Caterina
I fall to my knees as a cry that rivals the one I let loose just last week at my father’s bedside pushes itself through my system.
Nino…my brother…
Why couldn’t he just listen?
Connor crouches beside me. “Cat. I’m so sorry.”
From his neck to his knees, he’s blanketed in Nino’s blood.
No, he’s baptized. We’re in church, after all.
I choke on my tears, sucking in a wet breath. “I’m sorry too.” I meet his eyes briefly before I all but collapse in his arms, blood be damned. “I didn’t know it would…it would…”
Connor hoists me into his lap as he leans against the wall. At least my face isn’t buried in my baby brother’s blood this way. Though I can’t imagine I’ll ever be able to escape the smell seeping into my nose.
“Death is hard, and you loved him. He was your little brother.” Connor cradles the back of my head while talking quietly into my ear.
“This is my father all over again.” My chest heaves, and my body trembles. I can’t even pretend to control the convulsions.
Connor kisses my hair. “I’m sorry.”
I shake my head. I lost Nino years ago. Today’s just the day I know I’m never getting him back
A fresh round of tears finds my cheeks, my chin, and Connor’s shoulder. I rub my arm under my runny nose, very aware that I’m a mess.
“Cat, listen to me.” Connor tightens his arms around me.
“You did everything you could…more than I would’ve been capable of…
to reason with him.” He kisses my head several times over.
“Even after you knew what he’d done, you still clung to hope.
I wouldn’t have given Brody that kind of slack. And he wouldn’t expect me to.”
“Brody isn’t Nino.” I spent approximately two seconds in Brody’s presence and recognized the same kind of loyalty and passion in his eyes that Connor possesses.
Love for his brother emanated from that man.
He’s never even met me in person, yet he followed Connor into a war zone to save the woman he loved. No questions asked.
In retrospect, I’m not sure if Nino ever offered me that type of loyalty or affection once he left childhood.
I love my brother, I really do, but I think as soon as he entered adulthood and became more caught up in the organization, he lost the ability to return any emotion.
Either that, or his craving for power slowly rotted his soul over the years.
Connor rubs my back. “We all have our limits, and Nino pushed well past yours.”
Shuddering, I swipe at my eyes. “I just…don’t understand why it had to be like this.”
“There’s nothing to understand. He behaved in a way that even people like us categorize as evil. How can you make sense of that?” Connor sighs, his breath blowing my hair. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t able to reason with him either. I feel like I failed you.”
“You didn’t fail me.” I pull back to look Connor in his puffy, bruised eyes. “I don’t think you’re sorry he’s dead, though.”
His small smile gives him away. “No, I’m not. But I tried…for you.”
I rest my head on his shoulder, and we sit here for a few minutes so I can cry it all out. Once I finish, I rise, feeling a little like an empty husk.
This day is hardly over, and I can’t hide forever. I have a family to run and a funeral procession to finish.
We’re stained in the blood of my brother. Luckily, you can hardly see it on my black pantsuit. It looks more or less like I got caught in the rain. Not that blood staining a designer suit is anything new for the congregates below.
Downstairs, I enter the same door Nino dragged me through less than thirty minutes ago and approach the pulpit. Connor follows, kisses my forehead, and pivots to take a seat before I catch his hand.
“Please stay.”
With a nod, he remains at my side. My rock.
I gaze out into the church, at the lofty ceilings and the stained glass windows lining the walls like soldiers.
This cathedral is so beautiful. My mother’s funeral was here, too, and I remember thinking, how did we get so unlucky to lose her…
but also lucky enough to hold her funeral in a magic castle?
Santo Duomo is an architectural work of art.
Lowering my gaze, I perform a quick assessment of those in attendance.
We’re sixty or seventy people light from when I first walked in.
Some women and children left due to the large-scale scuffle, and dead bodies remain scattered across the floor.
This place looks more like a shelter in the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse than my father’s funeral.
Never in a million years could I have foreseen this scenario.
