Quiet Secrets

by J. L. Drake

  “He didn’t mention that.” She turned a little pale. “Oh, my God.”

  I rubbed my mouth with both hands and felt the tick in my jaw start. She could have been taken, or…I stopped my train of thought.

  “Sienna,” I lowered to look at her straight on, “what exactly did he say to you?”

  “He wanted to know how I was enjoying the festival, what I thought of the wine, would I be interested in writing an article for the local newspaper, nothing that sent any red flags. Trust me, if he said anything that was out of the norm, I would have come directly to you and not stopped to talk to Tieri.”

  “Maybe he was testing her out?” Vinni tried to make sense of it all. “Or maybe he was trying to see how much she’d say?”

  “No,” my chest tightened, “he was sending a message that he could get to her in broad daylight at a family event.”

  “You need to leave, Sienna,” Vinni hissed.

  “No,” she held up her hands, “they had their chance and didn’t take it. If I leave, it means they got to you.”

  “She’s right,” I cut in, scanning every face in the crowd. “If she leaves, it shows weakness.”

  “Boss?” Vinni looked at me in shock, clearly thinking I wasn’t in my right mind, but I was.

  “Hey,” I pulled her closer and spoke quietly into her hair, “I know we have things to work out, but give me today to prove to these snakes that we’re not backing down. Tomorrow we can fight.” I couldn’t help but rub my thumb over her arm as I held her close.

  “Okay.”

  “But you need to stay close to me, understood?” She nodded, but I shook my head. “I really need you to say it.”

  “I understand and will, but, Elio,” she tilted her head to look up at me, “just today.”

  I squinted at her. “What does that mean?”

  “Sir,” a waiter came up, “your table is ready for you and your party. If you would just follow me.”

  I nodded curtly and tried to stifle my temper. Reaching for her hand, I kept her close as we began to follow the man across the park to the restaurant.

  “Ah.” She held up our linked hands to question my public display of affection.

  “He’s out of it, and I don’t care anymore.” I helped her through the crowd of happy people enjoying their day, most totally ignorant of the dangerous people among them.

  “Only you would wear heels to a grassy park,” Vinni joked, trying to lighten the mood once we got to the pavement.

  “Think of it as aeration,” she scoffed and glanced at me.

  I smirked, remembering when I’d said that to her not long ago and what happened afterward. I will never look at a mausoleum the same again.

  Once inside, I spotted my parents at a table in the corner with the DeSimones, my uncle Bosco, Aunt Noemi, and Francesco. Mama stood and looked like she was about to come over, but I held up a hand to stop her, knowing that she’d make Sienna emotional. Papa understood and encouraged her to sit back down.

  My capo, Donatello, and soldier, Gain, joined the four of us at our table while my other three soldiers, Ernesto, Brando, and Niccola’s good friend, Harris, covered both entrances.

  “Niccola,” Sienna nodded over his head, “why does that woman look so familiar?”

  “Vinni’s birthday present.” He winked, and I was impressed with how calm she was being, given the situation at hand. “She was a solid eight.”

  “Seven,” Vinni corrected him.

  “No way. She does yoga and can fit her legs like a pretzel over her head.”

  “True, but she also does this thing to your balls—wait, how did you know that?”

  “How do you think I chose her?” He chuckled.

  “You test drove my birthday present?” Vinni looked like he might be sick.

  “Seriously? I had to get you back!” Niccola tossed his hands up. “Does the summer of 2018 ring any bells?”

  “I thought he was a girl!” Vinni yelled, which caused Donatello to burst out laughing and brought Sienna nearly to tears. “She looked perfect for you.”

  “Did his stubble not give him away?”

  “His eyes were very deceiving.”

  “But the bulge between his legs wasn’t?”

  “He tucked it!” He slammed his hands down on the table, trying to defend himself. A few people around us looked over, and I rolled my eyes. They never stopped. Ever.

  “So, tell me this,” Sienna piped up, “how are you ranking the girls? Like, what makes you a solid ten? Or is there even such a thing?”

  “You know what I like about you?” Gain leaned back in his chair while he scanned the room. “That you didn’t take offense to that.”

