Francesca
We fell back asleep and woke up hours later, close to noon.
Wolfe had worked out every morning since I’d met him, except for the day after my father was killed. But he skipped his workout today too and sat on the terrace with me while we drank our coffee.
I was in the sun because it felt wonderful on my skin, but he preferred the shade of the umbrella. He was shirtless in his sweatpants, his ink and his muscles on display for anyone who could see him through the neighboring windows.
I didn’t let my jealousy get to me. I just had to accept the fact that I had a super-hot hunk for a man.
Dark sunglasses covered his eyes, but I could somehow tell when his stare was on me. He had a little smile on his lips whenever he did it.
“Leo called me yesterday.” I’d forgotten about it until now, when my mind wandered to the vineyard and what could be happening there. Did Warren change everything? Was Elio doing okay? Salvatore and Andre? Did they give my brother the dirtiest looks every time they saw him?
“What did he say?” There was a shift in his reaction. “He didn’t get a chance to say anything because I hung up on him.”
He sat at the round table, the tiles painted Sicilian blue with yellow lemons, attached to a base made out of volcanic rock from Mount Etna. His elbow was propped on the table, and his closed knuckles were pressed against his cheek, his dark ink still contrasting against his tanned skin.
“He started to say how sorry he was, but then I told him to never call me again. I hung up after that.”
He continued to stare at me.
“I was worried about you at that moment, so I really didn’t have the patience for him at the time.”
“And if he called at a better time?”
“Probably wouldn’t have changed anything.”
He gave a slight nod.
“I never want to see or hear from him ever again. Except when I shoot him in the head.” Dad was dead because of his foolishness, so it only seemed fair.
Wolfe’s phone was sitting on the brightly colored table in front of him, and he grabbed it like it’d vibrated with a message.
His chin was tilted down as he read it. His expression didn’t change that much, but his whole aura shifted as if he’d read something he didn’t like.
Someone else wouldn’t have noticed the change, but I was so in tune with his body now that I picked up on even the slightest nuances of his behavior.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Leo.”
“Oh. Speak of the devil.”
“He said Warren is meeting with Icarus.”
I didn’t know what that meant exactly, but judging by Wolfe’s tone, it sounded bad.
“It sounds like they want to form an alliance to overthrow Cosa Nostra.” He grabbed the phone and reread what Leo had sent. “In exchange, Warren would be a lieutenant in Sicily, overseeing all the powder on behalf of the Skull King.”
“Why would he want that when he already has the arms business?”
“I don’t know,” Wolfe said. “There’s a lot more money in powder for all of Sicily. Maybe he thinks he can negotiate a large cut while Icarus exploits other territories. Or maybe once the Skull King turns his back, he’ll seize everything for himself.”
“What are you going to do?”
“We’re going to head to headquarters and share this with Don Russo.”
“We?”
“I don’t want you here by yourself anymore.”
It was the first time he’d ever said something like that, and it made me wonder what had changed. “Do you think Icarus would come for me?”
His eyes were invisible behind the glasses, so I didn’t know the exact reaction he had to me. But he gave a long pause that made me uncomfortable. “We operate by a code. We don’t involve families in our battles and disagreements. But not everyone shares that same sense of honor.”
“And Icarus is one of them.”
“Yes.”
“Because he killed Ciro’s family?”
“Yes.”
I continued to study him to see if he would elaborate, but it didn’t seem like anything else would be forthcoming. “Did—did he do something else to them?”
He rose from the chair and left his coffee behind. “Let’s get ready. I need to speak to Don Russo.”
And I knew the conversation was over.
Like the last time we came here, Wolfe pulled past the gates and parked directly in the courtyard, where there were only a handful of cars.
Cosa Nostra was a huge organization and all their cars couldn’t fit here without a three-story parking garage, so I wasn’t sure how everyone else got to work each day.
Maybe they walked from their nearby homes or took a taxi.
Or maybe they just parked on the street, and the police knew not to ticket their vehicles.
But Wolfe parked right in the front, like he really was the man in charge… or almost in charge.
He took my hand and walked me through the double doors, exchanging pleasantries with the guys he met along the way. No one looked at me or acknowledged me in any way, almost as if they weren’t supposed to.
The inside of the villa felt more like a luxury hotel than the grounds of an organized crime headquarters.
There were paintings on the walls and large sculptures in the hallways, more a museum than a fortress.
