by Sienna Mynx
Mirabella let her go. She nodded. She turned and left the room in a hurry. Minnie hugged Marietta next. “I do love her, Minnie. The only way I know how.”
“You know something, baby, that’s enough. That’s enough. Let’s get you ready. You leaving here tomorrow.”
“Yes!” Marietta rubbed her belly. Her dream came true. She would have her baby and Lorenzo would be there. They’d do this together. “I can’t wait.”
Dominic walked Sera to the car. Her luggage was loaded to the back. The doctor had said a few words to him. She could barely look at him. He opened the car door and she stepped forward to go inside, but he stopped her.
Sera looked up at him.
“Renaldo is going to accompany you. To make sure you do as expected.” She glared at him. Dominic touched her face and she turned it away. “What’s your prognosis of me now, Doctor?”
“I think you and this entire family deserve all the hell you get. Nothing is going to change for you, Dominic. You like this, don’t you?”
“This is who I am. You helped me see that, Doctor.”
Sera smirked. “Sometimes you have to embrace the demon to become one, Domi. I see you are well on your way to being the man you idolize. Giovanni.”
“Exactly,” Dominic smiled. He leaned in and kissed her. She turned her face away after a second or two, but he felt her struggle with her rejection. He kissed her cheek and whispered in her ear. “I intend to see you again, soon.”
She scoffed and got in the car. He closed the door. He glanced up to Renaldo who wore dark sunglasses to conceal his eyes. But the enforcer nodded that he’d see to Giovanni’s orders. Dominic stepped back. Sera glanced at him and then away, before the car pulled off. Dominic wiped the lipstick from his lips, and went back up the stairs into the house. He wasn’t halfway to the stairs before he heard his name being called.
He glanced over and saw Mirabella. She walked fast to him. “Where have you been? I’ve been looking for you. Have you seen the doctor? Sera?”
Dominic nodded towards the parlor. Mirabella walked in behind him. They would have to discuss the matter the way Giovanni intended. It did bother him to do so. He had grown to respect Mirabella a lot over the past weeks.
“Where is she?”
“She left.”
“What? But...we had a plan to uhm, she can’t leave... Marietta...”
“Don’t worry. I heard about your plan to send Marietta to Rome. You really don’t need the doctor anymore. I’m going to handle it from here. She’ll meet me at the private jet in the morning, and she’ll fly with Marietta to the hospital.”
“Okay. Okay. Which pilot is it again?” Mirabella asked.
“David. You remember him don’t you?” Dominic asked.
Mirabella smiled. “Yes, David. I know him. Thanks. Did you tell Giovanni? I was hoping to be the one to explain this to him.”
“I’ll let you tell Giovanni. I know he approves of you helping your sister have this baby.”
Mirabella nodded. “Also, Minnie is going with her. It’ll help to keep Marietta calm. I approved it.”
“Gio thought you decided to send Minnie and her daughter home?”
“I’ve changed my mind.”
Dominic nodded. “Of course, Donna.”
“It’s settled. In the morning you’ll have her out of here? And I’ll tell him then. Agreed?”
“Agreed,” Dominic smiled. “I hear you’re going to Naples? To have dinner with Tacchini.”
“Gio wants this meeting. He thinks... thinks that I crossed the line with Tacchini. I don’t know what Umberto has been telling him. Did he ask you anything?”
“Just the basics. You know Gio. I warned you of being friends with Tacchini. Gio isn’t very tolerant of clan bosses in our business, or being cozy with his wife.”
“Warned me? I would have never made that friendship if you weren’t drinking,” she said.
Dominic nodded. “I told Giovanni that too.”
“So is he mad at you too?”
“We had a long talk. He helped me understand things. Gave me some advice on how to get closure with my demons. I paid Raffaele a visit and forgave him of his crimes. He’s gone now. We won’t be seeing him again.”
“That’s wonderful, Domi! Did Sera help too? The drinking?”
“I’m more comfortable with who I am now, she had a role in that. So thank you Mirabella.”
“I’m so relieved. It’s like we are all healing, coming out of the nightmare,” she said and dropped her hands on her hips. “Do you know Gio’s up and walking around? He sent away the doctors. How is that even possible?”
