by Sienna Mynx
“I remember the day Patri was shot. He too slipped into a coma. Just like this. Just like Gio. We were in Napoli. But the room... it looked like this. The machines... were like this.”
“Stop, Domi.”
The young consigliere continued, as if he were a wound up, robotic toy who could only be shut down if you knew how to flip the right switch. “We tried to keep him with us... we failed. Just like this. He died. Madre Eve was there. Giovanni and Lorenzo were there. I was there. Madre Eve slipped into madness. Day by day less of her was left. Giovanni kept saying she would recover, bounce back. He and Lorenzo believed it. But I didn’t. I knew. I knew the moment I looked into her eyes she was dead. As dead as my own father and mother. Dead like every person I ever loved.”
“Domi, don’t do this. Giovanni needs our support.”
“And you need to know the truth! The real truth!” he barked. He nailed her with his sad eyes. And she was forced to maintain his stare. “Madre Eve’s madness was because she loved and hated Patri. The two emotions were so strong in her she could never tell the difference. Just accept it like we all did. After all she was his prisoner according to so many. We didn't understand their bond. Giovanni said it was her diabetes. He told the family that. He told Catalina that after we found her unconscious in her bed. But I knew the truth. I knew it and never said anything to anyone, not even Gio. I was there when she did it. The day she asked me to bring her the needle and insulin. The day she wept in bed as she injected it into her veins. The doctors had warned her against this for years. And I knew she was careful with the syringes. She did this on purpose. She wasn’t just grieving the loss of Patri. She was grieving the loss of Giovanni.”
“Why?”
“She’d done everything to push him away from Patri’s legacy. Sent him to America to be schooled. Everything. But in the end when Patri was dead Giovanni was forced to be the son Patri wanted. And that killed her. She blamed herself.”
“Giovanni’s mother killed herself?”
“I loved her, Mirabella. She was my mother. She didn’t call on her own children then. She called me to her bedside.”
“Why would she do that?”
“Because she saw it in me since I was a little boy. That hopelessness, that prisoner locked away and forced to live the life others chose for me. Because she knew I was the only one in this family who’d comfort her as she... as she... finally tried to be free.”
“Sweet merciful God. You kept this from everyone? From Giovanni and Catalina?”
“She took too much of her insulin. On purpose. It was a sin. Giovanni, said that his mother never believed her life as Patri’s mistress should be forgiven by God even though she was absolved of the sin countless times in confession. She wanted to be punished. She knew Patri would burn in hell. So, she decided to commit the ultimate sin and join him in death.”
“She committed suicide.”
Dominic nodded. “She deserved heaven. She saved my life. She loved me like her own. And Giovanni loved me, too. He believes as she did. He think’s he’s going to hell. He’s convinced of it.”
Mirabella looked to her husband with surprise.
“He’s never talked to me about her that way. About his mortality that way. Are you sure he doesn’t know what his mother did? That this was on purpose.”
“We all keep secrets. Giovanni found me with her. He found me crying and holding her. He never asked. I never said a word. Maybe he does know. Maybe a part of him knows.”
“I can’t believe you two had me seeing a psychiatrist. Some days I feel like I’m the only sane person in this family,” Mirabella sighed.
“You are. You are different. You have always been different. Don’t let your love and grief for him blind you to reality. The only way he lives, the only way this family and all of us avoid death, is if you use that difference to help us.”
“I know what you are asking of me.”
“Good.”
Mirabella touched her husband's hand. “Our protector. And you know who you are, Domi? You're the soul of this family. You carry and feel our pain more than anyone. That’s why Eve chose you to be with her at the end. It was brave of you to stay strong with her. To keep your mother’s secret.”
“But she wasn’t my mother. I never knew my mother,” he said.
