Chapter 27
Catalina
“What do you think is happening out there?” I asked, pacing the length of the room and back.
Both Jasmine and Contessa only stared my direction.
“You’ve been with the famiglia longer than I have,” I said. “I’m scared.”
“Mr. Luciano will prevail,” Contessa said.
“He’s never told me what he does,” Jasmine said, a smile curling her lips. “He made it seem like his job was running Emerald Club, but Josie shared more with me.”
“What did she tell you?” I asked, taking a seat beside Jasmine on one of the beds. Scooting back to the wall, I stretched out my legs.
“She told me the world wasn’t black and white.” Jasmine looked down. “Before we came here, Josie worked really hard to get us our own place. I only remember bits and pieces. I remember after she got me out of foster care, we spent a lot of time going from one person’s place to the next. Eventually, we’d be kicked out. There were times we spent some nights in her car. We’d shower at a truck stop.
“It would have been easy for her to tell me the whole world was full of terrible people. I would have believed her. As a kid, I saw more than my share.” She inhaled. “Josie didn’t do that. She could look out the window, see a storm, and say, ‘this will help the flowers grow.’”
I covered Jasmine’s hand. “Josie sounds like a great person.”
Jasmine nodded. “She was, but she wasn’t perfect. The best thing about my sister was her ability to see good in a sea of bad. She loved Dario.” Her fingers came to her lips as if she said something she shouldn’t. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’m glad he knew her love.”
“He never told her that he loved her in return.”
“Mr. Luciano,” Contessa interjected, “is a man of few words.”
I squeezed Jasmine’s hand. “I bet your sister knew how he felt.”
“The thing was,” Jasmine said, “Josie’s perception of Dario wasn’t a contradiction to who he was when he wasn’t home. My sister told me that sometimes he had difficult decisions—life-and-death decisions. Yet, somehow, Josie showed me that it was all right to see the two different men and love them both.”
“Both?” I questioned. “I understand loving the man we see here, but she said to love the man he is away, too?”
Jasmine nodded. “You kind of have to, right? I mean, you can’t love half a person.”
Tears prickled the backs of my eyes. “You’re right.” I thought of Papá and Em. I didn’t only love the men they were in our home. I loved the whole of them. That was exactly what Dario deserved.
I’d come to terms with loving the man I saw. That wasn’t enough. In this moment in the safe room, I said a prayer that I would get the chance to see Dario again and tell him exactly how I felt. He didn’t need to feel exactly the same way, but he deserved to know he was loved.
Time passed.
Jasmine and Contessa shared a bed while I slept in the other. When I awoke, my watch said it was after six, and my phone was dead. We’d slept through the night, uninterrupted.
What does that mean about Dario?
Standing, I stretched, seeing Contessa’s protective hold of Jasmine. Trying not to wake them, I went to the corner and used the toilet. In the quiet of the secret room, the flush was as loud as an alarm. Both ladies stirred.
“I’m sorry,” I said.
“No,” Contessa replied. “I should be awake.”
Jasmine rolled toward the wall with her eyes closed, reminding me of what Camila would do if she were in this situation. My sister. I’d do anything to keep her from this fear.
“Should we check the apartment?” I quietly asked Contessa.
“Mr. Luciano will open the door when it’s safe.”
Tears came back to my eyes. “What if he can’t?”
Contessa reached for my hands. “Have faith.”
Inhaling, I nodded.
Faith.
I could do that.
Sitting back on the bed where I slept, I wondered about more than my husband. I wondered about my father, uncle, brother, and cousin. Camila said they were on their way to get me. I was still here. Where were they?
More questions came.
What about Mia?
Was she in the garage, or had Rocco lied?
What happened to Rocco?
The twisting in my stomach told me the answer. Mia was now a widow.
Was I one too?
It was after eleven and all three of us were awake when we heard the moving of the secret door. Instinctively, I reached for my knife. Jasmine, Contessa, and I stood as a unit. Our breathing quickened. The door slid inward.
The light within the wine cellar was brighter than what our eyes had become accustomed to within the secret room. The silhouette of a man filled the doorway. His broad shoulders, trim torso, and long legs were all I needed to see. Dropping my knife, I ran toward my husband and wrapped my arms around his neck. His arms encircled me, holding me tight against the hardness of his muscular body.
As I loosened my embrace, Dario’s lips met mine. It was as my fingers wove through his dark mane and the scent of bodywash registered that I realized he’d showered. I took a step back, scanning his handsome features. My palm came to his freshly shaved cheek. While his face was unscathed, his knuckles were raw with scrapes.
“Dante?” I asked.
“He’s safe.”
I sighed a breath of relief. “My family?” I wanted to know.
Dario exhaled. “In the penthouse.”
“You allowed my family in the penthouse? You said a capo wouldn’t…Is Vincent still capo?”