I meet the eyes of the four capos who came to the cathedral with me, along with Frankie and Carlo and every enforcer that pledged their loyalty earlier. They’re all alive, which brings me a morsel of comfort.
I get the nod from several capos of the other Italian families and know I have their support, at least here at Eduardo Ricci’s funeral. Even so, it’s still hard to focus on anything other than my grief and Connor’s hand on my arm.
I’m the only Ricci left in this big scary world. I should still feel hollowed out, but I must be siphoning strength from Connor, because after clearing my throat, I find the courage to begin.
“We’re gathered here today to celebrate the life of a man who was a strong and fair leader.
A pillar. A man who took his position in the Ricci family so seriously that some days he struggled to live up to his own expectations.
But he always did. Eduardo Ricci led with quiet confidence. That is not to say he wasn’t strong.”
A few airy chuckles float from the crowd like blowballs in the wind.
For the first time today, I smile. “My father didn’t need to shout or clench his fists or use intimidation to lead, though he had all those qualities at his disposal.”
I see heads bobbing in agreement.
“On a personal note, Eduardo Ricci’s been both my father and mother since I was a girl. He kept my mother’s memory alive, and he always made sure she was still the heart of our home.”
Connor squeezes my arm. He was motherless, too, for over half his life.
“So, in many ways, I’ve lost both parents today.
” I meet Connor’s eyes briefly before returning my attention to my fellow mourners.
“They had a love affair that lasted less than two decades. My father always said it was more than he deserved but still not nearly enough. She was the reason he never remarried.”
I wipe a tear from the corner of my eye. “I believe Rosalva and Eduardo are finally together again, where they’re free to live out the rest of their love story, and that’s a cause for celebration. Please, join us at Cipresso Cimitero as we lay him to his final rest. Thank you.”
Connor
On the way to Cat’s car from the cemetery, my phone vibrates in my pocket. I pull it out and glance down.
Declan.
I flash the screen to Cat.
She shrugs. “Now or never.”
Fuck, she’s right.
I open the back door of her Cayenne, and she scoots in.
Danny’s at the wheel, having returned for Cat after dropping Charles Mori off at the ER.
He’ll continue his role as her driver, and anything I say to my father will remain inside this vehicle.
Cat’s assured me more than once of this man’s loyalty, and I’ve witnessed his devotion firsthand.
Danny never once abandoned Team Cat, not even when his position required him to stare death in the eye.
I climb in beside her, shut the door, answer the call, and put it on speaker.
“Hi, Dad.”
“There’s a plane, gassed up and ready to leave out of Brown-Stetson Airfield in an hour. Be on it.”
Per usual, no “hello” or “how are you?”
That’s Declan for you.
Cat attempts to mask her shock. Now that she’s top dog, we’ll need to work on her facial expressions. I prefer her to remain an open book for me, but in delicate and dangerous negotiations, she’ll need a poker face.
Declan really pulled out all the stops to get me home. News travels faster than the speed of light in our world, as if we’re run by a pack of hormonal teenage girls.
So, my father knows Belinski kidnapped and tortured me. I’m sure he also learned that Brody and Finn saved my ass and that Cat’s the new head of the Ricci family. No mention of the diamond this time.
Interesting.
Cat presses the mute button on my phone.
“Connor. I love you.” She holds my gaze. “Don’t go. Please stay.”
Son of a bitch.
Despite my sore cheek, my broken nose, and my bruised eyes, I’m all teeth as a grin stretches from ear to ear. “Love you too.”
She cracks a wry smile, and I even catch Danny sneaking a glimpse of us in the rearview. He nods his approval. With both her father and brother gone, he’s the closest thing she has to family, so I appreciate the support.
“Stay. I want you…no, I need you…in my life. Please stay.” She caresses my hand, her fingers gentle on my callouses.
“Connor, are you there?” Declan’s impatient demand emits from the speaker.
I continue ignoring him as I stroke Cat’s cheek and kiss her softly.
“Son, have I lost you?”
I pull away from her lips to unmute the phone. “Yes, Dad, I believe you have.”
Then I hit mute again and get back to the important stuff.