15. Sandro #2
I leaned over and gave him a quick kiss before I quickly followed the others.
I wanted to know what it was that Marcello had found, and I had a feeling that, most likely, that was what the meeting actually was.
I had, of course, been in Master Vincent’s office before.
We all had. But it was unusual for me as I wasn’t necessarily part of the inner circle. Not like Marcello and Nicolo were.
I found Master Vincent sitting on the front of his desk, while Marcello was sitting on one of the sofas, and Nicolo, I discovered, was leaning against the wall. He was armed, and that too was something that was new. Was there a threat of some sort that I was unaware of?
“Close the door behind you,” Master Vincent said.
I did, then looked at the others. “If I didn’t know better, I’d swear that I was about to be eliminated.” I turned my attention over to Marcello. “You said you needed to speak to me.”
“I do,” he replied. “You said Leonardo’s father’s name was Emilio Mosca, correct?
” I nodded. Marcello sighed. “His wife’s name was Sofia, and they married in a rather large wedding in 2008.
I had hoped that the name was wrong, but I don’t think so.
When they had their son, Leonardo, Emilio and Sofia took their son and fled Sicily, leaving his family behind. ”
I closed my eyes. I knew the name had sounded familiar, but I didn’t know if it was a coincidence or not. Apparently not. I opened my eyes and looked directly at Marcello. “Do they know where Leo is?” I asked. He was my only priority.
“I’m not sure how it was that a snow leopard shifter got mixed up with a Cosa Nostra heir, but she did. In fact, she somehow married him and then managed to get him away from his family.”
I moved over to the sofa and sat down with a rather undignified plop. “I swear, Leo knows nothing of his dad’s family. His mom’s as well apparently. I don’t believe the pride is her birth one because they were the only snow leopards in it.”
“We already know the Rome pride isn’t her birth pride.
She’s actually from Russia, and her pack is outside of Moscow.
She is the offspring of a snow leopard that mated with a wolf.
She was born Sofya Agapov. Her pack recorded her mating to a human, and they also recorded the birth of her one and only offspring. A boy, born in 2008.”
I nodded. “What do we do? Leo has no idea about any of this. What if he wants to go home to Russia?” I would, of course, follow him, but this was home. These people were family. They had been there for me more than those who had given birth to me.
“Do you truly believe he’s going to want to go to Russia?” Master Vincent asked. “Does he speak Russian?”
I shook my head because I didn’t know.
“The bigger issue is his father’s family. They want their heir, and they’ve been looking for him,” Marcello said.
“What do you mean?” I asked. “Emilio is dead.”
Marcello shook his head. “Not Emilio. They want Leo. Emilio and Sofia were killed because Alfio Mosca wanted his grandson.”
I felt the blood drain from my face when Marcello said those words. “Where will he be safe? Here? We can protect him here, no?” We were closer to Sicily here than he was in Rome. Perhaps moving to Russia might be the better choice.
“We will always protect our own,” Master Vincent said. “Security has increased here at the villa, but Leo won’t be allowed to leave the villa without at least two others at any point in time. Thus far, Alfio doesn’t know we have Leo. He left Rome through magic.”
“What about Franco? Or Pietro? Will either of them sing? They know who has Leo. We dropped your name when his lackeys were after Leo in that alleyway.”
Nicolo snorted. I glanced at him, and the smile he gave me looked sinister. It had to be the mustache because although the man was just as lethal as Marcello, he was actually quite a bit more approachable than the coven’s second.
“A visit to Franco and his brother has already happened,” Master Vincent said. “He and his pride will not be revealing where Leo is. They know it would quite negatively impact their ability to continue breathing if anyone in their pride were to do so.”
My beloved was the grandson of that Sicilian mafia family. That was sinking in. The name had sounded important, and now I knew why. “I have to wonder why Emilio and Sofia didn’t use a different surname,” I said out loud.
“We will never know,” Marcello said. “From what I was able to find out, Alfio Mosca found them by chance. They were spotted in Rome with Leo a few years ago. The only thing I can think of is that Emilio spotted someone, then he took his wife and son and hid in the pride. Their documents show that they were making plans to move to Russia when they were killed.”
I blinked. “Leo wasn’t with them though. He said they were out on a rare date night. Were they just going to leave him behind?” None of that made any sense.