Chapter 37
Vincent da Silva
We’re all in the same country, I didn’t have to know them, they were my people, my family.
It was one of many attributes that made me admire him as much as I did, why I valued our close friendship so much.
Not too many gangbangers were as patriotic, but – outside the Serpents – Dario Mangiacavallo was a man of integrity, honor, and justice.
He didn’t lean one way or another in politics, he didn’t give a shit about right or left, he wanted action and fairness and honesty, something rarely found, if at all, on either side of the coins these days.
Open to all suggestions to get the end result as quickly and peacefully as possible, the only subject matter he threw judgement on was homosexuality.
More than once, he initiated intimacy between us.
When he held me in his arms and made love to me on the deck in the rain for nearly half an hour yesterday, he hardly closed his eyes, wanting to look at me the entire time.
He called me baby repeatedly. The way he looked at me, kissed me, touched me, it was hard to believe he was ever homophobic.
And now I was expected to believe he was a changed man?
For me, he was changing his entire stance on the matter and embracing what he once hated?
Groaning, I pushed off the chair and stood, going back inside.
Digging my smokes from my pocket, I tucked one in the corner of my mouth but didn’t light it as I turned left and cut through the dining room to the kitchen.
Hungry, I opened the fridge and searched the items, wondering if I wanted something quick and simple, or should I cook Dash a full breakfast?
“Hey, Vin!” he shouted from outside.
Something in his tone had my stomach sinking. Closing the fridge, I strode through the house and stepped onto the porch. He was standing by one of the columns, his stance wide, arms crossed, a scowl on his face. Following his trail of sight, my brows shot upward.
Removing the cigarette, I grumbled, “What the fuck are the cops doing here?” and went to his side to watch the unmarked vehicle bounce down the dirt road.
“No fucking clue, man. I thought you and Tiny said we was okay with what happened in Georgia.”
“They said no charges. Self-defense. This gotta be something else.”
“Jesus, what the fuck we do this time?”
“Don’t worry about it none. These are local pigs, so more than likely nothing to do with Georgia. Just chill.”
“Mm hm.”
The car’s brakes squealed as it came to a stop and shut off. A moment later, two men climbed out, one in full suit, the other missing his jacket. Their expressions stoic, they approached rather quickly.
“Mr. Mangiacavallo?”
“Yeah? What?”
He coughed and extended his hand. “My name is Detective Bradshaw.”
Neither of us moved to shake it. Our stances matching, he sneered, letting them both know just how unwanted they were.
He cleared his throat and withdrew, casting a glance to his partner. “Uh, yeah, well, um. Ahem. We were touching base about your wife, Mary Mangiacavallo.”
My stomach sank a second time, but my expression remained bitter. Holy shit, I’d completely forgotten about her…again. Sure, once in a while, we spotted her spooking around the property, but, otherwise, for some reason, my brain kept blocking her out.
Shooting a fleeting glimpse his way out the corner of my eye, Dash had remained rigid, showing no emotions to what he said.
“What about her?”
“Have you heard from her, sir?”
He snorted, shrugging his shoulders without unfolding the arms. “No, and I don’t plan to. The skank ran out on her own fucking daughter to chase some dude’s dick. Good fucking riddance, if you ask me.”
Obviously not expecting that answer, he shifted from foot to foot while the quiet one scowled in disapproval. “Well, we have some news, Mr. Mangiacavallo, and we were wondering if you could give us anymore leads from it.”
His face fell a bit, his eyelids thinning. “You know where she is?” he asked, almost sounding as if he cared.
“No, no, but we finally got her phone records from Verizon.”
“Oh. Okay. And?”
They exchanged looks once more. “And, um, sir. We have discovered who your wife was having an affair with.”
My interest at last piqued, I stepped forward, a hand on the column. “Who?”
He tugged at his tie and then readjusted his sunglasses. “Um, it’s Edoardo Bianchi…sir.”
Dumbfounded, an invisible fist slammed into my gut so hard, I actually oofed. Stumbling backward a bit, I gawked at Dash’s profile, curious to his reaction. “Oh, shit,” I croaked, fisting the hair on top of my head.
