‘You are doing it for the boy,’ said Falieri. ‘And for your late brother.’
‘Keep reminding me of that too—’ said Rico.
He slammed on the brakes and changed gear viciously, ready to turn off the road.
Heading into that noose.
Ben greeted him excitedly, rushing to him with a cry of pleasure. Rico scooped him up. The boy’s little arms wound around his neck, his sturdy body strong against Rico’s chest. The hard, tight band around his lungs seemed to lighten fractionally.
I can do this. I can do it for Paolo. I can do it for Ben.
Gently, he lowered his nephew to the ground again. His eyes slid past him to the figure standing there, looking as out of place as she always did.
Dio, she looked worse than ever. Her skin had gone mottled, and her hair seemed frizzier than ever. She was wearing faded cotton trousers and an ill fitting top.
Revulsion raced through him.
He crushed the instinctive rejection. He’d committed to this course of action and there was no way out now. It might be insane—but he’d said he’d do it.
And there was no point putting it off. He had to do it now, before his feet hardened into ice. So, as he lowered Ben to the floor, he made himself look at her again.
‘How have you been?’ he asked.
She gave a half-shrug and didn’t quite meet his eyes. She never did, he realised. Except that time when she had laid into him about being Ben’s legal guardian and never parting from him.
His expression sobered. The intensity of her reaction had shocked him. More than shocked him. It had made him realise, for the first time since discovering about Paolo’s son, that it didn’t matter that the girl was only Ben’s biological aunt—in emotional reality she was much, much more.
And she was right. Completely and indisputably right. To take Ben from her would be an unspeakable cruelty to the child. And to her—and she did not deserve that.
It must have been hard, taking on an orphaned child all on her own, in her circumstances.
‘How did your father take it?’ She swallowed. ‘The fact that I won’t let Ben be parted from me?’
He could hear the tension in her voice, like wires around her throat.
He looked at her.
‘Another way of resolving the situation has been arrived at.’
Her eyes flashed.
‘Anything involving taking Ben from me is—’
He held up a hand, silencing her.
‘That will not happen. However,’ he spoke heavily, steeling himself to do so, ‘this is not the place to discuss this matter.’ He cast a speaking look at Ben, who had gone back to his trainset, to rearrange some points. ‘Have you dined?’
She pressed her lips together. ‘I eat with Ben,’ she said. ‘It saves the staff doing two meals.’
‘Very considerate,’ said Rico dryly. ‘Well, I have not. So I suggest that I do so while Ben is in his bath and then, when he is asleep, you will appreciate that we cannot postpone any longer a discussion about his future.’ He cast a look at her. ‘This must be done—none of us has any choice in that.’
Her expression had become strained, and she looked away. Ben piped up, and Rico was grateful.
‘I’ve finished the track now—come and play,’ he invited him. ‘Let’s race engines.’
Rico grinned, his face lightening.
‘A race? Then prepare to be beaten, young man.’