“She was. And she loved you like her very own. Sometimes love makes us weak. I get that. None of us can help it. But if you think my grief, my worry, my love for Giovanni makes me weak like Eve, you don’t know why he married me in the first place. It wasn’t our differences. It was our similarities. I’ve watched people I love die. I moved through life alone with the memory of a mother and a strong grandmother to guide me, not help me. I’m not going to crumble, Domi. I’m not. My husband isn't dead. So, we're going to fight for our family. And if you are going to be here, in this room, you will not bring the attitude of defeat to me again.”
“Whatever you say,” he remarked.
“Giovanni is going to come out of this. He is. Do you understand me?”
Dominic nodded. “I understand. Go home, Mirabella. I can’t keep the visitors and the Carabinieri away from us much longer. You will have to see them soon. Right now, your children need you. I’ll stay with him.”
Mirabella did need to check on her children. Zia and Rocco had arrived. The family was all on edge and there was plenty of confusion. At the moment she refused all press, and inquiries about him. And then there was the polizia. Dominic had handled them up until now, but they insisted on an interview with her. She wasn’t ready for that. Not yet.
“I’ll be back by tonight. Check with the staff about getting me a room or wheeling me a bed in here.”
Dominic didn’t respond. He just stared at Giovanni.
“Domi?”
“Yes. I heard you. Leo is out in the hall. He will take you home.”
“Call me, promise, if anything happens.”
“Call you. Yes. I got it. I will.” Dominic said in a voice so soft it was hard to hear. Reluctantly she turned and left.
Chapter Two
A Brother’s Love
Salerno, Italy
Dominic found it hard to keep standing when sobering. The best he could do was shower, and he needed the booze to do that. Three days of drinking had left him bereft of confidence.
He was a hypocrite. He blamed Catalina for being foolish and weak enough to trust Armando as a cover. The truth was he blamed himself more. He never should have let her out into the world. Never pretended to believe freedom of choice would mature her. It only ripped her from his heart, as Giovanni once warned him it would. And that was the real reason why he hated her and himself.
Giovanni was in trouble. If he had been stronger, more trustworthy, Giovanni wouldn’t have gone rogue, aligned himself with Tacchini, and cut his own men out of his vendetta. If he had been stronger, Catalina would have trusted him instead of turning to Armando Mancini. Dominic was the weak link. He was not cunning like Flavio. He wasn’t resourceful like Rocco. He was a broken kid who wore the skin of a man and played the role of consigliere.
The Carabinieri were full fledged into their investigations. The clan bosses were angered and circling wagons since the gunning down of the Benicias. Tacchini had gone to Napoli and dumped all of the drugs, just as Giovanni wanted. Tacchini and Giovanni agreed on that score. Their true love was trafficking, extortion, smuggling and the underworld of selling priceless artifacts. But their plan was flawed. Drugs were no longer a business to be brushed aside. Drugs were here, and they came through the channels every day. He didn’t understand any of Giovanni’s strategy, and didn’t know how to prepare Mirabella for the fallout.
With a heavy heart, he approached Giovanni’s bed. His brother lay still. Silent. It was rare to see him so vulnerable. It was scary. People always thought that Dominic was the one to keep Giovanni balanced, and he supposed he served a purpose for Giovanni. The truth was his brother was the one that made him the man he was.
There was a phone in the room. Dominic pulled over a chair and sat down. He paged Nico and left the number to the hospital room. He knew it by heart since he called so often since the shooting. Despite his will to remain standing, he drifted deep into his thoughts. The phone in the room rang twenty minutes later. The shrill sound startled him. He glanced to Giovanni who hadn’t moved. He wiped the drool from his mouth and answered.
“This is Dominic.”
“It’s me, Boss. Nico,” came the brisk reply.
“What do you have?”
“A merchant by the name of Paolo. He said Catalina paid him in cash to sleep upstairs in one of his rentals.”
“Where?” Dominic sat up. The muscles in his heart began to constrict all at once, and the blood rushing to his brain cleared his thoughts of the stupor he languished in. Hope had come and it cleared his mind and heart soon after.
“Bacoli. I’m here now,” Nico said.
“I’m on my way.”
“Boss!” Nico yelped. “She’s gone.”
