Chapter 30
Chapter Thirty
Valentina
I found Maggie in the main tasting room.
In search of solitude, I fled to the Fiorentino Winery yesterday after leaving the tiny lake house. I knew Luca would approach me at the trattoria or my house—and I certainly wasn’t returning to the mansion. Maggie had taken me in, no questions asked.
Women were the fucking best.
“There you are!” My friend waved from where she was standing with three men at a round table.
They all looked over at me, so I forced a smile. No doubt it was as brittle as my insides, cold and without feeling. As I drew closer, I saw they were tasting wine.
I reached for an empty glass and the open bottle. “Exactly what I needed. Thanks for breakfast, Mags.”
She put a hand on the bottle, stopping me. “Let’s start with coffee instead, okay? Adam, will you grab Val a cup of something strong and black?”
“Sure.” Adam was a guy we went to high school with, and he’d been working at the winery for a few years. He walked toward the bar while Maggie asked the other men to give us a minute.
When we were alone, she said, “I know you’re heartbroken, but let’s wait until five o’clock before we start drinking.”
“How about noon?”
My friend didn’t laugh. “Val, he’s not worth it. No man is worth it. But especially not a criminal who lies to you and wants to turn you over to the Italian police!”
I’d confessed everything to her yesterday in a blubbering mess as I demolished a box of tissues. “I know. I just . . . I need this feeling to go away.” I rubbed my chest, which felt hollow and sore. “I’m so tired of being sad, Mags.”
Maggie’s expression softened as she squeezed my arm. “I know, babe. This is a lot on top of the grief you’ve been dealing with the past few years. It hardly seems fair. Which is why I’m going to kick that Italian in the nuts if I ever see him again.”
“I’d like to see you do that, actually.”
“Has he tried to contact you yet?”
“I don’t know. I still haven’t turned my phone back on.”
Yesterday I used Maggie’s phone to check in on Roberto’s condition as well as to touch base with Giovanni. Roberto assured me that he was fine, but I insisted he take a few days off to rest. Giovanni seemed to have the trattoria well in hand and he told me not to come in last night. I decided that one evening off wouldn’t hurt anything.
Two mugs of coffee arrived, one for me and one for Mags. Hers was light with cream, exactly as she preferred. We thanked Adam and he left the tasting room.
“He knows how you like your coffee,” I said as I lifted the mug to my lips. “Interesting.”
“Shut up.” Maggie’s lips curled like she was fighting a smile. “He’s my employee.”
“Which means you’ve thought about it.” I sipped my coffee and the almond liqueur hit me immediately. God bless Adam. He’d spiked my coffee. “This is the best coffee I’ve ever had. I think you should marry him.”
Her brow wrinkled as her eyes narrowed. “Don’t be weird. And why are we talking about me? I want to talk about you .”
“There’s not much to say. We’re done.”
“Do you think he’ll go back now?”
“I assume so. There’s nothing keeping him here. My father didn’t kill that girl and I’m certainly not getting on a plane bound for Italy. Luca can deal with his own problems from now on.”
“Oh, shit.” Maggie’s eyes were focused on something behind me. “Don’t look now, but here comes your wanna-be kidnapper.”
Fuck .
My entire body clenched, muscles tightening in shock. “Do not leave me alone with him.”
“Don’t worry, girl, I’m one step ahead of you.” Maggie darted around the table and put her back to mine, her front facing Luca. “We’re closed, sir.”
I could see his reflection in the glass, how he stopped halfway across the floor and slipped his hands in his pockets. “Signorina Fiorentino. I would like a moment with Valentina, per favore.”
“There’s no Valentina here.”
I heard Luca sigh. “I have no time for games, signorina.”
“This is my girlfriend,” Maggie tried. “And she’s not out, so if you don’t mind? Skedaddle.”
“Valentina, amore,” he said in his deep, accented voice that I loved so much. “I need to speak with you.”
There was no use dragging this out. I just needed him to go away. “I told you to text me.”
“I tried, but your phone is off.”
Which meant he’d tried calling. Not one to follow directions, this man.
I make the rules, Valentina.
Well, not anymore. Now I made the rules .
Spinning, I met his gaze over Maggie’s shoulder. “You have five minutes, Luca.”
“Alone.”
“No way. Maggie stays.”
A muscle jumped in his jaw. “You want her to overhear such a private conversation?”
