Francesca
“Leo, I need you to find more guys,” my father ordered. “At least thirty. And I want men who know what the fuck they’re doing.” My father sat at the head of the table on the terrace, a burning cigar sitting between his fingertips.
Elio sat on his right. He tapped his cigar against the ashtray, and some of the ash sprinkled to the bottom.
“Thirty?” Leo asked incredulously. “Where the fuck am I going to find thirty guys?”
“We could move over the men from the factory,” Elio said. “Just restructure staff.”
“But you want good guys,” Leo said. “And we can never trust that those guys won’t stab us in the back the second they get the chance.
They liked Luigi as their boss. They’re only cooperative because they know we’ll cut off their legs.
” Leo sat with his arms propped on the armrests of the metal chair, wearing sunglasses even though we were seated in the shade.
“I know we lost some good guys, but we don’t need to rush off and replace them with whoever the fuck we can find. ”
“No,” my father said. “We do need to rush.”
“Why?” Leo asked. “Something you know that we don’t?”
Elio looked at my brother and then my father.
I sat there in silence at the far side of the table, always an observer but never a participant. Wolfe wasn’t there because he was handling a dispute at the customs office. And by handling, that probably meant smashing in some skulls.
My father released a quiet breath before he stabbed his cigar into the ashtray.
Oh no.
“Wolfe just gave me some imperative information,” my father said.
I remained still and quiet, but I felt unease in my stomach because I didn’t have a clue what he referred to…and I probably should know.
“The Skull King is advancing into Sicily. Anyone moving powder without his authorization is meeting an early grave,” my father said. “He’s got this lieutenant with a reputation that precedes him. His name is Icarus.”
Leo shifted his gaze to Elio and then Andre. He even looked at me, as if I’d have a clue who that was.
“Wolfe anticipates that all the gangs are going to change their businesses to be in accordance with this regime—by trying to take ours. If we want to maintain our authority, we’re going to have to stay one step ahead. And we need to terminate the newly acquired powder business from Lombardi.”
There was silence across the table, like no one could believe what my father had just said.
I couldn’t believe it either, because Wolfe hadn’t told me this himself.
“How does Wolfe know this?” Leo asked.
“Cosa Nostra,” my father answered.
“And why is he speaking with his previous employer?” Elio asked, a coldness in his tone because he’d always been the most suspicious of Wolfe.
“They asked him to rejoin in light of what I just shared,” my father said as he drummed his fingers on the table.
“And what did he say?” Leo demanded.
“What do you mean, what did he say?” my father barked. “He’s at the customs office right now.”
“What if he’s playing us?” Elio asked. “They’re worried about Icarus, so they asked Wolfe to rejoin them so they can take our arms business. Now he’s a double agent, and this is a coup.”
Wolfe would never do that, but I couldn’t say a damn word in his defense.
“I don’t think that’s his angle,” my father said.
“From what I’ve observed of Wolfe, he comes at you straight on.
He doesn’t lurk in the shadows like a coward and bide his time until you drop your guard.
He’s the reason Luigi didn’t kill us all, and he’s the reason Francesca is still alive and Umberto and his cronies are dead. He’s earned our trust.”
“So, he just told you he spoke with Cosa Nostra?” Leo asked.
“No, Richard told me he saw him,” my father said.
“And that’s not suspicious to you?” Elio asked. “He didn’t tell you on his own. He only shared it because you ambushed him.”
“I don’t think so.” My father’s eyes hardened as he stared at a man he’d trusted for a decade.
“If Wolfe wanted us dead, all he had to do was roll in with Cosa Nostra in the beginning and kill us all. They’re a much bigger operation than us.
Unless there’s some personal vendetta I don’t know about, it doesn’t make sense to invest this much time in such a complicated plot.
It doesn’t make sense for him to share this information about Icarus and encourage us to ramp up our manpower if he wants to take us down.
” His eyes shifted from Leo to Elio and then to Andre.
“Wolfe is one of us. I thought you shared that same attitude.”
Leo crossed his arms over his chest and stared at the surface of the table for a moment before he gave a nod. “Yeah, he is.”
