Bea shook her head. “I know, dear,” she said.
“You’re right to hit them back,” Hector said. “But be cautious. You don’t want to spark something bigger.”
“What’s bigger than a crew trying for the head of the biggest family in the city?” I asked.
“I told you to bring more bodyguards,” Uncle Roy rumbled. “Next time, maybe you’ll listen.”
Dean glared at him with a clenched jaw but said nothing. I cleared my throat before he could explode and do something stupid.
“How are you going to help the people that got hurt?” I asked Dean to distract him.
He glanced at me and softened a touch. “Pay their medical bills,” he said. “Make sure they have good doctors. Hire people to take care of the old lady if she’s hurt long-term. That sort of thing. Can’t bring back the dead but we’ll take care of the living the best we can.”
I nodded slightly and chewed on my thumbnail, an old habit from when I was a girl that was back apparently.
“We should hire more guys for the house,” I said, even though it was the last thing I wanted.
Dean grunted. “I thought about that. You’re probably right.”
“Not that I want more strange men wandering around this place,” I said quickly. “But if you’re going to be a target, you should be prepared.”
He nodded and paced again, frustrated, but at least he wasn’t lashing out at my uncle.
“I think it’s a good idea,” Uncle Roy said, getting to his feet. “I’ll look into bringing more men over today.”
“You help him,” Dean said quickly, looking at Hector with a grim stare.
Hector shrugged, got up, and followed after Uncle Roy. The men exited through the back, leaving me alone with Dean and Bea.
She sighed and leaned back against the couch. “I always hate when this happens,” she said.
“Does it happen a lot?” I asked.
“It’s the Valentino family, dear, so yes,” she said, smiling a little. She picked up another mostly-empty whiskey and finished it. “The boys shoot at each other, get all angry about it, yell a whole lot, and my life gets harder. I’ll have to feed those guards, you know.”
“Sorry, Bea,” Dean said, smiling tightly. “It’s for your own good too, you know.”
She waved a hand. “It’s no bother really. I’m just tired.”
Dean glanced at me then stopped pacing and tugged at the shoulder of his button-down shirt anxiously. “I wanted to ask you something,” he said. “Do you know anything about changes at Father Giovanni’s church?”
Bea frowned a little and shook her head. “Your father and Father Giovanni had a long-standing deal. I don’t see why it would change.”
Dean glanced at me and I frowned back at him.
“I spoke to him about that,” Dean said. “Father Giovanni said that Roy told him things were going to be different. That Roy was making other arrangements.”
That surprised Bea. Her eyes widened, and she sat up straight again and glanced over in my direction. I nodded slightly, as if to confirm Dean’s story, and wished I could go over and have one of those whiskies. I supposed I could, if I really wanted, but my hands were still shaking, and my knee pulsed where I fell on it, and I felt terrible all around. Drinking would only make it worse.
“I don’t know why he’d do that without consulting you,” Bea said. “You’d find out eventually.”
“That’s what I was thinking,” Dean said and let out another frustrated growl. He stalked over to the small side bar at the edge of the room and poured himself a heavy drink, three fingers of straight whiskey. He drank it back and knocked the empty glass against his temple, eyes squeezed shut.
“Something’s off about all this,” I said, pacing into the middle of the room. Bea gave me an appraising frown. “We talked to Father Giovanni, then as soon as we left the church, they suddenly attack right at that moment? How did they know?”
“Are you saying Father Giovanni sold you out, dear?” Bea asked.
I shook my head. “No, he seemed too eager to make money,” I said. “He was quick to accept it when Dean said the deal would be back on.”
“She’s right though,” Dean said, nodding to himself. “It happened fast, like someone was watching. Could’ve been someone outside, spotting for them.”
“Or someone in the church,” Bea suggested. “It’s a big, old building. Lots of places to hide.”
“Also convenient they’d attack right after we learned about what my uncle did,” I pointed out.
Dean frowned at me. “You think he had something to do with it?”
I shook my head and sat down heavily next to Bea. “I really don’t know,” I said. “But I’m exhausted.”
“I’ll make some tea,” Bea said, patting my knee, then stood up. “Tea’s always the answer.” She shuffled off and I watched her go. I wished I felt the same way—that tea was the answer to anything at all.