The curtain moved. Seconds later, the door opened. My father’s evil face appeared, and his smug expression made my stomach drop. He’d lured me again. I knew better than to come to this dump of a motel, yet I’d done it anyway.
His cheap-ass suit reeked of even cheaper cigars. To think I’d once believed my father to be a sharp dresser. Once I’d seen men in real tailored suits, I realized he was just a piss-poor imitation.
He raked his eyes over my own suit, judging me down to my shoes. “Well, well. Aren’t we the big man?”
My fingernails dug into my palms as I struggled to contain my temper. He was making fun of me when he wanted something from me? I had to get out of there.
“We’re done here.”
I took a step toward the stairs and he caught me by the shoulder. “The hell we are.” He squeezed and dragged me into the room. We were the same height now, but I hadn’t filled out yet. I worked on it every single day.
“Take your hands off me.” I surprised myself at the calm in my voice.
My father dug into my shoulder to spite me. Always had to prove a point.
“What did you have to do to earn that suit? I doubt you’ve got the balls to kill anyone,” he taunted, kicking out the one chair at the small table near the window before he dropped into it. The lamp on the nightstand put off a yellow glow in the otherwise dark room. He tipped a bottle of scotch toward an empty glass, liquid splashing out on the cracked fake-wood table.
“I’m a busy man,” I said, ignoring the jab.
He laughed, tossing half of the drink down his throat. “You’re no man. Never have been. Always hiding behind your mother’s skirts.” He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
“Do not talk about her.”
“Try and stop me.” He polished off the drink and looked at me like I was nothing. “Once that cunt got you, she never wanted to put out anymore. She was a hell of a fighter, I’ll give her that, but not strong enough to keep me from fucking her whenever I wanted to. I don’t know why I bothered—”
I had my hands wrapped around his throat before he finished the sentence. His eyes widened as I picked him up from his seat and slammed him against the wall. He grabbed at my forearms and struggled to loosen my grip. Fury fueled me. I was too strong, and I enjoyed it as he fought me and lost.
“I deserved more than what she had for enduring her buttoned-up pussy,” he managed to say through his shrinking windpipe. I increased the pressure, my knuckles turning white. “Like. A. Robot,” he said between breaths. His eyes danced. He didn’t think I’d kill him. He thought I was a joke.
“Shame she died so young,” he coughed out. ”Don’t you think?”
My ears rang as the implication of his words bounced around in my head. I demanded an answer without saying a word, and he smiled. I cut off his airflow, snarling as I gripped his neck with all the force I had.
“You son of a bitch.” I shook him as rage unlike I’d ever known took hold.
He turned white, but there was no fear in his eyes. “You’re just like me,” he rasped, his hands clutching me. “You can’t change your genes any more than you can change your destiny.”
The words were a gut punch, breaking through the haze of anger. If I killed him, I would be no better than him. I refused to be my father’s son. My head cleared as I realized this.
I shoved him against the wall. With one final squeeze, I let him go.
He dropped to the floor, spluttering as he clutched his throat.
I stood over him, my nostrils flared. “Fuck you.”
I slammed the door on my way out and flew down the stairs. Climbing on my motorcycle, I sped off, making it to the closest service station, though I had no idea how I got there. It took me three tries to shove a coin into the payphone just outside the entrance to the mini-mart. My fingers trembled as I pressed the worn-out buttons.
“Salvatore.”
“He killed her,” I said breathlessly. My eyes stung with the acknowledgment. “He killed her.” This time my voice was barely above a whisper.
“Slow down, son.” The calm in Donato’s voice helped a little.
I sagged against the concrete block wall, stretching the phone cord as far as it would go. My vision went blurry. My chest heaved. One thought was on repeat in my head.
“He killed her.” Speaking the truth didn’t make it any easier. I doubled over, barely able to stand.
“Where are you? I’m coming for you.”
I swiped at my eyes, the back of my hand wet. “No. No.”
“Daniel.” The sympathy in his voice nearly sent me over the edge. I couldn’t stand it. Didn’t want it.
I straightened and held the phone away from me as I sucked in a deep breath. At least I could see again. “We’ll meet as planned.” The crack in my voice betrayed me.
A long pause floated across the line. “I’ll see you at three-thirty,” Donato finally said.
I hung up the phone with a limp arm and leaned against the wall for support. He killed her. He fucking killed my mother. And I couldn’t return the favor because that’s not what she would have wanted me to do.
My chest squeezed, and I swallowed hard. There’s no reason she shouldn’t be here with me now. I thought she died because she was sick, but he’d grown tired of her.
He killed her. He killed her. He killed her.
THREE FORTY-FIVE. Where was he? I stood from the chair I’d been waiting in for half an hour and went to the water fountain. I punched the button, a pathetic stream of liquid spurting from the spigot. I bent, wetting my lips.
I didn’t have the paperwork. If Donato didn’t show, I wouldn’t get my passport. Then I couldn’t get away from here. I needed to go to Vienna with him. The more distance I put between me and the monster who’s blood ran through my veins, the better.
I sat down again. God, these chairs suck. I tried to adjust to a more comfortable position on the plastic, but that was impossible.
