Chapter 23
Catalina
“Ineed to go,” Dario said, his jaw tight as he squeezed my hand. “Armando and Piero will stay here. I’m taking Dante and Giovanni.”
Stray.
The word made the small hairs on the back of my neck stand to attention. It was the term Dario said his father used. Certainly, there wasn’t a connection. I wanted to ask, but years of experience told me that some questions were better asked in private. “Stay safe.”
Dario gave us all a curt nod.
Inhaling, I turned back to Contessa and Jasmine. There was no sense in including them in my concerns. I feigned my biggest smile. “Is storage far away?”
“No, it’s in this building,” Contessa replied.
“Let’s ask Armando to help us.” I surveyed the room. “We have a bedroom in desperate need of decorating.”
Contessa replied, “While you two do that, I’ll start dinner.” She looked to Jasmine. “Are you okay?”
Jasmine’s gaze fluctuated from Contessa to me and back before managing a smile. “Yeah, I think I will be.”
Contessa gently embraced Jasmine. “I’ve missed you so much.” She smoothed her hair. “You’re strong. Josie would be proud of the way you fought.”
Jasmine pressed her lips together and nodded. “It’s good to be home.”
Home.
The home she’d been forced to leave because of me.
An awkward silence fell as Contessa left the room.
“I’ll go find Armando,” I said, hurrying away and trailing after Contessa. I caught up to her on the stairway. “I didn’t know.”
She turned and nodded. “It wasn’t fair of me to blame you.”
“Life isn’t always fair.” I tilted my head toward the upstairs. “It seems that she’s had her share of unfairness. I never meant to add to it.”
“Mr. Luciano said it wasn’t your fault. I should have listened.”
My lips curled. “Just to clear the air, are there any other people, women or men, who were evicted due to me?”
“No, ma’am,” she said with a smile. “We’re as whole as we could possibly be.”
“Dario loves her.”
Contessa nodded. “He’s never told her, but I know it’s true.”
“I don’t think he knows how to say the words.”
“That’s all right. Actions speak louder anyway.”
‘I saw the way he looks at you.’Camila’s words came back.
Instead of fanning the flames of that dream, I concentrated on the present and nodded. “Do you know where Armando is?”
“Front sitting room, I believe.”
Once we both reached the main level, Contessa headed toward the kitchen, and I went in search of Armando. I found him where Contessa said, sitting at a table in the front sitting room. His suit coat was off, his holster, strapped over his wide shoulders, visible. He was concentrating on the tablet in front of him.
At the sound of my footsteps, he turned my direction with a sober expression. “Is she leaving?”
“No.”
He let out a breath. “Thank you.”
“If I’d known, I would never have encouraged her to leave.”
“It wasn’t all you, Catalina. Jasmine was excited about going to New York and attending Barnard. Are you familiar with the school?”
My heart swelled at Jasmine’s desire for education. I took the seat across from Armando. “No.”
“It’s a private woman’s college. Mr. Luciano believed that she’d be safer there. The apartment he rented for her was supposed to have top-notch security.” He shook his head. “I checked it out myself. This never should have happened.”
“Jasmine remembered something.”
Armando tilted his head. “What did she remember?”
“The man who hurt her said she was a stray like Josie.”
Armando’s jaw clenched, the muscles on the side of his face pulled taut, and his eyes widened. “She said that? She used the word stray?”
I nodded. “Dario told me that was what his father would call Josie. Surely, Vincent wouldn’t be involved in harming Jasmine, would he?”
“Does Mr. Luciano know about this?”
“He does. He said he had to leave, and he took Dante and Giovanni with him.”
“I should be with them.”
I reached toward him. “If somehow Vincent is involved, he’ll find out that Jasmine is back here. If he wants her” —I hated to use the word— “dead, then she needs you here.” I’d grown up around death. My father and his brothers had their own traitors to deal with. A shiver ran through me, recognizing the danger. “We need you here.” I pressed my lips together. “Dario told me that Jasmine trusts you. Don’t you think her knowing you’re here is a good thing?”
Armando nodded. “I don’t like the way this feels. The capo dei capi wanted Jasmine gone after Josie died. He gave Mr. Luciano hell for seeking guardianship.”
