by Sienna Mynx
He took her hand and pulled her in before he hugged her as best he could. For a long time they held each other that way. Adara’s bravery grew. She lifted on her toes and he leaned in to kiss her. And then he lifted her up into his arms with her arms locked around his neck to deepen the kiss. Adara kissed his face. She said sorry many times. He didn’t want to hear it. He didn’t need to hear it. He only wanted this gift of life.
“You can trust me. I’ll prove it. I’ll never let you go again Carlo. I swear.”
BIONCA WALKED DOWN the hall as quiet as she could. The past four hours had been a horror for them. But she feared the next few minutes the most. She’d done her duty. She’d called Dominic and told him of Lorenzo murdering Josef and the Armenians. They were now defenseless. The only men left were Armando’s men who had a shaky devotion to Lorenzo.
She had hoped this would be the liberation needed to free them all.
She was wrong.
Dominic had one final task for her. One that could cost her, her life. And she wasn’t sure what to do. If she disobeyed him her husband would be punished, killed. It was their way. If she obeyed, then Catalina could turn on her. She could have her killed for being a traitor. Anything could happen.
Bionca knocked on the door.
“Come in,” Catalina said softly.
She eased the door open. Catalina lay in the bed with the covers pulled up over her. She had to be exhausted. She was halfway through her pregnancy and the stress couldn’t be good for the baby.
“If you’re sleeping I can come back.”
“I’m not. Come in. Close the door.”
Bionca came inside. Her first instinct was to tidy up. She picked up Catalina’s dress from the floor and found a hanger to put it away in the closet.
“You can go home early. Send the staff home too. Zia will prepare our meals. I think it might be best if you all stay away for the next few weeks. I don’t want anyone else hurt. This isn’t a place for the innocent.”
“Of course, grazie Donna. We appreciate your concern. The staff wants to be here for you. We all do.”
Catalina smiled. She sat upright and scooted back into the pillows. “I’m so grateful for your loyalty. All of you. After everything that’s happened. After all the pain I’ve caused everyone.”
“We know Don Armando loved you. We know that you’re carrying his son. We want to help. Some of us have had family that have worked for the Mancini’s for generations. It’s all we know.” Bionca sat on the edge of the bed. Catalina looked around the room. She reached over to the nightstand and picked up the photograph of Armando she had framed and kept by the bed.
“I know we were only together for a brief time. It feels like longer. What would he have said if he knew he was going to be a father?”
“He never spoke of children. He was raised an only child. He had friends and lovers, but he never let anyone get close to him.” Bionca shared.
“Why?” Catalina asked.
“Not sure, Donna. I think he knew what he wanted, who he wanted,” Bionca said.
Catalina smiled. “I’m going to raise his son here. As a Mancini. I’m going to teach him everything I can to make him strong and like his father.” She kissed the photo.
“Donna, we must talk,” Bionca sighed.
“Something wrong?”
“Yes, no, it depends on you. How you receive the news I must share.”
“Go on.”
“Right after you arrived here with that woman, from Armenia. I had a visit to my home.” Bionca lowered her voice and her head. “It was Dominic Battaglia.”
“Domi, my Domi?”
“Si.”
“Why didn’t you tell me? Did he threaten you?”
“Yes. Me and my family.”
“What did he want?”
Bionca didn’t answer.
Catalina put a hand to her shoulder. “What did he want?”
“Information. About you.”
Bionca felt her mistress hand draw away. Her heart raced. She was too afraid to look over at her. Too afraid to continue. But she knew there was no way she could stop now. “He knew you were pregnant. And he said the Armenian woman could not be trusted. That she... she was dangerous, he thought she was trying to poison you.”
“Marissa?”
“Yes, she’s the same woman from America. A woman who tried to kill Carlo and his American friend. He said he wanted to protect you and the baby.”
“Protect me how?” Catalina asked in a dry tone void of support.