Even Elio seemed to agree. “He could have let Umberto go, but he hunted him down and finished the job. The other gangs fear us because he’s one of us.”
“Took a while for me to warm up to him,” Andre said. “But you’re right. He’s done a lot for us, a lot more than anyone else, and I think he’s earned our trust at this point.”
Even though my father hadn’t finished his previous cigar before he put it out, he lit up a new one.
“He still didn’t tell me what Cosa Nostra did to make him leave their employ, but he did say they reversed whatever it was.
But too little, too late, I guess.” He put the cigar in his mouth and lit the tip as he sucked on the end, getting it going like a campfire.
“Their stupidity has resulted in our good fortune.”
I felt a surge of relief when I listened to my father defend Wolfe’s good character.
After months of proving himself, Wolfe had finally earned the trust of everyone here.
He really had busted his ass for this family, put his life on the line and cleaned up the bloody mess from our enemies.
He’d kept my father and brother alive when they’d been outmaneuvered by Luigi Lombardi.
He’d definitely earned it—and I felt a sense of pride.
“There’s a storm coming on the horizon,” my father said ominously. “I don’t know if it’ll be a lightning storm or a rainstorm… a blizzard or a tornado or volcanic eruption. But something is on the horizon, and we need to be ready for when it hits the shore.”
Dinner was ready, but Wolfe still hadn’t shown up.
We hadn’t actually talked yet today, but I assumed he would be there because he always came over unless otherwise stated. He hadn’t reached out and I didn’t want to text him and be clingy, but I also started to worry.
The anxiety finally got to me, so I texted him. I just want to know you’re okay.
The three dots didn’t pop up right away like they normally did.
Now I really started to panic. He was always responsive. I wasn’t worried he’d lost interest or decided to ghost me. I was worried he was bleeding by the side of the road. I wasn’t sure what to do. If I should call or text again. I decided to call.
It rang once before he answered. “Let me call you back.” Click. He hung up before I had the chance to say anything, and he didn’t call me baby. His tone was totally different too, abrasive and hard, like I was one of the guys instead of his woman.
Maybe he wasn’t alone, and he didn’t want anyone to hear my voice.
I remembered he shared his location with me, so I checked his name and saw he was still near Port Gela. That was where the customs office was located, so maybe something had gone sideways.
It was about twenty minutes later when he texted me. It’s been a fucking day. Be there in about an hour.
It’s okay, I can see you tomorrow. I just wanted to make sure you’re alright.
I want my baby.
I’d never been in a serious relationship before, but even without having a comparison, I knew this was different. I knew men weren’t this straightforward and transparent. It didn’t matter how busy he was—he always took my calls. It didn’t matter how tired he was—he always made time to see me.
This man had ruined me for all other men, physically, emotionally, romantically…
I set the oven on low and returned the food to keep it warm until he came home.
He probably hadn’t had a chance to eat, so he would be starving when he walked in the door.
I checked his location to see when he was close, and once he headed down the dirt road to my villa, I set the table and poured the wine so it would be ready when he walked in.
The front door opened and closed. “I’m home, baby.
” He always announced himself when he walked in, like he was afraid he might scare me otherwise.
He entered the room in a gray t-shirt and black jeans, hair tousled a bit like he’d been fidgeting with it in exhaustion.
When his eyes reached mine, the clouds of fatigue started to dissipate as the sunlight broke through.
A little grin moved over his handsome face.
“Worth it.” He came to me, hooked his big arms around me, and pulled me close to kiss me.
I melted like a piece of chocolate on a warm tongue.
Felt such an ease and a coziness whenever he walked in the door.
The place had felt like home before Wolfe entered my life, but now whenever I was home alone, it felt like a strange place.
It wasn’t complete without the sound of his footsteps on the stairs, without his body in my bed, without his clothes left on the back of the armchair.
He let me go and went straight to the table. Dropped into the chair and hunched over his food and started to eat without waiting for me to sit across from him because he was obviously starving.
I moved around the table and took a sip of my wine.
With arms on the table, he practically inhaled his food. “So fucking good.”
