Revenge (16 page)

“Try not to jump ahead.” Enrico’s voice was
low and soothing, and he rubbed his palms up and down her thighs.
“There is no sense worrying.”

“How can I not worry?”

His hands stilled and he looked at her
closely. “I know it is difficult. But when did worry ever solve
anything?” He paused, then squeezed her knees. “You need to keep
your head, Kate. Panic never helps. I am here; I will help you. You
can count on me.”

She took a deep breath, then expelled it
slowly. “Thanks. I needed to hear that.”

He leaned forward and kissed her, one of his
fingers tracing the line of her jaw. “Anytime you need me, I will
be there.” His voice was almost a whisper.

Such promise in those words, enough to send
nervous flutters through her. Could he really live up to them?
There was one way to find out. “I need to get away from here.
Somewhere Vince can’t find me. I don’t want my parents to worry, so
I can’t tell them about Vince or ask them for money—”

“Say no more. I do not want you to go, but if
that is your wish, I will help you.”

“I don’t want to owe you.”

“You will not.” After a moment, he added,
“Your rings should yield more than enough to cover your expenses
for quite some time.” He cocked his head and looked at her. “You do
not like depending on anyone.”

“After Vince, do you blame me?”

“Not all men are bad.”

She stared at him without comment, then said,
“How soon can I leave?”

Enrico straightened, then sat on the edge of
his desk, crossing his arms. “Your husband has someone watching the
house.”

Fear spiked through her, leaving her chilled.
“He does? How do you know?”

“There is a man watching the front drive. No
doubt there is another watching the dock to make sure you do not
leave by boat either.”

“Oh God.” Kate rubbed her arms. “He sounded
so horrible on the phone. He scared me, but I was hoping it was
just posturing.”

Enrico frowned. “We would be fools to dismiss
him.”

She looked up into his eyes. “I can’t stay
here forever.”

“It would be best to wait a few days. Let
them get bored. Then we leave at night by boat, no motor, travel up
the shore a ways, meet a car.” He paused, then continued. “I am not
sure it is wise to take my private jet, in case your husband has
staked out the airstrip, but there is no paper trail if we do. At
least, not one that cannot easily be faked.”

She looked at him, considering. “You’ve done
this before.”

“Not exactly. But it is best to think about
these matters beforehand.”

“You really are afraid of them, aren’t
you?”

“Not afraid. Cautious.”

“I don’t believe you. Who wouldn’t be afraid
of the Mob?”

Suspicion ruled Kate’s gaze. Of course. The
only people who wouldn’t be afraid of the Mafia were people
in
the Mafia. “Okay. I am a little afraid,” Enrico said.

“Only a little?” she teased.

He smiled, just a slight curving of the
mouth. “Maybe more than a little.”

“Good.”

His brows shot up. “Good?”

“Now I know you’re not crazy. Or one of
them.”

He was careful to hold her eyes. “If I was
one of them, would we be having this conversation? Would I not have
left you to your fate?”

She studied him for a second. “Perhaps.
Still, you’re way too good at this.”

He grinned. “I am a businessman. I have to
lie to people all the time. It is the way of things.”

She leaned back in the chair and crossed her
arms, not breaking eye contact. “You should know now I hate lying.
More than anything.”

Enrico felt a tremor in his gut. Her words
implied a possible future for them at the same time that they
damned one. “I will never lie to you about anything of
consequence.” He regretted the words as soon as he said them,
wished he could take them back, could tell her there and then who
he was. But she’d bolt.

“You’d better mean that.”

“Every word.”
Dio
,
please forgive
me
.

“We do it your way then.” He started to turn
away from her, when her voice, a brutal punch to the ribs, stopped
him. “If I ever find out you’re lying to me, I will never forgive
you.”

He kept his face still, twisted half away
from hers. When he thought he could keep his dismay inside, he
turned to her. “I know.”

“Then we understand each other.”

He hoped to hell she could understand—and
forgive—him when she found out the truth. If she rejected him, he
wasn’t sure what he’d do.

Or how he’d keep her alive.

“You were supposed to get rid of Lucchesi.
Not lose your wife to him!” Carlo exploded, his eyes narrowed on
Vincenzo.