“He’s been in a bed for two months. Physically he’s healed. Right?”
“That’s too soon. He had three gunshots to the back. It’s a process.”
“Gio’s strong. He knows his body.”
“He’s acting weird, Domi. He doesn’t talk to me. Really talk to me. It’s like he’s testing me or something.” She scratched her head. “Maybe I was wrong. Maybe I should have done what Rocco said. Just put it all out there.”
“What did Rocco say?” Dominic asked.
“Never mind. I’ll go to this dinner with Gio and help him see that there is nothing between me and Tacchini. And you will make sure Marietta gets to the airport. Send Leo, not Carlo and Umberto. Send him, okay.”
“You trust Leo? He’s devoted to you.”
“He’s always been at my side. Send him in the morning.”
“Will do,” Dominic agreed.
Mirabella walked over to Dominic and hugged him. He squeezed her tightly. “Thank you, Domi. Thank you so much for everything. Gio and I are going to figure out how to bring Catalina back. We’ll heal this family together.”
Dominic let her go. He smiled and walked out with his smile slowly fading.
Chapter Forty-Three
The Darkest before Dawn
Naples, Italy
Mirabella was beautiful.
That had always been the case. Her undeniable beauty always fueled his desire to keep her all to himself. Umberto snaked the BMW they rode in around a maze of roads, and circled territory in Naples that was now in disarray. The raids, the arrests, the fall of the Camorristi had small town hoods and foreigners moving in to seize power. The biggest threat was the Ndrangheta. They loved the drug trafficking and the Bay of Naples was a prime target.
Giovanni’s gut clenched and his mouth soured. There was much to do. He had to get his house in order and he had to do it fast.
“Gio?” Mirabella said. Her hand covered his. “You’re quiet.”
“Am I?” he asked.
“Piero... Tacchini, I’m sure he’s going to give us the news we want to hear. I know he has a plan. You should hear him out, Gio. Before you pass judgement. Promise me?”
Giovanni cut his gaze over to her. Again, her beauty was a distraction, and for weaker men a tool for deception. Of course his Bella would use any attraction these men had for her to her advantage. She was his Donna and possibly the smartest business woman he’s ever known. That meant shit to the iron clad lock of jealousy on his heart.
For the dinner she’d decided to smooth her hair into a braided bun to the back of her head, with her bangs flat against her brow. Her makeup added a sultry affect to her coffee brown eyes. And her lips were a blush pink. He leaned over and kissed the crease between her breasts. Because he could. She smiled and let him touch her thigh. Her tension only added to his torment. Umberto and Leo had given him enough understanding of Piero’s affection for her. It made him sick with disgust.
“I have something to confess, Gio. Don’t be angry,” Mirabella began.
“I’m listening,” he said.
“I’ve decided to go forward with my plan.”
“Which plan Bella? I can’t keep up,” he sighed and slouched back into his seat.
“To have Marietta moved to a hospital instead of an institution. She’s three months away from delivering her baby. You were right hon
ey. I don’t want her to lose her child. I could never put a child at risk.” She took his hand and placed it on her belly. Giovanni left brow arched. “My sister is a sick woman. Her shooting you, she’s emotionally unstable. But she’s a mother and I know how far a mother would go to protect her family.”
Giovanni didn’t bother sharing with his wife the reality of the matter. Or enlighten her on how her sister would indeed receive justice.
“I’m glad you’re out of the coma. I missed my company. I can’t wait for things to be normal again.”
“You think it can be... normal?” he asked.
“I think we define what normal is. Together.”
Giovanni cut a smile to her. She had a way of making him do that. Mirabella dropped her head on his shoulder. Giovanni returned his gaze to the city night lights. With his woman at his side.
“Lorenzo?” Marietta said in a half-wake state. She was lifted into arms that felt strong and powerful like her husband’s. So much like him she smiled before fully opening her eyes. The moment she did, she was carried halfway down the stairs.
“What? What’s happening?”
She stared up at Carlo. At least she thought it was Carlo. He had shaven his head and he wore dark sunglasses though it was night. He wore all black, even the hands that held her were in black gloves.
“Carlo? Carlo! What are you doing?”
