She sprinted into the bathroom, retching into the toilet without a second to spare. When she lifted her head, she saw Ginny staring at her.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Cara lied but no sooner had the words escaped her lips did another round of bile fill her throat. Again, she vomited, mortified in front of the maid.
“I’ll get Mr. Vinucci,” Ginny said, whirling.
“Don’t!”
Slowly, she became aware of the sound of water running to fill the jacuzzi tub and Cara rose shakily to her feet.
“You’re really sick…” Ginny hemmed, her eyes still darting toward the door.
“I’m fine,” Cara repeated. “Please leave – and keep your mouth shut to my brother—or anyone else for that matter.”
A look of comprehension slowly dawned over Ginny’s face and a small gasp escaped her mouth.
“Ohh…” she whispered. Cara’s eyes narrowed and she glared at the girl.
“Oh what?”
“Oh, Miss Vinucci, you’re—”
“If you say the word you’re thinking, you’ll be out of a job,” Cara told her with far more calmness than she felt. Ginny clamped her mouth shut, her eyeballs almost popping from her head.
“Do you understand?”
Ginny nodded quickly, her lips still pursed. Cara studied her face impassively although her heart was racing. She had no trust in the girl whatsoever but the secret was out—no matter how she denied it.
Ginny visibly swallowed.
“Is there anything you need?” the maid asked, seeming unsure of what else to say.
“Besides your silence? No.”
Ginny bobbed her head again.
“I won’t say a word,” she breathed. “I promise.”
Cara didn’t have high hopes but the vow of secrecy would have to suffice for the time being.
“I’m going to have my bath now,” Cara informed her, picking herself off the floor. “I’ll call for you if I need you again.”
Ginny disappeared in a flash, leaving Cara naked and alone in the bathroom. The bathtub was getting too full and Cara rushed to turn it off, lest it overflow onto the marble. The last thing she needed was a flood.
Or maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing, she thought wryly. It might take the focus off her for a while.
The silence which ensued after the water stopped was almost deafening and Cara raised a long, shapely leg toward the edge of the tub. Abruptly she stopped, replacing her foot on the floor, her dilemma becoming clear all at once.
I can’t tell Salvatore, but I need to see a doctor. He’s watching me like a hawk. I have no choice but to reach out.
Cara hurried back into the bedroom and grabbed her cell phone from the bedside table, texting out before she could change her mind.
She inhaled shakily and waited, staring at the screen. Suddenly the message marked “read” and the bubbles appeared on her iPhone, indicating a response was being typed. With baited breath, she waited, her eyes glued to the small rectangle and when the response came back, she almost sobbed.
It was time to face the music.
Chapter Ten
“What the fuck is wrong with you, Matt?”
He blinked his grey eyes and looked at Ariano through his peripheral vision. He’d zoned out for the umpteenth time, almost forgetting that the other capo sat with him in the diner.
“What?”
“You’ve been acting like a zombie these past few weeks. Between you and me, your soldiers are worried about you.”
Matteo bristled.
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
Ariano shrugged and reached for his cup of coffee.
“The boys are starting to talk. You’re neglecting some of your duties, stronzo. You almost dropped the ball with that Cuban shipment last week. If I hadn’t—”
“I already told you that was an oversight,” Matteo growled, his face twisting in anger. “And I believe I thanked you for that.”
“Hey, listen,” Ariano snapped, sitting back to fold his arms over his chest. “I’m not giving you shit, but whatever it is that’s on your mind, you better get your shit together. It’s only a matter of time before Gio is onto you. The man might be losing it but he’s still the Don.”
Matteo’s instinct was to react furiously but he also knew that Arian wasn’t just trying to nag. There was validity to what he was saying. The problem was, Matteo didn’t know how to snap out of the mood which had plagued him since leaving Cara at that roadhouse bar.
Not calling or texting her was proving to be much more difficult than he had imagined. He couldn’t stop thinking about the girl, with her beautiful smile and vivid green eyes. Whenever he tried to sleep, a vision of her face would pop into his mind like it had been etched in there.
“And don’t forget,” Ariano continued, as if he needed more of a reminder to get himself together. “Salvatore Vinucci has been watching you.”
“Don’t bring up that stronzo’s name to me,” Matteo spat with more intensity than he had intended. “Let him fucking watch me. Let him approach me. I welcome it.”
“Easy, Matt, I’m your friend, remember?”
Matteo glowered at the chipped tabletop, saying nothing. Logically he knew that Ariano’s words were meant to be helpful but they did nothing to help his plight.
What plight? The bitch got what she deserved. It’s over now.
Yet even thinking of Cara as a bitch bothered him. He was beyond conflicted about how he had handled things. Matteo had thought that the weeks would have given him better clarity but he had been wrong. If anything, matters had become much worse in his mind.
Ariano looked up, his eyes brightening and Matteo didn’t need to turn to know who had entered the diner. There was only one person who could cause Ariano to grin like an idiot.
“Ciao,” Celine said smoothly, sliding into the booth beside her lover. She cast Matteo a nervous look.
