32. Carmela
Carmela
A FEW MINUTES EARLIER
A drenaline pumps through my veins at Maya’s revelation—and the unexpected visitor in my office.
“What are you doing here, Kate?” I swallow my anxiety, flipping a calm demeanor on like a light switch.
How does she even know about Désirer? How did she get in? Better yet, how does she know where my office is?
Mick’s soon-to-be ex-wife stands in the middle of the room like she’s been there a thousand times before, looking perfectly at ease in a baby-blue Chanel sheath and a pair of white Valentino pumps. She’s holding a sizable Alexander McQueen clutch, and her icy blonde hair is pulled back in a French twist, drawing her features tight.
“Oh, you know, I was in the neighborhood,” she stiffly jokes with a wave of her perfectly manicured hand. Her lips press into a thin line. “Location services work wonders when your husband drops a bombshell on you through the press.”
Through the press?
My brain goes into overdrive, and my thoughts shoot around like a pinball in an arcade game as the temperature in the room seems to dip to near-freezing levels. “Mick never asked you for a divorce…did he?”
“Oh, no,” she admonishes. “He did. But we had a nice long talk about what that would look like, and in the end, he changed his mind. Or so I thought.”
“I know what you’re probably thinking, Kate. But I assure you, nothing is happening with me and Mick.” I walk further into the room and place my phone on the desk. “He’s out in the Grand Room if you’d like to talk with him.”
“The Grand Room , huh?” Her cadence takes on a sarcastic lilt. “It’s a wonder he kept this place from me for so long, isn’t it? Tell me, Carmela, how many years have you two been fucking here?”
“Look, if you want to talk to Mick about what goes on here, go ahead. I have somewhere to be.” I lean over the corner of the desk and grab my purse from my chair.
“You mean like going to see your and Mick’s daughter ?” Kate grits out.
Purse forgotten, I face her again, my surprise evident. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Goosebumps break out along my arms, and suddenly, I feel very much like a rabbit that just fell down a snake hole.
“Can you even imagine the amount of embarrassment I felt when I found out about your love child? Mick sure did pay a pretty penny to keep you two a secret, didn’t he? It wasn’t enough to be his mistress—you had to go and give him a child, too. You always wanted to be his favorite.”
Is she for real right now?
“Kate—”
“And to have to find out from a member of the mob ? You know, when we teamed up to take you guys down, I told him to hit you where it hurt, but damn, Carmela. You’re lucky I found out about the kidnapping when I did. I’m the reason she came home unharmed. Even I’m not that much of a monster.” I’ve never heard her curse before, and the word twists her lips into a snarl.
The longer she talks, the more unhinged she’s starting to sound.
Red-hot rage zips from my stomach to my chest. “The letters. They were from you, weren’t they?”
“Clever, don’t you think? Came up with them all on my own, too.” She looks down to retrieve something from her clutch. “However, I had a little help in delivering them. The roses weren’t my idea, though. Personally, I think they were weird. Everyone is so obsessed with you, aren’t they?” She takes a few steps forward to throw something on my desk.
A black matte metal card with a shiny gold feather embossed on it.
Luca’s membership card.
“No…” the word escapes between my lips in a whisper. “He wouldn’t.” I replay the conversation I had with Vinny at his restaurant weeks ago. All the talk about how much better his security is. The suggestion that Mick should retire. I even joked that this was an elaborate ploy to push me into Luca’s arms. “So, what? Vinny sought you out to blackmail us?” I seethe.
“No, not Mr . Morroni.” Kate smirks.
Time moves in slow motion as a shadow emerges from the dark doorway of the bathroom where he must have been waiting to make his grand entrance.
My chest grows tight, mouth falling open in a ragged gasp as the bitter sting of betrayal expands up my esophagus. “Luca?”
He averts his gaze toward the floor, but he looks so guilty, and I don’t know if it makes it worse or better. “I’m sorry, Carmela. I didn’t think it would go this far,” he says remorsefully.
“Oh, of course you did, kid,” Kate chides, turning to him. “As a matter of fact, I remember you being the one to suggest getting your dad involved. Did you really think he would take it easy on them? ”
“How could you?” I question, hands clenching into fists at my side. “I trusted you.”