If I’d gotten my driver’s license, I wouldn’t have needed him for this. It never occurred to me that Donato would let me down, especially on something this important. When we got back from our trip, I was headed straight to the DMV. I drove without a license all the time, but I was almost eighteen, and I needed legal ID so if I got pulled over, the police wouldn’t have an excuse to arrest me. I almost had enough saved to buy an apartment, one with enough space that I’d never feel cramped again. A whole floor. If I kept at it, I could buy a whole floor. The glass door to the waiting room swung open. Donato came in,
immediately finding me. I stood and met him halfway. “I got held up,” he said.
My brows dipped, surprised he’d offered any explanation at all. “They haven’t called me yet.”
He squeezed my neck affectionately and steered me toward the chair I’d vacated. “Ready for this? We’ll be gone a week. Maybe a little longer depending on how things go.”
I nodded, anxious to get away from New York, if only temporarily. “It’s just the two of us going?”
Donato had barely briefed me on the trip. We were going. That was about all I knew.
“Yes.” He flipped through the paperwork in the envelope he’d brought. “We’ll stop in Italy. I’ll show you where my grandparents are from, and we’ll pick up a few things for Valentina.” His lips turned up at the mention of his wife. She was a kind lady, like my mother. If I ever had a wife, I’d want her to be like them. Except I was never getting married. Everyone always left me. I was better off on my own.
“Daniel Elliott,” the clerk called.
We both stood and followed her to her office. Donato had come up with paperwork showing he was my legal guardian. He’d smashed the only roadblock to my first real form of identification. And when he tried to pay the fee, pride filled his eyes as I shut him down and took the cash from my own wallet. In what seemed like minutes, I had a passport.
“May I have a copy of the approved application?” Donato asked smoothly as we stood to leave the office.
The woman smiled and did it immediately. Someday, people would listen to me just like they did to Donato.
He slung an arm around my shoulders as we headed toward the parking garage. “We leave day after tomorrow.”
“I’ll be ready.” “You already are.”
I grabbed the helmet off the seat of my motorcycle. He leaned against the side of his Cadillac parked next to me.
“Are you begging for someone to steal that?” His gaze zeroed in on the helmet.
“At least I wear one.” It was nothing for me to drive without a license, yet I wouldn’t break the law about protective gear.
“You need a license. We’ll see to it when we get back.” I shrugged as if indifferent. “Do you have the ticket to get out of the garage?”
I dug in my pocket and produced the green stub with a glare. Shoving it back in, I threw my leg over the seat and straddled the bike with an annoyed huff.
“I don’t want you to ever think of him again. Do you understand me?”
I jerked my head to look at him, my face twisting in confusion.
How could I stop? If I could just turn it off, I would.
“You won’t see him again. When you need something you come to me.” There was no room for argument in his tone. I wouldn’t anyway. He didn’t need to tell me not to see that bastard again. If I ever laid eyes on him again, one of us wouldn’t come out alive.
“Yes, sir,” I said, but I silently swore to myself that once I learned everything Donato could teach me, I wouldn’t need anyone but myself.
When I refused to look at him, he stepped closer. “Today was the worst. Tomorrow will be better.”
I glared at Donato as I booted the kickstand and revved the engine to life with all my aggression. What the hell did he know anyway? Today was by far one of the worst, but it would take a miracle to get better from here.
Chapter 37
DANIEL
* * *
Present
* * *
“IT’S VINNY. I know it is.”
I’d replayed the events of the last few weeks over and over in my head. The culminating events at my apartment cemented what I knew in my gut. That’s why I was at Donato’s in the middle of the night instead of with Vivian. To get this shit resolved.
Donato leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. I’d had my suspicions Vinny was the one who wanted Donato sidelined, but I’d been hesitant to say so to Donato without proof. The two men might not always see eye to eye, but they were brothers. In their family that counted for something. At least on Donato’s part.
Though I still didn’t have concrete evidence, I couldn’t wait any longer to speak up. Secrets had nearly cost me Vivian, and I knew that working together with Donato was the best chance of finding a way out of this mess.
“I’m going on pure instinct,” I continued, drumming my fingers against the arm of the chair. “I want to be wrong, but all the pieces lead to only one place.”
Donato’s breathing was even, the features of his face neutral, but I knew he was listening. I tapped my foot against the carpet, deter‐ mined to wait him out.
“Alvarez finally did his job and confirmed your suspicions just before you arrived.” He opened his eyes and folded his hands on his desk. I stopped tapping my foot and stared at him, amazed and relieved that it was that simple.
When he spoke again, the sadness was palpable. “What is it about family that blinds us? I’m well aware of everything Vinny’s done to undermine us over the years, yet I still find it hard to believe he would actually turn me in for murder.” Donato sounded disgusted with himself.
“I struggled to believe it myself. You’ve been to him what family should be.” Vinny had no idea just how lucky he was, yet he tossed his brother aside as if he were nothing. “All the undermining and back‐ stabbing, part of me thought he was just being juvenile. Now, it’s obvious he wants to be head of the family without waiting his turn.” Why hadn’t I pushed this issue sooner? Maybe deep down, I’d feared Donato would side with Vinny, blood thicker than water and all that. And yet, over and over Donato had proven his loyalty to me. I should’ve trusted that. If I had, we might not be in this hell of a mess.