Bionca lifted her head. Catalina was glaring at her. She braved the rest of the story. “He gave me this...” Bionca reached in her apron and removed a small flip mobile phone. She handed it to Catalina. “He told me that I was to call him daily and report on what was happening here. He told me that if I did my family would be safe and... I did. Then he said Marissa had to go. I took her to him. I don’t know what happened after that. I did it for my family, for you and—”
“And?”
“And for revenge against Signore Lorenzo. For killing our Don. For killing Armando.” Bionca looked at Catalina with teary eyes. “Armando was good to my family. So was his father. Lorenzo murdered him and there are many people here, everywhere that hate him for it.”
“Do they hate me?”
“No. None of us do.”
“Why are you telling me this now?”
“I called Signore Dominic and told him of what happened here today. He says it’s not safe. He wants you to meet him. He wants to take you... back to Sorrento.”
“That’s enough. I’ve heard enough.”
“I am so sorry.”
“I know you are. I know you did what you felt you had to do. I can’t trust you, Bionca.”
“Lorenzo is crazy and you needed protection.”
“What I need is people who are loyal to me, and only me. I want you to gather your things and leave.”
“No please—.”
Catalina got up from the bed. She pointed to the door. “You can’t stay here. If Lorenzo found out that you were a plant by my brother he’d kill you, and your family. You have to leave. Today. I’ll make sure you’re compensated.”
“I won’t leave you.”
“Go. Now, Bionca!” Catalina shouted.
Bionca slowly stood. “He’s here. He’s at Mirabella’s store. The one your cousin Francesca owns. He said to call the number in the phone and he’ll wait for you. He wants to see you.”
“Then he’ll wait until hell freezes over! Now get out!”
“I know you’re angry with me. I understand. But Dominic may be the only way to protect your child, to help Marietta get her baby. Please. Things are not good here. The men with Lorenzo can’t be trusted. Some of them are plotting against him. The other Dons are now suffering financially because of Giovanni’s war. They are turning against him. This is not a safe place now.”
“Leave.”
“Forgive me, Donna.” Bionca left. The moment she closed the door behind her she wanted to return. To explain to her the best of her intentions. But she knew that time had passed. There was nothing more she could do for the Battaglias now.
Later that night Catalina found it hard to sleep. So many questions plagued her. The greatest one was over the lie her family kept all her life. Even her mother, who she believed to be the closest to a Saint, had carried the lie to her grave. How could Lorenzo be their brother?
She heard chimes. Soft unfamiliar chimes. Her head turned. Next to her bed was the phone Bionca left. A blue light flashed on the mobile to indicate it was ringing.
Catalina sat up in bed. She reached for the phone and held it in her hand. It kept ringing. The blue light kept flashing. She lifted the little lid to it and slowly brought it to her ear. She didn’t speak but her heart raced faster than her breathing could manage.
“Catalina,” Dominic spoke.
She opened her mouth, but nothing came out in reply.
“I waited for you, I understand why
you didn’t come. I will be at Francesca’s in the morning until ten. If you don’t come, I’ll have to make a visit to you. I... we need to talk. You have questions, and so... so do I. I will see you in the morning.”
The call ended.
She looked at the phone once more and almost tried to redial. Hearing his voice was more jarring than she imagined. How could it be after all that happened between them? Catalina closed the phone and dropped back on her pillows. She managed to shut her eyes. And after ten minutes drifting on the decision to see him she slipped into a fitful sleep with the phone clutched in her hand.
MORNING —
Catalina didn’t bother to explain to Zia where she was headed. Her doctor visits were almost always ignored by Lorenzo and with Marietta’s return he remained properly distracted. However, the extraction of the Armenians only complicated matters. Though Palermo was Don Lorenzo and Donna Catalina’s territory—enemies waited in the shadows with angry hearts and blood-thirsty greed. She needed to be careful. They’d lost many good and bad people in this war. From Catalina’s viewpoint Giovanni had succeeded in dividing every la costra nostra family—including his own—without much concern over how this would affect her.
