by Sienna Mynx
“New me. Rom Boldo. Protector of the Queen. Badge of honor Giovanni give me. I’m his. I’m the Donna’s until I die.”
“His?”
Leo nodded.
“That’s cool,” Belinda smiled. “Man! That’s is so bad ass!”
Leo chuckled. “Ass bad!”
Belinda laughed. She looked around at the merriment of the people. “This place is cool. Thanks for bringing me.”
“You like to dance?”
“Yes, I do. And I like all kinds of music.”
“Come, you wanted fun. Let’s have fun.” He eased out of the booth bare chested he looked like a gladiator in dress slacks. Belinda went with him. Her mind conjured so many different exciting stories about his life. She couldn’t help it. She’d read too many romance novels not too. He led her to the back of the restaurant. They passed through a curtain of beads and entered a back room that smelled of sage and other herbs. The smell stung her nostrils and she covered them at first. But the dancing was in full swing. A DJ was behind a turn-table and young people danced and gyrated on the dance floor. No one noticed them. Everyone was too busy having fun. The kind they would have at frat parties after a night of drinking. Girls stumbled and bumped about and men danced and pawed all over them. Leo started to dance. She smiled and danced with him. She put her hands to his chest and moved the way he did at first. But the music kept her going in closer and closer. When she turned and put her back to him he immediately wrapped his arms around her. That surprised her. But it was all in fun. So she wound her hips and gave him a taste of her moves. She couldn’t see his face to know if he liked it. But she could feel him behind her growing aroused. Belinda laughed. She danced with him until they were both panting and sweating.
“You having fun?” he whispered against her ear.
“The best time ever!” she said.
Chapter Thirty-Four
A Woman’s Worth
Sorrento, Italy
“Where are you going?” Rocco demanded.
Mirabella stopped. Uncle Rocco appeared from nowhere. What startled her more was the tone of his voice. She’d never heard him speak as sharply to her before.
“I have a meeting,” she replied.
“I will attend with you.”
“You aren’t invited,” she said and turned away.
“I want to speak to you!”
“I told you it would have to wait.”
Rocco lunged for her. He grabbed her by the arm, and yanked so hard she nearly tripped over her feet to keep standing.
“Rocco!” Zia gasped.
His head turned. Mirabella was able to throw him off and in doing so Rocco lost his balance. He turned on his ankle and went down hard on his left side. Zia screamed in fright. Mirabella went into action. She went to her knees to help him. Rocco grimaced but didn’t move. Zia rushed over and shoved Mirabella away. She wept and pulled on Rocco as if he’d been shot, and not simply a victim of his own actions.
“It was an accident, Zia. I didn’t mean...”
“Get help! Per favore aiutatemi!” Zia pleaded.
A shocked Mirabella was unable to move. She glanced around and realized it was one of the rare moments they were in a hall alone. “Keep him still. I’ll be right back.”
She wasn’t sure if Zia heard her. The old woman kept weeping. She scrambled to her feet and ran as fast as she could downstairs. “Leo! Leo!” she yelled. He had just entered the door carrying a hand full of shopping bags. Mirabella stopped mid step. “Rocco. He’s hurt. Go! Go! Help!”
Leo dropped the bags and ran for the stairs. Others came as well. They pushed past her and went up the stairs. She went after them. Rocco was unable to move. He couldn’t even sit up. The help that Zia offered only furthered his suffering. Leo was the one to scoop Rocco up into his arms. Dominic arrived soon after to see the men carrying him up the next flight of stairs to where Giovanni and the doctors were.
“What happened?” Dominic touched her arm.
She didn’t answer. Instead she went to Zia. “I swear it was an accident. You saw it, Zia. I didn’t mean to push him.” The old woman nodded sadly, but said nothing. She let one of the men help her go up the next flight of stairs.
“Mirabella? What happened?” Dominic demanded.
“I don’t know. He was angry. He grabbed me and said he wanted to talk. I shoved him to get away and he fell.”
Dominic frowned. “You shoved him? Angry? At you?”
“I think I hurt him,” Mirabella said. “Oh my God, I think I hurt him.”
Dominic pulled her into his arms. “No. It was an accident. He’s an old man. Falling is always dangerous. Let me go upstairs and see about him. You have a meeting.”
“What? No. I’m not leaving after this. Rocco is hurt.”
“We stick to the plan. Remember. You and I agreed. We see it through. Tacchini is here.”
Mirabella glanced back down the stairs. “Who called him?”
“I did,” Dominic said.
“Why? I don’t want him here, in our home. It’s... not a good thing.”
“It’s the best thing now,” Dominic said. “He’s part of this. Isn’t he?”
“Yes. Of course, has Adara left?”
“An hour ago. It’s a good plan, Mirabella. I should have trusted you and Tacchini. Now go. I’ll make sure Rocco’s okay.”
She nodded. As she went down the stairs she looked back at Dominic once. Only once. And the look he gave her made her certain. They had to see it to the end.
