Chapter 35
DANTE
T he journey is long, and I spend most of it lost in unhelpful rumination.
But I shove it all down as we pull into the driveway of the modest townhouse with three bedrooms and a decent sized yard.
It’s in a nice neighborhood with a school for Peony that is conveniently close.
But Helena’s been living with her brother for the past year, and her late husband before that, so I’m sure it’s going to take a little adjustment.
Mini Helena, aka Peony, is staying with her nanny at Ettore’s home tonight.
Tomorrow, she will be arriving, and that will make for a big adjustment number two.
I’m determined to extract Lillette from whatever hold Helena has on her that she would put up with this shit. But I’m also aware that the child is going through some upheavals, and her nanny is a source of stability. So I need to take this one step at a time.
All the lights are on when we pull up into the parking garage. Leon cuts the engine.
We share a look. He nods toward the glove box. I open it, take out the folder, and pass it to him.
“You good with me doing the talking?” he asks.
“Be my guest.”
He grins. “Show time.”
CHRISTIAN
Carmela is pissed at me.
Dante is pissed, too.
Could I have handled it better? Maybe. It’s not like there’s an easy way to tell your brother that you’ve been fucking his woman behind his back, the one he asked you to look out for. But all things considered, it could have gone a lot worse.
I thought my interest in her would taper off at some point. That telling him would be the wake-up call.
It wasn’t.
I don’t trust myself alone in the house with her. What’s wrong with Ettore fucking off like that and leaving us together? Him trusting me just pisses me off tonight. But he didn’t say I had to stay in the house specifically. Just here—a vague sort of here—and so I head outside.
There was extra security today because of the wedding, but most of them have left now. I find Roman and Kai out the front of Ettore’s massive fucking garage having a smoke.
They give me a chin lift as I approach.
“Any idea when Ettore is due to be back?” Kai asks.
“No fucking clue.” I nod my head at his cigarette. “Got a spare?”
“You’re too fucking young,” he says with a smirk, even as he offers me the packet.
I don’t smoke often… almost never. “Helena’s sprog was screaming her fucking head off,” I say, wishing they had something stronger than a cigarette. They both grimace.
“Hey, aren’t you her uncle now?” Roman says.
“Don’t fucking go there.”
They both chuckle. I put the cigarette to my lips, and Kai offers me a light.
I take a long draw and then cough.
They both laugh again—bastards.
“I could use a beer, you know, but Jero would kick my ass drinking on the job.”
“Jero’s alright,” Roman says. “Long fucking day, though.”
“Yeah,” I agree. I don’t make a complete ass of myself when I take the second draw and get a nice buzz.
The garage doors are open, and six cars are in my line of sight.
A couple more are behind the post, and I can only see a bit of the hood.
Red… that’s not an Ettore color. He’s more into dark gray or silver.
I take a step back so I can bring the last vehicle into view, and frown. “Is that Cosmo’s car?”
CARMELA
Peony settles down, thank goodness, and her nanny, who must be every bit as exhausted as I feel, makes use of the bedroom next to her.
I should go to bed, too, but I’m restless. My mind is too full. Today has been long and eventful, and I suffer a strange premonition that it’s not done with me yet.
Returning to the kitchen, I grab a bottle of water from the refrigerator. There’s no sign of Christian. Is that why I’m down here? Waiting for him to return? He’s probably outside talking to the soldiers who are permanently stationed here.
It’s for the best. I couldn’t put my feelings into words, and he wouldn’t listen if I did. My mental vigilance is low, and certain parts of my body are sore…
Turning off the kitchen light, I head upstairs. It’s quiet as I pass the adjoining rooms where Lillete and Peony are staying.
I close my door and get undressed. Removing my makeup, I twist my hair up out of the way and turn the shower on.
As I step under the spray, my traitorous mind slides straight to the time when Christian fucked me on the bathroom vanity.
I tell myself I don’t need the complication of a repeat performance, yet I’m disappointed when I switch the shower off and step out to an empty room.
I dry myself and apply products to my skin before putting on a pair of yoga pants and a top.
At least Ettore’s not here.
I hate my own bed.
Not the things that both Christian and Dante have done to me in it, just everything else.
The restlessness has me in a stranglehold.
My sigh is heavy. I need a distraction from my thoughts and reach into the drawer of my nightstand for my earbuds. Putting them in, I find a playlist I like on my cell phone.
Then I slip on my big fluffy robe and leave the room, heading back along the corridor, past the rooms where Peony and Lilette sleep, all the way to the opposite end of the house.
The small, often-overlooked door leads me upstairs into the attic room my mother used for painting.
Moonlight spills in from the three skylights over cloth-covered furniture.
My music plays a slow, steady beat in my ears.
Why did I never come up here before?
I walk over to the empty table where she used to keep her paint and brushes. A stack of blank canvases is propped up against the wall, but her easel, the bits of rag, the brushes, old and new, and all the other things that made this her personal space are gone.
The old couch is hidden under a cloth. I go over and draw it off, displacing a cloud of dust.
Why does looking at it make me feel close to her?
I thump the cushion and lay down. It smells a little dusty, but I don’t care. Staring up at the dark ceiling, I wonder what Dante is doing now: whether he’s with Helena, whether events are playing out as Leon said they would. Or if he was feeding me well-meaning lies to save my feelings.
Whether he hates me for sleeping with his brother.
I try to convince myself I don’t care if he is, but the truth is I do.
Christian
“Yeah,” Roman says. “Someone said he got a lift home with his brother.”