  “You are men, you rank. We do, too, just in a different way.” She stopped to think. “We’re just a little less crass about it.”

  “I respect that.” Gain nodded.

  “There’s a few steps to the ranking,” Vinni explained like he was in a business meeting. “Is she a good kisser? How flexible is she? Does she talk too much? Her sex sounds—”

  “Oh, yeah, that’s an important one,” Niccola added. “Remember the winter we spent in the cabin and that girl with the big lips?”

  “Yeah!” Vinni pointed to him, looking at Gain then Sienna. “She was the soundtrack to a perfect sexual experience.”

  “Well, wait, what’s a good sex sound?” Sienna seemed to be enjoying herself as the waiter poured our wine.

  “Some women can be too throaty when they moan, so it can feel like you’re with a man,” Vinni quivered, “or they can be too dominating with their words. I like a woman with some fire outside of the bedroom, but I need a submissive one inside the bedroom.”

  “So, that runs in the family,” she muttered under her breath as she looked up at me, and I gave an unapologetic shrug. It was true, and I’d never denied it.

  “Then there’s the physical part, how she looks.” Vinni held up a hand to silence the chatter. “Every man has their own scoring card for this one, and it’s where it gets really personal. I’m an ass man, while Niccola here is all about a woman’s neck. Donatello is ass as well. Gain is eyes, and the boss is all about—” He stopped himself when he realized what he was saying.

  She looked up at me, and I dropped my gaze to her breasts.

  “Hang on, hang on,” Donatello waved his arms, “help us men out, Sienna, and give us a few secrets on how females rank guys.”

  “That’s only fair.” She dragged her gaze from me. “Let’s see.” She cleared her throat and sipped her wine, which drew my eyes to her wet lips. I had been watching the doors while enjoying their banter. Even though we had our capos and soldiers and most of northern Italy’s police force, I was the underboss to our family, and I needed to be alert. “Like your scoring chart, it can be based on an individual, but some things are across the board. How good is he at foreplay? Does he go right for the goods or warm you up first? Is he a sloppy kisser? How adventurous is he?”

  “Adventurous?” Niccola stopped her.

  “Like does he have to be in a bedroom, or is he willing to do it anywhere? Missionary, or does any position go?”

  “I see.” He waved her on as our food arrived.

  “We all have acquired tastes.” She swallowed hard as though remembering something. “It’s finding the right man who can meet them, that’s the trick.”

  “What’s a must requirement for you?” Vinni was lost in her storytelling.

  “A must would be anywhere, anytime. If you want me, take me, don’t think about it. Be confident because that’s sexy as hell.”

  I slid my hand under the table to land heavily on her upper thigh. I pulled up her dress and cupped her, feeling the warmth from her arousal. A reminder that I’d heard her, and knew we ticked off all of each other boxes. She didn’t push me away, but she didn’t acknowledge me either.

  My eyes were drawn to Papa and Mama, who were being escorted out of the restaurant. They were followed by the DeSimones. I kept still and
didn’t draw any attention to what I was seeing.

  Francesco leaned down and whispered, “Tent straight out the window has eyes on you, and there’s a man out back near a vendor truck. I’ll deal with the one in front of you. Your parents will return to the house, but I suggest everything else stay normal.” I nodded, understanding what needed to be done.

  When I turned back, I found Sienna watching me closely, and her hand landed on top of mine on her leg.

  “Elio,” she whispered, “what’s going on?” I squeezed her thigh before I removed it and handed her my Glock 48, sliding it over her warm skin under the table. “What?” She froze. “No.”

  “Put it your purse,” I ordered, and shockingly, she did as she was told.

  “Just tell me what’s going on.” I could see she needed this, and for some reason, my head cleared a little and I understood. This was who we were, and she could handle it.

  “We’re being watched. It’s being handled, but I need to step out back.”

  “Hey.” She grabbed my arm and paused.

  I leaned over and kissed her collarbone, not caring about anyone else and what we were supposed to hide. “Just act normal until I come back.” I glanced at Niccola, who nodded at me then disappeared out back.

