7. Salvatore
seven
Salvatore
The moment my jet touched Italian soil, I was ready for anything that would bring Isabella back to me.
And when I say anything, I mean it. That’s why I didn’t question my cousin Rocco’s intention in helping me. Money is not a problem. This is not the first time I’ll have to pay him huge amounts of money, but he always has other requests. I’m still waiting to return him a favor for helping me last time I was here.
Last time I came here with Isabella, for the alliance. This time, there is no alliance and I’m almost sure if I cross her father’s path, he will put a bullet between my eyes.
Do I care?
No.
I’m ready to die if I can’t get her back.
“You sure you don’t want us to go back to my villa?” I look toward my cousin, who is driving casually. His left hand is over the wheel and his right hand rests on the gear stick.
“No, just drive me to the borders of Calabria. I don’t want you involved. I will do everything by myself.”
“By yourself? And what exactly is your plan? Do you have one?”
I shrug. “No, but I don’t need one. For the first time in my life, I’m letting things go with a flow.”
He shakes his head. “You’re crazy, you know that, right? Ruggeri will kill you if he catches you. And that guy who is always with her, Pino… they are supposed to get married.”
My breath catches and his words are like a knife in my heart. “What?” I can barely ask.
“Well, that is the word on the street. How about we start from the beginning?”
“Talk!”
“According to my sources, with the support of her father, she is becoming a mafia queen with that big guy Pino by her side.”
I turn to him and study his expression. “I thought only sons could inherit their father’s place in ‘Ndrangheta?”
He shrugs. “Maybe before, but come on, Salvatore. Every organization on this planet is evolving. It’s time they do as well.”
“What exactly does that mean for you?”
“Nothing, for now. We have a deal. I actually couldn’t care less if I deal with a woman or a man.” He smirks. “At least a woman is better to look at.”
“What about his men? Do they agree with it?”
“As far as I know, they do. The deal breaker is she is marrying Pino…”
I cut him off. My voice low and firm. “She is not marrying him. She is still my wife. She is still mine.”
“You sure about that? On paper maybe, but they seem too cozy to me.”
“What do you mean?”
We stop at the crossing as he lets an old lady cross the road. He leans over and opens the glove compartment, taking a yellow envelope from it and tossing it on my lap. “Take a look.”
My eyes peruse the envelope, and with questions in my head, I open it and take the stack of photos from it.
Photos of Isabella, alone with her father. Even her friend, Ceci, is in some of them. I keep turning them over until I come to pictures of her and the guy I met at her father’s place, Pino. They’re together, laughing and dancing, his hand on her lower back. Isabella is in his arms, hugging him. I feel a shattering inside me, a knife-stabbing pain in my heart. Questions of self-destruction fill my head. Am I too late? Did she move on? Do I really deserve a second chance? Should I just get on my plane and fly back?
Rocco’s voice brings my attention back to him. “He is very well respected in their organization, and they look like they understand each other, but he doesn’t love her.”
I turn toward him. “What do you mean?”
“Keep looking through the pictures.”
I do. I keep looking until I get to the pictures of the same guy kissing another woman. And then another of them laughing and looking at each other with a longing in their eyes. “What is this?”
He smirks. “This, my dear cousin, is our ticket to get you near Isabella.”
“Meaning?”
“This is Maria. Ruggeri’s housekeeper’s daughter. She was married a couple of years back to one of Ruggeri’s men. The bastard was beating her up, but that’s not why I care. They lived at the end of their territory just a few miles on the borders and he was always causing trouble for my men. We decided to give him a friendly visit because of our deal with Ruggeri. When we got there, we found her covered in blood, while he was getting off on it. There was a child crying in the other room. One of my men went postal and beat the bastard to death. We made a deal with her. We would take care of him and she would keep her mouth shut. She also knows I will collect the debt one day. That day is today.”
“What is she going to do for you?”
“Well, for me, nothing. For you, she will distract Pino, and you can get to Isabella before someone catches you. But I need to warn you, she is well guarded.”
“I just need to see her. I will know the rest after that.” I look at him. “What are you getting out of this?”
“Oh, don’t worry. I’m not doing this free of charge.”
“Should I be worried?”
“It’s not you who should be worried. It’s her.”
He takes a picture from the stack in my lap and places it on the rearview mirror before him. My eyes go to the picture and the woman in it.
Cecilia.
“Why should she be worried?”
“That, my cousin, is a story for another day.” He parks on the street. “Now is a time for stalking.” He nods to the opposite side of the street, and I catch a glimpse of a woman in a red dress. Her long hair falls in waves behind her back as she walks into a restaurant. Two men follow her, and my heart skips a beat at the sight of her. I know that woman. I know that gracious walk and those long legs.
“Come on. Let’s eat something.” My cousin opens the door and exits his car without waiting for my answer.
I follow him. “I told you to leave me at the border. Why are you coming with me?”
He looks amused. “And miss all the fun? I need to make sure you don’t cause me any trouble here.”
I shake my head. “Are we going to the same place Isabella went?”
“Yes. But first, lose your suit jacket and tie.” I do as he says as he opens the back of his trunk and gets us some baseball caps and fake glasses.
“Really? What are you, five?”
“We’re stalking here. We need to lie low.”
“I’ll take the cap but not the glasses.”
He shrugs. “Fine.”
We walk across the road and enter the same restaurant Isabella just entered. The waitress greets us, and my cousin asks for a table for two, choosing one far enough that Isabella and whoever is with her doesn’t see us, but close enough that I can see her.
