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“I know it. On the rare occasion she took me out, we would go to the park and have a picnic by the water. Those moments are my favorite memories of her,” I whisper, wiping the tears from my cheeks. Josephine does the same. “The day she was supposed to meet you, she didn’t show, did she?” I ask. Josephine shakes her head, lowering her eyes to the table.
“Instead of Valentina, it was my father who met me. Seeing as I still have our only correspondence, I can only assume the people I tasked with getting me the passports and the weapon betrayed me. My father must’ve warned Valentina’s father or uncle or both. He followed me to New Orleans just to let me know she wouldn’t be coming, and I was never to speak to her again. From what you’ve said here today, I guess it would’ve been more appropriate for him to say Iwillnever speak to her again, because he and her father had already killed her.”
As the words fill the air between us, I can barely hear them. I’m too consumed by thoughts of my mother trying to flee, trying to protect me. If what Josephine says is true, my mother wasn’t killed because she was a spy. She was killed trying to escape a life of abuse. She was killed trying to keep me from suffering the same fate. And yet, as I make sense of all that Josephine has said, her last words finally register, and I immediately turn to Alister. His furrowed brows and tiny wrinkles on his forehead tell me he shares in my confusion. He looks from me to Josephine.
“Wait. Are you saying you believe your and Valentina’s fathers had Ariana’s mother killed? According to Ariana, her mother was killed in the way of the Amatos. It was a hit, one ordered by my father. At least, we assume so,” Alister says.
“No. I don’t think that’s right,” Josephine admits. I turn to her. “Domenico wouldn’t have ordered a hit against an informant without knowing who they worked for. Since we don’t know who Valentina’s family was, it’s possible your father knew of their betrayal and dealt with them as well. But he didn’t know of my father’s involvement. And, if he knew of Valentina’s, I doubt he would’ve had to dig deep to learn of my father’s.”
“And he wouldn’t have just let Cullen go if he knew he’d been working to destroy him,” Alister adds.
“So, are you saying Alister’s father never knew of my mother’s betrayal? You’re saying she was killed by her own blood, the same people who forced her to spy on the Amatos?”
“We may never know the truth, Ariana,” Josephine says. “But, if your mother’s family was trying to use her against the Amatos, they wouldn’t have been able to allow her to escape their control out of fear she could turn against them and reveal everything to Domenico. He would’ve forgiven your mother for her honesty and because, it seems, she had no control over the role she was forced to play. But he would’ve slaughtered them for their actions against him, including my father. Yet, he didn’t. That makes me think he had no idea who was working against him. Even still, if what you remember about your mother’s murder is true, that she was killed in the way of the Amatos, my guess is her family wanted to use your mother’s death to frame the Amatos. They were determined to use her, in life and in death, to dismantle the New Orleans criminal underworld and rebuild it under their rule.”
22
To sayAriana and I left Josephine’s frazzled and with more questions than when we first arrived would be an understatement. Before leaving, Ariana walked slowly through the home her mother once lived in, taking in every nook and cranny as I held on to her, keeping her upright. I can only imagine she was looking for a connection to her mother. She was trying to find her essence among the antique furniture and family photos of people she’ll never know. All she found was more pain and an even greater desire to punish the men responsible for the torment her mother suffered. Just as I feared, this quest for the truth is consuming her, pulling her deeper into the darkness that her mother fought in vain to escape. Part of me is thankful for Josephine. She’s the only person alive who knows that part of Ariana’s mother’s story. And yet, as Ariana sat silent and numb on the way back to the hotel, holding on to the box of her mother’s things with so much force her fingers appeared to cramp, I can’t help but regret bringing her here.
She had to have known learning the truth of her mother’s past would change everything for her. Given the little I know about Ariana’s life since her mother’s death, I’m guessing she expected to welcome the change. But learning that her mother was not only a spy for the Mafia but was actually born into it and was betrayed by her own family is not the truth I imagine she’d hoped to discover. No. This…this truth will haunt Ariana perhaps more than the unknown. It will make her dig deeper as she tries to find the remnants of her family so she can bring them to justice for what they did to her mother. But that, like her presence in my life, will only put her in danger. And yet, knowing that her family is likely the enemy I’ve been searching for, I can’t not look into them. I can’t turn my back on this lead just to protect her. And there is no way she’ll walk away now that we’re so close to learning the truth.
I shake my head and sip my coffee as I wait for Ariana’s and my order at the Thai place across the street from our hotel. After everything that’s happened in the last twenty-four hours, I need a moment to process and so does Ariana. God. I can’t even imagine what must be going through her head. From what nearly happened with Gallagher and his men to receiving answers to questions she’s had for the better part of her life, it’s too much. I glance at my watch and pray the food is ready quickly so I can get back to her. She shouldn’t be alone right now, no matter how much she wants to be. But what will I say to her when I get back? What can I say?
Josephine said Ariana’s mother belonged to a powerful Mafia family in New Orleans, which means they were,are, one of the three families under Amato rule. I know enough of my family history to know that the families of Gagliano, Vitale, and Parisi have made up the New Orleans branch of the Amato organization for generations. Even when the leaders of those families die and are replaced by a younger generation, the family itself remains. I remember looking at my father’s records for the year Ariana said her mother was killed. There were very few hits that year and nothing that would suggest the slaughter of an entire family, which would be the punishment for Valentina’s family’s crimes if my father had known. That, accompanied with the reality that my capos are still from those long-time associated families, lets me know my father never caught the man or men plotting against us, the man or men responsible for my mother’s death. There’s still so much unknown, especially when it comes to Ariana’s past, but what I am certain of is that the Gaglianos, Vitales, or Parisis have betrayed me. And I will die before I let them spill any more Amato blood.
