Quiet Secrets

by J. L. Drake

  Vinni quickly cleared the other rooms and signaled to me the place was clear.

  I hauled Jacob to his feet and pushed him out the back door into the waiting SUV.

  “What the hell happened?” Vinni pointed to Niccola’s busted lip.

  “The bitch chucked his gun at me.” He kicked the man in the back of the knee, making him fall to the ground so he could snap a tie around his wrists. “I mean, who throws a gun?”

  “Toss him in,” Vinni said as he shoved the other man in the shoulder to make space for his friend. Jacob started to yell, so I sucker punched him in the gut.

  I slammed the door closed, hopped in the back, and tapped Francesco on the shoulder to get moving.

  Vinni kept a gun pointed at the men while I had my eyes peeled for the police. Unlike Italy, we couldn’t pay off the officers here. A few might look the other way for some cash, but chances were, we’d get a rookie trying to make a name for himself, and that would blow the whole situation to shit.

  Finally, we pulled into the dockyard and parked behind the offices. Niccola had a buddy who had supplied us with IDs that gave us full access to the entire yard. He’d also set us up with the crane we’d need at the end.

  Niccola and Vinni pulled the zip-tied men from the vehicle while more of my men arrived. Francesco and I hurried them along through the gates and over to where the propellor blades for a ship were being repaired and stopped at the griding wheel.

  “Drop them here,” I ordered my cousins. “Remove the duct tape.” Niccola ripped the tape from their eyelids, and they both yelped in pain. Their eyes bugged trying to focus while I lit a joint and stared down at them. “Tell me about your involvement with Stefano Coppola.”

  “We have no involvement—”

  “He wants what’s yours,” the other man interrupted, looking desperately at Elio, “your business, your land, your girl, everything.”

  “You’re dead.” Jacob laughed through his own pain as he eyed his traitor. “You flipped like a pancake, for what?”

  “I flipped because I don’t want to die.”

  “Well,” sweet smoke wafted from my mouth, “you’ll die with less pain, anyway.”

  “I’ll take that.” He nodded, and I respected his wish to go out easier.

  “What else do you know?”

  “All I know is he isn’t moving girls. That was just a front.”

  “Shut up, you fool!” Jacob hissed as he tried to breathe through his agony.

  “He’s always smoke and mirrors.” the man went on. “Nothing is ever what it seems.”

  “Who’s Mikey?”

  “Ah,” he closed his eyes while he thought, “I don’t know, but there was a Mari or something.”

  “Mariano?”

  “Yes! That’s it.” My blood burned white hot.

  “How long have they been working together?”

  “Maybe eight-nine years?”

  I glanced at Francesco then at my cousins, who all now wore the same expression. The son of a bitch had been playing our family since the start.

  His buddy next to him shoved off his knees to ram him, but I grabbed him by the collar and belt and kicked him off the ledge into the ocean. His bound legs and arms would prevent him from swimming.

  “Where were we?” I paused to dab the seawater from my face with my silk handkerchief. “Oh, yes, anything else?”

  “Just that Stefano paid Mariano a lot of money to find your girl. He was supposed to deliver her to him but didn’t. I guess he wasn’t ready to give her up just yet.”

  I cleared my throat and tugged on my suit jacket, trying to focus on the fact that she was still with me, and that Mariano would be taken care of very soon.

  “Stupid coward,” Jacob hissed like the reptile he was. “You betrayed your oath to me and to the Coppola name!”

  “Since you still have your eyes, you can watch this.” I directed my comment to the guy who had given me the info.

  I dragged Jacob by his shirt over to a grinding wheel and signaled for Vinni to turn on the machine and watched as the coarse stone spun.

  “I don’t care. Do what you want.” He moved his head around as though looking for some sort of escape even as he said it. His eyes were still red from the gasoline. I was tempted to put a match to his shirt which was still soaked with it but held off for now.

  I grabbed his hand and pushed it against the wheel and watched the splatter of blood and flesh as it instantly ate away to the bone.

