Shadow Flight

by Christine Feehan

  Giovanni couldn’t remember when he wasn’t learning lessons. Granted, most of the earlier ones were couched in playing, just as what Stefano and all of the Ferraros were doing with Crispino, but they were still necessary life lessons to keep them all alive. He waited, knowing one wrong move could bring awareness to those inside the diner and not only end his life, or those of his cousins, but perhaps Nicoletta’s as well.

  Victor and the other Demons at his table continued to talk animatedly for some time. It was actually one of the Demons in a plaid flannel shirt that suddenly frowned, slid out of the booth and stood to look out the window at the SUV with the door open. He indicated it to Victor and the others. Those in the second booth swiveled around so they could look as well.

  Victor nodded his head and the three in the other booth immediately rose and came toward the door. Giovanni remained still, his breathing easy, his heart rate steady and normal. The three men had to come up to the SUV in order to see the dead men inside, and to do that, they would have to pass through the dark section, which would make it difficult for those inside to see them. Waiting for them was death.

  His cousins emerged from the shadows on that side of the SUV, moving into the shrubbery closer to the building, waiting for the three men to come along the sidewalk.

  “Danny!” one called out, hesitating as the others walked straight toward the SUV. The one doing the shouting hurried to catch up. “What the hell? Where’d they go?”

  The three men stopped together, looking toward the other three vehicles. Vico, Remigio and Maximino came up behind them and simultaneously delivered the signature Ferraro kill. Rather than leave them where anyone could find them, the three were taken to the vehicle farthest from the windows and set inside with the other dead Demons.

  Giovanni continued to watch Victor and the other two men. Victor had already signaled the waitress for both checks, paid them, and then was up and walking toward the door, flanked by his two guards, after the three he’d sent out to find his crew. He clearly didn’t suspect anything was wrong.

  Victor shoved open the door, came out onto the walkway and looked around. For the first time he looked confused. He turned back to his closest guard. “Where the fuck is everyone, Zeus?”

  Zeus shrugged. “Hell if I know.” He walked toward the corner of the building. “Try to get Danny on his cell. I’ll take a look out back.”

  Victor pulled out his cell, but he paced along beside Zeus, as did the third man. He seemed more nervous, looking around him, standing on his toes to try to look into the darkened SUV.

  “Victor. Wait. I think there’s someone inside.” The third man stammered when he delivered the bad news. “Laying down on the seat.” He was standing by the last vehicle, the one farthest from the diner’s doors, where Vico had put the last three men.

  Victor and Zeus turned back toward him. As they did, Giovanni came up behind Victor while Remigio shadowed Zeus. The man facing them opened his mouth to shout a warning, but Maximino was on him, gripping his head while his two fellow Demons looked on in horror. Their heads were wrenched simultaneously. Three voices murmured at the same time, “Justice is served.” Vico opened the door of the SUV, and all three bodies were put inside. Vico closed the door and then went to the SUV with the driver’s side door open and closed that one as well. The four men immediately stepped into shadows to begin the journey home, three to Los Angeles and one back to Chicago.

  * * *

  * * *

  I didn’t exactly invite you into my home, Stefano,” Eloisa said, staring coolly at her eldest son. “Nor do I remember giving you an invitation, either, Severino.”

  “I believe you use the shadows to enter any of our homes at will, Aunt Eloisa,” Severino said. “As riders, it’s a fairly common practice.” He nodded his head at Henry, who sat looking extremely comfortable and at home in the overstuffed and very expensive French chair in front of the burning fireplace.

  “It’s nice to see you both,” Henry greeted. “Stefano, is everything all right with the family? With the baby and Francesca?”

  Eloisa’s mask of indifference slipped, and she looked distressed. Her fingers gripped the stem on her glass of wine. She pressed her lips together as if refusing to inquire further, but she waited for Stefano to answer.

  “Thank you for asking, Henry. They’re both doing fine. Crispino is very healthy. He’s a good boy and learning fast. Francesca is doing very well.”

