Papa nodded. “It’s for the best, Val. Right now, isn’t the best time for that kind of change anyway, and I’d rather not have you involved in everything we do. Women should be protected. The more you get involved, the more you get targeted by our enemies.”
Fina hadn’t been involved and still been attacked, but ultimately I agreed with my father. “I guess that means you’ll have to live forever so you can advise Dante.”
Papa laughed. “This disgusting low-carb and white meat diet your mother tortures me with has to be good for something.” He paused. “I still want to see my third grandchild grow up, or have you and Dante given up?”
I bit my lip. We hadn’t discussed it in a while but we hadn’t taken countermeasures either. “No, but maybe it’s not meant to be.” Sadness rang in my voice, betraying my lack of acceptance on the matter.
Papa touched my cheek. “Maybe now is the perfect time. We all need something good.”
I nodded but didn’t say anything. We headed toward Dante’s office and entered after I knocked. Dante looked less tousled than before and stood with a composed expression to shake my father’s hand. His mask was in place, impenetrable and strong.
“How’s the general mood?” Dante asked as we settled on the armchairs in front of the fireplace.
Papa shrugged. “Divided. Many are glad to be rid of the Falcone twins. You know how people worried that their looks would eventually draw Remo’s attention, and that man’s attention is never a good thing. It’s better to be rid of them and him. An escalation of the war with the Camorra and the Famiglia is something many want to avoid at all costs. Luckily, the Underbosses seem to sway toward this opinion.” He sighed. “There are the others, of course. The people who think you should have killed Remo and led attacks on both the Famiglia and Camorra.”
Dante nodded thoughtfully. “I assume Pietro and Danilo are among them.”
“Possibly, but neither have made their opinion on the matter public. They are family, or going to be family in Danilo’s case. That’s an advantage.”
“Pietro won’t badmouth you in front of others,” I said. Even if Ines, Samuel, and Pietro were heartbroken and even blamed Dante for it, they were still family and neither of them was prone to emotional outbursts out of vengeance.
“He’s a loyal man,” Dante said, a hint of regret swinging in his voice.
“He is,” Papa agreed. “I have to be honest. Even the people who think you made the wise choice worry. The Famiglia and the Camorra will join forces, now more than ever, to destroy us and split our territory.”
“Luca’s got Marcella and Amo to protect. Remo’s got Nevio and Greta. Do you really think they’ll let this war escalate?” I said.
Dante raked his fingers through his hair, lips thinning. “I doubt Luca will increase his efforts. Remo is difficult to read but he too will probably think twice now before risking anything.”
“Is there a way we can push them apart? To cause dissent between Remo and Luca?”
Papa laughed.
Dante too smiled bitterly. “Theirs is a bond of convenience. Luca and Remo aren’t allies or friends, they are temporarily ignoring each other. It doesn’t take much to have these two at each other’s throat again.” Dante looked out of the window for a moment before he continued. “I won’t stir up a conflict between them, not at the current time. We might get caught up between their fronts and I won’t make peace with either of them.”
I’d feared that was the case. “How are we going to win this war?”
“We can’t win,” Dante said. “I don’t think either of us can win.”
I exchanged a confused look with Papa.
“Then what?” he asked.
“Our goal must be to make us untouchable. The Camorra and Famiglia can remain our enemies, as long as they hesitate to act on it, I don’t care.”
I tilted my head. “How do we make us untouchable? New allies? But even then, it would be two against two as long as the Camorra and Famiglia work together.”
“The Corsican Union won’t risk being dragged into our war, and you can’t consider a bond with the Bratva, do you?” Papa asked Dante, horrified.
Dante made a dismissive sound. “Even if the Bratva might be open for a loose cooperation now that their non-aggression pact with Falcone has broken, which I doubt, I have absolutely no interest in cooperating with Grigory. They are as bad as the Camorra. Our values are worlds apart.”
Few things were untouchable. The police, for the most part. We bribed them, threatened a few of them, but we didn’t attack any of them. As long as we didn’t target them and paid them enough, they ignored our presence, except for the occasional arrest of soldiers or our drug dealers. My brows drew together. What had Dante in mind?