“You like salmon?”
“I like anything you make,” he said between bites. “I’m not sure what you do better. Cook or fuck.”
“Probably cook,” I said. “You’re the one who’s good at the fucking.”
He smirked before he finished his plate in a couple bites. “Is there more? I didn’t have lunch.”
“Yeah, in the oven.”
He carried his plate back to the kitchen and pulled out the casserole dish. He scooped more of the salmon onto his plate along with the gnocchi sauteed in a pesto sauce. He piled it on then came back to the table to continue to devour his meal.
“Something went down with the guys at customs?”
“Yeah,” he said. “Some of the federal guards were there, and I had to handle that.”
“You—you didn’t kill them, right?”
“No. Bribed them.”
“Oh, does my father know about this?”
“No, I’ll tell him later. And I don’t mind paying for it out of my own pocket. Just the cost of doing business.”
I was in charge of the books so I knew my father hadn’t paid Wolfe much in the beginning, but his salary quickly rose after everything that went down with the Lombardis. The only person who made more than him now was Elio. I wasn’t sure how my brother would feel about that if he knew.
I let Wolfe finish his dinner because he was hungry and exhausted. I watched him have a few pieces of bread before he drank his wine.
“I’m not sure if you come over here to see me or eat my cooking.”
He smirked. “I’d grab takeout on the way. Or we’d go to my place and have the maid cook for us. But your cooking is definitely better than hers, better than anyone’s I’ve ever had.”
“Is that actually true, or do you just have sex goggles on?”
“Sex goggles?” he asked in amusement.
“You know, where everything I do seems great because you’re getting laid.”
His smirk continued. “I’d still love your cooking even if you were holding out on me.
But not gonna lie, there’s probably some influence there.
I definitely feel more attraction to your food since you’re the one who made it with your bare hands.
I never had someone cook for me because they wanted to. ”
I immediately thought of his mother and her occupation and the childhood he’d had because of it.
“So it’s definitely special.” He continued to eat, slicing his fork through the tender pieces of fish and the pasta that accompanied it. His bites slowed down like he wasn’t starving anymore, but he continued to eat like the hunger was still there.
The plate I’d made for myself was much smaller because I didn’t need nearly as much as he did.
I felt him stare at me across the table as we finished our dinner.
Conversation with him was easy, but the silence was even easier.
We could just be in the same room together and our minds would still touch.
He wiped his plate clean, leaving only a streak of sauce.
“Dad had a meeting while you were gone.”
“Yeah?”
“He told us about the Skull King and Icarus.”
He held my stare without needing to blink, and he moved his elbows to the table as he leaned forward slightly.
“And now everyone is going to be coming for our business.”
He continued to stay quiet.
“Why didn’t you tell me this?”
He inhaled a slow breath, his chest rising as his lungs inflated. “Didn’t want to scare you.”
“Should I be scared?”
“I think things are about to change.”
My eyes dropped to the table.
“And I think it’s best if you stick to the wine and the canned tomatoes and leave everything else to us.”
I swallowed when I felt the fear sink into my flesh. Business had always operated with very few hiccups. Sometimes there were disputes, but because no one was looking for a fight, it was mostly calm. A couple verbal confrontations here and there, but that was it.
“I won’t let anything happen to you.”
My eyes moved back to his.
“But I want you to be prepared.”
I swallowed again. “For what?”
“For anything,” he said. “Everyone will be focused on your father, and I’ll do my best to keep him alive. But I’m just one man. I can’t be everywhere at once.”
“Then maybe we should consider getting out now. Selling the business to someone else—”
“Your dad would never go for that, and you know it,” he said.
“And if he shows weakness, they’ll try to take everything instead.
Not just the guns but the winery and the land.
And your dad would rather die than let these fields fall into someone else’s hands.
They’ve been in your family since the eighteen hundreds.
Every olive tree here is watered by the blood of the Mancinis who came before you.
I understand why he would never let it go—and I wouldn’t let anyone take it either if it were mine.
It’s your legacy, something that belongs to you and Leo and the future children you have. ”