30. Alexander
Chapter 30
Alexander
I shove my hands deep into the pockets of my trousers as I stroll down the long corridor towards my brother’s room.
We’ve been back in Sydney for five days, but nothing much has changed. Chloe only speaks when spoken to, and she avoids her mother at all costs.
They are only in the same room together when we sit down for a meal, and the air becomes so thick you could cut it with a knife.
Giovanni spends his time either locked away in Chloe’s room—where she hides for most of the day—or in the kitchen with his newly found Nonna. Sophia’s parents cut her out of their lives years ago when the whole Giovanni-not-being-mine debacle came to light. It’s been a long time since he’s had the chance to experience a grandparent’s love.
The poor kid lost just as much as I did during that time, including my father’s affection. He is the innocent party in all this, which only makes me love him even more.
When I reach my brother’s room, I nod at the armed guard I’ve stationed outside his door. The hospital wasn’t impressed with the round-the-clock security I’ve assigned, but I don’t give a fuck. I’m not taking any chances in case any of the Mortellis plan to come and finish the job.
Dante is sitting up in bed when I enter, and the sight has a smile tugging at the corners of my lips. He’s come a long way since the shooting. His recovery will be extensive, but he’s still here and improving every day, which is the most important thing.
I move over to one of the chairs by the wall, dragging it towards the bed, and take a seat. “How are you feeling today?” I ask.
“Same as yesterday when you asked me … shit.”
“You at least have your colour back today.”
“Hmm,” he hums, totally bored with our conversation already.
“I spoke with your doctor this morning; he said you’ll be here for a few more weeks, but he doesn’t see a problem with you attending Papa’s funeral next week. You’ll need to be in a wheelchair, of course. And accompanied by a nurse.”
“Fuck that,” he grumbles.
“I know it’s not ideal, but you don’t want to do anything that will set you back.”
“Can I at least choose the nurse?”
“Have you got your eye on someone?” I ask in return.
“Yeah, the blonde. She works the night shift. Amelia, Aurora, or is it Abigail? It starts with A anyway. She gave me a very in-depth sponge bath this morning … it came with a happy ending.”
I bark out a laugh. “She doesn’t sound like a good little Italian girl.”
“I never said I was going to marry her.”
I lean back in my chair, lifting my leg to rest my ankle on my knee. “I’m thinking of settling down. ”
“Yeah, right,” he chuckles.
“I’m serious. I’ve met someone.”
“Who?”
“Her name’s Chloe … she’s Lina’s daughter.”
His eyebrows jump so high that they almost reach his hairline. “Lina … as in our Lina.”
“Technically, she’s not ours, but yeah.”
“She has a daughter?”
“She does.”
“Fucking hell, I didn’t know that. Where’s she been all this time?”
“With her father until recently … I moved her in with me a couple of months ago.”
“Moved her in? Sounds serious.”
“Well, I just told you I’m thinking of settling down. So, no shit.”
“Where’d you meet her?”
“At the bar at my hotel.”
“Wow. Small world, hey? Did you know who she was when you met?”
“No.”
“Are you going to ask her to marry you?”
“Hopefully, when she stops hating me and starts loving me again.”
He cracks up, then winces, clutching his side. “Fuck, that hurt. Why does she hate you?”
“Because I didn’t tell her I knew her mum once I found out who she was.”
He blows out a long whistle between his teeth. “I bet that didn’t go down well.”
“You could say that.”
“How’s Lina dealing with …”
His words die off, but he doesn’t need to elaborate; I know what he wants to say. “Dealing with it as best she can, like all of us.”
“The feds were here earlier.”
“They were?” I ask, arching a brow. “What did they want?”
“A statement.”
“What did you tell them?”
“Apart from a resounding ‘fuck off’, I told them nothing. You know how it works in our world … we handle our own shit.”
“Don’t you think there’s been enough bloodshed?”
‘They killed our father.”
I sit forward in my seat and angrily whisper through gritted teeth, “And you guys killed theirs first.”
“Keep it down, will you? I wouldn’t be surprised if these walls had ears.”
“Can’t we just let this shit go? I think we’ve all lost enough.”