“Do you think that was the plan, Zio?”
Vincenzo hissed.

Carlo stared at Vincenzo, a bit impressed by
his anger.
So he has the balls to challenge me.
He looked
over at Dario, who was watching the two of them with seemingly
nothing more than mild interest.
How I wish my own son had a set
like Vincenzo’s.

Carlo smoothed his hands down the front of
his shirt while he considered his words. He wouldn’t apologize of
course, though he did soften his tone. “What then
is
the
plan?” He knew full well his nephew had none. But a good
capo
always rose to a challenge. This would be a fine
test.

Vincenzo rubbed a hand through his hair and
paced across the room, stopping by the windows and looking out at
Carlo’s view of the lake. If his nephew looked far off to the west,
he could see Lucchesi’s villa. Where his fascinating red-haired
strega
was even now, with her lover. Vincenzo leaned against
the sill, staring out. After a while he turned to face Carlo. “I
got some ideas.”

“Are you perhaps hoping Lucchesi will let
down his guard? That will not happen, now that you let him know we
are watching.”

Vincenzo couldn’t conceal his shock. “What
about the box you sent him in Rome?”

“Ah, but Lucchesi did not take that
seriously. He thought I was teasing.” He chuckled.

“He might’ve thought that if Massimo hadn’t
shown up at his hotel.”

Carlo shrugged. He rather preferred Lucchesi
to know. He’d suffer from the anticipation of the blow almost more
than the blow itself. “How many men did he have with him
yesterday?”

“Four.”

“Hardly an army.”

“But more than he’s usually got, if your guys
are right.”

Carlo patted his jacket pockets, looking for
a cigar. “Still, you got around them.”

Vincenzo smiled. “That was easy. His guys
seemed more for show than anything else.”

“And they say his man Ruggero is so good. His
father Livio, he was good. He saved Rinaldo enough times.”

“You had a guy inside Lucchesi’s
organization, right?” Vincenzo asked.

An interesting change of subject
.
Carlo lit a cigar and nodded. “Unfortunately, he was stupid.
Lucchesi caught on to him. But a little too late.” He studied
Vincenzo through the smoke curling up from his cigar. “So that is
your new plan? Get someone on the inside?”

“What about his accountant? What’s Trucco
told you?”

“Nothing much. He seems to think I will kill
Lucchesi over his
puttana
of a daughter.”

“I thought you was pissed about that.”

Carlo stared at Vincenzo, his face growing
hot. “I
am
. The insult to Toni... I will not stand for it.
But I do not care to avenge Trucco’s daughter. It was his fault for
letting the
troia
run around.”

“Trucco’s got to know more. He’s got to know
a way into Lucchesi’s house.”

Carlo puffed on the cigar. It was a decent
place to start, one he should have thought of himself. “Talk to
Massimo. He knows how to contact Trucco.”

Vincenzo nodded, a big smile on his face. His
nephew was up to something. “You are not to do anything without my
approval.
Capisci
?”

“
Sì
,
sì
,” Vincenzo said.

Carlo bristled at the dismissive tone. Time
for a reminder. He stepped closer to Vincenzo, lowered his voice to
a snake’s hiss. “You remember when Giorgio and Giotto caught that
squirrel in the garden?” The dogs had ripped it to pieces in front
of them.

“Yeah.” Vincenzo looked away from him.

“Imagine what they will do to your balls if I
let them.”

His nephew blanched, and Carlo smiled. Things
always ran best if everyone remembered who was
capo
.

After Vincenzo left, Dario turned to Carlo.
“Are you truly going to marry Delfina to Lucchesi?”

“I want them to
think
I agree. I will
die before marrying that family to ours again.”

“A war with the Lucchesis will be costly.
Just like the last one.”

Carlo looked at him, surprised he had an
opinion. “What of it?”

“It would be cheaper to agree to the marriage
as long as they lower the rate on the wash. And perhaps we can gain
some territory too, to save Vincenzo’s face.”

On the surface, Dario was right. But he
fundamentally didn’t comprehend what it took to be
capo
.
Carlo’s hands itched to grab his son and shake him until his head
rattled. “Where are your balls? Think about what Lucchesi did to
your sister. To
us
. He spat in our faces. On our name.”