“How about I stand over by the bar?” Facing me, Maggie pointed to where Adam was polishing glasses. “And I’ll set a timer.”
I nodded once. “Thanks, Mags.”
Before she walked away, she smiled sweetly at Luca. “If you hurt her any more, Benetti, I’m going to kick your balls into your throat.”
He didn’t respond, his expression unreadable as she left us. I returned my attention toward the windows, giving him my back, but I could see as he approached me. He strode to the opposite side of the small table and stood there, silent. The hickeys on his neck mocked me, mottled bruises left by an innocent girl who thought she’d found a good man.
Was it only yesterday when I thought I might be in love with him? God, I was a fool. He’d deceived me from the moment we met.
“Clock’s ticking,” I said and sipped more coffee. “Better hurry.”
He folded his hands on the table, his cufflinks tapping lightly on the wood. “If I wanted to kidnap you and take you to my country, it would’ve happened already. I changed my mind weeks ago.”
“How fortunate for me,” I drawled, the sarcasm thick.
“I know you are angry I lied to you, but?—”
“There is no but , Luca. You were using me the entire time. If my father hadn’t been nearby, you would’ve kidnapped me and given me over to the Italian government like some pawn!”
“You’re wrong. I wasn’t going to use you. In fact, I was doing everything in my power to prevent it. I’ve been dragging my feet since the night we met, looking for other solutions.”
“Like what?”
“Like enlisting D’Agostino’s help to find my missing cousin.”
That business dinner in New York. “ And did you find him?”
“No, not yet. But Valentina, I want to take you to Catanzaro, not for anything to do with Rossi or Palmieri. I want you to come for me. I want you to live with me and?—”
I let out an incredulous bark of laughter. “You’ve got to be joking! Now you’re trying to get me there by convincing me you care about me? Jesus, Luca. You are unbelievable.”
“I do care about you.” His voice was low and angry. “Have you not been paying attention? I would do anything for you, including risk my family, my empire. I should’ve returned by now, except I’ve been staying here. With you.”
I shoved aside any tenderness his words elicited inside me. This man was a liar, through and through. Calmly, I sipped more coffee. “Well, I’m not going with you to Italy, so . . . ” I lifted my shoulders in what I hoped was a casual shrug.
“Why not?”
“First, I don’t believe you aren’t still trying to use me as a bargaining chip. Second, I have a life here. A restaurant, friends. My mom’s house. You’re asking me to sign up for blood and crime in a country I’ve never visited.”
“I’m asking you to sign up for only me. I swear to protect you from the blood and crime.”
“This is a pointless discussion because I’m not going anywhere with you. I’ll never believe another word that comes out of your mouth.”
“Valentina.” He rubbed his eyes with his fingers, then dropped his hands on the table again. “I was trying to find your father to make all of this go away. But I can’t stay here. I must return home and deal with Rossi. If I don’t do it soon, he will try to kill me—or your father. Maybe both.”
“Five minutes!” Maggie called from the bar.
He dragged a hand through his hair, messing the thick strands. “Don’t do this. I am crazy about you. I would rather cut off my own arm than hurt you. Te lo prometto, bella.”
Maybe it was true. Maybe he wasn’t lying this time .
But I couldn’t risk my entire life on a maybe.
And he didn’t love me—he just didn’t want to lose me.
As I hesitated, he moved in, shifting closer until we were nearly touching. “When I learned that your father took you I nearly lost it. I’ve never been so scared in all my life. I promised a favor to an American police detective in exchange for information, for fuck’s sake. I would have done anything to find you.” He exhaled and dragged his knuckles along my cheek. His gentle touch sent a flight of butterflies loose in my chest. Softly, he said, “I need you, amore. I am nothing without you.”
“Hands off!” Maggie yelled from across the room, and her sobering voice shook off whatever spell he was weaving on my heart and mind.
Clarity returned and I took a step back. “My answer is no. And we’re done here.”
Luca’s hand fell to the wooden tabletop. “I’m leaving tonight. I hope you change your mind. But if you don’t, you are always welcome in Catanzaro—even if it takes months. In the meantime, I’m leaving Gabriele here to look after you.”
“You don’t need to do that. I don’t want your son spying on me for you.”
“He is not a spy. He will keep you safe so that I don’t worry. You hold my heart and my soul, fiore mio. Per sempre.”
Forever .
When I didn’t respond he rapped his knuckles twice on the table, like an exclamation point to his words. I watched him walk toward the exit in the reflection, his proud shoulders shifting with every step. My chest ached as anger and hurt and longing all battled inside me.
