La Sposa (13 page)

“
So she is Capriccio’s
daughter?”

The lawyer took a seat. He gave a loud snort
of disgust. “Capriccio was a bastard. Even after he left the life
and went legitimate, he could never wash clean the dirt from the
past. The old man wanted to include her in the will, but he didn’t
explain why or confirm her birth to his sons. None but David knew.
This infuriated her. As if she could force a family to welcome her.
Then he has a stroke and dies in the middle of this
mess.”

“
Capriccio’s daughter?
Interesting.” Lorenzo chuckled. He meant no disrespect but the
Capriccio daughters all looked like their father in height, build,
and features. He wouldn’t fuck them with Silvio’s dick. The doll
who breezed out of the office couldn’t be a relative, not even a
distant one.

“
Yes, she’s a black
Americana
. Shocked me too when she showed up ranting and
raving about uncovering some family secret.” Silvio waved off her
claim. “Apparently, she’s the product of a stay he did in America.
David Capriccio summoned me from Napoli to deal with her. David
tried giving her money to keep her from getting close to his
father, but she went around him. She wanted Caruso to acknowledge
her with his family. Caruso confessed to me and his son that he had
added her to his will years ago, when she was born. It was on the
sole condition that there’d be no blood test. The stupid fucker had
a heart attack two weeks later. And now you see the
result.”

Lorenzo smirked. “Tell me more.”

“
She walks into the funeral. She
sits with the family. Shocked the hell out of everyone. When Maria
Capriccio, his oldest daughter, asked her to move to another seat,
she shouts to the entire church the dead man’s secret. And she did
it in Italian too. Told the church that she was his black
bastardo
.”

Lorenzo roared with laughter. “I think I’m in
love.”

“
Well you won’t think it’s so funny
when you learn that she’s interfering with your affairs. Giuseppe
Calderone had David put many of his own factories in the Capriccio
family’s name. Angelo washed his money clean through the Capriccios
business while he was on the run. She files another motion with the
courts before I can transfer deeds to the Battaglias, and it will
be out of our hands. The Republic will discover that the Capriccios
are guilty of money laundering. That won’t bode well for Giovanni’s
desire to acquire a legitimate business.”

Lorenzo’s smile faded. “Bullshit.”

“
She’s demanding an equal split of
all of Capriccio’s assets. Which is why I’ve delayed the reading of
the will. I need you and David to finalize the transition of his
debt to Giovanni. She’s here snooping to try to get her hands on
any leverage. Even suggested I switch sides and represent her. Like
I said, she’s relentless.”

“
Where is she staying?” Lorenzo
asked. “Maybe I should speak to her?” He clenched his gloved
fist.

“
Why?” Silvio responded sharply.
“Don’t go near the viper! She’ll take your balls before you go for
your gun.”

Lorenzo laughed. Silvio scowled. “I’m not
kidding. At the church where they threw her out, Alex the youngest,
actually raised his hand to strike her. She went for his throat. It
happened so fast and she’s so small, we didn’t even know that she
hit her mark. That was until he fell over and spit up blood. The
doctors said he was lucky she didn’t crush his larynx. He can’t
speak even now.”

“
I think I can handle
her.”

“
Stay away from her.” Silvio
flipped open the file. “Now let’s talk business. You won’t like
what I’m about to tell you. David has product he hasn’t moved. It’s
with the Nigerians. They are growing marijuana out in Tuscany.
Harvesting plenty under the
Ndrangheta
. Giovanni wants
nothing to do with it, but the factory you own here he passed
documents to Lorenzo that he accepted. “Are already part of the
trade. Time and negotiations need to be made to clear it
out.”

“
I was told the Capriccios knew
better?”

