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The objection that had developed in me died away.
I could take the guys apart at the end? The two of them were supposed to set off and do the preparatory dirty work! I would see them off with a wave of my hand and wait for the minute of their return. Silent and with anticipation, because I could hardly wait to sink my knife into the organs of the men who were responsible for Gia's kidnapping.
This was an affront that, despite everything, I would never forget– or forgive. There was a difference between wanting to harm me and targeting an innocent woman who had nothing to do with the mafia or the anger that the French harbored against us.
"Sounds right up my alley," I said, nodding to Vince.
He would never have admitted it, but this planning had not come about by chance. My brother knew how important it was for me to hunt down these men and punish them for what they had set out to do.
But I didn't expect him to play into my hands in such a way and to do me a favor that went against Emilio's order to keep me out of all affairs for the time being.
"Then you'll get a very special delivery later," Vincenzo concluded, nodding to Natale, who had been following the conversation.
He lifted Carlotta's feet, stood up and joined Vince. He already carried his weapons with him.
"Send me updates. I'll make sure you get to the club unseen later."
Vince agreed. With that, everything had been said, and he started moving, Natale in tow.
I got up as well, but didn't leave, crossing the foyer to get to Emilio's office. The door was open, and I discovered him behind his desk.
Instead of entering, I leaned against the doorframe and looked at him with my arms folded. "You should involve Vince more in the future. I don't want to see everything blow up in our faces or implode because we can't separate business and personal."
"We are a family and we are the mafia. We can't separate the two, Dario." He scrutinized me.
"Then let me put it another way: There's no shame in relinquishing responsibility now and then. It would have saved us a lot of trouble."
"You sound like Vince."
"Then if I were you, I'd think about what that might mean," I replied. "It affected me when you crossed me about Gia."
"Because I'm not used to you being interested in anyone but yourself."
"If I remember correctly, it was no different for you, was it? And yet you're in a monogamous, healthy relationship now."
It didn't seem like this was Emilio's first time hearing this today, because he twisted his mouth into a slight smirk. "I'm happy to be proven wrong."
"You want me to prove to you I'm ready for adult things?" I couldn't help laughing at that.
Emilio had missed how I had grown up the last few years. Perhaps he had also repressed the knowledge, who could say for sure.
"I just don't want to hear one day that she betrayed you– and thus us. That's still a real danger, even if we all like to ignore it."
Sighing, I tilted my head, because I was about to say something I hadn't thought I would suggest so soon. "Why don't you just get to know her like a normal person and then form an opinion?"
It was a risk, but I would take it if it meant that Emilio kept his comments to himself. That would never happen, but hope was the last to die, as we all know, so it was worth a try.
"First, you take care of the rest of the French, and then we'll see what's in store for us next."
"Fine by me."
With that, I left him alone again. I had said everything that needed to be said– at least on my part. He now knew that he had put me in a quandary with his decisions. Between the lines, however, he had also apologized for it, so everything between us was back to normal.
That's how it always went. For a few days we didn't like each other, then we made up in typical male fashion, and in the end we carried on as usual. It was a cycle that liked to repeat itself. But that's how it was when you were part of a family like this.
* * *
The cellarunderthe Tychehad been intended as a storeroom, for all the supplies needed to keep a club like this running. But over time, it had somehow developed into a space we brought men now and then for interrogation, especially when I was the leading hand.
