“Don Colombo has moved the meeting to a week from today.”
“What meeting?”
“The meeting where I get justice for what happened to your sister.”
“What are you going to do?”
He just looks at me.
“Are you going to kill him?”
“Let’s dance.” He gets to his feet, taking me with him into the middle of the room. As we spin around, I look into his eyes but he’s giving nothing away.
“Are you going to kill Alessandro?” I ask him.
“Do you want me to?”
“I want that asshole to pay for what he did to my family.”
“And he shall. Now let’s not talk about them any longer.”
We might not talk about it but I’m still thinking about it even after the song’s done and I’m back in my seat, more cash being piled on me. Don Bianchi is in the far corner. There is a queue of people waiting to talk to him. I can imagine why. I’ve seen The Godfather. They all want a favor from him.
This is my life now. Watching my husband work while I sit alone with a bundle of cash in my arms. Dirty money. Blood money. Criminal enterprise money.
I look down at it. I’d pay every penny to bring Jody back. To go back to the way things were before. I was a travel agent. She was an auditor. I knew nothing about Don Bianchi. I knew nothing about this world.
The wedding cake is brought out and I’m called up to the front. He’s got the knife ready for me, his hand wrapping around mine as we cut the first piece together. The feel of his fingers on mine sends pulses of heat through me. I’ve never known feelings this intense.
I look at him and I know he feels things too. I can tell. His eyes are wide, his expression making me feel like he’s staring into my soul. I want to be on my knees, pulling out his cock, worshipping him, obeying his every command.
Could this work? Could I ask for more than a month? Or a week? Or any arbitrary deadline? Could I ask for a life with him?
It’s an insane idea but I can’t help thinking while we eat the wedding cake from each other’s hands. Do I want this to end? Or do I want to stay married to the mafia Don? Raise our child together?
Could it work?
NINE
RICARDO
* * *
It’s the day I’ve been waiting for. I’m in the study and the clock’s ticking past six. Two hours to go.
It’s been years since Don Colombo and I were in the same room together. He’s been a shadow on my back the whole time but he’s not shown himself in public near me since he declared war on our famiglia. All because we didn’t want to get in on his human trafficking set up.
He said that was where the money was. I told him shipping slaves back and forth across state lines wasn’t worth any amount of money to me. He tried to get Diego to send me one offer after another but there was no amount of money that would make me ship slaves.
At first, he tried to play nice but after a while his patience wore thin. Lit a fuse that burned and burned until war exploded all over the city. All because he got greedy. The usual business wasn’t enough for him anymore. Had to have more. Started bringing in drugs just to dope up the girls he was selling, make them more placid.
I warned him he was playing with fire but he wouldn’t listen.
So when he got busted, which he was always going to, he blamed me. He got five years inside and when he came out he had a grudge against me that never went away. Came with a healthy dose of paranoia that’s kept him from meeting me in person since then.
Until today.
I’ve told Kelly all this. Explained to her why Alessandro feels untouchable. He’s Don Colombo’s son. Don Colombo owns half the precincts in the city. No cop would dare touch Alessandro. He could shoot up a restaurant and no one would give a shit. Hell, it wouldn’t surprise me if he was the one that shot up the card game. Thirst for blood, that kid. Makes me sick. It’s not about business with him. It’s about fear. He gets off on it.