Bit by bit, his features scrunched, his eyelids thinning over his irises glowing with sheer abhorrence. His upper lip twitching, he was seething, panting, instantly sweating. “Jackyl,” he stated more than asked.
“Uh, yes, sir.”
“Are you sure?” I muttered, my focus bouncing back and forth between them. “I mean, you sure they was fucking around?”
He coughed yet again and nodded, briefly looking at the ground. “There’s no mistaking some of those texts, sir.”
“Motherfucker!” he howled, swirling around to slam his fist into the column.
My heart racing, I wanted to comfort him but didn’t dare in front of people. Shocked at the depths of our leader’s betrayals, I was growing numb inside. Should I tell my sister her husband was cheating on her? Did it even matter anymore? After all, she’d cheated on him with Tyler more than once.
“How long?” I asked, still focusing on Dash.
“We’re not quite sure, sir, but as far as we can see, their interactions go back as far as 2013.”
Another invisible blow had me grunting, bile shooting up my throat.
A year after he married my sister? What the fuck?
That was way before she stepped out with Tyler for the first time.
Why the hell would he go to the extremes he did to get my sister to fall in love with him, just to cheat on her as soon as he locked her down?
What was the point of all the damage he inflicted if he wasn’t going to appreciate the victory?
He bristled and blanched. Inching around to stare at me in horror, he began shaking. Lashing out, he grabbed my forearm, the whites showing around his eyes. “Vinny.”
Anxiously shooting quick glances at the cop, I cleared my throat and stepped a little closer, afraid he was about to lose his shit. “Yeah?”
“Piera...”
Realization struck and I gawked, as well. “Oh, shit.”
“Is she…” He gulped, fiercely gripping my other arm. “Is she mine…or his?”
Faintly shaking my head, I threw caution to the wind and spoke to him softly. To hell with them, Dash needed me, that’s all that mattered. “I dunno, baby. I…I had no fucking clue. I just don’t know.”
His chin shaking, tears welled, his complexion turning green. “She looks like them. They’re so close.”
I knew who “them” was, Edwina and Eddie. Affectionately known to the acorn as “the Eddies.” Shooting the cops another nervous peek, I gave another stiff nod. “I know.”
“Oh, my god. Oh, my god!” he croaked, closing the distance between us. Holding the sides of my neck, he laid his forehead to my collar and gulped air, trying not to hyperventilate. Uncomfortable with their scrutiny, I gently patted his back and shot them a glower.
“Is there anything else you need?”
Their brows were arched high, the quiet one’s mouth opened.
“Uh, n-n-no…s-sir. We’ll…be in touch…though.”
“Get the fuck outta here.”
For a moment, they lingered, staring. Eventually, the talker cleared his throat yet again, turned, and motioned his partner to the car.
“Let’s go. Now,” he barked at his hesitation.
They got back in their car, turned on the engine, and turned around under the carport, driving back down the road to the woods where they disappeared.
“What if she ain’t mine, Vinny? What if she’s his?”
I coaxed him to stand up straight and look into my eyes, crouching just a bit to gaze at him through my lashes. “It ain’t gonna matter none, Dash. She’s yours. You been her daddy since day one. They’re both dead, no one needs to know. Ever.”
“I know. You know—”
“You think I’m gonna say something? Fuck that, I’d never betray you like that. You know this. We’ll have a test done, if you want, but no matter what those results say, you are Piera’s dad. Ain’t nobody gotta know nothing different.”
Sniffing and coughing, he nodded, blinking rapidly to push the tears down. “You’re right. They’re dead. Nobody needs to know.”
I petted his hair down the back of his head to his nape several times, cupping his cheek. “This goes no further than you and me, okay?”
His head bobbing, he gulped a large breath of air that had his chest puffing out, his face upturned to the ceiling.
Closing his eyelids, he shook his hands out, composing himself.
When he looked at me again, he was sneering vehemently.
“I swear to god, if I hadn’t already shot that bastard, I’d slit his motherfucking throat. ”
Cursing under my breath, I draped my arm across his shoulders, patting that bicep, and led him inside.
