“It is.”
“I have to go to Livia now. You are right. She needs to hear it from me and I need some time to come to terms with the news too. You don’t have to bring me to the door. Take care of Leonas.” Giovanni stroked Leonas’ head with a pained smile before he hurried out of the room.
“Daddy! Grandpa, leave.”
“I know,” I said quietly. Leonas frowned then he rushed back to the chair.
Valentina appeared in the doorway, looking confused, her hair still damp and piled on top of her head. “I hurried so I could say hi to my father but he practically fled the house. What’s going on?”
I wasn’t sure how to tell her the horrible truth. My eyes darted to Leonas in my chair. He yawned and rubbed his eyes.
Val stiffened. “Dante, you’re scaring me… is this about Orazio?”
I moved closer. “Let’s bring Leonas into bed for his nap and then I’ll tell you.”
“Dante,” Val whispered.
I touched her shoulder. “Later.”
Val nodded mechanically and watched as I picked up Leonas who rested his cheek in the crook of my neck, a clear sign it was time for him to rest. “Come, Val.”
We walked in silence upstairs and I lowered Leonas into his bed. I brushed his hair out of his face then straightened. Without a word, I led Val into the corridor and stepped close to her, cradling her face. Her eyes swam with fear. I wished she didn’t have reason to feel that way.
“Our contacts in Famiglia territory informed us that Orazio showed up in New York where they took him in.”
Val’s lips parted but she didn’t say anything. Disbelief followed by horror flashed across her beautiful face.
“I’m sorry, Val.”
She shook her head slowly. “That means he’s a traitor…? I don’t understand why he’d join the Famiglia. Why not run away?”
“I think he might have been working with them for a while.”
Val pressed her forehead against my chest, shuddering. “Why couldn’t he just run?”
“His girlfriend is pregnant.”
Val peered up and realization settled on her features. “He wants to protect them. Being on the run with a child is impossible. He probably thought they’d be safest in the Famiglia.”
I kept my face neutral. Val needed to make sense of this and her reasoning certainly had merit. Orazio had probably acted with the goal to protect his pregnant girlfriend, but he was far from safe. He would be hunted. I couldn’t sit back when the son of a high-ranking Outfit member defected to our enemies. I needed to eliminate him as soon as possible to make an example out of him. This could spin out of control if I wasn’t careful.
Val searched my eyes. Even without saying a word, I knew what she was hoping to find, but not this time. Mercy wasn’t going to wait for Orazio once I got him. “You’re going to hunt him now, won’t you?”
“I have to.”
She shook her head. “You don’t. You are the Capo. You can determine what direction the Outfit takes in the future. Why plunge everyone into a bloody war that won’t lead us anywhere? Why can’t we just ignore each other? There doesn’t have to be peace between the Outfit and the Famiglia as long as we just don’t kill each other.”
“Because Luca made this personal. He killed one of my men, he kidnapped Rocco’s daughter, and now he took in my brother-in-law. I won’t ignore this, Val. My men expect me to show strength, and accepting when others disrespect me and the Outfit isn’t showing strength. They’ll be met with the full force of my brutality and vengeance.”
Val stepped back and slowly made her way into our bedroom where she sank down on the bed. “What did my father say?” Her voice was forced calm, and I hated that she brought up a barrier between us. I followed her. Her gaze was directed at her hands which fumbled with her sweater. She didn’t want me to read her.
“He’s going to tell your mother now. He understands the consequences of Orazio’s actions.”
Val huffed. “Consequences of his actions. Could you sound any more blasé?” Her eyes flashed up to mine, full of anger and anguish. “This is my brother, Dante. It’s not an enemy, not a traitor, not a name on a list that you can cross out as if it never meant anything. And no matter what Papa says, this hits him hard. And Mamma…” Val turned away from me once more, gripping the edge of the bed tightly, her shoulder shaking.
I forced down my own anger and frustration. Val had a lot to stomach, not to mention two small demanding children to take care of. She was exhausted and emotionally vulnerable. “I’m aware of that. What do you expect me to do, Val? I’m Capo. My men expect me to lead them through this crisis. A crisis, which I might add, might have been made worse by Orazio’s actions.”