“How could he be so cruel? She’d just lost her sister.”
“You don’t become the boss of bosses with a kind heart.”
“Dario has one.”
“Only for those he cares about.” Armando’s stare bore into me. “You need to see all sides of the man you married to fully understand him. Don’t let the husband side sugarcoat who he really is. Remember, he’s next in line for capo. He didn’t get to that position without demonstrating brutal cruelty.”
He was right. Swallowing, I nodded.
Armando leaned across the table. “Word on the street is that the capo dei capi has changed his mind again. He won’t step down.”
“But Dario…Just last night…” My heart ached for Dario. “Does he know?”
“Yes. The news came right before Jasmine showed up.”
“You’re saying that Jasmine was attacked last night, and this morning Vincent reneged on his promise to step down.”
“And Jasmine’s attacker used the word stray. It seems pretty fucking obvious there’s a connection.” He sighed. “Sorry for the language, ma’am.”
My cheeks rose with a grin. “This may come as a shock, but cartel soldiers use the word fuck too. I’m not offended.” My greatest fear came back. “Is Dario safe?”
Armando shook his head. “I can’t say. Shit’s coming to a head, and it depends whose side our inner circle is on.”
“Vincent or Dario?”
He nodded.
“I’d like to keep Jasmine distracted. Is it safe for you to go to the storage space and retrieve Jasmine’s things for her bedroom?”
A genuine smile came to his lips. “Yes, ma’am. I’ll have Piero stay in the apartment to be safe.”
“I’d like to meet him.”
Piero was a tall, lean man who appeared to be in his late thirties or early forties based on the sprinkling of gray in his dark hair. “You were with Jasmine when she was attacked?” I asked.
For a dangerous man, his expression turned sheepish. “Ma’am, I think I was drugged. When I woke, I heard Ms. Renner fighting, and then my arms were heavy, and it was like my legs were in quicksand. I fought the man. Thought I’d shot him, but he took off. I made the decision to stay with Ms. Renner. I should have gone after him.”
“That’s a conversation for my husband. It sounds to me like you may have very well saved her life.”
Piero took over the front sitting room while Armando left to gather Jasmine’s belongings. When I entered the kitchen, Jasmine was seated at the counter talking to Contessa. Seeing me, they both silenced.
Only the clinking of utensils could be heard as I approached. “Something smells wonderful.”
“Lasagna,” Jasmine said. “My favorite.”
Speaking to Contessa, I said, “It sounds as if Dario will be out late. Instead of placing Jasmine and I in the dining room, I think it would be nice if the five of us ate together in here.”
“Five?”
“Jasmine, you, Armando, Piero, and me.”
Contessa nodded. “That’s a good suggestion.”
Jasmine hopped down from the stool. “I can set the table in here.”
It took Armando three trips with a rolling cart to get all of Jasmine’s things from storage. I wasn’t even sure how many trips we all did going up and down the stairs with boxes and totes in our hands. By the time we had the room filled with Jasmine’s belongings, Contessa announced it was time for our dinner. Perhaps it was the physical labor, but as we gathered around the kitchen table, I realized I was famished.
We were almost done eating when my phone buzzed with a text message. I checked the screen, seeing Camila’s name and reading her message.
“I miss you already. I made it home. Papá, Em, Uncle Nicolas, and Nick are headed to Kansas City to get you.”
After givingan excuse to those gathered around the table, I stepped away, going toward the library, and called Camila. “What are you talking about?” I said as soon as the call was answered.
“I just landed. Mom and Luis picked us up. Mom said about an hour ago, Papá received a call from Patron. She said Papá, Uncle Nicolas, Em, and Nick are on their way to Kansas City.”
“For me? Why?”
“Papá didn’t share with Mom.”
I didn’t understand. “Why would Patron send them here?”
“I don’t know. Mama said she was happy I was home and said she wants you here too.”
What does this mean?
Is this what Dario was worried about? Is Patron sending men to help Dario or Vincent?
My pulse kicked up. “I need to go,” I said. “I have to call Dario.” I disconnected the call.