“Gone? What does that mean?”
“The merchant said that she stayed in the rental for two days. Only came out to buy fruit or drinks. He said this morning when she was downstairs buying something to eat she saw the paper.”
“What paper?”
“Newspaper. It had the story of Giovanni being shot. He said she was distraught. Very. He and his wife tried to calm her down but she became hostile. Verbally attacked them. Violently shoved his wife and scratched her face. Broke and smashed display cases and things in the store. Customers had to restrain her. They asked her to leave. He said she left a few hours ago after threatening to have them all killed.”
“Maybe she’s headed home?” Dominic wiped his hand down his face. “A few hours you say?”
“Yes. She wouldn’t stay away with Giovanni being hurt. Speaking of... how is he?” Nico asked.
“The same. He’s in a coma. The doctors don’t know shit, but they pretend to. I think it’s a waiting game now.”
Nico sighed. “There’s something else.”
“Say it?”
“Lorenzo. I spoke to Alonzo and he told me that the Tacchinis believe Mancini had taken Lorenzo to Napoli. They found witnesses, a few kids. They saw them board a boat.”
“Napoli? Why Napoli and not Sicilia?”
“Not sure. Kid said Lorenzo was being carried, and that a pregnant woman was with him. I think Lorenzo was shot.”
Dominic glanced to the bed where Giovanni lay. He hadn’t gone to the scene of the crime. But he had no doubt if Giovanni had seen Lorenzo he would pull the trigger. Maybe they got into a gun fight? That would explain a lot. “So, Mancini is helping him? Send the boys to Napoli. Search every hamlet. Find him. And keep him alive.”
“Will do. Renaldo and Umberto are with the Tacchinis. Things are a bit tense right now. Several clans are demanding retribution. I hear a meeting has already taken place and there will be another.”
“When is it?”
“Tonight, tomorrow, not sure. Have you been called? Invited?”
Dominic removed his new pager. He glanced down at the tiny contraption. He had several pages from Tacchini, but not many people had his new number. “I’ll call him next. You can reach me at the hospital.”
“I will contact you if I learn more.”
When the call ended the pain in his heart became insufferable. They were in deep trouble on all fronts. And now he had to contend with the fact that Armando Mancini had stepped into the mix. Was he helping Lorenzo and Marietta out of some brotherly duty or plotting to drive the final knife into Giovanni? And why if Armando pulled the trigger did he not do the kill shot? To leave Giovanni alive was a fatal mistake. Not something a man like Armando would make. Unless? Dominic’s wager was on the latter. This had to be Lorenzo's doing. He ambushed Giovanni and tried to kill him. But Giovanni got a shot off. Defended himself. It made Dominic proud and scared that Giovanni fought that battle alone. He needed to think through the next move. It was the most important now. He had to get the word out that Giovanni was alive and recovering. After all of this his brother was still strong and powerful. He closed his eyes and tried to focus. The thirst he'd suffered since he left home dried out his tongue. He needed a drink. He needed one bad.
The door to the room opened. Dominic half expected to see Catalina walk through. His heart surged with hope. Instead it was two lieutenants with the Carabinieri. They glanced to him first and then to Giovanni. The tallest of the men spoke. “Signor Dominic Battaglia?”
Dominic stood.
“We have questions for you.”
“I already told the Generale, I will come to meet with him later this week.”
The men exchanged glances and then returned their glares to him. “You come with us now or you are under arrest for resisting the command of an officer.”
He glanced to Giovanni. He swore to Mirabella that he would not leave his side. But right now, he was the only man left standing to deal with the police. And he had to find a way to keep the sharks at bay. Dominic nodded that he would comply. He stepped toward the men with raised hands. One of the lieutenants patted him down. He removed the gun he found tucked into the strap fastened around his ankle.
“I hope you have a permit for that?” The lieutenant smirked.
Dominic shrugged. “You tell me.”
“We will.”