“Is that how you plan on running the show now that you’re in charge? You let them come onto our property and massacre us on Christmas Day, of all fucking days, and you just turn the other cheek?”
“I’m in charge of my own life … that’s it. I want no part of that world, and you know it.”
“But it was Dad’s wish that you be his successor.”
“And he knew it was a position I never wanted. I made that perfectly clear when he was alive. You and I both know you’re the better man for the job, but I still hope you walk away after everything that’s happened.”
“It’s not in my blood to walk away.”
“You are lucky to be alive, Dante. Next time?—”
“Can we talk about something else,” he snaps, cutting me off. “You’re pissing me off with your holier-than-thou attitude. ”
“Fine, but for the record, it’s called common sense.”
“So, this chick … what’s her name again, Clara?”
“Chloe.”
“I was close.”
I chuckle. “Not even in the ballpark, little brother.”
“Like fuck I wasn’t. I got the first letter right.”
“That was it.”
He flicks his hand. “Is she hot like her mum?”
I rear back. “You think Lina is hot?”
“For an old chook, yeah. I mean, I wouldn’t do her or anything, but I bet she was a babe when she was younger.”
“You’re sick.”
“Obviously, I’m in the hospital.”
We both crack up, which has him clutching his side again. That pretty much sums up our relationship. We have plenty of differences and rarely see eye to eye anymore, but we never stay mad at each other for long. He’s family … all I have left, and that trumps everything.
“So when am I going to meet my future sister-in-law?”
“After that comment about her mum? I’m guessing never.”
I press the fob on my keychain, opening one of the garage doors, and slowly guide my Maserati inside. Even though I’m often chauffeured around, I still enjoy taking one of my luxury cars for a spin now and then.
This afternoon, I met with the priest who will officiate my father’s service next week. Papa’s final wish was to be buried beside my mother in Griffith. Although we’ll hold the church service here in Sydney so Dante can be present, I’ll fly back the following day for a private burial.
It’s unconventional, I know, but the best I could do under the circumstances. Dante’s doctor said he isn’t fit enough to travel such a long distance right now, and it is essential to us both that he gets to pay his last respects to our father.
My dad was a popular and well-respected man within his circle, who would’ve wanted and probably deserved an elaborate send-off. However, he won’t be getting one. I’ve kept the information a secret because keeping my loved ones safe is more important.
I have organised a memorial service to be held in my home town later next week. To honour not just my father, but his men who died right alongside him.
I’m technically the head of the family now, so even if I’m bending the rules, I couldn’t care less. Next week will mark my first and last duties as the new don of the Mancini family. If my brother decides to pick up where things left off once he’s well again, there’s nothing I can do to stop him. I hope he has a change of heart before then, though.
As I exit the eight-car garage via the side door and approach the house, I greet one of my guards as I pass. “Where’s Nico?” I ask, noticing that the limousine was not parked out front in its usual place.
“He’s been gone all day.”
“Since he left this morning to take Mrs Carmichael to church?”
“Yes.”
“And Miss Carmichael?”
“Is inside with your son. Marco has not let her out of his sight as you instructed.”
My stomach churns as I stalk towards the house. I trusted Lina to go out today unchaperoned because I thought I could. Have I made a mistake in doing so, or has something more sinister happened?
I pull out my phone and text Nico.
Me: Where are you?
Nico: At that rehab place … the one we took that guy to?
Me: That guy?
Nico: Yeah, you know the one.
I can only presume he’s talking about Chloe’s father, Theo.
Me: Why are you there?
Nico: She asked me to take her after church. Since you gave me no restrictions on this one, I didn’t think there was an issue.
Me: This one?
Nico: When I take the other one out, you always give me a list of things I can and can’t do.
Me: The other one?
What the fuck. Why have I never noticed his vagueness until now? I know exactly who he’s referring to in every instance, but does he not know their names? Or is he being deliberately obtuse?
Angelina asked if she could attend church this morning. I had no issues with that because she seems to lack her daughter’s feisty spirit and will to escape any chance she gets. It makes me wonder if my father broke her somehow over the years. I wasn’t around much back then, so besides the occasional visit, I never really got to witness their dynamic or, if I’m being honest, particularly cared.