Adara parked to the front of the Comando Compagnia Sorrento. The order was to meet her bosses here. It was a bad omen. No agent under deep cover would be called in and made vulnerable. Her assignment had been compromised. It did not surprise her. She’d trained three grueling years. And for nearly two months she had been off the grid. They would either arrest her, or worse. She’d be sent so far away she’d never see another living soul she cared about again.
Sitting in the car she weighed her options once more. She could turn around and flee to Naples. She could find Carlo and confess everything. Pray that he’d believe her and together they could leave Italy forever. Or she could go inside and tell the Generale the truth. All about the Donna’s plan, and how things really were behind the walls of Melanzana. She’d learned enough valuable information to bring that black Donna and her husband to their knees. Even the toddlers would be arrested. But it would be a death sentence for Arielle and the remainder of her family. She had no doubt about it. And then what would become of Carlo? After everything he’d been through, no matter what type of evil was in him, she loved him too much to cause him more pain.
The only other option left to her was to disappear. Run from them all. Keep running for the rest of her life. Until one day, years from now, Carlo found her and put a bullet in her head. Because that was their way. That was their life.
Adara realized she was no coward. She was no military officer, or special agent. She was no gem for a criminal who wanted to continue to twist her life inside out. She was just a woman whose choices were always made for her. And there was only one thing she wanted now. She made up her mind and got out of the car to fight to get it.
Tacchini sat next to a very quiet Mirabella. He glanced in her direction twice. She never looked at him. He imagined a different greeting. She’d come into the car and tell him how hard the past few days had been since they last spoke. He’d confess he’d not been able to sleep or eat without her in his thoughts. And then she’d tell him that she needed him. It was all rehearsed in his head. None of it happened.
“Thank you for waiting,” Mirabella said.
“How are you?” Tacchini asked.
“Fine thank you,” she said and continued to stare out the window. She wasn’t pleased to see him.
“Today is the day. It’s all been arranged. Adara meets with the Generale as we speak and you will have your face to face with Arielle,” Tacchini said fully aware that this meeting had bought him the privilege to
ride in the same car with her. But that was all. The conversation he had grown to enjoy with her was silenced. He had nothing but her presence. And oddly enough it felt okay. Still he did miss her conversation and wanted to start a new one.
“Mirabella,” he spoke.
“Don’t Piero.”
“I want to know how you are. The last time I saw you, you were ill.”
“I told you.”
“And Giovanni?”
“The same.”
“Can you look at me please?”
She glanced over at him. He moved her hair from the side of her face and tucked it behind her ear. His middle finger brushed her cheek.
“Are you pregnant?” he asked.
“I don’t know. I took a blood test. I should know soon.”
“And if you are.”
“If I am it’s none of your business. If I’m not it’s none of your business.”
“It won’t stop me from asking, from caring.”
She sighed and turned her gaze away. He took her hand. He half-expected her to snatch away. But she didn’t. He kissed it and then released it. The long ride in silence was torture. He closed his eyes and inhaled the sweet perfumed air they shared in the back space. But he would not push her harder.
“Piero,” she said softly.
His eyes opened. He looked over to see her staring at him. “Yes?”
“I missed talking to you too.”
Tacchini smiled.
The car stopped at the meeting spot. His men were there. Her men followed him for the journey. And from what he expected, Arielle waited inside.
“I think I should make the introductions. Explain to Arielle what this meeting is about.”
“You have no idea what this meeting is about,” Mirabella said. “I will meet with her alone. And after today we won’t be alone together again. Dominic will be handling the affairs between us going forward.”
“Mirabella,” he took her hand. “Don’t push me away. You need a friend.”
She pulled her hand from his. “That is the problem, Tacchini. You aren’t the man to give me what I need. I can’t allow this to continue.”
“I’ve been respectful. Can you blame me for wanting... to be there for you?”
“Thank you for telling me the truth. For helping me. For everything.” She leaned over and gave him a kiss toward his cheek. He turned his head and her kiss landed on his lips. She drew back immediately. Tacchini wished for more, but didn’t act. The kiss alone was an act of bravery on her part, considering what it could cost them both if Giovanni ever learned of her response to him.
“Salve, Piero.”
The door opened and she escaped him again. For the final time. He didn’t want his friend to die. But as he watched her walk out of his life and into the building with her men, he knew a darker truth. If Giovanni did die, he’d do everything within his power to have her.
***
The men gathered to the front of the store parted for her to pass. One waited at the door, and opened it. He held it for her. She entered a small souvenir shop. It was empty. But there were rolling wracks of buttons, postcards, magnets, snow globes, and other trinkets that spoke of Sorrento and limoncello. She walked past the front counter to the side of the store where the dried pasta was sold in boxes. Seated at a small workman’s table to the far back was the woman she met in Carlo’s room. Her hair covered under a scarf that was then wrapped around her neck. Large oval sunglasses on her face as if she sat facing the sun.
Arielle didn’t look her way when she spoke. “I always wondered if this day would come.”
“Really? Then why didn’t you introduce yourself properly the first time we met?” Mirabella asked. Arielle’s gaze slipped to the men at the front of the store, and then returned to the bottle of water she must have brought with her.
“I didn’t think it was proper.”