Dario reached out to Jasmine who was now leaning into him. Dario had one arm around her and one around me. He kissed the top of her head before answering. “My father is gone.”
We both looked up at him.
“I’m sorry,” Jasmine said.
Dario shook his head. “Don’t waste the emotion.”
“That means you’re capo,” I said.
Dario nodded.
“Are you safe?”
My husband’s cheeks rose. “Yes, Cat. We’re as safe as we can be.” He looked down at Jasmine. “All of us.” He inhaled. “Dante and I are working on learning who we can trust, who’s loyal to me. To those who aren’t, we’re cleaning house. It will take some time.”
There were so many questions I wanted to ask, but simply having Dario present and uninjured was enough for now.
“Let’s go upstairs.” He squeezed me to his side. “Do you want to see your family?”
I nodded.
As Jasmine and Contessa made their way up the steps toward the kitchen, Dario held me back. His dark stare shone with a new emotion. It wasn’t possessive or lustful. “What?” I asked.
“Before we get upstairs…Armando told me what you did to Rocco.”
Pride.
Dario was proud of me.
“Rocco.” My eyes opened wide. Yet before I could bask in my husband’s praise, I had to ask, “Is he…?”
“I killed him. Not before Dante and I extracted more information from him. My father had no plans to step down. He had arranged with Herrera to double-cross Roríguez.”
“Oh,” I said, trying to wrap my mind around everything. Em had said he didn’t trust the Italians. He’d been right and wrong. My husband was trustworthy. Not Vincent. Not Rocco. I looked up at Dario. “Poor Mia.”
Dario shook his head. “Dante and I gave her the news. She took it better than I anticipated.” He shrugged. “I’ll allow her to mourn, but since she’s without children, I’ll be the one to decide when she remarries.”
“Isn’t it too soon to think that way?”
“It’s business.”
I sighed, unsure that Mia’s freedom was worth my effort. Swallowing, I asked, “Did you kill Vincent?”
Dario stiffened beneath my touch. “Did I kill my father? No. The omertá wouldn’t allow that. That doesn’t mean that after what I learned I shouldn’t have. To add to his list of crimes, my father was behind Jasmine’s attack. He didn’t try to deny it.” Dario’s stare clouded over. “I confirmed through Rocco, Father was also behind Josie’s murder. It wasn’t the Russians.”
My mouth went dry. “Oh, I’m sorry. Why would he do that?”
“He hated her. He thought that having her with me was a sign of weakness.”
“How did Vincent die?”
“Faster and easier than he deserved.”
I didn’t know how to respond.
Dario went on, “His mistress shot him with his own gun. She got tired of being used and abused. The police have come and gone. It’s a simple case of domestic abuse and self-defense.” He shrugged. “Tommaso had to decide if he would stand behind his sister. He knows his time as consigliere is over. The jury is still out on his future.” Dario tugged me closer to his side, the clouds in his gaze dissipating. “As I was saying, Armando told me how you saved the day, knifing that scum, Rocco.”
“Jasmine created the distraction.” I smiled. “It was a team effort.”
We could hear voices coming from upstairs. My circulation quickened at the sound of my brother’s voice. He was asking about me. “Thank you for allowing my family here in your home. Does that mean you trust them?”
“Our home.” Dario kissed my forehead. “It means I realized that for this alliance to work, we need more than a wedding; we need a true partnership.”
“What does that mean about our marriage?”
“Cat, our marriage is the foundation. It’s a fucking strong foundation.”
I turned to face him and looked up. “I was scared I’d never get the chance to tell you something.”
“What was that?”
“I love you, Dario. It’s okay if you can’t tell me how you feel. This marriage wasn’t founded on love, but I can’t help that I do love you—all of you.” When he didn’t answer, I went on. “I love the you who’s been good to me and the you who took care of business last night and today.” A grin came to my lips as I took in his freshly washed hair. “I understand that you want to shield me from the filthy parts of what you do but know they don’t scare me. My only fear was losing you.”
Dario inhaled. “I didn’t think it was possible. In my world love is a weakness. Last night, I came to the conclusion that you and Jasmine are my weaknesses.”
I tried to speak, but Dario placed his finger over my lips.
“In two different ways. I do consider her a daughter.” His eyebrows danced. “I have less platonic thoughts about you.”
Warmth flooded my cheeks.
“As capo, I accept that. While loving the two of you gives my enemies targets, I know that I’ll do everything within my power…within my realm to keep you both safe.” He lowered his finger.
“We know that.”
He tilted his head toward the staircase. “If we don’t go up there soon, I think your brother may come down here.”
Wrapping my arms around Dario’s torso, I squeezed, inhaling his fresh scent as my cheek laid against his clean button-down shirt. “I love you.” Releasing the words filled me with hope for our future.
Dario lifted my chin with his thumb and finger. “You’re mine, Catalina, from now and forever. I won’t say it enough, but never doubt that you have my love.”