“Relax, Mirabella sent me,” he whispered.
“She did?”
Once they were outside and walking around Melanzana, she realized the truth. She was leaving. At last. Her sister had come through with her plan to rescue her. Marietta almost smiled. The men with Carlo walked in silence. No one spoke. The silence was the only thing that felt unsettling. But the hour was late. She also figured she was being moved before Giovanni noticed. And that had to be handled delicately.
“Let’s go!” Carlo ordered the men. They all jumped in their cars. She was put into the backseat of a car alone.
“Wait! Carlo? Minnie is supposed to come...”
He slammed the door on her protest. Marietta frowned. She pushed the button to roll down the window and tell him to get Minnie, but it didn’t work. She tried to open the door, but it was locked from the outside. That was the strangest of all.
“Carlo! Carlo!” she beat on the window. The glass was tempered for silence. She knew her protests weren’t heard. Carlo spoke to one of his men. He removed his sunglasses and nodded as the man explained himself. He then looked over to the window. Through the tinted glass she knew he saw her as she had seen him. He winked. Then the car, with a driver she didn’t know, pulled away.
“Carlo!” she yelled and turned to look out of the back window. “Carlo!”
He got into a black BMW, and that was the last she saw of him. In tears, and confused, Marietta crawled over to the car window that separated the driver from the passenger. She banged on it with her fist. The tint was so dark she couldn’t see her driver. She knew he heard her. He had to have heard her screams.
Mirabella kept holding her breath. She held her breath when they first arrived at Tacchini’s. Giovanni showed no sign of weakness as he left the car, and reached to help her out of the backseat while balancing on his cane. She held her breath when Tacchini greeted her with a kiss to both cheeks. Though it was customary, she feared even the innocent act of welcoming her would be misinterpreted by her husband. She held her breath when dinner began and Tacchini spoke so fondly of her. Giovanni ate and listened, and Mirabella kept trying to minimize the praise and compliments. But Tacchini insisted. And she knew that was on purpose.
After all, these were two powerful men. Neither of them had to practice humility. They were in Tacchini’s home. Though Giovanni brought his men with him, there were far more armed men under Tacchini on the grounds, and two of them were inside the dining room.
What did Tacchini have to fear? What did she have to fear?
“So tell me, Piero, what is the latest on the Carabinieri Generale?” Giovanni asked as he dabbed the corner of his mouth.
Piero picked up his wine glass and sipped. He looked to Mirabella first before answering Giovanni. “Have you seen the news? Have you read the papers? The Generale is having his dick sucked by the press and the Prime Minister. He’s the hero that will restore peace and the law to the Campania. My guess is the lock down in Sicily, plus the drugs they seized at the Bay, will be the end of it.”
“The lock down in Sicily put my business on hold with the Armenians, permanently.”
“There was a price to be paid Gio. And like Donna and I agreed it was for the greater good.” Tacchini said with a smile. Giovanni’s gaze lifted under his furrowed brow and locked in on Piero. Tacchini picked up his wine and sipped again. “Armando Mancini will not recover. Lorenzo is on the run. And the Dons are no wiser. Mirabella and I discussed all the alternatives.”
“You keep referring to my wife, giving her smiles and winks,” Giovanni said.
“Gio... he’s not...”
Mirabella was silenced when he looked at her. His gaze returned to Tacchini. She again held her breath. “Finish it. How helpful was she to you?”
Tacchini stared at Giovanni, he ran his trigger finger up and down the stem of the wine glass. He then smiled in return. “She and I were never friends, Gio. Not like you and me. I offered her counsel with the Camorristi and the Generale, because both were ready to move in on your family.”
“Ah, I understand. The Camorristi is just you and I, and my wife’s father’s company is in the hands of the Parliament. That means I have no choice but to continue the pizzo (protection money extorted from business owners) here in the Campania. It means that I must find another channel in the Tyrrhenian, because now the Stretto di Messina is closed to us.”
“Yes, the Battaglias have taken some of the bigger risks in this, Gio, but the greater cause is you own it all now. The territories are polluted by the Nigerians and Russians, even the Triad are conducting business from those shipment containers coming in from China. They will all bow to you.”
