Mal grunted and leaned back in his chair. Still watching. Arms crossed.
He didn’t like this, and I couldn’t blame him. I saw the jealousy burning across his face. He had nothing to be jealous about, but I understood.
Carmine was back. Did that mean the way things were would come back as well?
Did that mean I still had to marry him?
Worry rolled around my body, but I had to have this conversation. I needed it so badly. There was still so much I didn’t understand.
“It’s okay, Mal. I’ll make sure she’s fine. We’ll just go around the block.” Carmine nodded to his friend, who nodded back, but never stopped staring at me.
I followed Carmine outside. It was late and I was exhausted, but I was too wired with the aftereffects of adrenaline to sleep tonight. We stood out front of Mal’s building for a minutes before Carmine set off at a slow stroll.
He told me everything. The whole story, start to finish. He didn’t leave out any details this time, and when he was done, I felt conflicted and angry and only had more questions swirling around my brain.
“Did you know what Rolando was doing?” I asked.
He shook his head fiercely. “No. I understood he was doing things to help your father in order to keep his cover, but I didn’t know about you.”
“Mal knew.”
“That’s why Rolando looks like he’d been hit by a truck.”
“But he’s not dead.”
“I wouldn’t let Mal kill him. If I start murdering the men that sacrifice for me, I won’t be a good boss. Even if I hate him for what he did to you.”
I nodded to myself. It made sense, and in some ways, I could see it from Rolando’s perspective. He’d held back more than once when he could’ve hurt me much worse, and he’d given me information when I’d asked. He even warned me to back off.
I could see how Rolando might be able to justify to himself all the disgusting harm he’d done, but I would never forget it, and I’d never forgive.
I knew Mal wouldn’t either.
“I gotta admit, Cap, you don’t seem all that excited to see me.” He smiled slightly, looking at me sideways. “I figured you’d be happy.”
“I am happy. I’m really happy. It’s just confusing. We’ve done so much thinking you were gone and now suddenly you’re not, and it’s like, did I go through that hell for nothing?”
“It wasn’t nothing,” he said gently, touching my arm. “You and Mal did me a big favor, killing those men. You’ve kept your father busy and distracted. You gave me time to gather my forces.”
I nodded but didn’t reply. If I knew it was only about giving him time, I wouldn’t have pushed myself so hard or gone through so much torture. I would’ve let Mal extract me so much sooner and saved myself days and days of suffering.
Now it felt as though I’d done all that for no reason at all.
“Why didn’t you try to contact me?” I asked, feeling a sting of betrayal. “You know I’d never have told my dad.”
“I know that, but I wasn’t sure how closely you were being watched. Rolando said it wouldn’t be safe to make contact, and I trusted him. I still think he was right.”
“What about Mal?”
“Mal was even worse. Mal has been a ghost since he left prison. Even if I wanted to tell him, I didn’t know how to find him.”
I nodded and chewed on my lip, my arms wrapped around myself despite the warmth of the sweats and the humid night air.
“What now then?” I asked.
“I’m going to kill your father and take back what’s mine.” The heat behind his words startled me. “I haven’t been idle all this time, Cap. I’ve been rebuilding. Making new alliances.”
“It’s a war then.”
“A short one, hopefully. I have my plans.”
“Do you swear you’ll kill him?” I grabbed his arm suddenly. I squeezed it hard and looked into his eyes. “You swear it?”
“I swear, Cap. I’m going to kill your old man.” He grinned at me. “I’ll kill him nice and slow and make him suffer for what he’s done.”
I released him and started walking again. “Then I’ll help you however I can.”
“I know you will. Mal said the same. You two really did make one hell of a team, you know that? Your dad’s entire organization is terrified of Mal right now.”
“They should be. Mal’s a monster.”
“Yes, he really is.” Carmine sounded distant, almost wistful.
I stared down at the ground. “What about me and you?”
“What about us?” he asked, still distracted.
“You know what I’m talking about.” My cheeks burned with embarrassment. I couldn’t believe he was making me say it. “The arrangement.”
He blinked in surprise. “The marriage thing?”
“Yes, the marriage thing, you asshole.”
He laughed. I hated him for it. He laughed and shook his head. “Oh, shit, Cap. Have you been worrying about that this whole time?”