But I knew with a deep-down certainty I was doing the right thing. I had to distance myself from whatever mess my father and Luca were involved in. Their problems were not my problems. I had enough to deal with on my own.
And I would never forgive Luca for lying to me—no matter how much I missed him .
An arm wrapped around my shoulders. “I’m proud of you,” Maggie said, resting her head against mine. “For a minute there I thought you were going to cave.”
“Me too,” I said shakily, my eyes welling up again. God, I was so tired of crying.
“Aw, don’t cry, babe. We’ll get through this, exactly like we’ve been doing for the last few years.”
“He wanted me to come live with him in Italy.”
She snorted and tightened her hold on me. “I guess we should be grateful he asked instead of kidnapping you.”
I let out a wobbly laugh. “Yeah, I guess. Wow, my life is fucked up.”
“No, his life is fucked up. He just dragged you into it for a few weeks. But now you’ve escaped, thank god. You dodged a bullet, Val. Maybe literally, considering his line of work.”
I put my arm around her and we stared out at the vineyard stretching out across the landscape. “Thanks for everything, Mags. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Probably drink really shitty wine and have a lot less fun.”
“Can I hang out here for a few more hours?”
“Girl, we are day drinking starting at noon. You’re not going anywhere.”
Luca
A man like me was not inclined to hope. I dealt in cold, hard realities within a world that rewarded neither fairness nor forgiveness. I knew the cruelties man had to offer, as I was often the one doling them out. And I knew my end would not be gentle or banal. Such was the life I had chosen.
And yet, I’d hoped.
Waiting, I held onto her like a talisman, a beacon of light in my dreary and lonely existence. Praying she would arrive, forgive me, and stand proudly by my side.
I’m not going anywhere with you. I’ll never believe another word that comes out of your mouth.
At least I had tried. No woman had received such declarations from me before, my heart and soul bared so vulnerably. Yet it hadn’t worked. She wasn’t coming.
I stared out the tiny window into the darkness, failure bitter on my tongue.
My mobile rang and my heart leapt into my throat. I looked at the screen. Gabriele. “Pronto.”
“She’s not coming.”
My shoulders deflated, hope popping like a balloon. “Thank you for letting me know. We’ll speak later?—”
“Wait, Papà. Before you ring off, I want to tell you something.”
“What is it, figlio mio?”
“I’ve been listening and researching. I think there's true opportunity here. No one is leading, and D’Agostino’s brother is up in Toronto. He could be a partner. You should consider staying.”
“And here I thought you were only tending bar.”
“What can I say? People like to talk to me. You would not believe the things I learned working at the trattoria. Allora, this could be a way to expand.”
I liked that he was thinking about the family. It showed maturity and foresight. “This is surprising, but a nice surprise. I’m impressed, Gabriele.”
“You are? Does this mean you’ll do it?”
Expanding into New York sounded exhausting, especially when there was much work to be done back home. But I didn’t want to crush his confidence. “I’ll consider it. Okay?”
“Grazie, Papà. A presto.”
Putting down my phone, I pressed a button to connect me to the cockpit. “Andiamo, per favore. ”
The wheels began turning and I heard Dante mutter in the back, “Thank Christ.”
My stomach cramped when we lifted off the ground, proof that it was truly over. I was leaving her behind, yet it felt like a piece of me was still there with her.
You’re asking me to sign up for blood and crime . . .
Valentina’s parting words raced through my mind. She was not wrong. I had no right to ask her to come with me, but I was a selfish man. I wasn’t ready to let her go.
I poured another glass of whiskey and took a swallow.
My brother spoke quietly. “You should’ve kidnapped her and turned her over to the GDF.”
“If you say it again, I will break your teeth.”
Sergio sighed heavily. “We have bigger problems now. Your life is at risk. If Rossi doesn’t decide to kill you, he will throw you to Palmieri.”
“I’m not afraid of Rossi or Palmieri. I don’t believe Niccolò gave the GDF any evidence against us.”
“I hope you are right. I’m assuming you will go and visit Rossi right away.”
“Seems foolish, if what Segreto said is true.” And I was inclined to believe Valentina’s father. “We need to prove that Rossi is the one who ordered the hit on Palmieri’s daughter.”
“Sure, sounds easy.”
“Someone knows. Rossi is too stupid and lazy to plan a hit himself.”