  The hired staff didn’t bat an eye when I came whipping through the kitchen or when I grabbed the cleaver from one of the cooks. I kicked the back door open and stumbled upon two men who were wailing on one of the waiters. Gain and Brando were right on my heels but stayed back, knowing they were to step in if needed. I didn’t want to risk a panic by using my 9mm, and didn’t have my silencer handy, so I fixed my grip on the bone handle and charged the men. They both jumped into fighting positions. The waiter ran toward the door with blood streaming from his nose.

  “Elio Capri,” the taller man who looked to have at least a hundred pounds on me laughed, “if this is how easy it is to get you alone, we should have paid a visit a long time ago.”

  “Agreed.” I entertained him, and we circled each other. From the corner of my eye, I saw the smaller man go for his gun, and I launched myself at him and jammed the cleaver in his neck, then kicked his gun over to Gain, who wiped it down and tossed it in the trash bin.

  The big guy took a millisecond to digest what happened as my foot landed in his stomach, but he didn’t go down and smoked me in the shoulder. I took the hit and let myself twist to the ground to land near the smaller guy. I yanked the cleaver out of the man’s neck as arterial spray pumped from the wound over my shirt. I lunged and sliced the big man across the stomach. He chopped down hard on my shoulder as I slipped on the bleeding corpse and fell again. I heard the material on his cheap suit strain as he fought to keep his own footing. He raised his arm to shoot me, so I flipped over and used the half second I had left to live to slice him from asshole to junk. His eyes bugged out and his body stilled while he registered what I had done. I jolted out of the way as he fell straight down. I rolled to my knees and tossed his gun toward Brando. I wasn’t proud of that kill. It was messy and desperate, but I wanted to live more than I needed a clean kill.

  A kitchen grunt burst through the door with a pair of earphones on, and when he spotted me, he dropped the bag of trash he was holding and lifted his hands, noticing Gain and Brando.

  “Sorry!”

  I moved to my feet and followed his line of sight and realized my white dress shirt and suit jacket were covered in blood.

  “Shit.”

  Beyond caring, we rushed past the kid and over to our table where I pulled Sienna quickly to her feet, keeping her in front of me. Everyone stood and gathered their belongings.

  “Time to go,” I told her as she gasped, and I knew she had seen my bloody chest. “It’s not mine,” I whispered. “Stay in front of me.

  “Donatello and Gain, you go out front, Niccola, and Vinni with me, Brando up top,” I ordered, knowing we needed to get moving.

  With a good grip on Sienna, I pushed her through the kitchen and out the back.

  “Oh!” She cringed at the two dead men in a heap.

  “Come on.” We headed toward the main street and then down another side street. I kept an eye on Brando’s shadow as it raced along the rooftops above us in case he signaled for us to stop. I almost lost track at how many turns we made before I came to a screaming halt.

  “What?” she huffed, trying to catch her breath.

  “Police.” I whirled and spotted more, seeing that both of our exits were now blocked.

  “I thought you paid them to look the other way.”

  “We do,” Niccola spoke for me while I tried to figure out our next move, “but Elio is covered in blood, and there’s only so much they can overlook.”

  “Besides,” Vinni said, “many of these officers are new.”

  One of the officers spotted us and spoke to his friend, who lifted a radio. He called out to us to stop, and I knew this was going to be bad. Even by his walk I could see he knew he had us.

  “Shit, we don’t need this right now.” Niccola nodded in agreement.

  Sienna pulled her hand from mine and dove into her purse. She pulled out a bottle of wine, wrapped it in her sweater and pretended to sag against the brick wall as she smashed it.

  “What are you doing?” She pulled a piece of jagged glass free and held it up before she closed her eyes and quickly sliced into her upper arm. I lunged forward, but I was too late. She started to bleed, then smeared it all over her arms and dress.

  “It’s not deep, but I’ve had a bit of wine, so it should be pretty messy.”

  I stared at her, stunned she just did that, but my shock would have to wait because the officer was gaining on us fast.

  “Officer.” Vinni took two steps forward to address him first.