  “You like to inflict pain?” Sienna’s terrified expression popped in my head, that of her face when she jumped into my arms, covered in her own blood that night in the hotel room. Blood this man had shed. Hatred coursed through me, and I held his other arm to the wheel. He screamed and bucked as the blood and sparks shot around like fiery-eye spinning fireworks. His screams, however, were far from the ones you would hear at a holiday event.

  His face went white, and saliva pooled at the corners of his mouth. He moaned and jolted as his brain tried to process the damage and pain.

  “Sweet Jesus.” The man who had offered the information looked away in horror.

  “Did you enjoy carving your initial into my girl’s skin as she screamed and begged you to stop?”

  “She’s,” he cried out and attempted to act as though the shock didn’t consume him, “she’s lucky that was all I did!”

  Pure white rage took over me, and images of previous killings flickered in front of me. Nothing else mattered but finding ways to inflict pain on this man. I lifted Jacob and let the wheel tear into one of his arms until it fell to the floor. He became a rag doll as I removed the other arm, then both legs. Only the sound of the wheel could be heard now. I dropped the battered torso on the ground with a scream of my own. It ripped from my core as the darkness inside me was finally free.

  “Please.” The other man looked up at me and begged for his life to be spared. Then, as I turned my murderous gaze on him, he sighed. “Just make it quick.”

  Niccola handed me his gun, and I shot him between the eyes.

  I huffed as the adrenaline started to wear off, and I looked around at the remains that surrounded me. Vinni and Francesco just stood there with stony faces while Niccola started to collect Jacob’s limbs to throw them in a crate.

  “He got off easy.” I sniffed and rubbed my arm over my face to clear the blood from my eyes. “I should have dragged it out more.”

  When I got back to the hotel room, I removed my clothes and tucked them into a garbage bag, along with the burner phone I’d used to alert my men to clean up the dockyard. I scrubbed myself clean, then did it again, and then texted Niccola how great the live show of Hamilton had been. He responded, saying he’d had a little too much to drink and was heading to bed. We knew our phones had pinged the correct towers all night on the off chance we ever had to prove where we were.

  Once in bed, I checked my texts. The last one I’d sent to Sienna still had no reply. I wondered what was going on with her. I knew she was upset with me, so perhaps I shouldn’t expect a reply. I would call in the morning and make sure she was all right. I slipped off to a restless sleep.

  Our flight was early, and once we were in the air, I rubbed my eyes and wished I had another few hours of sleep.

  Niccola and Vinni were on their phones checking to make sure our arrival would go smoothly without any unwelcome visitors, and Francesco was talking away updating Papa on what happened. When Vinni suddenly hit Niccola’s arm, I looked up, knowing something was off.

  “What?” I grunted as I sprinkled some pepper on my eggs.

  “It’s nothing.” Vinni cleared his throat.

  “It’s not nothing, so out with it.”

  “Sienna has decided to spend a little time at the hotel where her mother is staying.” Niccola took over for his brother. I dropped my fork and cursed.

  “Is that so?”

  Francesco butted in. “I think that’s a good idea. They could use some time together.”

  “
The last I heard, her mother wasn’t exactly a fan of our family,” I reminded him. “All I need is that woman getting inside Sienna’s head.”

  “Sienna is a smart girl, Elio. Give her a little credit,” he said softly, but I eyed him a warning not to push me too far. “You were gone. I bet she was feeling lonely.”

  I pushed my plate away, closed my eyes, and tried to control my temper.

  When we landed, I was shocked to be greeted by my nonna and Abramo, who wanted to take me for a ride to discuss a few things. I just wanted to get home, but I would never disrespect my nonna. So, I handed my bag to Francesco, who gave me an uneasy look before he disappeared into Vinni’s car.

  “How was your trip?” she asked as I sat next to her.

  “Productive.”

  “That’s good to hear.” She kept her eyes on her window as she absently worked over her ever-present rosary. “Have you questioned Sienna any more on the ten years she was away?”