She was nobody to me. No woman could ever replace my mother, so with her gone, I wasn’t interested in the other females that came after her.
Nico: Am I allowed to go and get her? I’ve been sitting here for hours, watching them alternate between hugging, crying and making out like a couple of teenagers. It even turned me off my lunch, and my wife packed my favourite today, so I’m fucking pissed.
I bark out a laugh.
Me: Yes, go get her. Tell her she can visit him again tomorrow.
Nico: Thank fuck. I’ll have to go home and bleach my eyeballs after this. Can someone else bring her tomorrow? Apart from being blind from the bleach, I’m not sure I can stomach another day of this.
I slip my phone into my pocket and call out, “Giovanni.”
There’s no point calling for Chloe—she’s still not speaking to me—but I know wherever my son is, I’ll find her as well. Those two are as thick as thieves. Wherever she goes, her little shadow is always right beside her.
“We are in the kitchen, Dad.”
When I enter the room, I find Chloe cooking on the stovetop. Lina had taken over that role since we got back to Sydney, but since she’s not here …
Giovanni’s little face beams as soon as he sees me, and I’ll never get tired of that look. At least someone is glad to see me. Chloe is giving me her back.
I approach him and ruffle his hair as I lean down to place a chaste kiss on the top of his head. I move in her direction next. She may not want me to touch her, but that’s not going to stop me from trying.
I’m still forcing her to share my bed at night because I’m an arsehole. It’s the only time I get to spend one-on-one with her. In reality, she continues to ignore me then as well, but the moment she falls asleep, I pull her petite body against mine and pretend we are okay as I drift off into a blissful sleep.
I come to a stop right behind her and feel her body stiffen when I grasp her hip. “What are you making, amore mio .”
She lifts her chin in defiance, and I feel my cock start to swell in my pants. I’m aching for this woman. “I’m cooking something for Giovanni since my mother seems to be MIA. You don’t seem to care about her comings and goings … and please stop calling me that.”
I disregard her comment because I’ll never stop calling her ‘my love’. She is the first, and if I get my way, she’ll be the last.
“Your mother has spent the day with your father.”
I hear her audible gasp as she spins to face me. Our mouths are now just inches apart, and the urge to kiss her is so fucking intense, but I manage to keep myself in check. I miss the days when I could freely touch her, kiss her … bury myself balls deep inside her heat.
“You’re lying.”
Pulling my phone from my pocket, I bring up the message thread with Nico. “See for yourself.”
Her eyes flick over the screen, and she gasps again. “They made out?” Her gaze meets mine, and her beautiful caramel eyes are wide with disbelief.
“According to Nico, they did. I don’t see any reason for him to lie. ”
“This feels like another betrayal,” she says, pushing the phone towards me.
“Why would you think that?” I ask, genuinely confused.
“He should hate her for what she did.”
I arch an eyebrow. “He should hate her for saving his life? She sacrificed everything she held dear to keep you both safe. Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t it your father who stole from mine and got you both tangled up in this mess in the first place? The way I see it, you and your mother are the ones who paid the price for his sins.”
This is the most she’s spoken to me in days, and the last thing I want to do is stir things up, but she needs to hear this. Her reasoning is all wrong.
I’ve always been careful about how I speak about her father in her presence—she clearly sees him through rose-coloured glasses—but it’s his own poor choices that have caused his family so much pain.
“In my eyes, it should be your mother who hates him. I was there the day my father brought her home. She was a devastated wreck, and honestly, she had every right to be. She loves your father the same way she loves you, bella . She proved that when she made the ultimate sacrifice for you both. You need to cut her some slack.”
I’m unsure what kind of reaction I will get from her, but I brace myself anyway. The last thing I expect is for her eyes to fill with tears. “You’re right,” she whispers.
“I’m always right” is what I want to retort, but I hold my tongue.
Instead, I pull her into my arms, holding her tight, praying that this is a step forward for us. My father will be laid to rest in a matter of days, and I could use her comfort right now.