Revenge (34 page)

“I would hope so. You’d be an idiot to keep
me around if you thought I was a threat.”

He held her gaze. “I would indeed. I have
seen what you can do.”

“Practice, practice, practice. There’s no
point doing something if you can’t do it well,” she said lightly,
even though it seemed odd to be joking about shooting someone. She
really had come to terms with it. Who was this person in her
body?

Vittorio chuckled. “I like you very much,
Kate. I hope you will make my Enrico happy and join the
family.”

Kate’s heart stuttered. What had Enrico said
to him about her? Was that the “business matter” Enrico had wanted
to discuss with him? She smiled gamely. “
Mille grazie
,
Vittorio. I like you very much as well. I know how much Enrico
means to you, and I’m humbled you think I’m a worthy companion for
him.” Kate gave a mental sigh of relief. There, it was the truth,
but it didn’t signal her intentions.

“
Cara
, would you mind giving us a
minute alone?” Enrico asked.

She nodded and hurried away from the table,
heading back to the dock. She didn’t want Enrico to see how
unnerved she was. Was he planning to ask her to marry him? Was this
all about getting his godfather’s blessing?
Shit
,
shit
,
shit
!

When Kate was out of hearing range, Enrico
turned to Don Battista. “So, do you think she can bear the
truth?”

His godfather nodded. “Of course, I could be
wrong.”

“And if you are….” Enrico inhaled deeply. “I
can’t kill her, Don Battista. I can’t.”

“I see that. Yet you can’t marry her and not
tell her who you are.”

“I know.” Enrico shook his head. “I hate
this.”

Don Battista leaned forward. “You are, as the
English say, on the horns of a dilemma, my son. But remember this:
the ‘Ndrangheta comes first. You took the vows; you know the price
you will pay if you don’t honor them. I cannot save you. If you
tell her and she doesn’t accept you, you
must
kill her. And
it would be a shame; she would make a lovely wife and mother of
your children. Such spirit. She reminds me of Antonella.”

“Me too.” Enrico looked up at the old don.
“And that worries me. Is that why I love Kate?”

Don Battista pursed his lips, considering.
Then he shook his head. “She’s like Antonella, yes. But different.
She’s her own person.” He looked at Enrico for a moment before
continuing, and Enrico wished he could read his godfather’s mind.
“She cares about you, but she doesn’t love you the way Antonella
did. She holds herself away from you.”

“She knows I’m keeping something from
her.”

The old don sighed. “Either take the risk and
tell her, or send her away now.”

“I can’t let her go. I don’t trust Carlo not
to hurt her.”

“Then
you
must risk hurting her.” He
paused. “Better for her to die at your hands, than his, yes?”

Enrico recoiled at the idea, but he had to
admit there was a perverse logic to it. At least he’d make sure she
didn’t suffer. “I’m not sure I could do it and not kill myself
afterward.”

His godfather studied him. “So this is what
Domenico meant.”

“What did he say to you?”

“You’ve changed.”

Enrico snorted. “When haven’t I been this
way? I never should have been
capo
.”

“Why did you take it then?”

“How could I disappoint my father after all
he’d suffered? With Primo and Mario dead, I was all he had
left.”

“You did the honorable thing, my son. You
always have. That’s why I love you so much.” The old man’s voice
roughened with emotion and he coughed to clear his throat. “But you
must decide now what is most important to you: what the family
needs, or what you want.”

“I’ve already decided. I’ve already
jeopardized so many lives for her.”

Don Battista nodded. “There are some in La
Provincia who think you need to be replaced.”

“Benedetto, I assume.”

“He’s not alone.”

“Who then?”

His godfather looked at him for a moment,
then his eyes shifted toward the trees that sheltered his home.
“I’ve defended you, but I must admit to having my own doubts. You
will have to answer for this. Carlo has petitioned his brother for
a hearing.”

Enrico wasn’t surprised to hear that. But he
didn’t like to hear that Don Battista doubted him. His pulse sped
up. “You think I should step aside, and let Dom take over?” The
knot in Enrico’s gut doubled in size. If he lost his godfather’s
support, it was all over.

“No. I know what he wants to do to the
cosca
. The drugs, the girls—” Don Battista shook his head in
disgust. “It would be against everything your father and I have
stood for. I know it may be a losing battle, but I won’t let the
‘Ndrangheta turn into a cesspool without a fight.”

“I don’t want that either.”
But I don’t
care about it as much as I care about her
.

The old man sighed. “You know what you must
do, my son. What is best for everyone.”

Enrico nodded, feeling defeated. “I know. And
I will do it.” He tried to keep the bitterness out of his voice,
but he felt he didn’t succeed. He rose to leave, but the don
stopped him.

“There’s one more thing.”

“Yes?”

“This disagreement with your cousin needs to
be resolved, very soon, or it will break the
cosca
apart.”

“Which disagreement? The one about Kate or
the one about the codes?”

“Both. He is hardening his heart against you.
I didn’t like what I heard in his voice.”

Enrico bristled. “Dom is not the one in
charge.”

“Then make sure that you are.” Don Battista’s
voice was firm, his tone final. “Your cousin needs to know
that.”

Enrico nodded. “Thank you for the advice,
mio padrino
.” He quickly kissed Don Battista on both cheeks.
He was turning to leave when the don stopped him again.
What
now
?

“I have a surprise for you.”

“You do?”

“Your father is here, in Capri. If you wish
to see him, call this number.” Don Battista handed him a slip of
paper.