  “Hands up.” He pointed his gun at me and, with a glare, I did as I was told. The way his weapon bounced around in his hand told me he was fresh out of the academy. “Same with the rest of you.” Vinni and Niccola slowly did the same. “What’s happening here? Whose blood is that?”

  “It’s mine.” Sienna stepped out from behind me holding her bloody arm. “I’m not sure how deep it is, but they were only trying to get me some help, officer.”

  The officer spoke into his radio, calling for some backup and an ambulance.

  “Apply pressure.” His lack of confidence was almost comical. “Do you know them, miss?” His gun wavered, and he blinked hard. He was so nervous I knew if I so much as flinched, he’d fire his weapon—into the air, no doubt—but I wasn't going to risk it.

  “Yes,” she pointed at me, “he’s my boyfriend, and the other two are his cousins.” She did a stellar job of dramatically holding her arm. “He was only trying to help, but I can see how this looks.” She spoke calmly and added a few comments about how much it hurt. “It all happened so fast. One moment I was holding the bottle of wine, and the next it hit the table, the bottle broke, and the glass cut right through me.” She held up her arm, and the officer cringed, clearly affected by the sight of blood, because the cut wasn’t all that bad. “Do you think I’ll need stitches?”

  “Just-just stay put until my partner shows up.” We could hear the footsteps approaching as he spoke.

  An officer came running up and quickly assessed the situation. He looked at me. “Oh, Mr. Capri.” He reached out and lowered his partner’s weapon and shot him a nasty glare. “Forgive my partner for the misunderstanding.” It took me a moment to place this officer, but then I remembered he was the one who stopped us on the way to the church function a few weeks ago. He knew the agreement we had with the local police. “I told you to leave the Capri family alone.”

  “I didn’t recognize him, and he was covered in blood!” the rookie officer shot back, clearly annoyed that his partner didn’t have his back. “Who wouldn’t stop them?”

  “Remember,” he lowered his voice, “who they are.”

  “It’s still not right.” The rookie pointed a finger at me, and I gave a pointed look at Nicco
la, who immediately took out his phone and called for a ride home.

  “Hi, miss. I’m Officer Hector.” He gently examined Sienna’s arm. “I think maybe you’ll only need one stitch. It doesn’t look too bad. Would you like me to get someone to look at that?”

  “I’ll take her to get checked out,” I assured him. “I appreciate you showing up when you did, Officer Hector.”

  “No problem, sir. Sorry for the misunderstanding.” He winked at me, and I tried not to laugh at him trying to be cool. “Are you sure you don’t need a ride anywhere?”

  “No, our car will be just up the road any moment.”

  We headed in the opposite direction toward the open road. I pulled my handkerchief from my breast pocket.

  “It’s not that deep.” Sienna brushed me off as I wrapped her arm. “It’s a clean cut, and it doesn’t even hurt.”

  “Why did you do it?”

  “Because, you stupid ass, we were in trouble!”

  “Did you just call me an ass?”

  “Yeah, and I was being kind.” She batted my hands away from fussing with her arm. She was right. It wasn’t that deep, but it was still nasty, and she needed it tended to.

  Niccola and Vinni turned away, but I knew they were laughing. I never let anyone speak to me that way, so they were thoroughly entertained.

  Two cars pulled up and parked by the curb. My cousins hopped in the first one, and I turned to help Sienna inside the other. She suddenly had a gun pointed at me, stopping me dead in my tracks. Nonna’s words blew into my head. “Can you really trust her?”

  A tear streamed down her face as her chin quivered.

  “Sienna?” What the hell was happening?

  “Don’t make me do this!” she screamed, and my heart broke into a million pieces. “Stop!” Her eyes widened, and her finger squeezed the trigger, and I waited for the impact of the bullet. A sudden irrational thought hit me that if I was going to die I would rather it be her than any Coppola. Only it zipped over my shoulder and clipped the neck of Caio. He went flying back, and his gun that had been aimed at me went spinning into the air from the momentum.

  Her terrified expression moved to mine as she lowered the gun. I removed it from her hand, tossed it at Vinni, who was now at my side, and I jumped into the car with her. Where there was one rat, another was never far away.