Dominic’s call changed that view. He wouldn’t be in touch behind Giovanni’s back. They were sending her a message and it would be a deadly mistake if she chose to ignore it. She had to think of more than her heart, but the safety of her child. Look at what they’d done to Marietta’s baby.
The driver left the countryside and continued through viale della Libertà. She stared out the window pass the congestion of traffic to the tourists and locals walking along the streets. Today looked like an ordinary day.
“Donna,” the driver said. “We’re alone.”
“It’s okay. I didn’t ask the men to meet us here. We’re fine. Park on the street.”
The driver, named Filando, glanced to his rearview mirror at her. He was loyal to her, but if tested he would not be loyal to the Battaglias. He was Mancini to his core. And unyielding loyalty only came for Catalina because she carried the heir of the Mancini’s in her womb. Dominic’s request that she meet him at Francesca’s boutique was risky. Would Filando perceive him a threat and try to bring him in to Lorenzo? Catalina glanced at the cars on the street and the shop, stores and windows that were absent of any people. Instinctively she knew. Dominic was not alone.
Filando parked. He got out and opened her car door.
Dominic sat in the dark in the boutique between a rack of summer dresses and table of women’s underwear. Francesca was heartbroken over the closure of her boutique, but stores like this all over the country had been closed regardless of Lorenzo’s influence.
He checked his watch for the time. It was a quarter to ten and he had almost lost hope of seeing Catalina in private. He looked at his gun and prepared himself for the home visit that could very well cost him his life. Then he heard the chains to the door outside unlock. He’d entered with a key to the back. Catalina’s arrival to the front was expected. Dominic picked up his gun and stood. He kept it lowered but he’d fire on the first man to step through if need be.
The door opened. She came in alone. The moment he saw her his finger relaxed off the trigger. She wore a peach mini that complimented her expanding curves and waistline. Her dark hair had returned to its curly luster. Ringlets of curls framed her face. She blinked her blue eyes at him and he saw no trace of the tension and regret he saw the last time they were together.
She had changed.
He had changed.
Change was good.
“I can’t stay long. My driver is outside. I told him I needed to come in and pick out some clothes,” she said.
“I didn’t think you would come.”
“Why? You did everything in your power to make sure I did. Hiring Bionca to spy on me, bringing Zia back. Don’t deny it. I tried several times to reach out to her and she refused. Then she just shows up. What does Giovanni want from me?”
“Giovanni didn’t send me.”
She frowned.
Dominic glanced to her wedding band on her finger. The diamonds around the band sparkled in the dimly lit store. She glanced to her hand and then to him. She placed the hand to her pregnant belly and tossed her hair back in defiance.
“You married him?”
“I love him.”
“Loved him, he’s dead,” Dominic said.
Catalina narrowed her eyes on him. “I love him still.”
“Not the way you love me.”
“He was the man I was promised too. The man I was supposed to marry, supposed to love. I didn’t know it until it was too late. But I know he loved me the way I was. And he respected me.”
“I don’t want to talk about a dead man and the lies he put in your head. We don’t have much time and you need to know—”
“We will talk about it!” she shouted. “I love him. I’m having his baby, my baby, a Mancini. This is home for me now. I’m Donna Mancini!”
“You are Catalina Battaglia. You are the love of my life! I don’t give a shit about what you had to do to survive, nothing you say to me will change what I know. You love me more!”
“Aren’t you going to ask about the baby? If it’s healthy? Anything?”
Dominic smiled. “You’re in the second trimester of your pregnancy. You’ve complained about body aches, mainly in your back and pussy. The doctor noticed some darkening of the skin around your nipples, but he’s assured you it’s okay. The baby is healthy, developing the way they expected. Do you want to know what you’re having?”
“You couldn’t know?”
