La Sposa (50 page)

Lorenzo smirked. “Oh, I know you aren’t. A
drunken piece of shit like you could never take me down. But I sure
as hell won’t let one of these bastards put an end to you. If you
want to fight, die, then I’ll send you to the grave.”

He walked out to the open floor. A hush moved
through the crowd. Two high ranking
capus
in the Battaglia
family, waging war amongst these men, was something none had ever
seen.

It was blasphemous.

Carlo stumbled out. His eyes bloodshot, his
senses drowned by alcohol. How he remained standing was a mystery.
Lorenzo removed his shirt and tossed it just as his best friend
charged him. They both went crashing to the floor. The hard smack
to the back of his skull almost caused him to black out. But
Carlo’s vicious hold on his throat kept him alive. He rolled and
broke free. The two of them got to their feet with their fists
ready. Carlo snarled at him; blood or wine staining his teeth and
tongue red. Lorenzo smirked in response. He’d been in enough
childhood fights with Carlo to know him in and out. And with the
booze diluting his senses, he was given the advantage. Carlo took a
swing and Lorenzo caught his fist. He swung up and under. He could
feel Carlo weaken but he didn’t give him a break. Taking hold of
his throat, he slammed his fist into his face, until he lost
consciousness. The beating was savage but quick. Lorenzo prayed he
hadn’t killed the fool. The others looked around in stunned
silence, wondering if he did.

With Carlo out cold, he seized advantage.
Grabbing him up, he heaved him to his feet. “Two men! Now. Put him
in my car!”

Two men rushed over and took an unconscious
Carlo from him while Lorenzo fetched his suit jacket, shirt, and
weapon. He followed them out. He had to get Carlo sobered and
healed. Then they could possibly salvage the day, before Giovanni
put an end to them both.

*****

Mira walked through the halls, reminiscing
over the first time she had entered
Melanzana
. She had only
been gone a week and it felt like a lifetime. The time in that
hospital bed drained her so much she actually began to long for
home. And to her surprise,
Melanzana
had become just
that—home.

They weren’t in the door for a solid five
minutes before Giovanni was summoned to
Villa Rosso
for a
meeting. He made her promise him she would return to bed. Instead,
she ventured into the kitchen and found Zia. She was at the table
trying to feed Eve who kept pushing the fork aside, refusing to
release her pacifier.

“
She ate, Zia.” Mira
smiled.

Zia rose with the bowl and spoon. “But not
well. I’m sure. How are you? Are you hungry? Thirsty?”

“
I’m fine. I’ve missed you.” Mira
walked over, and the two women embraced. She pulled out a chair and
took a seat. “Where’s Rocco? I didn’t see him when we came
inside.”

“
He’s out in the country. He’s very
sour. It happens with him sometimes.”

“
Rocco?” Mira smiled in disbelief.
“I can’t imagine him being sour. He’s so sweet.”

Zia scoffed. “No, Mira. My Rocco is a lot of
things, but he’s not sweet. Don’t let the pinches on your butt fool
you.”

They both shared a laugh. Rocco was beyond
fresh, and it wasn’t something that Zia or Mira ever thought would
change. Zia patted her hand. “You gave me a fright. I was really
worried for you and the baby. What do the doctors say?”

Mira sucked in a deep breath and exhaled slow.
“The doctor told me that the first trimester is where I need to be
the most careful. There is a thing called spontaneous abortion that
can happen in the first twenty weeks. The doctor said we need to
make it past 13 weeks to be safe. But he really believes I’m
healthy. Giovanni and I are going to see someone he referred us to
in Napoli. He wants us to give it two weeks before the appointment
unless the spotting returns.”

“
Spotting? Blood?” Zia put a hand
to her mouth.

Mira’s eyes watered. “Yes. I was so
scared.”

Zia hugged her. “It’s okay. We will pray
together. It will be okay.”

“
Grazie, Zia.
I just need to
be home. I hear Catalina is returning today. I’m so
excited.”