I don’t order; my cousin does it for me. I don’t eat, nor do I drink what is placed before me. What I do drink in is her presence, her laughs, and her smiles. My eyes eat up the way she moves and the way she talks, how composed and confident she is sitting in what seems like a meeting. The men don’t ogle her like she’s a piece of meat; they respect her. They listen to her; they bowed their heads toward her, showing her the respect she obviously deserves, and has earned, from them.
When the men stand and leave, Pino shows up and sits beside her. Something inside me snaps, and the feeling of destruction starts growing. Before I can act, I stand and exit the restaurant, keeping my head down, avoiding any eye contact.
“Wait.” I hear my cousin running behind me, calling my name. I don’t stop until I reach the car, and I hear the click of the lock. I open the door and slide inside.
“Did someone see you?” Rocco questions. I shake my head. “Then why did you leave?”
I snap at him. “Because I couldn’t watch her beside another man.”
I curl my hand into a fist and punch the front console of his car.
“Fuck!”
Punch.
“Fuck!”
Punch.
“Fuck!”
“Hey, calm dawn.” My cousin grabs me by the lapels of my shirt and shakes me.” “You need to calm the fuck down.”
“How? If you know how, just tell me, and I will.”
“You are going to see her today, before they get the information that you are in Italy. News travels fast here. And to do so, we need to stalk her and find the right time.” He narrows his eyes. “That’s why I need you calm and ready. Understand?”
I shake him off me and breathe slowly to calm myself. “I will be ready.”
I don’t know how many hours have passed, but it seems like a lifetime. I watch Isabella go about her day, from that restaurant to a beauty parlor, and then shopping. I watch her eat her dinner and laugh with some woman, who, according to my cousin, is a rich jewelry owner who possibly does business with ‘Ndrangheta.
I watch her enter a nightclub with not only two men following her but Pino as well.
“This is it.” I turn to my cousin’. “In an hour, it will be your chance. Maria will be here in exactly one hour, and when she has Pino distracted, you can get to Isabella.” He exits the car, and I follow him. “But first, we need to get inside.”
“And how are we going to do that?”
“Money, cousin. Money.”
I follow him, and for a second, I doubt his skills, but a wad of cash in an envelope gets things done. I shouldn’t be surprised. This is Italy, after all. Money speaks more than loyalty.
We enter the club. Purple and pink lights follow me from the entrance into the main area. Humid air fills my nostrils, followed by the smell of alcohol and sweat mixed with cheap perfume. I ignore bodies dancing and grinding on each other and how the place is packed. My eyes search for the woman my heart is pining for.
A hand lands on my back, and my cousin leans in so I can hear him. “Upstairs, VIP area.”
I follow him, and once again, he places a wad of cash in the other man's hand. We climb the stairs, and I search for her, but she isn’t there. I follow him to the bar, and we order drinks.
“She’s in the room around that corner.”
I follow his gaze and see the door with a fingerprint lock. “And how am I going to get in there?”
“When Pino exits, I will be behind that curtain and will hold the door for you. Once you’re in, the rest is on you.” He narrows his eyes at me. “I don’t know what’s behind that door. No one except the one whose fingerprints match does.”
I shrug. “I guess we will soon find out.”
He shakes his head. “Don’t get yourself killed.”
I chuckle. “You think she would kill me?”
He leans his head to the side. “I don’t know. If I was her, I would.”
I raise my eyebrows, questioning him.
“After what she has gone through because of you. I could kill you myself.”
“Thank you for telling me that.”
He drinks his drink, his eyes catching movement behind me. “It’s time.”
I turn toward where he’s looking and catch a glimpse of a petite young woman. He goes to stand behind the curtain, and I stay in my place, waiting for his directions.
Soon enough, just as he told me, Pino exits that door, his eyes searching for the woman. Worry shows in his eyes just for a moment before it’s gone. But it’s enough to distract him from the attention of the door.
My cousin catches the door, and I get up, staying in the shadows, and walk toward that door. As soon as I enter, the door closes behind me and I’m faced with the narrow space of a dim hallway.
There are three doors on my left and two on my right. I look for the lights behind the door, walking carefully, and listen to hear anything that could lead me toward Isabella.
When I reach the end, I can see a light behind the door. I can hear hushed voices, but not loud enough to understand what they’re talking about.
As I’m about to take a step back, a hand lands on my back and grabs me by my jacket.
“Son of a bitch.” He throws me against the wall. “How did you get inside?”
I look toward the man who is not Pino but a bulky guy who has a good eighty pounds and a few inches on me.
He pulls out his gun, and I raise my hands, surrendering. I need to show that I come in peace if I want to see her.
“I need to see Isabella.”
He laughs. “Sure you do. Everyone wants that, but only a few have that privilege. And you aren’t one of those who does.”
“I’m her husband,” I growl.
If I thought he would go easy on me because of that, I was wrong. His face transforms to full anger, and he grabs me by the lapels of my jacket and raises me a few inches from the ground. I hold off from fighting back. If I wanted to, I could. I just don’t see that as a solution, at least not until I see her.
“I should kill you now. Unfortunately, that is not my decision.” He gets in my face. “First, you will kneel before her, and then you will beg to be killed.”
In a second, he spins me and seizes my hands, leading me behind the closed door I spied on seconds ago.
All eyes turn to us as we enter, but my eyes catch only hers, clashing like a storm and the ocean. My attention doesn’t go to the men sitting in their seats or to the poker game. I smile like I just won the most precious prize, ignoring the fact I’m being pushed toward her.
I can only feel my heart dancing and the feeling of longing that needs to be satisfied.
I only fully understand my situation when I land on my knees in front of her and my face meets her feet.
“Now, you beg for death.”