Still, the assurance I feel knowing my suspects have dwindled to three individuals does nothing to calm the bit of nausea in my gut. Among my men is not only the one responsible for destroying my family and Ariana’s, but also is Ariana’s father, assuming he’s still alive. Josephine said Sandro was a member of another crime family in New Orleans. It makes sense. Young Mafia women are heavily supervised by their parents and guarded at all times, making it difficult to form relationships with those outside the organization. But Sandro? No one with that name comes to mind. He’d be quite a bit older than me, but not as old as my dad was. As the boss, I know most of the prominent men in our organization by name, which makes me fear Ariana may yet have another deceased parent. Perhaps her mother’s family had him killed when he impregnated their teenage daughter. Can’t say I blame them. At least for that.
“Boss?” At the sound of Gio’s voice, I pinch my eyes closed and let out a sigh of relief. He takes a seat across from me. Since Ariana and I used the private jet, it took him longer than usual to get here. Thankfully, things took a turn for the better with Josephine, albeit an unexpected turn.
“Coffee?” I ask, pushing the pot to his side of the table.
“That bad, huh?” Gio pours himself a cup, looking a bit worse for wear. It’s been a while since he’s had to make an emergency exfiltration trip.
“You have no idea.” I down the rest of my coffee and fill him in on Ariana’s and my findings—Josephine’s innocence, her late father’s twenty-year plan in the making to destroy my family, what Avery almost did to Ariana, and how Josephine offered us both more information than we know what to do with.
“I’m assuming Avery is dead. The fact that you aren’t leads me to believe Josephine is telling the truth about Ariana’s mom. You killing Avery was like someone killing me. She wouldn’t have let you get away with killing her right-hand man if she didn’t care about Ariana nor if she was in on her late father’s plans to destroy you.”
I nod. “I thought the same thing. Though, I’m not so sure it’s a good thing she’s telling the truth. I mean, for us, yes. After my chat with Avery, I felt like we were back to square one. I couldn’t trust him. But with what Josephine said, I’m certain that he was telling the truth. One of our capos is plotting against us of their own accord. They are the ones responsible for every horrific thing that’s ever happened to my family,” I say through gritted teeth. “Given what they had planned for Cara and Sophia, perhaps my dad’s cancer was a silver lining. It took him out before they could. But Ariana?” I shake my head. “She’s spent her life bringing men like me to justice only to now learn she’s of the same world, the same darkness. How is she supposed to accept that? How am I?”
“What do you mean?” Gio asks.
“I don’t want this life for her, Gio. An FBI agent digging around in Mafia business without backup and the support of the bureau is a dangerous thing. Not to mention, if by some chance, her father, Sandro, is still alive, she’ll never be able to pull herself away from the Mafia. She’s spent her entire life alone. She won’t easily go back to that.” Though as the words cross my lips, I realize they apply to more than just Ariana. I share in her loneliness, forever cursed to keep love at arm’s length because of who I am and the enemies I’ve inherited. Ariana’s and my time together is limited. I know that as well as she does. Yet, I still can’t help but wish things could be different. The day she leaves my life will be a dark one as the loneliness I’ve become all too accustomed to returns.”
“Well, if you’re really that concerned, we find her father first. If he’s alive, we change that. Then she’ll have nothing left to cling to in the dark.”
“No,” I say, a bit too quickly. Ariana’s too smart to be fooled. If I was responsible for her father’s death, if I stole her opportunity to know him, even if he is a monster, she’d never forgive me. And as much as I know she needs to, for her own good, I don’t want her to hate me. Her hatred would break me in ways I’ve never been broken before, an explanation I don’t offer Gio. “But there is someone you can find for me,” I say as flashes of Ariana crying and shaking in the basement of Josephine’s come back to me. Gio leans forward. “I want you to look into Ariana’s past. Someone hurt her. Perhaps more than one someone. I want to know who they are and where they are. I plan on paying them a visit.”
“How chivalrous of you.” At the sound of Josephine’s voice, I turn and Gio stands, positioning himself between me and her. She looks him up and down. “And here I thought we were past shows of strength,” she says, turning her attention back to me. “I’ve come alone, Alister. You and I need to speak in private.”
Even with the coffee I just downed, I don’t have enough energy left for another of Josephine’s chats. Still, I don’t plan on being in Boston for more than one night, and I need all the intel I can get before returning to New Orleans. Though, as I send Gio away and Josephine takes her seat across from me, something tells me she isn’t here to discuss her father’s former accomplice.
“What are you doing here, Josephine?” I ask, knowing the only reason she showed me any mercy before was because Ariana was with me.
“I remembered something else after you and Ariana left. Since I hope to never see your face again after this wretched night, I figured I shouldn’t wait to tell you.” Hmm. Guess I was wrong.
“I’m listening.”
“After my father confronted me in New Orleans and told me to stay away from Valentina, he brought me back to the hotel and told me to wait for him until he returned. Me being me, I did the opposite. I followed him, thinking he’d lead me to Valentina. If I could find out where she was, then I could try again to help her. This time I’d do a better job at keeping my father in the dark. But he didn’t go to her. Instead, he went to a strip club called the Temptress.”
