ALESSIO
As I drove over to the estate, I couldn’t stop thinking about Cate. I wanted her to give herself willingly to me and I was frustrated that she kept trying to push me away.
However, I shoved those thoughts to the back of my mind when I reached the mansion and walked in to find Danio by himself in the living room, playing a video game on the large flatscreen TV.
“Hey, Danio. Why don’t we take Mr. F for a walk outside?”
“Why? You don’t even like the dog,” retorted Danio. He was obviously in no better mood than yesterday.
“Humor me.”
Danio shrugged but followed me outside with Juliana’s dog.
We just walked for a bit, heading toward the woods. “Danio, I know you and Carolinne are best friends and want to spend time together, but it has to be done in an appropriate way that respects her father’s wishes. You kids are older now and you know Carolinne is going to be getting engaged to someone else soon. It doesn’t look good for her if she’s seen out with another boy all the time.”
“So, what, we can’t be friends anymore?”
“I’m not saying that. You just have to be more careful about how you go about it.”
“We’re in the same class at school and we sit next to each other. We always spend recess and lunch together. It’s all innocent. Everyone’s making this into something bigger than it is.”
“Marco has to balance the demands of being Capo with his role as our big brother. You know he had to take on the responsibility of Capo at a young age after the death of our parents. And at the same time, it was left to Marco and me to bring up you younger kids. Camillo was eleven then, while you were six and Debi was only five. Marco and I were only teenagers ourselves. Camillo didn’t have any problems with girls, so this sort of thing is all new to us as well.”
Danio was scowling. I knew that he was less inclined to see reason where Carolinne was concerned. He might say that they were just friends, best friends even, but I sensed that there was something deeper between them blossoming as they became older. And that was dangerous territory as far as the Fratellanza was concerned.
“Alfonso has already decided which family he needs to strengthen ties with via the marriage of his daughter. These ties between families are crucial in maintaining the strength of the Fratellanza, in building family links and trust that goes beyond the Capo’s commands. And in time, those two families will be linked by blood when children and grandchildren are born.”
I could see Danio was thinking about what I was saying, so I carried on. “The Fratellanza, like any other Mafia institution, is built on trust and family. You might not like the rules, however there are aspects of this life that each one of us doesn’t like. We are in this life for better or for worse, and we have to follow its rules.” I paused for a moment. “You know, Danio, we’re not saying that you can’t see Carolinne.”
“Really?” A flicker of relief crossed Danio’s face. “That’s what Alfonso wants—to stop me seeing Carolinne. He was talking about going down to the Italian School and telling the teachers that they are to make sure we don’t associate anymore—no more sitting next to each other in class, no spending time together, and not even being able to talk to one another.”
I could tell that he was really worried about this. “I’m just saying that maybe keep it a bit low-key.”
“So, we can’t spend any time together outside school?”
“I’m not saying that. I’m just saying don’t get caught climbing out of her bedroom window again. I mean, that was a bit of a rookie move. Even Camillo hasn’t ever gotten caught doing something like that. And Camillo has had a knack of getting himself into all sorts of scrapes over the years.”
I stopped walking and looked at my younger brother. “Look, Camillo is smart, but you are a genius. The work you do for the Fratellanza, with the IT and computers and hacks, is crucial to our business and our success. Surely you can work something out about seeing Carolinne without raising the suspicion or wrath of her father? A father crossed is not something you want to be dealing with it.”
“Or Nonna Tocchini,” added Danio. “That woman is a force to be reckoned with.”
I made my tone casual. “How are things between you and Carolinne, anyway?”
Danio looked at me, slightly uncomfortable. “What do you mean?”
“It’s hard for anyone to spend time with another person and not get really close to them. We wouldn’t be human otherwise.”
“Is that what happened between you and Cate?”
“Maybe. Probably. I really don’t know.”
“Carolinne is a great girl, but there’s nothing like that between me and her. We’re friends and that’s all.”
“Does she feel the same way?” I’d seen a couple of times the way that Carolinne looked at Danio. And it looked to me like she was falling for him. And it wouldn’t be long before he fell for her too.
“I’m pretty sure she feels the same as me—we’re best friends, that’s all.”
“You know that these weekly movie nights in her bedroom have to stop?”