  “A little. I really don’t see anything that stands out.”

  “Perhaps you need to dig a little deeper.”

  “Nonna, I’m really not sure why I need to question her further. She’s been nothing but—”

  “Did you know that she met up with her old friend, Cara, from the Di Vaio house yesterday?”

  “No, I—”

  “Did you know that Cara drilled her on questions about you, what you do for a living…?”

  “No, I didn’t, but—”

  “These are the things you need to know, Elio. This Cara woman has ties to some very high-level detectives. Sienna told her that you worked in import-export. Perhaps you should ask what else she said. One slip on Sienna’s part could take down everything that we’ve all worked so hard for. Your papa barely missed one hit on him, and chances are that another just might find its mark. Love can be blinding, and at the worst of times, Elio.” She took my hand and gave me a sweet smile. “I see so much potential in you, my sweet grandson. It would be a shame to see our empire crumble because of a woman.”

  She was right. I needed to keep my eyes open.

  “Now, tell me about your trip, and leave nothing out.”

  I laughed and filled her in on all the details. Nonna was very proud of the work I had done years ago as a Santoro brother. In fact, it was she who had helped me spin the story about how we were brothers and out for blood.

  When I got home, I searched the house, but it was empty. It sat just like I had left it, and I started to get angry. I had told her to stay put. Why didn’t she? I tossed my bag on the bed, changed, and hurried up to the Hill House.

  “Mama,” I called as I burst through the door and headed down the hallway, checking the rooms as I went. “Mama!”

  “Boss,” Donte flew out of the kitchen and held up a letter, “Ms. Sienna wanted me to give you this.”

  “Why didn’t she just call me?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  “How did she seem when she gave it to you?” He pressed his lips together and hesitated. “I know you two are friends, so out with it.”

  “She seemed a little rattled yesterday. She also snapped at Anna when she tried to push her buttons again.”

  “Explain.” I folded my arms to calm my nerves. Anna really needed to leave the house.

  “Anna told her that you were supposed to marry her.” The rest of what he said faded away as the blood rushed to my ears and my temper started to boil over. “Sienna put her in her place, but shortly afterward, she left.”

  “Who picked her up?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  “Not Abramo?”

  “No, boss.”

  “Okay.” I nodded at him. I appreciated that he’d been honest and had shared what had happened.

  “There you are.” Mama found me in the hallway. “I heard your trip was successful.”

  “It was. When were you going to tell me about Sienna leaving?”

  “I only found out this morning. I thought she was at your house. She called to tell me she wanted to spend a little time with Elenora.” She looked at me strangely. “I’m not sure what is going on inside of that head of yours, but you’re pushing her away.”

  “It’s complicated.”

  “When is love not?” she countered and stared into my eyes a beat longer. “I know that look.” She paused, and I saw the spark in her eyes when it suddenly hit her. “Oh, no, Elio. Oh, sweetheart, why are you spinning back into the darkness?”

  “I’m not.”

  “Then why are you questioning Sienna on her past?”

  “Because it’s my job.”

  “What do you think she’s hiding from you? She gave you her journals, she’s answered any question you’ve asked her, and she even did a polygraph test.”

  “When?”

  “Yesterday.”

  “And what were the results?”

  Mama’s face fell, and she stepped back like I had just stung her.

  “Elio,” she shook her head, “really? You think your father and I didn’t vet her way back when you were kids or again when she arrived here?” She let out a long breath. “You have never disappointed me before, until now.” She turned on her heel and headed outside.

  “You’re slipping.” Papa stood at the other side of the hallway with some papers in his hand. “You promised this family that your alter ego Zazzero was finished.”

  “What are you talking about?” I grew instantly annoyed. I hated to openly talk about the time Tieri and I went dark.

  “We let it slide at the time because you were grieving from a broken heart, and what you did benefitted the family, even though I didn’t always agree with your tactics.” He came closer. “But now, you have her back, and here you are pushing her away, questioning her. You actually have the gall to ask what her results were? Do you really think I’d still have her here if she lied?”