He was walked out of the hospital room. He saw two of his best men in the hall. Outside there were a total of twelve men who covered the entire perimeter of the hospital, even in the rain. No one would get in or escape without passing them.
Dominic signaled for the men to come over. Two of them approached. The others glared at the Carabinieri. “I won’t be long. Put Carlo’s boys on this. Stay with Gio.”
Before Catalina told the driver to stop the car, Dominic walked out of the front of the hospital. He was escorted by two men from the Carabinieri. A mixture of distress, fear, apprehension, and distrust beat through her heart all at once. To see him again, even from a distance, was far too soon. Not enough time had passed for her to accept or heal over the cruel ending between them. Dominic was forced into the back of the police car without looking her way. The Carabinieri drove off. Immediately her grief surfaced. She had no pride left. Not any longer. She would gladly throw herself at his feet and beg for forgiveness if it made a difference. But deep in her heart she knew it would not. He hated her.
“Signora?” the driver asked and slowed to a stop in the parking lot.
“Take me to the front of the hospital please.” The driver drove on and delivered her to the hospital. Piero and Callisto were both posted out front. “Can you wait for me?”
“No, non, Signora I must go! Give me my money.”
“Here!” She shoved several notes on him. He looked at the money and his eyes stretched. It had to be more than he’d make in a week. “But you will stay. Those men work for me. They’ll come for you and your family if you don't.”
“Sì, no problemo.”
She got out of the car. Piero held the door open. “Catalina, you just missed the Donna and Domi.”
“Who’s here? Who’s with my brother?” Catalina demanded.
“We are,” Callisto said and showed her the gun he had tucked in at his side beneath his blazer. “No one gets next to the boss.”
Catalina wiped her tears and went inside. She asked for his room and was told immediately. Most people in the hospital knew who she was. When she arrived at his door she was surprised no one was posted outside of it. There should be men inside the hospital hall as well. She pushed open the door and stepped inside darkness. A gun was put to the side of her head. She nearly cried out in terror. But a hand went over her mouth.
The person who had seized her let her go after a few moments. She turned to face her attacker. It was Desi, another man who worked for her brother. Two others were in the room. Marizio was in a chair watching the scene unfold between her and Desi. And another man she di
dn’t know by name was in the corner using his pocket knife to clean beneath his nails. These men were enforcers who didn’t visit the family. Most worked under Lorenzo and Carlo. They did the things that gave the Battaglias their nightmarish reputation. If anyone got close to her brother they would carve them up and walk their body parts out as if taking out the trash.
And at the moment each of them had contempt in their eyes directed toward her.
They knew.
She’d betrayed Dominic with Armando and they probably heard the worst of the story. All lies and innuendos. Whatever her crime was she did not betray her family. Catalina tossed her chin up with false confidence and made sure they heard no fear in her voice. “I want to see my brother alone. Get out!”
The men exchanged a look as if they would refuse.
“Get the hell out!” she demanded.
Marizio let go a soft chuckle. He smiled, the kind of smile that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. She had her gun in her purse and was tempted to draw it on them.
“Andiamo,” Desi said to the other men. He left first. Marizio did as she asked, but his eyes never left her as he walked out. The one in the corner with the knife stepped forward last. He pushed the sharp pointed blade back inside the handle and dropped it in his pocket. He looked her over as if he wanted something obscene axZnd then he gave her a sly smile. She saw a flat silver object between his teeth. He sucked it like candy and it was flat against his tongue. The man pushed the object out to his lips as if to show her. She knew what it was. He removed a razor blade from his mouth. He winked like a magician proud of his trick, and dropped the razor into his front shirt pocket. Inside she recoiled. She had heard Dominic mention this one. He was Carlo's favorite. And he liked to play with knives, too. The way the man kept staring at her felt awful. But she knew she could show him no fear.
“Raining outside princess? You’re all wet,” he said.
These men would have never disrespected her before this. Never. Now they felt justified. What had Giovanni said to them when she left Melanzana? That she was no longer his piccoletta? No longer worthy of respect. Was she banished from their hearts permanently?