I coaxed him to sit on the sofa and started to walk away, but he grabbed my wrist tightly.
Staring straight ahead, his chest rising and falling quickly to labored breaths, his complexion was turning dark, his nostrils flared out.
“Don’t…leave me.”
My brows furrowing, I stepped a little closer, trying to peel his fingers off, to no avail. They just kept digging deeper and deeper, bruising my skin. “Ow. I’m not…ow, dammit. I’m not going anywhere. I was just going to make you something to eat.”
Blinking rapidly, he tipped his head to peer up at me, fear shimmering in his gaze. “I’ve lost so much, Vin. Now I might lose my daughter. I can’t…lose you, too.”
My insides turned over and my pulse started racing. Slowly sinking next to him, I faintly shook my head. “I ain’t going nowhere, babe. You got my word on that.”
“Ever. I mean it.”
I snorted and shrugged my free hand out. “Eventually, I gotta go home—”
“Then I’m going with you.”
My jaw fell and everything inside came to a screeching halt. Panting, my mouth running dry, I croaked, “What do you mean?”
“I don’t wanna be here no more. Mary’s ghost.” He looked around, his throat constricting. “She’s everywhere, Vin. Even Piera has seen her.”
I cringed and sank further into the cushion, stretching the arm he was clinging to across my chest, laying that palm on his thigh.
My other draped across his shoulders to pull him closer.
Craning my neck to press my lips to his temple, I whispered against his ear.
“Let’s pack up today. You and Piera come home with me. We’ll sell this place.”
He turned to look at me, his brows arched. “Am I coming home as your friend?”
My bottom lip pursing, I was confused. “Of course. I don’t know what—”
His eyes moved about to search my face before landing on mine. “I don’t want the guest room, Vin.”
A second time, a burst of adrenaline hit, sending my heartbeat into a tailspin of emotions that clogged my throat. “But… The Serpents…”
“They either accept us or we move to Sicily, where I’m from. I got an old villa out there my folks gave me years ago, trying to get me to leave the gang. It’s still there. Untouched.” Another trace of fear hit, his breaths shallowing. “If that’s okay with you.”
My chest was starting to burn from the intense sensations overwhelming me. He’d already thought this out! Was this really happening? Was I actually about to get everything I’d always longed for with Dash? Was he really willing to take a stand?
Very stiffly, I nodded, combing my fingers through his hair. “Yeah, okay.”
His eyelids rounded and a breath hitched the back of his throat. “Then you’ll go with me if things get rough? You’ll move to Italy and help me raise my daughter?”
One corner of my mouth tugging, I nodded again. “I’ll help you raise our daughter anywhere you want, baby.”
He completely stopped breathing and blanched, the whites showing around his dark irises. His lashes fluttering, he emitted a husky groan and sagged against me, his face in the crook of my neck. Finally, his hold released so his arm could circle my torso.
“Thank you. I can’t lose you, too, Vin. I got nothing left.”
Pure joy and elation bursting inside like pops of fireworks, I couldn’t help but chuckle, just to release some of that energy. My lips in his hair, I whispered, “I ain’t going nowhere, Dario. You and me, ride or die.”
“Ride or die.”
“Yup.”
He sighed again and leaned closer, pushing us into the back of the cushions.
A little uncomfortable because of my ribs, I sucked on my teeth and stretched out my legs, propping my feet on the coffee table to alleviate some of the pressure.
Holding him like this, lounging on the sofa, his arms around me, my cheek on his head, was fucking amazing.
This was what I had dreamed of having one day, never thinking I would because I had refused to let go of an adolescent fantasy of my first love with Billy.
A soft snore rumbled against my shoulder and I smiled. Carefully jutting my hip, I slowly pulled out my cellphone, tapped the screen, and brought up the search bar. Typing in what I was looking for, I filtered the list by the highest ratings, tapping their number, and brought the device to my ear.
When the receptionist answered, I kept my tone low, so as not to disturb Dash. “Hi, I need to make an appointment for a paternity test. As soon as possible.”