Zia let her go. “Catalina is not coming
home.”

“
What?”

Zia returned to the table. She ached over and
tried again to feed Eve. This time, Eve spit out her pacifier and
accepted what was on the spoon. “She called last night and told me
that she will be coming in two weeks. Domi wanted to return to meet
with Gio. She left a number for you to call her.”

Mira accepted the number from Zia’s apron with
a smile.
“Grazie.”

Giovanni hung up the phone. Lorenzo hadn’t
returned his call in two days. He dialed Santo and told him to
track Carlo down. He needed to get to the bottom of what was going
on with them both. The door opened and Giovanni looked up into
Dominic’s eyes. The relief he felt brought him to his feet. “I
didn’t expect you so soon.”

Dominic entered. Giovanni walked over and
greeted him properly. “How was your flight?”

“
Exhausting. But I’m
here.”

“
Sit. Sit and tell me
everything.”

“
I don’t know where to begin, Gio.”
Dominic unbuttoned his suit jacket. He sat down and crossed his
legs. Giovanni sat across from him in a chair.

“
Start with James
Walker.”

Dominic nodded. “Interesting story he told. He
says he ran away with Mira’s mother to Philadelphia. The same place
I have received the birth records of twin girls from Melissa
Ellison.”

“
So, he knows of the babies she
had?” Giovanni asked.

“
Not exactly. Time has stopped for
him. He worked for a Sicilian named Manny Cigars. This man ran a
bar or club with some Italians. He described him as a mean son- of-
a- bitch with a quick temper.”

Giovanni chuckled. “That could be
anybody.”

Dominic nodded. “He said Manny had a thing for
Mira’s mother. That he set him up to get next to her. Made her some
kind of entertainer in his club. She was young, Gio.”

“
How young?”

“
As young as your mother was when
your father took her.”

Giovanni cringed at the comparison. Dominic
fed him the truth, no bullshit. So he endured. “And?”

“
I asked him for a name. He gave me
Mancini. So I did a run with some of our allies out of Brooklyn.
They confirmed that Mancini spent time in Philadelphia with the
Gambinis. That he owned a club. The story is checking
out.”

Giovanni shook his head. “Even if it’s true
and my Bella has a twin sister out there, I can’t swallow that she
is the daughter of my father’s closest friend. Look at her, Domi.
She doesn’t look Sicilian.”

“
Doesn’t she? She could be, Gio.
And there’s something you don’t know. I spent some time at her
company with a man named Theodore Tate. Mira and Catalina call him
Teddy. It appears Teddy has a thing for gambling and nose candy.
Got in bad with some men in New York. We’re talking serious money.
Suddenly, his debt is paid.”

“
Let me guess.”

“
Mancini. Theodore was summoned to
Sicily. Mancini and he worked out the deal that brought the girls
to Italy. Don’t you see, Gio? It fits. Mancini is at the root of
this.” He reached into his pocket and removed the bracelet. He
handed it over to Giovanni. “How else would a baby have something
like this put on her wrist? Nothing happens by accident in our
world. Not even the women we choose to fall in love
with.”

Giovanni stared at the bracelet. His heart
hurt. Could destiny and fate be a lie? He truly believed God had
sent his Bella to him, healed him. Had Mancini done this to him for
some other reason?

“
Gio? What should we
do?”

“
I need answers,” he said, but his
voice sounded hollow and foreign.

“
Do we visit Mancini for the
answers?” Dominic asked.

“
Not yet.”

“
Then what?”

“
Rocco. We go see Uncle Rocco. He
said something strange to me the other day. Something about Lorenzo
causing trouble with the Mancinis. I could hear it in his
voice.”

“
What? What did you
hear?”

“
Fear.” Giovanni said.

*****

Marietta opened the door. She stumbled back;
aghast at the sight of a bloody man who smelled like a sewer, being
dragged inside. “Get towels and bandages from upstairs. There’s a
medical kit in the bathroom. Now!” Lorenzo shouted at
her.