Sergio scrubbed his face with both hands. “What a fucking mess.”
“A hit like that?” Aldo whistled from across the row. “Not many would accept the job. My guess is he would outsource it.”
Sergio asked, “Russians? Serbians? Albanians?”
I nodded and reached for the half-empty glass of whiskey in front of me. “Seems likely.” I took a sip, thinking as the liquor burned its way down to my stomach. “There is someone we can ask. Someone who might know.”
Sergio helped himself to a glass of whiskey. “Who?”
“Remember Alessandro Ricci?”
“Of course,” Sergio said.
Aldo let out a dismissive noise. “Ricci had a rule against taking out women and kids. It wasn’t him.”
I knew this. Almost everyone did. “I was thinking of his assistant, the one who handled all the jobs.”
“Wasn’t she former Russian intelligence?” Aldo asked.
“Yes, and if Rossi put the job out for hire, she would remember.”
“Ah.” Sergio put down his drink and took his mobile out of his pocket. When he unlocked it, I said, “Do you have her number?”
“No,” Sergio answered. “To get to her, you need to go through Ricci. And you aren’t getting to him without going through Giulio Ravazzani. And to get to Giulio Ravazzani . . . ” He let that trail off.
“Fuck me.” I finished the rest of my drink and set down the glass. We were lawless criminals, but we did have a code, one I tried to adhere by. “Ring him. Let’s get this over with.”
Sergio tapped on his phone quickly and handed it to me. As it rang, I stared at the sky surrounding the small plane.
“Pronto.”
“It’s Benetti,” I told Marco Ravazzani. “Is he around?”
“Depends. We heard you were in New York.”
I didn’t respond. If Fausto Ravazzani’s consiglieri thought I would explain myself to him, he was wrong. We were not equals, not even close.
Marco sighed. “Hold on.”
The line quieted, no doubt muting his end as he checked with his cousin. But I knew Fausto would pick up, if only out of curiosity. It wasn’t often we spoke.
“Benetti,” a deep voice said. “This is unexpected.”
“Ravazzani,” I greeted. “Ciao, come stai? I hope you and the family are well. ”
“Everything is fine here. And you? How is the food in New York?”
“Improved, now that I brought a chef over.” We both chuckled, then I got to the point. “I am calling because I need to speak with your son’s ragazzo.”
“Regarding?”
“It’s not safe for me to say over the phone.”
“I see. He is retired, capisce?”
“I’m aware,” I said. “We are looking for information on something that occurred a few years ago. We hoped his assistant might remember.”
“Ah. Does this have to do with why you were sent to New York?”
It was possible Ravazzani had learned of the GDF, Segreto, and Rossi. I saw no reason to lie. “Yes, it does.”
“If I allow it,” he said slowly, “and you solve this puzzle in which you’ve found yourself, you will not forget, capisce?”
Meaning I would owe him. “Of course.”
“Va bene. I will have Alessio contact you shortly.”
“Grazie. Give my best to your family.”
I started to hang up, but he continued speaking. “You know, I went through a similar situation a few years ago with Mommo. But there is an African proverb, When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt you. Clean your house, Benetti.” Then he disconnected.
So he had learned of Rossi and the GDF.
I blew out a breath and gave Sergio his mobile. “Ricci will be in touch soon.”
“What else did he say?” my brother asked.
“That we have to kill Don Rossi.”
“Minchia!” Sergio said at the same time Aldo muttered, “Mamma mia.”
“He’s right. I hoped to turn Palmieri and Rossi against one another, but that could take too long. Valentina is at risk every minute that Rossi lives because he won’t hesitate to use her to get to Segreto. ”
“But killing the head of the region . . . Cristo, Luca.” Sergio rubbed his jaw. “The other families could turn against us.”
“Ravazzani managed it and survived. Grew stronger, even.”
“You’re missing one problem,” Aldo said. “As your brother said, your life is at risk. When Rossi learns you’ve returned alone, he can’t allow you to survive, let alone get close enough to kill him.”
“And we have to clear this with the other families first,” Sergio added. “You can’t kill him without approval.”
“I’m not leaving Valentina at risk while holding meetings with the other ’ndrine. We need to get creative.” I angled out of my seat until I could see the back of the plane. “ Fratelli! ”
“What do we need them for?” Sergio asked.
“Because they see things differently than we do. We don’t have much time before we land and I want to be ready the moment we touch down.”