33. Chapter 33
Rory
Angelique’s cane tapped against the floor as she approached the rehearsal room. Connor and Carson were standing on either side of the door in the hall, making sure nobody entered without their permission. Cal was at his office, dealing with some last minute security arrangements for the Fight Night two days from now.
Halfway through my rehearsal, Charlotte came in with Nate and three other men on her heels. She watched me dance while Nate stepped out to speak with the twins and her other three guards positioned themselves around the room.
When I was done, Angelique praised my improvements on the routine and asked me if I was still considering accepting the lead roll to the recital in December. The Nutcracker, of course, was every December. I’d been Clara the last four years.
“To be honest, with everything going on at home right now, I’d forgotten to ask Cal about it. Let me speak with him tonight and I’ll let you know tomorrow?”
She nodded and hobbled out of the room, leaning heavily on her cane. Charlotte brought me a water and plopped down in the middle of the floor with me.
“So, Mrs. Byrne, how’s married life? I haven’t heard from you much in the last two months.” She frowned at me over a sip of her own water.
I looked around the room and then pushed myself up, giving her a look that said I was going to tell her something serious. At the door, I leaned into Nate’s ear. “Can you please ask the rest of your team to leave the room and close the door behind them?”
He looked at the twins and frowned. “We can’t leave you both in the room unprotected.”
“Then you guys can come in, but what I need to tell her, they can’t hear.” I gave him a knowing look and he nodded slowly.
“Okay, then. Are you sure you can tell her?”
I raised my eyebrow. “Why? Do I need Cal’s permission?” I blinked innocently at him.
He laughed. “Good point. Okay, men,” he said as we walked into the room. “Y’all take the hall. The ladies want to have a private conversation.”
As soon as the men left, Nate shut the door behind them and I sat back down next to Char, rolling the cold water bottle over the bottoms of my feet and my calves. “So, this is kind of a long story, and I swear to God, if you laugh I will give you the silent treatment for a month.” I shot her a no nonsense look and she sobered, nodding with wide-eyed curiosity. “I have to start at the beginning if you’re going to understand most of this, okay?” She nodded again and I launched into the story, starting with the poisoning at Mikhail’s and ending with the document I’d found in Elio’s desk.
“If that document is real, if it wasn’t created by Elio as some kind of ploy, then not only is he my cousin by marriage, he’s also the rightful heir to the NYC Cosa.” The air was thick with the weight of the news and Charlotte’s tears. She’d started crying when I told her about the attack and my subsequent struggle with eating.
“But you’re okay now, right? You’re eating?” Her worried eyes bored into mine as she gripped my hands tightly. “Why didn’t anyone tell me you were in the hospital? Why didn’t Cal call me? I would have come and stayed with you the whole time!”
My chest clenched with love for my best friend. I gave her hands a brief squeeze. “I’m still struggling but Cal is helping me through it. He takes a bite of everything on my plate before he lets me have it. That helps a lot. We didn’t call you because we didn’t know who was behind it. We still don’t. We didn’t know if they would try again, or when. You could have been at risk if you’d come up there and I wouldn’t let that happen. Cal asked every day if I wanted you to come up and I told him no every time. Then when I got home, I was in such bad shape, I didn’t eat for almost two weeks. I was so sick, I didn’t have the energy for visitors, even you, and I didn’t want you to worry.”
Her expression changed and I swear I could see her swoon as I told her about Cal’s habit of sampling my food first. Then I finished my tirade and fresh tears shimmered in her eyes. “I’m so glad your arrangement with him worked out. I was so worried at first. When I saw you guys dancing after the wedding, I knew you were going to be okay. I’m so happy for you, Rory. You deserve it so much.”
I nodded and smiled a watery smile. “He really is amazing, Char. He cares for me just as much as I care for him.” My fingers lifted to the necklace and I stroked the pendant reverently. Her eyes followed my fingers before raising to mine again.
“So what now? What are you going to do about the Cosa? Are you guys going to the Concordia? Are you finally going to tell them about Elio murdering your mom?”
I nodded solemnly. “We have some people that have been putting out feelers for the last few weeks. They’re coming over this afternoon to tell us what they’ve learned. Elio is coming over this evening, under the impression that Cal wants to discuss a business arrangement. We’re going to confront him about everything and then we’re taking it to the Concordia. His answers tonight will determine what we ask them for. We are within our rights to ask them for his death, since he’s suspected of murdering our parents. We can also ask them for all his assets, which isn’t much according to what our research has gathered.”
She nodded, following along and encouraging me to keep going. It felt so good to be able to tell her all of this. “I know I don’t know everything there is to know about your life, but…have you considered waiting until your marriage is…more certain?” She seemed to pick her words carefully and I frowned, not following. I shook my head as confusion morphed my features in the mirror behind her.
“I mean…the Concordia could nullify your marriage, seeing as you’re semi-related and didn’t know it at the time.” She grimaced, looking apologetic at bringing it up. “But if there’s a baby involved, they might be more inclined to hear you guys out. You could even use the relation against Elio, if you’re careful about it. You can’t let it sound like it bothers you guys, because then they might nullify it anyway, thinking that’s what you’re after. I know it doesn’t,” she said, raising her hands. “I’m just saying, if you could phrase it so that it sounds like Elio trapped you into literally marrying into the family without your knowledge, then they might be more willing to punish him.”
My eyebrows hit my hairline and my gaze met the twins’. They wore the same expression, awed surprise lighting their matching brown eyes.
“That’s…a really good idea. But how would we phrase it so that it sounds like we’re mad at Elio for it but not bothered by it? That’s a really fine line to walk.”
She frowned, her mouth pinched to the side. “I don’t know how you could pull that off. Maybe ask Cal?” I nodded. We held each other’s gaze for a moment, feeling the sincerity of the moment and the friendship that always thrummed between us. Her smart watch pinged and she looked down at it, sighing. “I have to go. Dad’s having some people over for dinner and wants me there. Gotta show off the goods, you know?” She rolled her eyes, standing and throwing her bag over her shoulder.
“Hey, before you go. Can you try to stop giving Nate such a hard time? He’s kind of a crybaby about it whenever he comes over.” I smirked at Nate who made an indignant sound and sputtered for a rebuttal. She laughed.
“Fine. I promise to stop trying to sneak out.”
I hugged her. “Just be safe, okay? We don’t know how deep this goes or who’s all involved.” She nodded and kissed my cheek.
“I really am so happy for you, Rory. After all your talk about not being cut out for Mob Wife Life, look at you now.” She bumped my shoulder with hers as we walked toward the door to the rehearsal room.
“Considering Cal insists I be his equal, I think I’m officially a mobster now, so that’s cool I guess.” We giggled. “Text me,okay?” I waved as she walked out. When the door closed behind her, I looked at the twins. “What did Nate want?” I asked with a deep sigh as I packed my dance gear into my duffle bag.
They exchanged a loaded glance before Carson spoke up. “Elliot spoke with Tomasso last week. He was able to set up a meeting with him this afternoon. We need to get ahold of Cal and get back to the house quickly. Elliot will meet us there. Tomasso is supposed to arrive around three. That gives you guys three hours to figure out how to handle whatever he may be able to tell you before Elio arrives for his appointment.”
We quickly headed to the car. I pulled out my phone to call Cal but was struck with the urge to see him. “Take me to Cal’s office, please,” I said as the guys slid into the front seats.