“He wasn’t with Edoardo,” Kai says. “He had his wife and two kids in the car... Hey, is it true he was jacking off behind a potted plant at Carmela’s seventeenth birthday party? Heard Jero cut his bollock off.”
“Yep, all true,” I say.
“What a creep,” Roman says, stubbing out his cigarette before fishing in his pocket for a piece of gum. His wife is pregnant, and he promised her he was giving up. “He had a bunch of pictures of her on his computer. Ettore went fucking apeshit. Thought he was gonna off him then and there.”
I’m only half listening. My eyes are still on Cosmo’s car before my head turns toward the house. “Would you check with the gate for me and see who he left with?”
“Sure,” Kai says slowly. He lifts his radio to his ear and puts a call through. “Hey. You see who Cosmo left with?”
His brows pull together while he listens to the reply.
From where I’m standing, I have a view of the southeast corner of the house.
I can see the entire east wall and most of the south wall facing the back.
The light went out in the kitchen a while ago, as did the two adjoining bedrooms where Peony and Lillete are staying.
Carmela’s room light stayed on a little longer, but that is likewise out now.
“So he wasn’t with either of his brothers?” Kai says into his radio, his frown deepening and his eyes on mine. “Yeah, check with him for me.” He shrugs at me as he lowers the radio. “He’s checking with Joe who was at the gate earlier.”
The ants begin moving under my skin. I stab my cigarette out on the side of the trash can and drop the butt inside.
“You think he might be in the house?” Roman asks.
He’s already lost one bollock. Does he really want to lose them both? Only, Cosmo’s not known for having common sense where Carmela is concerned, is he?
The ants begin marching purposely up and down my spine, urging me into action. “Can I grab one of your earpieces?”
Roman fishes in his pocket and hands his over. I start walking, sliding the earpiece in. “I’m just going to check the house,” I call over my shoulder. “Let me know what Joe comes back with, yeah?”
“No problem.”
He wouldn’t be that fucking stupid … Only, this is Cosmo, who has already crossed lines where Carmela is concerned, and he really would.
I pick up my pace to a jog.
Dante
Helena is waiting in the lounge when we enter, staring out at the yard.
She turns on hearing the door open. Her gaze shifts from me to Leon, who enters behind me, and she frowns. “Leon?” Her laugh is a little nervous. “This is a surprise. Has something happened?”
“Have a seat, Helena,” Leon says, walking forward and indicating the couches that face one another.
Her eyes go to me again, this time questioningly. I ignore her and head for the small drinks shelf where I pour myself a whiskey. We used a company to furnish the house. Another company stocked the pantry and other essentials and will continue to service the home weekly.
Leon sits on the couch nearest the door. Helena still hasn’t moved when I turn around.
“Leon?” I ask, holding up the glass.
“Nothing for me, thanks.”
I pointedly don’t offer Helena a drink. Better to set the tone.
She slowly sits down on the couch opposite Leon. “What is this?”
Leon puts a large envelope on the table between them and nods toward it.
She laughs. I usually fucking hate her laugh, but tonight I enjoy the nervous edge to it. “Whatever this is, you can be sure I’ll be calling Ettore just as soon as you are done.”
“Go ahead,” Leon says, “But you should look at those pictures first. I’m confident Ettore will not view this information favorably and will support Dante’s decision to… forgo his marital obligations toward you. Or you can do as you’re told and live comfortably here.”
Leon is enjoying this—maybe even as much as me.
Helena snatches up the envelope and flicks through the pictures. Her hands begin to shake, and her expression turns pinched. “This is a setup.”
Leon shrugs. “Ettore would be very disappointed to learn who his goddaughter’s father is.
He will be disappointed in you. Supposing he doesn’t kill you, I’ll make sure the father of your child learns of your whereabouts.
I’m sure you were going through a rebellious stage when you slept with him, and a child was not on your agenda.
DNA will prove that Peony is not your late husband’s.
Kabol is a possessive man. He let you go at the risk of a war.
Had he known you carried his child, he certainly would not have done so. ”
Her lips tremble. Her eyes are wounded. Too bad I couldn’t give a fuck.
“Oh, and should anything mysteriously happen to Dante or me, your whereabouts and this information will be leaked to Ettore and Kabol.”
“So that’s it?” she hisses, turning to me. “I’m just here to keep your bed warm in this modest home?”
I snort a laugh, finish my drink, and put the glass down on the table.
Leon rises. “Better invest in some blankets if you want your bed warm, Helena. My cousin is interested in Ettore’s good graces, not you.
” He tosses a credit card down on the coffee table.
“There’s a generous limit to soften the blow of your ‘modest home’…
One last thing. Dante is a man with strong family values.
He believes it’s time you started taking a more active role in your daughter’s care.
Lillette is here to support you, not replace you.
For your daughter’s sake, start acting like you give a fuck about her. ”
“I’ll be visiting regularly, for appearance’s sake,” I add. “Know that you will be watched either way.”
With a screech, she sweeps her arm across the coffee table, sending the papers and credit card fluttering to the floor. “Fuck you, Dante. Fuck you both!”
Leon winces as he pulls the front door shut behind us, cutting off the sounds of her screeching. “We’re going to need to pay off the neighbors so they don’t file a police report.”
“It’ll be worth it.” Today has been a shit show. But at least one thing has gone to plan.
He offers me his fist. I return the bump.
“Yeah,” he agrees, grinning. “It really will.”