The ceiling had crown molding, and despite being inhabited by a bunch of men all day long, it was spotless.
It reminded me of my father’s villa but on a much grander scale, with a full-time staff to clean and cook and run the place on Don Russo’s behalf. The hallways were wide enough for five men to walk side by side, and long runners covered the Sicilian tile that peeked out on the edges.
Wolfe seemed to know exactly where he was going without announcing himself to anyone. After a couple more staircases and hallways, he approached a room with two tall double doors guarded by two heavily armed men.
“Boss knows I’m coming,” Wolfe said.
The men looked at each other before they let Wolfe inside without further interrogation.
We entered a grand office that was as large as a formal living room. There was an imposing mahogany desk, a wall covered in paintings behind it and a bookshelf with old tomes.
Did crime lords read a lot?
Don Russo was pacing around his desk while on the phone.
He talked low so we wouldn’t be able to overhear before he finished the conversation and hung up.
He tossed the phone onto the desk and looked at Wolfe.
“What have you heard?” His eyes glanced past Wolfe to where I stood behind him, and then his eyes returned to Wolfe.
“Perhaps the lady should wait in the garden.”
“She’s fine,” Wolfe said. “She’s as involved in this as we are at this point.”
Don Russo sat at the edge of the desk and crossed his arms over his chest, just the way my dad used to. “Very well.”
I moved to one of the couches and took a seat that faced the fireplace. It was just cold stone at the moment because there was no reason to have a fire in the heat of summer.
Wolfe faced Don Russo, still a behemoth of a man even in this enormous room.
“Leo told me Warren is teaming up with Icarus to take us down. His ambition is to run operations in Sicily on the king’s behalf.
We’ve got to hit Warren now, so they won’t be able to solidify this alliance.
The second those two team up, we’re done for. ”
Don Russo didn’t react to this information at all.
Wolfe continued to stare him down. “Hear what I say?”
“Yes. But how certain are you this information is reliable?”
Wolfe crossed his arms over his chest.
“Once a rat, always a rat.”
Wolfe didn’t say anything to that.
“This might be another setup.”
“Maybe,” Wolfe said. “But I don’t believe it is.”
Don Russo stared at Wolfe through his glasses for a moment before he pulled them off his face. He had a mustache and a beard with eyes as dark as oil. He released a sigh as he looked at the fireplace. “He betrayed his own family. I don’t trust a word out of that rat’s mouth.”
Wolfe was quiet for a while as he considered what to say.
“I think he’s telling the truth—not because he regrets what he did, but because he’s Warren’s prisoner.
We have the same interests in this matter.
He told me he’s been forced out of his home and has no say in the business. He’s lost everything.”
“Unless Warren promised him something if he tricks you.”
Wolfe shook his head. “No. Leo learned his lesson the first time. He’s under constant supervision, and if he steps out of line at all, he’s dead. I stood there and watched him cry in a little shop. The tears were real.”
Don Russo gave another sigh. “We almost died yesterday.”
“We almost die every day.”
The boss rolled his eyes, but he did it while releasing a quiet chuckle at the same time.
“Look, if Leo is telling the truth and we do nothing, we’ll definitely be dead. If he’s telling the truth and we take out Warren, we also get the vineyard back.”
“But you still owe us for Icarus,” Don Russo said quickly.
Wolfe didn’t say anything for a moment, but the pause was filled with unmistakable hostility. “You would be buried on that farm right now if it weren’t for me, so you have a lot of gall saying that.”
“I didn’t mean—”
“Don’t forget who the fuck you’re talking to.
” Wolfe didn’t raise his voice, but somehow this was scarier.
“I’m the guy who stepped up so you didn’t have to.
I’m the guy who got us out of the situation you foolishly got us into in the first place.
I don’t need to be reminded of my oath. My memory is pretty damn good. ”
“That came out wrong—”
“Really fucking wrong. Now apologize so we can move on.”
Don Russo cocked his head for a moment as he looked at Wolfe. “I apologize, Wolfe. That was wrong of me to say.”
Watching this exchange only further convinced me that Wolfe should be in charge. My father should have trusted his word and his advice, and Don Russo should trust his lieutenant. It seemed like Wolfe was a better leader than a follower, but he didn’t see that himself.
After a heavy stretch of silence, Wolfe spoke again. “What’s your decision?”