“How are you, Matt?”
“Matt?” Ariano grumbled. “How about me?”
Celine ignored him and continued to focus her attention on Matteo. Her gaze instantly made him uneasy.
“I’m fine,” Matteo replied, returning her stare. “How are you?”
“Have you spoken to Cara lately?”
Matteo’s muscles tensed.
“Why would I?” he snarled, all the feelings resurfacing in a wave of humiliation. “I don’t know what she told you, but—”
“She told me everything,” Celine interjected flatly. They stared at one another coldly for a moment and Matteo struggled to keep his temper in check. Celine was not his enemy. She had some misguided affection for Cara, one which she would sooner or later learn was a bad idea. Cara couldn’t hide her malevolent personality forever.
“Wait a second,” Ariano chimed in. “What’s going on with you and Carolina Vinucci?”
“Nothing!” Matteo retorted hotly. “At all.”
“You need to speak with her,” Celine insisted. There was an indecipherable expression in the Don’s daughter’s eyes which Matteo didn’t even try to comprehend.
“With all due respect, Celine, I don’t need to do anything.”
He rose abruptly, signalling the waitress for the bill.
“Sit down!” Celine ordered and both men stared at her in surprise.
“Celine…” Ariano said warningly, sensing Matteo’s anger mounting. “It’s not your place to get involved.”
“Cara made it my place,” she retorted but Matteo had heard enough.
“You can be taken in by her fake charms all you want,” he told the blonde through clenched teeth. “But I know what she’s really like. You’ll figure it out too.”
“Matteo, I have no idea what your history is with her, although she did tell me she was a brat when she was younger—”
“A brat? She’s a terrorist!” Matteo barked back. But even as he said the
words, he felt like a petulant child.
Not once during their time together these past months had he seen the Cara from his childhood.
She’s just better at hiding it. Anyway, that entire family is fucked. Think of Vito.
It was becoming harder to remember why Cara had become the object of his revenge for Vito when it was Salvatore who had started the war. Matteo shook his head, trying to shake some sense into himself.
“Matt, please listen to me,” Celine insisted. “You need to talk to her. She’s in trouble and it’s going to get worse living in that house with her brother. I know your real hatred is toward Salvatore, not Cara.”
“You don’t know anything,” Matteo growled.
“Watch your tone when you speak to her, friend,” Ariano warned.
“Then I suggest you remind her where her place is,” Matteo insisted, guilt sweeping through him as he said it.
Shit, now I’m taking my anger out on Celine. What the fuck is wrong with me?
He didn’t give himself time to consider it as he threw a handful of bills on the table, stalking out of the diner without another word.
She went whining to Celine. What a little brat. I’m glad she’s confused and hurt. She deserves nothing less.
And I still have to deal with her brother properly.
But as he got into his car and raced away from the scene faster than he should have been driving, Matteo couldn’t deny that the consternation he was feeling about how he had left things with Cara was only getting worse.
It will pass, he assured himself. Time fixes everything.
~ ~ ~
Tomas was waiting at his house when he returned.
“What’s wrong?” Matteo asked, jumping from his car. “Is it Mama?”
Tomas shook his head but the look of concern on his face didn’t lessen.
“Let’s go inside,” he urged, rising from where he was sitting on the front steps. “There’s trouble brewing in the familia.”
Matteo locked the BMW and followed him inside, his pulse racing. Tomas had not called to give him a heads up. It must be big news.
“What now?”
“Salvatore Vinucci is pazzo.”
“Tell me about it,” Matteo sighed, flopping onto a stool at the kitchen island. Suddenly he wanted a drink even though it was only nine o’clock in the morning. Had he been drinking more than usual?
“Beer?” he asked his godfather.
Tomas eyed him worriedly.
“It’s—”
“I know what time it is,” Matteo muttered. “I asked you if you wanted a drink, not for the hour of the day.”
Tomas’ mouth became a fine line.
“No, thank you.”
Matteo shrugged and grabbed for the last beer in the fridge, frowning slightly as he did. He had bought a case only a couple of days ago. How could he have gone through it so quickly?
He shoved the thought away and turned his attention back toward Tomas.
“What did that fucker do now?”
Tomas sighed and also claimed a seat near the island, studying his nephew with concern. Matteo hoped he was not going to hear a lecture first.
“There is unrest among his crew,” Tomas explained quietly.
“What the hell does that have to do with me?”
Tomas was silent as he watched Matteo take a long swig of his drink.
“Salvatore is plotting something among the soldiers, figlio. It’s rumored to be a takeover of sorts.”
Matteo’s eyebrows shot up and he laughed.
“The man is batshit crazy but even he’s not so stupid as to cause a civil war inside the family.”
Tomas shook his head gravely.
“I don’t know what’s been going on with you lately, Matteo, but it’s already happening. I know you’ve been making a lot of mistakes and—”
“Mistakes? What mistakes?”
“I know Ariano saved your ass with that shipment from Cuba and I’ve heard some of your soldiers are making their own deals behind your back.”
