Chapter Twenty-Two
Gualtiero
Before I leave Sicily, I call my brother.
While my frustration has been steadily building, he’s been falling in love.
He’s in Tuscany on a short break with his girl. The timing is terrible, but I can’t fault him for wanting to disappear with her for a while. I did the same when I met Ella, whisking her away to my island so I could have her all to myself, even if it was only for a few days.
“Hey, Tiero,” he says, when he finally answers.
“I’m going to have Ella back real soon,” I tell him. “Uberto called. Rhia was trying to fool us, but our men did their job and tracked her.”
Mateo doesn’t say anything right away. With the rustling in the background, I wonder if I’ve interrupted something.
“You haven’t heard a word I’ve said, have you?” I ask, somewhat amused.
“Sorry, I’m a little distracted.”
Yeah, I can hear it in his voice. He’s not here with me. He’s with her.
“So I take it things are good with your girl?”
“Better than good. They’re perfect. She’s perfect.”
He sounds happy, and I’m thrilled for him. He deserves this.
“Hurry the fuck up and bring Ella home so I can marry this girl,” he says, the impatience in his voice impossible to miss.
“About that,” I chuckle, surprised Teo is really this traditional, waiting for the wedding night.
“What’s going on?” Teo asks as I throw some clothes into a bag.
“I’m going to have Ella back,” I repeat. “Rhia is on her way to Canada under an alias and—”
“And there’s only one reason she would fly to Canada,” he butts in.
Hearing him say it out loud makes my heart speed up.
“When are you flying out?”
“I’ll leave for the airport shortly. The jet’s prepped, and the men are assembled.”
I zip up my bag and leave my bedroom.
“Are you taking Santino?” he asks as I rush down the stairs and drop my bag by the door.
My head of security goes where I go. I almost laugh at the idea of anyone trying to stop him.
“Yes, Antonio is coming too.”
At the mention of Antonio’s name, Teo falls quiet. He’s already briefed me on our capo’s recent activities, and they’ve been less than stellar. If it weren’t for Antonio’s otherwise spotless track record, I’d already have laid into him.
Going against my direct orders, even in the name of salvaging the marriage alliance he’s worked so hard to secure, is not going to fly.
I’m silent as I head into the garden, weighing how to tell Teo what’s on my mind, especially now that Ella seems within reach again.
“Remember what you told me a few weeks ago?” I ask, lowering my voice as I scan my surroundings to make sure I’m alone.
“I say lots of really insightful things,” he teases, his good mood unmistakable. “You’ll have to remind me.”
“You said finding Ella is only the first step and asked how I would make her stay.”
“Yeah, I remember. Have you come up with a plan? Tying her to your bed might work,” he jokes.
“Tempting. I do have a lot of pent-up energy. Spending a lot of time in bed with her is definitely in the cards.”
Just the thought of holding Ella again makes my body tingle. It’s fully on board with getting her naked as soon as possible. Whether Ella agrees to that remains to be seen. I won’t pressure her.
“Teo, she won’t be happy living in a gilded cage, surrounded by constant danger,” I say, the humor draining from my voice.
“There isn’t much you can do about that,” he replies. “She needs protection.”
“I know that.” I pause again, searching for the right way to explain what I’m planning. He’s loyal to a fault, to the De Marco name, our empire, our legacy.
“She loves you, bro,” he says, as if trying to ease my doubts.
I have none, at least not about her love for me.
“She’ll get used to it,” Teo continues. “We all have to sacrifice something for the people we love.”
I let out a slow breath, unable to keep this from him any longer.
“I’m not sure love alone will be enough.”
In fact, I know it won’t be. Ella has already proven that.
“I can’t lose her, Teo. Being apart from her… it’s slowly killing me. Nothing makes sense without her. As much as I hate it, I’ve come to realize that she holds all the cards. I’d do anything to have her back. To make her stay.”
I swallow past the tightness in my throat, the words hard to force out. They go against everything I was raised to believe.
“Even leave everything behind.”
“What are you talking about?” Teo asks at once, his voice turning sharp. “You’re the fucking Don.”
“I am. And I accepted that role without question. But I’m having to ask myself now what matters more to me.”
I take a moment to search for the right words for something that’s been weighing on me for weeks.
“After Ella was kidnapped by Molinaro, she asked me why I was still upholding the legacy of men long gone. Why I put my life on the line every day for someone else’s dream.”
I draw in a breath. “She asked me what my dream was.”
I exhale slowly, letting the truth settle deep within me.
“It isn’t la famiglia.”
I picture my angel, her smile, love lighting up her eyes.
“It’s a life with Ella.”
That’s it.
My thoughts drift to the baby growing in her belly.
“I want a football team of kids with her. I want to be there for them. Watch them grow up. Not from the sidelines, and most definitely not from a grave.”
Teo scoffs. “So what, you’re just going to retire?”
“Maybe.”
“That’s not possible. We’re born into la famiglia, and we’ll die in it. That’s how it’s always been.”
“Anything is possible if you set your mind to it.” And mine is focused on the solution. “You can take over as Don. You’ve been raised to do it as much as I was.”
I hear Mateo move suddenly. Undoubtedly, he’s pacing. My chest tightens. I know this isn’t easy for him to hear.
“You can’t mean that,” Teo finally says. “You’re the Don. I’m your second. That’s how it’s meant to be.”
Mateo has never hidden the fact that he doesn’t want to be Don. He’s always claimed he enjoys life too much to become a ruthless leader.
But while he’s more easygoing than I am, he leads well, just in a different way. And who knows, going forward that might be exactly what la famiglia needs.
“You’d make a great Don,” I tell him. “You have what it takes. Don’t ever forget that.”
He exhales sharply. “Now that I’ve found my One, I understand where you’re coming from. What you’re going through with Ella gone. But let’s focus on getting her back. That’s step one. The rest will fall into place.”
It will, but my gut tells me it won’t be in a way Mateo will like.