“What, me?” I ask innocently putting a hand to his chest feigning innocence.
“Clearly, you have sources who know I’m on the outs with my family.” She stares me in the eye. “Use them.” Her tone gives me directions as if she’s a boss.
“I’ll look through ship manifests and see what I can find.” I smile, liking her feisty like this and taking control.
“Great, and thanks, Sal. I’m afraid we might not find Sofia in time.” Her voice fades in sadness, and I want to hold her, comfort her, but I’m afraid it might put her on the defensive.
I’m not ready to make any move if it means I might drive her away. I’m looking to pull her closer. And if finding Sofia will make that happen, I’ll do it.
Plus, we made a deal, and a Micheli always makes good on a deal.
“We should get back downstairs,” I suggest, breaking the silence in the room and giving her a second to regain her composure before I gently place my hand in the small of her back.
“I’ll talk to some girls at the bar who look like escorts, maybe I can get some new information out of them.”
Francesca finds her optimism again and the brief flash I got that showed she still has feelings she’s suppressing is quickly put behind her.
This is the first time I’ve seen her show any emotion other than anger. I admire her loyalty to her friend—her family doesn’t deserve loyalty from her.
“Sounds good, let’s go,” I say as I lock the door behind us.
For lunch at Mama’s,we dress nice but casual. This week, she put out a special spread of seafood and antipasti to impress Francesca. Mama is looking forward to meeting her, though I cannot say the same for the rest of the family.
Using a fake last name, Mama won’t know she’s really a Conti. The less she knows for now, the better. I can’t have her thinking we brought the enemy to our door. When in fact, we did.
“Dante,” I shout out when I catch my brother in the backyard leaning against an umbrella tree. He looks happy, and I’m happy for him. God knows he has the most stress out of all of us.
Everything fell on him when Dad died suddenly.
Francesca follows as I make my way toward him. Seeing Juliet leaning on her intended makes me happy, and it’s a good time for introductions.
“Ciao,” we hug and kiss, “brother, I’ve missed you.”
“Same here. This is Francesca. I’m sure Dante has told you we’re not telling Mama who she really is.” I turn to Juliet. “This is your half-sister, Francesca. Please don’t be too hard on her. I know she tried to kill me, but trust me when I tell you, if she wanted to off us, it would have happened. It appears that her brother, Fausto, set us up.”
Dante stiffens. “What do you mean?”
“We’ve never dealt in human trafficking before. I’m sure they know that was all their dad. So why send Francesca up here?”
“That’s a good question. I have a ship loaded with Calabrese drugs coming in very soon. Maybe they just want to take over our holdings at the port and screw us over again.”
I can tell he’s deep in thought as Marchello arrives and introduces himself to Francesca.
“Why the long faces? We’re at Mama’s for lunch.”
“Marchello, how many men do you have and how quickly can they make it to the Conti compound?” Dante asks.
“I’d need a day to organize it and drive time. Why?” Marchello cocks his head.
“I think it’s better if we strike first, before this turns into a full-out war,” Dante says, always the strategic thinker.
“Sal, see what you can find out about the Conti and Calabrese shipments. If I have guns on my ship, what do they have on theirs?”
“Good question. I think we need to find out.”
“I know my way around and I can hack into the security cameras,” Francesca offers, eager to contribute.
Mama calls us to the table and once we’re around it I pour a limoncello martini for Francesca.