He leaned back in his chair and dropped his pen on top of the paperwork.
“I’m all right with that.”
“My mother said the reason she hates your family so much is because of a hit that was put on her brother back then.”
“Do you have a name?”
“Yes.” I pulled out my phone with the name and year he was killed and handed it to him. He said nothing but fixed his glasses on his nose and scribbled it down.
“I will look into it in the morning.”
“I appreciate that.” I stood then sat back down, and he looked over at me. I knew it was wise to share Mariano’s information too. I would never want him to think I would ever hold a secret from him. “I’m not sure, but I think Mariano might know who was behind the attempted hit on you.”
“What?” His face went from shock to no emotion while I filled him in on the conversation. “And there’s this,” I opened my phone and showed him the video I took. He absorbed the information being played out in front of him.
“It was very dangerous doing what you did tonight. The information you have is invaluable to us, but please, Sienna, you must be careful. You have no idea what evil looks like until it has you in its hold.”
“He had no idea. He was drunk, or I would never have done it. However, please know that I did let Elio know via text where I was going. I was not trying to be reckless, only helpful.”
“I’m glad you did that. I know you were trying to help. Just please don’t do anything like that again. I don’t need my son losing his mind.”
“You have my word I won’t do anything careless. So, I’ll tell you now that Mariano is taking me out tomorrow. He says he has something he wants to share.”
“Any idea what that is?”
“No, but I’ve shared the location of my phone with Elio and Vinni, so they can track me whenever.”
“Smart girl.” He nodded with approval. “You might catch on to this life faster than I thought.”
I couldn’t help but glow at his comment. I wished him goodnight and headed to bed.
Time passed us by in funny ways. Some moved on quickly from the wounds they got along the way and learned from them, while others dwelled on them. I wasn’t too proud to say I dwelled, but I did for good reason. As anger festered below the surface, and I let my mind slip back in time.
I stepped out of the way of the stampede of students steaming from their last class of the day. Often, I’d wait outside his class and listen to the professor go on about the human body and why it did what it did at a crime scene. It was fascinating, and I only wished I had attended college, but I had no choice. My parents had insisted I work in the family business. No one enjoyed working for an insurance company, but it did pay the bills and then some. It was a very successful business. We had two main offices, one here in southern Sicily and another over on the central mainland. My brother and I raced to be the one to run Sicily, as soon as we were old enough to help manage the business. We both wanted to get away from our parents, but to our despair, our parents switched off and spent six months at one site and six months at the other. So much for some freedom.
“Hey, there.” Francesco tucked his book away then wrapped an arm around my shoulders and kissed my cheek with a sigh. “God, I missed you.”
“I walked you to your first class.” I grinned, loving that he missed me.
“That was five hours ago. That’s a lifetime to me.” He tugged me toward our favorite spot under the tree next to the coffee cart where I found my brother Angelo waiting.
“Hey,” he jumped to his feet, excited, “how’s my favorite sister?”
“I’m your only sister.” I gave him a hug. “What are you doing here? Does Papa know you’re not in the office?”
“Yes and no. I kind of told him I had a doctor’s appointment and a few errands to run before he and Mama arrive tomorrow.” We both made a face. Our parents were so old fashioned and kept us on a short leash. “I wanted you to hear it from me first, but I’ve met someone.”
“Oh?” I pulled him down on the blanket. We sat in a circle as I pulled out the sandwiches I had made and shared them. “Tell us all about her. How did you meet?”
“She actually chased me.” He chuckled and selected a carrot from the container. “She kept coming into the office on days I worked, selling things she made. She got to know that I loved her butter tarts. She was persistent, and apparently that’s a major turn-on for me.”
“Good to know your turn-ons,” Francesco said through a mouthful of sandwich, and I smirked at his comment. The three of us were very close, so the idea that my baby brother had found someone who was just as interested in him as he was in her was pretty great. Besides, having another girl around would be a refreshing change.
“When do we get to meet her?”
“Soon, I hope, but can I ask you for a favor?”
“Of course.” I would do anything for Angelo.