  At his reference to Francesca’s health, Eloisa did frown.

  “And Grace? Is she doing any better?” Henry asked.

  Eloisa’s frown turned to a scowl. “Is there something to be concerned about with my daughters-in-law that you knew and didn’t tell me, Henry?”

  “I wasn’t aware that you would want to know, Eloisa,” he returned gently. “You’ve never asked a single question about either of them, and you know I visit them regularly.”

  Eloisa hissed her displeasure but simply turned her face away from him, as if dismissing him. Henry didn’t seem perturbed in the least by her actions.

  “What can we do for you boys?” Henry asked.

  “I’ve come to speak to Aunt Eloisa about an incident that happened a few weeks ago that I just learned of tonight,” Severino said. “It came out by accident, and I could barely believe that such a thing would happen, but I was assured it did. Aunt Eloisa, I was told that you not only referred to my mother as a whore in front of Velia, but you informed her that my father was forced to take her in marriage and that Velia was like her.”

  Henry turned completely in his chair to face Eloisa. Stefano’s dark blue eyes never left her face. Color stained her cheeks and her chin went up defiantly, but she avoided looking at Severino.

  “Yes, that did happen,” Eloisa admitted. “It was unfortunate. She was with Emmanuelle, and I was very angry with my daughter for her ridiculous attachment to Val Saldi. She just can’t seem to get over that horrid man. It’s treacherous on her part. She’s a traitor—”

  “Stop deflecting, Eloisa,” Stefano snapped. “This has nothing to do with Emmanuelle. Your behavior is escalating out of control and you know it. What the hell is going on with you that you would say such a thing about Velia’s mother? Her mother was a rider. A shadow rider who served our community with distinction and honor. We don’t ever talk disparagingly about another rider, let alone one that is a Ferraro. Your behavior is a disgrace to our family, not Emmanuelle’s, as much as you’d like it to be.”

  Eloisa rubbed her forehead as if it was throbbing. “I know, Stefano,” she admitted in a small voice. “I’m very sorry, Severino, and I will apologize to Velia. I’ll make it a point to go to your sister as soon as I can and tell her in person that I’m sorry for the things I said to her. I can’t seem to stop myself, Stefano. I keep getting these headaches. I have for years, and they’re so much worse now. That’s not an excuse, but I can’t think clearly, and then I’m saying horrid things and I can’t stop. I’m so afraid now, afraid for all of you . . .” She trailed off and looked at Henry as if she might crumble under a great weight.

  There was a long, shocked silence while Stefano regarded his mother with a frown, his fingers steepled under his chin. The last thing he had expected was her frank confession of a physical ailment. In all the years he’d known her, that had never happened, and it alarmed him. “How long has this been happening to you?”

  She shrugged and took a deep breath, waving it away. Stefano glanced at Henry. He wasn’t in the least surprised that the man knew all about their lives; he’d been with the family too long not to.

  “No, Eloisa, you just admitted something that may end up affecting all shadow riders. We don’t know what long-term effects being in the tubes can have on our bodies or brains. Before, there were lots of riders, and so they didn’t have to go in as often. We’re riding all the time, long distances, staying in the shadows longer. Taking shift after s
hift. You took far more rotations than your share because Phillip didn’t take any and most of your brothers and sisters weren’t able to be riders. You should have told me immediately that you were having repercussions.”

  Eloisa was silent for so long Stefano sighed and started to speak, but Henry signaled him to wait. The older man reached across his armchair and took Eloisa’s hand. At first, she resisted, looking stiff, but he didn’t relinquish his hold.

  “Tell him, sweetheart. He needs to know for the others. You’ve always kept them safe. They don’t know the things you do for them. They don’t know about the night patrols. You need to at least let Stefano know.” His voice was very gentle but extremely firm.

  Severino raised an eyebrow at Stefano. Stefano kept his gaze fixed on his mother’s face. She was always such an enigma to him. A complete mystery. She seemed an utter contradiction, as if she were two people at constant war with herself. She hated her children and yet loved them.