“It’s a boy,” Dominic told her.
Catalina eyes stretched to the news. Either she had wanted it to be a surprise or the doctor hadn’t told her. Either way the news caught her by surprise. A good surprise by the look of the smile on her face. He walked over to her and embraced her before she could push him away. She cried against his shoulder with her arms at her side. His embrace tightened. Eventually she hugged his waist and let go of all her grief by crying against his chest as she had done a million times before when punished or upset with Giovanni and him.
“Listen to me. The Dons have agreed to a meeting with Giovanni. We know the Armenians are gone. The woman you were friends with... Marissa, she’s dead. You can trust no one. I need you and Zia to come home with me. I’ll arrange it. But you have to leave.” He let her go. He cupped her face. “I can’t protect you any more than I have so far. I love you, Catalina, I love our baby, because that is my son now. You’re mine. I won’t let you go again.”
“Stop it, Domi.”
“Lorenzo is—”
“My brother!” She shoved Dominic hard enough to make him lessen his hold on her. He let her go. “He’s my brother and you know it.”
“Who cares?”
“I care. He’s your brother too.”
“It’s complicated.”
“It’s not Domi. Gio had Carlo take the baby. I know he’s building up to strip Lorenzo of everything. I did want him to pay for killing Armando. I wanted him to pay for everything. But none of us are innocent. We’ve all done things that can’t be forgiven.”
“Gio is stronger now. It’s only a matter of time before he moves in on Sicily. He’s taking everything back.”
“He’s not taking me,” she said.
“What?”
“I’m not yours, Domi. I’ve grown up. I do love you, but not like before. It can never be like it was before.”
“Nothing has changed!” Dominic yelled at her.
“Everything has changed. This is his baby, not yours. He’ll grow up a Mancini, here in Sicily. I am not going to make any choices that don’t put my baby first. For you to help Gio take Marietta’s baby means you could do anything. I can’t trust Gio will love Armando’s son. Give him the future he deserves. I can’t believe you will either.”
Dominic looked at his watch. “We can’t do this now.”
“We can’t do this period.”
“Catalina,” he reached for her.
“No,” she knocked his hand away. She reached in her purse and took out the mobile phone. Dominic watched as she smashed it to the ground. It broke up into pieces. “If you want to speak to me you call my home, like anyone else. Bye.”
Dominic clenched his fist, but he let her leave. The moment the door closed he regretted the choice and went after her. He would have been seen if her driver hadn’t opened the door to the car for her and had his back to him. He stepped inside the boutique and watched through the blinds as she drove out of his life. He turned and knocked over a dress rack and then another. His rage unleashed on anything in reach. And when it was done. He sat on the floor with his gun and waited for the tears on his face to dry. She said no today. But she didn’t know him anymore. There was nothing she could do to stop him. He was going to find a way to have her love again.
EPILOGUE
Lucciola - Firefly
Sorrento, Italy
EVE HATED THE WHINEY noise of her brothers from the very start. But she’d learned to get used to it. Her puppy lifted her head and looked at the opened door. She then crawled over to her.
“Buongiorno, Boo-boo, did you sleep good?” she asked. The puppy leapt on her and knocked her over. Eve was tickled and not by the licks. She was tickled by the love. At least with her puppy she felt all the attention and love she needed.
“Eve!” her mother called.
Eve sat up. Her foot moved to a wet spot. She snatched back her covers and got up on her knees. Boo-book frolicked around her. “You peed the bed. Boo-Boo!”
“Eve?” Mirabella said from the other room.
“Andiamo! Andiamo.” She clapped her hands to make the puppy obey. She covered the wet spot best she could and picked up her puppy. “Here I come, mommy!” She hurried into the room and then stopped. Eve frowned. Mirabella was changing the baby’s diaper. And her brothers were running around in their training pants with no shirts or shoes.
“Wanna help, mommy?” Mirabella glanced over and smiled.