“Vinny will never be head of this family. When I’m gone, it’s over.” I’d rarely heard Donato sound more resolute.
I clutched the armrests of the chair and leaned forward to look right in his eyes. “I know this might be hard to accept, but after what happened tonight, we can’t let it go any longer. This ends. Now.”
“He’s waiting to find out the cost of what he did to Vivian and Muriella, amongst other things.”
“I know about some of it. What the hell else has he done?” My irritation soared as my mind turned over the possibilities.
“Aside from being generally incompetent, he’s been skimming money for years from the deals I’ve sent him to do on his own.”
Donato finally met my gaze. His was impassive, though there was an edge in his tone.
This news was no surprise. “Speaking of screwing up deals, do you have anything on what he did with the jaune?”
“It’s in your apartment.”
The fucker. Vinny was setting me up, just as we suspected. “It’s lovely to have options,” I said wryly. “Door one, I go to federal prison for a minimum of twenty years. Door two, I’m assassinated for stealing a diamond. Even when the owner finds out it was a setup, she’ll kill me just to prove a point.”
I shoved my hands in my pockets and walked toward the fireplace. “Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t disagree.”
I made myself at home, flicking the switch on the wall, a whoosh sounding before flames appeared. “And these are abnormal?” I asked as I stepped closer to the fire to heat my chilled bones.
“I had my guys hack into her security system and sent her video that very clearly proves you did not lift her precious diamond. I’ve spoken with her, and we’ve settled the misunderstanding.” I spun and stared at him expectantly. “Vinny was truthful with you for once. He stole the diamond.”
“I have no idea why that doesn’t make me feel any better.”
Donato’s lip twisted up, but it didn’t really resemble a smile. “Actually, he’s been truthful with you twice.”
I narrowed my gaze. “What do you mean?”
“He does know something about your father’s murder and my connection to it,” he said, far too calmly.
“I don’t care to hear it.” I turned away. I’d known the truth the second Vivian told me about that autopsy.
“Vinny was there.”
“He killed him?” That made no sense. Unless he’d been ordered to do it.
“No,” Donato scoffed. “He was with me when you called that day. I had one thing on my mind, and that was ending your suffering. Vinny sat in the car while I took care of the problem.”
I collapsed in the chair behind me and stared up at the ceiling. I’d heard enough. “What now?”
He inhaled deeply. “You’re still in a heap of shit. There’s not much evidence left, so it’s going to be hard to exonerate you. For now, your confession will have to stand.”
“I’ll figure it out.”
“We will.” He slapped the wood surface of the desk and stood. “Shall we go see to my dear brother?”
The promise of retribution lit like fire in my veins. “I’m surprised you haven’t seen to him already.”
Donato shrugged on his jacket. “I couldn’t deny him time to stew as he considers all the possible ways I could make him pay for his transgressions.” He checked his watch. “It’s been long enough.”
HALF AN HOUR later as the sun rose higher in the sky, Donato pulled up to the curb down the street from my warehouse. I shot him a side‐ ways look as he shifted the SUV into park.
“Should I have asked permission?” he asked, a wry smile on his lips.
I had carte blanche to use anything he had—vehicles, property, connections. It was only fair he had at l
east some access to my things.
“No.” I shoved open the car door and stepped out on the decaying sidewalk.
Donato easily moved in beside me. “You’re here to get your answers. To hear his account. Once he’s done talking, you’ll leave.”
I slowed my steps and glanced at him. “Is it difficult?” He would kill his brother, and maybe it was a stupid question, but Donato made everything look so damn easy.
“Sometimes, yes. Many times, no.” He checked his watch and shoved his hand in his pocket. “If I don’t take care of this, the problem will only grow. We’re in this current predicament because I’ve hesitated.”
“What if he wasn’t your brother?”
Donato’s gaze went cold. “I’d put a bullet between his eyes while eating a ham sandwich.”
I stopped and looked down at the sidewalk, taking a moment to collect my thoughts before I lifted my eyes to his. “Do you need me in there?” I nodded toward the warehouse.
“No. I only want you to have your peace of mind.”
I nodded and kicked at a chunk of loose concrete. “Then I’m going to go. I don’t need a rehashing of the things he’s done. And as much as I want to kill him myself, I won’t.”
He clapped my shoulder. “Your mother would be so proud of the man you’ve become.” He blinked at me a few times. “I’m proud.”
“I wouldn’t be who I am or where I am without you,” I admitted. “Neither would I.” My eyes rounded, and he gave me a sharp squeeze. “Can I trust you won’t play hero again, at least until I get this taken care of?” Underneath his tease, there was gratitude.
“I think I’ll just focus for now on how to keep us both free.”
He smiled before his expression turned serious. “No one has ever done for me what you did.”
“It’s the right thing,” I said solemnly.
“No. It’s not. But I appreciate it.” He pointed his chin down the street. “Go. Get out of here. Valentina will have supper ready at seven this evening. There’s always a place set for you.”
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