  “The headaches started years ago. I don’t remember how far back they go,” Eloisa said.

  “The first time I found her in the garage, she was in tears, rocking back and forth, holding her head. I thought she had a migraine,” Henry said. “It was just after Emmanuelle was born. Days after.”

  “My parents had quit riding after you were born, Stefano. My mother didn’t want to ride, so my father retired and insisted I take over for both of them because Phillip wouldn’t take a shift. He said riding made him sick and he never trained properly. His family hadn’t provided that information to my parents when they looked for a husband for me,” Eloisa said. “In any case, I was expected to resume taking my rotations immediately after giving birth. My mother told my father I really didn’t need any time off.”

  Stefano leaned forward in his chair. “You’re telling me after giving birth to your children, you were immediately sent out to work?”

  “Yes. There was no one else. There weren’t many riders, Stefano. That’s why they were always pushing for children.”

  “And when you had Ettore?”

  “I was sent all over the country. Even to Europe.” She looked down at her hands. “I didn’t ever go against my parents the way you did against Phillip and me.” She rubbed her head again as if it really hurt. “It wasn’t done. I think I’m going to be sick. If you’ll excuse me.” She got up and hurried out of the room.

  Stefano turned his attention to Henry. “How much of this did you know?”

  “I’ve worked for this family for years, Stefano. I’ve been in love with Eloisa since she was a teenager. Your grandparents were madly in love, but they had no time for her or any of their children. Life was very different when she was growing up. I didn’t have a clue about shadow riding then, but as I worked over the years, I began to get a sense of things and guessed more and more of what was happening. Especially after Eloisa married Phillip and he had affairs. He wasn’t exactly discreet with his comings and goings. I watched him, more than once, disappear into a shadow.”

  “Good old Phillip,” Stefano said.

  “He made it worse for your mother. Her headaches seemed like they were all the time. She would have to lie down, and I would see she would get nosebleeds, and sometimes she would bleed from her ears. Phillip knew, but he didn’t care. I wanted her to tell you. I threatened to tell you, but she said if I did, she would never forgive me, and she’d never speak to me again. You know Eloisa. Even if it was for her own good, she would carry out that threat. I couldn’t risk for her to be completely alone, without anyone to look after her.”

  “Has she been to a neurologist?”

  Henry shook his head. “After seeing Sandlin, I think it scared her.”

  “It isn’t the same thing.”

  “Head trauma is head trauma. Even at a facility where your family contributes millions of dollars, someone still leaked Sandlin’s personal information, and the media was a circus there for a while. Can you imagine if Eloisa’s information was leaked? Because she can.”

  “We can get ahead of that, Henry,” Stefano said. “Every second she waits, more damage can be done. And she’s still using the shadows. If every time she goes in, just to visit, just to speed up going from one place to another, she’s damaging her brain more, then we have to know. We have to know how much is too much. We have to know if we all should be getting scans and comparing them year to year. Henry, this is huge.”

  “It also explains a lot,” Severino said. “People with brain trauma can have unexpected outbursts of rage. If she goes into the shadows and it triggers that reaction in her, it’s possible Aunt Eloisa has been having brain damage occurring for a while and no one has suspected.”

  Stefano steepled his fingers again. “All of us have bad tempers, Severino, including you. It’s an unfortunate Ferraro trait.”

  “Great, we’re going to have to have scans every other week.”

  “That’s about the truth of it.” The smile faded from Stefano’s face. “I think we’ll have to be stricter on the rotations and send out a caution to the board. Let them know that there might be a problem and the families should be careful about how much time is spent in the shadows overall. The only time I’ve ever had headaches or bleeds was at first, when my body was getting used to it. I’m trying to adapt Crispino slowly by letting him play in and out of the shadows without him getting sucked in. I never let a shadow touch him without his clothes on, and I’ve cautioned Francesca.”