  “You do have a reputation for trusting the ones you love.”

  His expression flared then turned to stone. “And what’s wrong with that?” He nearly vibrated, and I knew I pushed him too far. “What’s wrong with loving that sweet young woman, who I know loves my son? Who put everything she’s built over the last ten years on hold to be with you? We raised you better than this, Elio, so whoever or whatever is causing you to behave this way, it needs to stop. The family has too many things to deal with right now for you to be this goddamn selfish.”

  “It’s not just for me, Papa. I’m only trying to do my duty as an underboss.”

  “This is not part of that. And she’s clean, Elio.” He sighed, shoving the paperwork at my chest. “But the damage is done, and only you can clean this mess up.”

  “Sienna?” Elenora tried to get my attention, but I was lost in thought about Elio.

  I stared at his text all night long, wondering if I should answer, but the truth was I didn’t want to fight. He was on a business trip, and I didn’t need to be distracting him.

  “Sienna?” This time her hand squeezed mine, and I blinked back to the present. “You have been distracted since you arrived here. I may not have been there for most of your childhood, but I know when something is bothering you.”

  “Sorry,” I forced a smile, “I just have a few things going on.”

  She eyed me then nodded for Oscar and Ugo to leave us. We were sitting on her private patio. They were her ever-present shadows, and I was getting used to having them nearby. It surprised me a little that she sent them away.

  She pushed her empty lunch plate aside and smiled warmly. “Let’s pretend for a moment that we’ve had a lifetime together of happiness and love. That we’re mother and daughter having a weekend together because we both need it. This would be the time, as we sit here on this patio enjoying a lunch, that I would say, ‘There seems to be something bothering you. Would you like to talk about it?’”

  “I’ve pretended this moment for years, so you’d think I’d be better at it.” I chuckled darkly.

  “Can you try, for me?”

  “Und
er one condition.”

  “Name it?”

  “You don’t judge or flip out.”

  “You have my word.” She folded her napkin and waited for me to start.

  I wanted to blurt everything, but it was hard when I knew how she felt about the Capris. I felt so twisted and jagged inside maybe it would help to get it off my chest and get some motherly advice.

  “Elio is,” I reached for my glass and took a few sips of water, “acting differently all of a sudden, and I’m not sure how to navigate it.”

  Her lips twisted as she thought.

  “How is he acting different?”

  “Elio and I pretty much grew up together, we knew each other inside out, and when I first arrived here, after all those years apart, it was like we just picked up where we left off.” I skipped over the part where I had finally gotten over him after he left me all those years ago. “We were great, and now, out of the blue, he’s questioning me on my past like I’m hiding something.” I let out a long breath. “I’m not hiding anything, and I’ve gone over and above to prove it.”

  “When did this start?”

  “It’s been brewing for a few weeks.”

  “So, since I’ve arrived?” She gave a little shrug, but when she saw my weary face, she lifted a hand. “I’m not going there,” she assured me. “However,” she made a hand gesture to someone behind me, and a few moments later Oscar handed her something, “I would like to defend myself on something, if you’re all right with it?” I nodded out of starved curiosity. “Remember when we were in the sunflower field, and I told you that maybe you should be looking at the people you call family a little closer?”

  “Yes.”

  “Have you ever asked Piero about me?” I sat perfectly still, unsure I wanted to know what was coming my way. “Because,” she placed a photograph in front of me with an orange-highlighted date from back in the seventies, “that’s me, Francesco, and Piero.” Her gaze moved up to meet mine. “It was taken before you were born but, nonetheless, he can’t say he didn’t know me when clearly he does.”

  I held the photo between my fingers and tried to make sense of what I was seeing.

  “That was the day my parents met Francesco,” her voice changed, “and the day they told me I could never be with someone who associates with criminals. They recognized Piero. The Capris may be handsome, but they certainly have a reputation across Italy as ruthless men. Even though it is well known they are classy and reserved about it, they still murder.”