She turned and ran for the stairs. They were
in Naples now. He promised her they would go to Bellagio but the
search for his friend took precedence. For three days, she watched
him make calls and pace the floor. He would search the streets at
night. Was this the man? Was he dead? Marietta found the towels and
the medical kit and then raced back down the stairs. Lorenzo had
taken him to a downstairs bedroom. He dumped his dirty, bloody heap
on the clean sheets. “Is he alive?”

“
Barely. I have to call the
dottore
. Can you… do something with him?”

“
I can try. I’m not a nurse,” she
reminded him.

“
Clean him up. Make coffee and
food. I’m sure he hasn’t eaten.”

Carlo rolled over and vomited on the floor.
Marietta stumbled back in horror. Lorenzo threw his hands up in
defeat. “Clean it up, please.”

“
His vomit? Are you fucking crazy!
I’m not cleaning up his vomit.”

“
Marietta? He’s a brother to me. I
owe him my life. Help me. I can’t let Gio or any of them see him
like this.”

She looked back to the drunken man slumped
over the bed, continuing to vomit. The stench made bile rise in her
throat. “I can try. But you owe me for this one,
Lorenzo.”

“
Thank you,
Cara
.” He kissed
her forehead and left. Marietta looked over at Carlo, who lifted
his head and glared at her. She rolled her eyes and dropped the
towels to get a bleach, bucket, and mop.

*****

Mira closed the door. She looked at her watch.
It was now seven in the morning, which meant it would be around two
in the morning in New York. Zia gave her the number to the hotel
and told her to call. However, Mira was relieved. She didn’t want
to call the office. She breathed easily, trying to relax. The
doctor said that stress could overtake her, but if she paced
herself she would be fine. Speaking to Catalina wouldn’t cause
stress. In fact, she was bubbling with excitement.

“
Hello?” A groggy voice
answered.

“
Hi! It’s Mira!”

“
Dio Mio!
Mira! How are you?
They told me what happened. Domi said you were better.
I…”

“
Catalina, I’m fine. I’m
okay.”

She could hear her exhale in relief. “Mira,
I’m so sorry I wasn’t there. I know how scary it all must have
been. Is Gio misbehaving?”

Laughter escaped Mira and she smiled so
deeply, her cheeks hurt. “He has his moments. He’s really sweet
though.”

“
There’s much I want to tell you. I
only stayed because there is so much to learn. You are going to
love some of the wonderful things they are doing, and I wanted to
learn from everyone.”

“
Were you sleeping? So sorry to
call and wake you.”

“
Yes, but who cares. I wanted to
talk to you. I’ve met Teddy and we’re working together.”

“
Good. You can trust him. He’s
about the only person there I do trust. Use him to help you
navigate the business. Listen to what he tells you. He knows as
much as Fabiana did,” Mira smiled.

“
He’s great. We have plans to do a
working dinner tonight. Can you believe Domi let me stay? He is so
wonderful. He should be in Sorrento now.”

“
I haven’t seen him yet. He’s
probably with Giovanni down in
Villa Rosso
.”

“
Oh? Okay.”

“
Never mind our men. Let’s have
some girl talk. Start with Carole Montague. I want to know
everything about the woman designing rags for my house.
Everything!” Mira reclined back into the pillows. Catalina began
and she relaxed. It appeared that Carole had been quite
busy.

*****

“
How is he?” Lorenzo
asked.

Marietta washed the blood from her hands. The
doctor was with him to tend to the bruises she couldn’t.

Because of his labored breathing, she knew he
had at least something going on with his ribs; and the dark bruise
on his jaw was bad too.

“
Take him to a
hospital.”

“
No. We care for him here.” Lorenzo
answered.

Marietta turned off the water. “Who is this
man to you? The truth, Lorenzo.”

“
A fallen brother.”

“
Brother? I thought you were an
only child.”