  Eloisa returned to the room, her face pale. She slipped into the chair again. It was obvious she had tried to compose herself and put her mask back in place. She looked both haughty and regal. Stefano wasn’t having any of it.

  “Eloisa, I need you to go to the trauma facility with Henry and ask Dr. Elliot to do a scan on you immediately. I’ll have all the boys and Emmanuelle do the same. We need baselines for all of us. You may have saved all the riders, and for that I have to thank you. The world of riders will owe you a huge thank-you. No one has ever considered the toll what we do might take on our bodies.”

  She had been shaking her head, but she stopped when he kept talking, as if he didn’t see her resistance.

  “It always amazes me that the Ferraro family seems to pioneer the leaps in our businesses and the way we do things,” Severino said, “and thanks to you, Aunt Eloisa, we’re still going to be the family in the forefront. I’ll have my riders go in for scans. We’ll use your facility as well, Aunt Eloisa. You’ll have to tell us who the best doctor is, and how best to avoid any unwanted publicity. We’ll need someone to handle that end of things, Stefano.”

  Eloisa made a little face. “That’s easy enough. Dr. Elliot is a pioneer in the field of head trauma. And Grace is our answer on how best to handle this. She puts on all kinds of charity events for the Ferraro family, Severino. We can make it a huge event and invite the New York branch as well to participate. We’ll do something with brain trauma, or PTSD awareness. Wearing helmets when riding motorcycles, maybe all of it.”

  Her face lit up. “We can put a large event together and then show scans of brains before injuries and after. We can say we volunteered to be scanned as well, showing brains that haven’t been injured as opposed to those that have been, along with the various types of injuries. Naturally they won’t label whose brain is whose.”

  She looked at Henry and then Stefano and Severino. “This is good. We could raise a lot of money for brain trauma centers all over. I like this idea. Trauma centers really need money.”

  “That’s your forte, Eloisa,” Stefano said. “Please, I’m asking you, stay out of the shadows until we get this cleared up. I need you for this. Let’s keep all riders safe, Eloisa. It isn’t just our family we have to consider. It’s all of them. We’re going to have to figure out if it is a problem and then how best to counteract it. I’ll need your input for that. You can’t take chances by slipping up and going in anymore. First thing tomorrow, call Dr. El
liot and tell him you need to get in, that it’s an emergency. I want to know as soon as you do so he can call me in for the results.” He poured authority into his voice.

  Eloisa nodded. “I will.”

  “We’ve got to go. Taviano and I still have a job tonight. Benito Valdez is on his way to Chicago. I want the job done before he manages to get here. The hope is, we find his location before he makes his way here. We’ve stopped his army, so he’ll be alone with whoever he brings with him. Nicoletta has Archambault bloodlines, and it’s definitely showing when she’s in the shadows. She’s faster than anyone I’ve ever trained. He can’t have her. Her children are going to be amazing riders.”

  Eloisa started to say something and then closed her mouth, pressing her lips together tightly. She just nodded.

  * * *

  * * *

  The night air was cool on Taviano’s skin. He threaded his fingers through Nicoletta’s and stepped behind the dilapidated warehouse where the small band of Demons had tried to establish themselves. Stefano was on the other side of her, making certain she was always close to a shadow she could just slip into the mouth of and they would know she was safe while they positioned themselves where they could hear what was being said inside.

  Nicoletta hadn’t been in the least sick as they rode the shadows fast through Chicago to get to the part of town where the investigators had indicated the Demons appeared to have a small group ready to support Benito when he came to Ferraro territory. She moved easily with Taviano, as if she’d been doing it for years. She breathed easily; the few extra practices they’d gotten in helped, as if they’d practiced together from the time she was very young. Those trips in the shadows moving through the house had clearly helped her as well.

  Stefano indicated for Nicoletta to remain silent while they moved into position, and she did so, staying still. Taviano knew that was one of the most difficult things for her. It was for all of the riders. Still, she was quiet, none of her usual fidgeting, and he was proud of her. It was all he could do not to send his older brother a grin of pure pride.