“Or you.” Giovanni added.
“Gio, it was my idea. The raid in Sicily. I wanted it because I wanted to stop Armando and Lorenzo. And we did. Piero was only here to help.”
“That’s right, Bella, he explained that he’s very helpful.”
Tacchini leaned forward. He rested his elbows on the table and interlocked his fingers as he stared over his hands at Giovanni. “I have known you for a long time, Gio. You were at my wedding, you are the godfather to my children. I have nothing but respect for you and your wife. But I have to be honest. The war between you and Lorenzo cost me. The Camorristi was at my throat. Benicia was stamped out, but you were supposed to be at my side to keep that fucking Generale out of our way. I had to answer to him and the clans alone. There’s been no retaliation or bloodshed from both our clans. You have your wife to thank for that. She is a remarkable woman and I won’t apologize for my appreciation for her.”
Giovanni checked his watch. He picked up his lemonade and drank a sip to clear his throat. He glanced over to Mirabella. She could feel his stare. She tried to be normal, or at least appear unaffected, but it was hard. Everything about the meeting between the two men felt tense and awkward. But Giovanni had a right to his questions, and Tacchini provided answers. Maybe now her husband could see that right or wrong, they’d done the best for the family.
“How are the children?” Tacchini asked her during the silent break of conversation between him and her husband. She wished he wouldn’t speak to her in such a familiar way in front of Giovanni. It was bad form. But she smiled and looked at him.
“The kids are great Piero...”
A blast occurred behind her. And then there was another gunshot and another. Mirabella dropped her glass and the lemonade splashed over her as the glass crashed to the floor and shattered. Tacchini sprung to action. He grabbed her so forcefully she was yanked out of one of her shoes and brought up into his arms. But not for comfort or prote
ction. He put his arm around her throat and pinned her arm behind her back. He pinned her to him and used her as a human shield. She couldn’t scream his choke hold was too tight.
“Call your men off and I’ll spare her life!” Tacchini hissed.
Nico stormed inside with Umberto and Leo behind him. They paused. But the gunfight outside blazed on. So much so Mirabella was reminded of what she thought was the sounds of war. Giovanni raised his gun and aimed it at them both. He didn’t know she was pregnant. He didn’t know any of the things she should have said.
When she kissed Tacchini she told him it could cost them both their lives. And here she was. Caught between the man she loved and the man who manipulated her into the most basic of betrayal. Who introduced distrust into her marriage.
Would Giovanni’s jealousy and rage at her be the end of her life and her unborn child. Mirabella began to weep.
“Call them off!” Tacchini shouted. “Now!”
Mirabella pleaded with her eyes. Giovanni nodded to her and she didn’t know what that nod would mean. And then he fired. Blood sprayed her everywhere. So much blood. And she felt herself falling. Was she dead? Was she dying. The only pain she felt was her on the ground and Tacchini’s dead body on top of her. She was screaming but could not hear anything. Temporarily blinded by blood in her eyes she gasped and tasted it on her mouth.
“You should have never touched her,” Giovanni said before he kicked Piero’s body away from her. Mirabella crawled away crying and screaming. She had to escape. She didn’t want to die. She didn’t want to die this way. Her husband came for her. He swept her up from the floor with his arm around her waist. She kicked and fought him but he had the strength of Hercules.
She did regain her sight before she was carried and half dragged from the dining room. Before she left she saw what was left of Piero. His body was there but he had no head.
“Please Gio! Please!” she begged. Giovanni carried her at his side by the waist. No longer reliant on his cane. He went straight for the doors. She stopped fighting her husband. What was the point? The men threw the doors open, and she was greeted by the stench of gun smoke. They were shouting ‘to the car boss’. He didn’t let her go. No matter the effort it took. He dragged her with him. She tried to walk at his side, but she had only one shoe. Her purse was lost on the way. By the time she was thrown in the car, she was a slobbering, stuttering mess. Blood covered her everywhere. The sight of it, the smell of it, pushed her further into hysteria. Piero’s blood. She scampered close to the passenger door to get away from her husband. Giovanni was outside of the car shouting at his men. There was still gunfighting going on. She could hear it. But the horror was in her head.