“No one was ever meant to get hurt. It was only meant to scare you into letting my father back into the club, and yes, I acted purely for selfish reasons. I thought you’d want me to stay by your side if you thought you were in danger.” Luca tries to approach, but I quickly step away, shaking my head in disbelief.
“No one was meant to get hurt?” I parrot back. “What do you call murdering people, Luca? What do you call attacking me in the alley?” I reel back in alarm. “Was that you ?”
“No! I’d never hurt you!” he bellows. “My father sent one of his men to rough you up just to scare you. The men I killed were ones my father dealt with when he was a partner here. They owed him, and they were doing a damn good job of dodging the attempts to collect,” he explains in earnest. He sounds like he truly believes that killing someone is a perfectly normal way to deal with a bad debt. It makes me wonder if he’s always been this na?ve, and I just chose not to see it.
“I wonder how your detective fudged that one up so badly,” Kate intercedes. “Sure, the evidence was buried in layers of paperwork through shell corporations, but it was there. I guess he was too distracted, huh?”
Ignoring her, I keep my gaze locked on Luca, feeling like I can’t take in enough air to fill my lungs. “ Why? ”
“Because every time I thought I had you, you’d run back to him ! And then that fucking smug son of a bitch detective showed up, and suddenly you didn’t give a single shit about me,” Luca snaps, pounding a closed fist against his chest.
“You let them take my daughter!”
“I called it off after that,” guilt seeps back into his voice. “I didn’t know you had a kid, Cara. I swear.”
“Halloween happened after she was kidnapped,” I piece together. “You saved me from the person that grabbed me.”
His eyes drop to the floor, but not before they flicker to Kate. She looks between us before raising a hand. “Oh, that was my call. He had nothing to do with that one. I thought if you got shut down, maybe you’d run away with your new boyfriend. And look what happened. It worked.”
“You two are psychotic.” Acid tears line my eyes, burning as they trail down my cheeks. “Why go through all this trouble, Kate? Why not just leave him? You deserve better?—”
“Don’t you tell me what I deserve!” she roars. The bag she’s holding drops to the ground, revealing a small, shiny handgun clutched in her fingers. “I deserved to be happy! You took that from me! Mick was perfectly happy with our arrangement until you came along! ”
My chest muscles spasm from the instant anxiety of having a gun pointed at me. Slowly, I raise my hands as Luca’s head whips in her direction.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” he asks in alarm, reaching for the gun.
“He won’t leave me if she’s no longer an option!” she snarls, jerking away from him. “I never understood what was so special about you.” She waves the barrel in my direction.
Luca’s large frame dwarves hers as he grabs her wrists. For such a petite thing, Kate puts up one hell of a fight as they wrestle for control of the firearm. Logically, I know I should flee. Run. Scream. Anything to get out of this situation.
But my feet are frozen, the sound of Kate and Luca struggling playing like a soundtrack as flashes of Maya as a baby run like a projection in my mind.
Microscopic moments of her getting older—moments I haven’t even experienced with her yet—and a pair of hazel eyes.
A deafening crack resonates through the room.
Something hits me in the chest with such force that it knocks me back. Pain splits through my temple. Warmth seeps below me.
“Fuck! Carmela!” I’ve never heard Luca sound so panicked before.
Copper fills my throat—the metallic taste hot, and thick, and bubbly.
The rushing sound of footsteps races by as warm fingers gingerly touch my arms. “Fuck…fuck…fuck. You’re gonna be okay.”
As I struggle to breathe, I think of Maya making pastelitos with Mami in the kitchen. I can smell the guava and hear their laughter.
“Forgive me,” Luca whispers. Then he’s gone from my side.
Distantly, I hear shouting as black creeps into my vision. It gets easier to breathe. Or is that because I’ve stopped?
My eyes shut as the door slams open, but I’m sinking further and further into the inky sea that’s pulling me under.
Someone is yelling.
A white light appears above me—giant, feathery wings embracing me.
As they close around me, all I see is green.
And all I can think is that I never told Ande?—