Dario shrugged. “I thought you didn’t like to
waste money.”

“I do not consider this a waste of money.” He
shook his head. “Will you never understand what it takes to run
things?
Cristo
, if you’re in charge, everything will be a
shambles in weeks. Will you let all the other
capi
shit on
you?”

“If we force Lucchesi to yield, to sacrifice
his principles, is that not a victory?”

Carlo took a long drag on his cigar, studying
his son.
Why hadn’t Toni been the boy
? “Only for a coward.
It is time to crush the Lucchesis for good. I will not see Enrico
Lucchesi parading around an Andretti woman as his
puttana
,
flaunting his cock in our faces.”

No, he would see him dead. The woman too. And
Vincenzo would be the sharp knife between the ribs.

Enrico summoned Ruggero to his office. He’d
put off disciplining him over the lapse at the orphanage for too
long. When he thought about how close Kate had come to death or
grievous injury, a nauseating dread pierced him, as if he’d run out
of bullets during a firefight.

When Ruggero walked in, Enrico took a deep
breath. He needed a clear head for this discussion. “You know why
you’re here.”

Ruggero nodded and started disarming himself,
removing a 9mm from a shoulder holster, another gun and a
switchblade from his jacket pockets, a small snub-nosed revolver
from an ankle holster, and two wicked looking knives from sheaths
on each wrist, placing them all on the desk. Enrico silently
watched the process, saying nothing. Ruggero stepped a couple feet
away when he was done, clasping his hands at his back, settling
onto his heels to wait for Enrico’s pronouncement.

Enrico studied his bodyguard as if he’d never
seen him before. Ruggero stood in front of his desk, his posture
straight but relaxed. A hard slab of man, not overly large or tall,
but a solid mass of muscle with a face hewn from granite. A scar
that slashed across his left cheekbone spoke of a knife he took for
Enrico’s father. That was when Ruggero was shadowing his own
father, Livio.

He’d known Ruggero for over twenty years, and
the guard had been his constant companion for the last fifteen.
They weren’t friends and they never would be—Enrico was Ruggero’s
boss, first and foremost. Ruggero was a little too bloodthirsty for
Enrico’s taste, but until now, he’d always seemed stable,
trustworthy. And most of all, loyal. If he couldn’t rely on
Ruggero, who could he trust?

“I’d like an explanation for what happened
yesterday.”

Ruggero met Enrico’s eyes. “There is
none.”

“That’s all you have to say?”

“
Sì.
”

Had he expected anything different? The
answer was classic Ruggero. But the events of the last twenty-four
hours were not. The incident at the hotel in Rome. What Ruggero
must have said to Dom about Kate. What might have happened to her
due to Ruggero’s laxity. Most of all, the possibility that Ruggero
was a traitor. The anger he’d been holding back filled his voice
with venom. “You have failed me. Twice now. And poisoned Dom
against me. Explain yourself.”

One of Ruggero’s eyebrows twitched, the only
sign that he was rattled. “I’m disappointed in myself,
signore
. But how could I have turned Don Domenico against
you?”

“Somehow, he got the impression that Kate and
I… that my bringing her here was about sex. What did you say to Dom
about what happened?”

“Nothing. Antonio’s the one who called him. I
was too angry with myself to make the call.” He frowned, looking
down at the floor. It was more expression than Ruggero normally
showed.

“How am I to trust you again when you nearly
got her killed?”

“You yourself were in danger. That’s the part
I
can’t forget.”

Enrico sighed. “You’re not going to defend
yourself, are you?”

Ruggero didn’t move.

The man was holding something back. “Look at
me.” When Ruggero met his gaze, he said, “What happened?
Truly.”

Something flickered through the guard’s eyes.
If Enrico hadn’t been watching him so closely, he would have missed
it. But what was it? He waited for an answer and got none.
“Ruggero, speak to me.”

“I allowed myself to be distracted. It won’t
happen again.”

“Why were you distracted?”

Ruggero shrugged. “Does it matter?”

“What are you hiding from me?” He tried to
inject the full force of his authority into the question.