“
Yes. This was something Giuseppe
left before his untimely death; and with the war of the Battaglias
and Calderones it was never settled. Giuseppe kept an office there
as well. Bonaduce had a hand in it as well, not sure how much. It’s
a mess and dead men tell no tales. David wants a little more time
to make this deal clean and settle affairs. He’s trying to smooth
things over between Bonaduce and the Nigerians.” Silvio’s gaze
flipped up. He had a lazy eye, which almost looked like a squint
when he smiled. “The Nigerians hate your family. They won’t make a
move because they fear the clans of the Camorra.”

“
Unfortunate that we still have bad
blood between us,” Lorenzo chuckled. “Tell me more about this
office Giuseppe kept. What kind of things are there?”

Silvio shrugged. “How would I know? I couldn’t
stand the runt. I have no feelings about Giovanni’s order to
annihilate the Calderones.”

“
But David knows?” Lorenzo stroked
his chin. Lorenzo considered the impossible. Maybe, just maybe the
tapes did exist, and David Capriccio had them. Would David be
stupid enough to blackmail him?

Marietta pressed her ear closer to the cool
surface of the door. The men spoke in Italian and she understood
every word. She reached in her purse. Her clumsy fumbling almost
caused her to drop it. She actually bumped the door nosily. Her
breath caught, and she squeezed her eyes shut, avoiding a disaster
that could reveal her efforts to eavesdrop.
Had they heard
her?
The two men kept speaking as if they hadn’t. Marietta
found a pen and a piece of paper at the bottom of her purse.
Looping the strap on her shoulder, she began to scribble the words:
Bonaduce, Giuseppe Calderone, Giovanni Battaglia, Nigerians and
marijuana.

She frowned at the paper, trying to absorb the
meaning of it all. She wrote another word, actually a sentence:
Lorenzo Battaglia wants to know about Giuseppe Calderone’s
office?

What is David hiding?

The man who arrived was so unbelievably
handsome, she nearly lost her composure. Thankfully, she recovered.
There was a hard predatory appeal to him. She knew his kind. He
reminded her of the shady characters and ex-cons who used to work
for the construction company her adoptive father in Chicago owned.
Although Lorenzo Battaglia looked polished and rich in his dark
suit, he did enter the room with gloves on. And she was certain he
had a concealed weapon.

Hearing the conversation conclude, Marietta
quickly and quietly went for the door. She hurried into the hall
and turned the first corner, determined to remain out of sight. Her
heart raced and she swallowed a few times to slow down her
breathing. Careful to remain unseen, she peeked out from around the
corner with one eye. Lorenzo stepped into the hall. He started
toward the elevators on the opposite side of the hall. His broad
powerful steps and the light flow of his long coat made her curious
of his connection to David. At the elevator, he punched the button
and waited. After a quiet second or two, Marietta swallowed a
breath and gripped the corner of the wall watching. Lorenzo’s head
slowly turned, and he cast his gaze back over his shoulder.
Marietta drew back, startled. Had he seen her? Did he know she was
there? Counting down the minutes, she heard the elevator ding. She
waited. Waited. Then she peeked out again. The doors to the
elevator closed. No. He hadn’t seen her.

Determined to pursue the new clues she had
gained, she went down the hall and to the window and caught sight
of Lorenzo strolling up the street.

She intended to follow him.

*****

“
Andiamo!”

Before she could object, Dominic pulled her
from the room. So many were gathered today, she could barely greet
one family member over the other. And Dominic struggled to navigate
the clusters of people who loved to crowd
Melanzana
and get
close to the Don on holidays. Typically, Giovanni was very
generous. Many left, filled with wine and some type of monetary
gift or offering for both favorable and unfavorable deeds in the
year.

Today however, her brother had been
distracted. And it caught them all by surprise. First, his
insistence on preparing Mira’s breakfast that ended with him
yelling and cursing until Zia and her sisters took over the cooking
and fixed him a tray to take upstairs to his beloved. Then his
overly possessive need to have Mira and Eve to himself. Refusing
Catalina’s request to enter their room twice when she came to
collect them. On the third attempt, Mira had to reason with him to
be released. It didn’t end there. Several times he’d come down the
hall demanding to speak or see his future bride and Catalina
intercepted. His mood became more brooding with each failed
attempt.