“Proper?” Mirabella pulled out a chair and took a seat. She faced the woman and waited for Arielle to look her in the eye before she continued. After an awkward pause, Arielle’s gaze lifted. Mirabella could not deny the woman’s beauty. Though she was modest with little to no makeup, her features, hair, even her poise was very feminine and regal. She played the role of ordinary. This was by far no ordinary woman.
“Where do we start?” Arielle asked.
“The beginning. How do you know my husband?”
“How? That’s comical. Everyone in this region of Italy knows your husband. I met him many years ago through a mutual friend.”
“Were you ever his lover?”
Arielle rolled her eyes. “No. I wasn’t. His choice, not mine. I’ve tried.”
Mirabella’s stomach clenched. She wanted honesty and this woman intended to give it to her.
“Giovanni had lovers, but he kept them at a distance. I was too close to his inner circle. I guess. Or maybe he wasn’t attracted to me. He never explained why, he just... never made it happen between us.”
“Made it happen?”
Arielle looked into her eyes when she spoke. “I mean no disrespect. Think about the first time you were with him. Did you make it happen or did he?”
“So you have feelings for him?”
“Are you asking me if I’m in love with Giovanni? Did Tacchini tell you what I’ve done for him and Giovanni? How I’ve helped him?”
“I’m asking you if you are in love with my husband. Yes.”
Arielle looked away.
“Please look me in the eye when you answer me,” Mirabella said.
Arielle’s gaze swung back to her. “Yes, I love him. But I’m not in love with him. There is no intimacy between us. Just friendship. And it only became stronger when he needed my help. Before he was nothing more than a godfather to me, and my family.”
“You’re lying,” Mirabella said.
“What?”
“I did some digging of my own. You aren’t married. You have no kids. And you sacrificed years of your life to take care of others because Giovanni asked you to. You’re in love with him. There is intimacy in friendship, trust me. I’m learning that.”
“Does it matter if it’s not returned?”
“I suppose it should not. But if you are a liar, even of small things, how am I supposed to trust you with the truth?”
“You can trust me. I love Adara. I don’t want her or her family, what’s left of it, hurt.”
“Then make sure she sticks to our plan. Right now, she is on the way to the Carabinieri to deliver the information I gave her. If all goes well, my brother will be arrested soon, and the Camorristi will be caught with their pants down. That will spark a lot of dissension. Possibly war. I can’t have any lose ends.”
“I already told Tacchini. Adara is ready.”
“I spoke to her, she didn’t seem ready to me. She acted as if she had options.”
“She’s a strong-willed girl, Donna Mirabella. But in the end, she is a Calderone, she is from our world not theirs. She’ll do the necessary. Without question.”
“Good.” Mirabella reached into her purse and removed an envelope of money.
“What is that?” Arielle recoiled.
“Payment for your services.”
“I don’t need your money!” Arielle said.
“Would you prefer it came from Giovanni? Because his money is my money. That’s how it works in marriage.”
“I’ve already been paid.”
“Then consider it a bonus.” Mirabella tossed the money onto the table.
“Take it back!” Arielle said.
Mirabella arched a brow.
“Take it back. You won’t reduce me to one of them. I played a valuable role in Giovanni’s life. I saved him...”
“From who? Me? When were you his savior? When he thought I was dead? When I was kidnapped? Or were you his savior when I came back poisoned and pushed him out of my bed?”
Arielle lowered her gaze. “When he thought you were dead, he was destroyed. Those kids were his only hope of salva
tion. And I was the one to convince him to pull on the goodness in his heart not revenge. The one that kept him from his madness. If I hadn’t been there, there would not have been enough of him left to find and love you.”
“You over inflate your importance to him and to my family. You may have kept him from doing the unthinkable, but I have always been the one to save Giovanni from himself. You can burn the money, but this is your final payment. You are to never see my husband again. Do you understand me?”
“So he’s getting better?” Arielle asked with hope in her voice.
“Do you understand me?”
“I’m loyal to him.”
“Do you understand me!” Mirabella shouted at her.
The men in the shadows stepped forward. Arielle understood the threat.
“Say it.” Mirabella demanded.
“I won’t see Giovanni again. And if he contacts me I’ll let him know it was his Donna who said so.”
Mirabella wanted to strike her. She wanted to claw her eyes from her skull and snatch her hair out from the root. She wanted to strike her over and over again. But instead she shook with fury and remembered she’s a lady. She got up from the table and turned to leave.
“Donna Mirabella,” Arielle said.
Mirabella paused from taking another step.
“I’m not a threat to you. No woman is. Giovanni has always made that clear. What does it matter that I’m in love with him, when the only woman he has ever loved is you?”
Mirabella looked back at Arielle and saw the sadness in her eyes. Had this woman wasted her life wanting something she could never have? It was only then that she realized what it was she came for in this meeting. The truth that her husband’s love never wavered, and that despite the many times she disappointed him, he never strayed. She stared at Arielle who had tears on her face, and she understood. It would kill Mirabella if Giovanni had shared any part of his heart with another woman. It must have killed her to know she would never have him. She gave her a small smile of gratitude. “Grazie, Arielle, for keeping him from his demons. He is getting better.”