Matteo froze.
“What?”
“Matt, whatever is happening with you, it’s affecting the family and you can’t afford to get on Giovanni’s bad side. I think you need to tell him what you know about Salvatore, about what he did to Vito.”
“What the hell good will that do now? I’ve known about it for weeks. He’s not going to believe me.”
“Maybe not but you need to do damage control. You’re losing control as much as he is. It’s only a matter of time before the other families catch wind of what’s happening here and that won’t be good for any of us. Once they interfere…”
Instantly, Matteo was furious with Cara again, the buzz in his head overriding his common sense.
“What do you want me to do? We already talked about this, padrino. Giovanni is not going to listen to what I have to say.”
Tomas was silent for a long moment.
“Salvatore needs to be stopped, Matteo. There is something evil in that man and I think he’s plotting to drive you out.”
Matteo scoffed but there was a prickle of clarity slithering down his back as he did. If that was what Salvatore intended to do, Cara’s brother would have a decent shot at making it happen. The Vinuccis had a much closer relationship to the Don than him and his godfather.
“It will never happen,” Matteo retorted with much more confidence than he felt.
“The man has a vendetta against you, Matteo. At least speak to Ariano about this. You need to know you have backup in case things go south and I’m telling you—things are about to go south. You have been far too distracted these past weeks to notice but it’s been happening right under your nose.”
Matteo didn’t appreciate the reminder of how he had permitted business to fall around him. He also thought about how he had just left things with the other capo and the Don’s daughter.
I’m not making friends anywhere, am I?
Regret and annoyance filled him and Matteo wondered how he had let things get out of hand so quickly. The answer was simple—he had allowed himself to fall for Carolina, despite his original plan.
How could I have let this happen, knowing what I know about her?
“Matteo, are you heeding anything I’m saying?”
He gritted his teeth together, trying to clear his fuzzy head. The time for grieving over Cara was over. If his godfather was right, there was a much bigger force at play than his petty revenge over his childhood tormentor.
“I heard you,” he grumbled, setting the half-finished beer on the counter.
“What are you going to do about this?”
“I don’t know yet,” Matteo said. “Give me a minute to think.”
Tomas nodded, uncertainty apparent in his eyes and he ambled to his feet.
“I’ll leave you to it, then,” the older man muttered but Matteo could tell there was no faith in his words. “I don’t need to remind you that our family hangs by a thread in the familia. All the Don needs to do is say the word and you, me and your mother will cease to exist.”
“Thank you for that,” Matteo snarled. “I had forgotten.”
Tomas sighed miserably.
“What has gotten into you, Matteo? You’ve changed in these past weeks.”
“Nothing! I will deal with this. Just give me some time to think, all right?”
Tomas didn’t respond and he turned toward the door, leaving Matteo alone.
It was only when the door closed with a click of finality did Matteo lean against the counter heavily as if his legs could not support him any longer.
He stared at the beer on the counter with contempt and knocked it over into the sink, watching the rest of the liquid pour down the drain. His godfather’s meaning was clear; if Salvatore was scheming against him, the man needed to be stopped. Matteo had no reason to believe that his godfather was misinformed. He had not been in control since he had called things off with Cara.
It’s time to get back to busi
ness, he thought firmly. Whirling away from the kitchen, he made his way back out to his car, a new resolve filling his bones. He was a capo, a trusted member of Don Giovanni’s crew. No one was going to take that away from him, certainly not anyone in the Vinucci family.
He would protect his position one way or another—even if that meant getting rid of Salvatore himself.
Chapter Eleven
Cara paced around the sitting room, wringing her hands nervously, pausing to stare out the window every minute or so as she waited for Salvatore to return home.
There was no more avoiding it—she had to tell her brother what had happened, that she was pregnant with his nemesis’ child.
Celine had taken her to the doctor and Cara had sworn her to secrecy.
“You have to tell Matteo!” Celine had cried. “You can’t keep this a secret forever!”
“I don’t have to tell him anything!” Cara said firmly. “And if you are my friend, you won’t either.”
Cara had been worried that Celine might betray her but she had no other choice but to trust the don’s daughter. There was no one else she could turn to. It had been three days since their trip to the doctor, and Cara had spent them stressing.
She wasn’t sure which thought was worse—telling her brother or telling Matteo about her situation. Both were apt to respond with an equal amount of venom. But knowing how Matteo had treated her, she was sure she knew what his response would be to learning about the baby and Cara had been dealt enough blows for one lifetime.
At least her brother’s fury would be predictable and not fraught with underlying animus. Salvatore’s disgust with her had always been apparent. There was no guessing involved.
“Miss Vinucci, do you want anything?”
Ginny had popped her head in the sitting room again and Cara wondered if the maid could tell she was about to reveal her secret. An unexpected pang of protectiveness washed over her and she studied the girl’s face.
“You should get out of the house,” she told Ginny quietly. “And don’t come back for a while.”
Ginny’s face registered fear but she nodded, biting on her lower lip.
Taken by the Mafia Boss Page 9