Strange for her brother. She could sense a bit
of panic in his behavior. And there was fatigue in Mira’s eyes.
Were they okay?
The wedding had to happen. But the tension
between them seemed to build steadily.

Now Dominic was acting the same way?
Men!

Dominic continued on his mission dragging her
with him. He couldn’t locate a quiet space in the sea of laughing,
smiling faces to the back of
Melanzana
. This area was where
everyone gathered. Several years ago, Giovanni allowed her to
develop a spa room and shower on the east wing. Catalina had called
in her people to give facials, body wax, pedicure and manicures for
them all. She even allowed her hateful cousin Rosetta to be
included.

“
Domi where are we
going—”

He tugged her hand firmly and she hurried to
match his fast pace. Before she could capture her breath, she was
pulled into the room and then forced up against the wall. The
caress of his lips over her mouth silenced her worry over Giovanni
intruding on the pampering of Mira. Dominic’s tongue traced the
fullness of her bottom lip before easing inside her mouth. A warm
loving kiss that sent slivers of desire racing through her.
Catalina gave herself freely to the kiss. She lifted her arms and
wrapped them around his neck. Fast and furious their tongues
clashed, and she held to him, relishing the freedom to be his now,
openly.

The kiss ended, only for them both to capture
a needed breath. And still, her heart continued to race. It
thundered in her chest threatening to explode.

“
All my life I’ve loved you,
Catalina.”

“
Oh, Domi… I love you
too.”

“
Let me finish. Please.”

“
Okay?” she said, a bit curious by
the tender passion brimming in his eyes.

“
From the moment they brought you
home as a baby, I stood by your crib watching over you. I was just
a boy myself. Orphaned in a family of men who frightened me. I was
six.”

She smiled and touched his face.

He closed his eyes and continued to speak from
his heart. “At first it was an innocent love, Catalina, I swear it
on my soul. But one day I looked over and you were a woman. The
love that I had for you changed into something deeper than I’d ever
imagined. I was changed. Forgive me for being weak and not
admitting my feelings sooner. No more. I promise to protect our
love with my life if I have to.”

“
I love you so much,” she said,
nearly choking down the words with tears of emotion. “I will
protect our love with my life as well,” she grinned.

“
Go upstairs and pack a bag. Hell
pack two bags, because after the wedding tomorrow, we
leave.”

“
Leave? For where?” Catalina pushed
him off her so she could read his face clearly. She’d been asking
him to take her to Paris to shop for an engagement ring. Was this
it?

Dominic had a beautiful smile. His eyes
sparkled with mischief. “America. We’re going to America. You will
get to see Mira’s business and I have business of my own. So pack
plenty. I’m not sure for how long we will visit.”

“
Are you serious? New
York?”

Dominic nodded.

Catalina screamed. She jumped at him and he
caught her with one arm, spinning her around the room. Dominic
laughed. He lowered her, and Catalina couldn’t contain her
excitement. “Mira didn’t tell me. She didn’t say a
word.”

“
She doesn’t know. Or maybe she
hasn’t had a chance. Either way, we’re going.”

“
So you are
consigliere
again? Giovanni has forgiven you?”

Dominic’s smile faded. “Not yet. I have some
work to do for him. But it’s just a matter of time. I can feel
it.”

Catalina nodded. “That’s right. It’s only a
matter of time!”

Mira felt a warm glow flow through her as she
eased on her robe. The sleeves and hem were so long they covered
her feet and hands. She smiled at the young girl who had tended to
her. She was an exceptionally shy yet beautiful woman, with coal
black hair and dark olive skin. In fact, beautiful women were all
around her in this country. Her gaze lifted to her reflection in
the mirror. She didn’t recognize the woman staring back at her.
Dark swelling puffed underneath her sleepy eyes. Her face paled and
her hair had lost all luster. With thick roots and frizzy ends, she
tucked her tangles behind both ears.