Enrico looked down at it, his stomach
flipping over. “Did you arrange this?”

The old don shrugged. “Rinaldo has run from
his problems long enough.”

“But they’re my problems now.”

Don Battista shook his head. “Carlo has a
long memory.”

“So do I.” Images of his brothers riddled
with bullets and bathed in blood flashed through his mind.

“I will call you with the details for the
meeting with La Provincia.”

He thanked Don Battista, then left to find
Kate, wishing his godfather had thought of some clever solution to
his predicament. But of course there was nothing. There never had
been. He was in this for life, or he was dead. And if he wanted to
live, he had to protect the
cosca
. There was no other
choice. Even if it meant cutting out his own heart. He could still
run things without one.

The entire boat ride back to the hotel,
Enrico pondered when and how to tell Kate he was the Lucchesi
family
capo
. The best time would be on the trip back to the
lake. They’d be trapped in the car together; she wouldn’t be able
to run out on him. He’d have plenty of time to explain; she’d have
plenty of time to think. And if it went wrong… well, at least he
could control the situation. He’d need to talk to Ruggero in
advance. He couldn’t pull the trigger himself.

Damn it all, who did he think he was fooling?
He couldn’t kill her, and he couldn’t ask Ruggero to do it either.
No matter what Don Battista said. No matter if it cost him his own
life. He simply could not do it.

He had to send Kate home, didn’t he? But
then, if Carlo went after her and killed her, everything he’d
done—taking her under his protection, breaking the truce, violating
his vows to the family—all of it would have been for nothing. And
considering Dom had no doubt informed Carlo of his choice regarding
Delfina, it was certain Carlo would want his revenge on Kate.

He had to take the risk, had to tell her, had
to make her understand.

It was the only way.

Enrico hardly noticed what Kate said during
the boat trip. He didn’t recall when she stopped talking either. He
only knew when they were back in the room that it was suddenly
quiet. Too quiet. “What is wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Do not try to hide it from me. I know you by
now.”

She let out a skeptical sound. “Not as well
as you think.”

“What do you mean?” What had he missed?

“I know you were talking to Vittorio about
our future together, but I can’t stay.”

His senses all jumped to high alert. “What is
this about?”

She looked away. “You don’t love me. You
still love
her
.” Her voice was soft.

“That is not entirely true. I do love you.
But there is room in my heart for her as well.”

Kate turned eyes like ice chips on him. “That
is hardly a ringing endorsement. Besides, if you loved me, you
would trust me. And you would tell me your big secret.”

Damn it—couldn’t she wait a little longer? He
couldn’t tell her here; what if she got hysterical? “That has
nothing to do with trusting you. There is a lot more at stake.”

“So you say. If you loved me, you would tell
me.”

“I
will
tell you. Very soon. Please
trust me.”

She looked at the tiled floor. “There’s no
point to this anyway. I don’t love you, Enrico.”

A chill swept him up and down, and his ears
filled with white noise. “What?”

“I told you from the start, this was just
about fun.” She crossed her arms.

“But it is more than that now.”
At least
it is for me.

She closed her eyes. “I only slept with you
to get revenge on Vince.” He thought he detected a quaver to her
voice.

She is lying. She has to be
. “That is
not true.”

“I’m a vindictive person. You’ve seen how far
I would go to hurt Vince. I shot him, for God’s sake!”

What is
wrong
with her
? “If
that were true, if that were
all
of it, then why have you
continued sleeping with me?” His voice was too loud; he was almost
shouting.

She hunched her shoulders. In the smallest
voice, she said, “I was terrified of Carlo.”

“You thought I would not protect you if we
were not sleeping together?”

When she nodded, it was a knife to the gut.
“You think so very little of me?” His voice shook and he hated the
sound of it, wishing he’d said nothing.

She started to nod again, then she shook her
head. She looked up at him, her eyes full of tears. He wanted to go
to her, but he was about to cry himself, and he didn’t want her to
see that. He headed for the bathroom, hearing her break into sobs,
the sound piercing him.

Enrico shut the door and took a breath,
pressing his palms into his eyes. He had to get control of himself.
He couldn’t fall apart the way he had when Toni died. The stakes
were too high now; he couldn’t afford to drink himself into
oblivion for weeks on end. Yes, Kate had just cut his heart out.
But no one else could know. He’d have to bury that sorrow; he’d
have to dig its grave deep.

When he thought he could look at her again,
he took a box of tissues to her. At the sight of her tears, his
eyes grew hot. He wasn’t as strong as he’d thought. “Here,” he
said, shoving the box at her in his haste to get away. Fumbling
with the sliding door, he stepped onto the terrace.
Madonna
.
How was he going to bear this?

He was staring at the sea when he heard her
behind him. “I’m sorry,” she said, her voice barely more than a
whisper.

“I am sorry too. I wish you had been honest
with me.”

“I was. I told you from the beginning how I
felt.”

He started to object, but it was true. “Then
I wish you had not kissed me the day of the attack. I wish you had
not been waiting for me that night in the study.” He couldn’t stand
how raw his voice sounded.

She touched him on the forearm. “I didn’t
mean to hurt you.”

How dare she play stupid.
He pinned
her with his eyes. “You had to know what would happen. You had to
know you were encouraging me.” He stopped himself from saying more,
wishing that he could be neutral, that he could somehow bear this
without letting her know she’d lacerated him to the core.

“I thought…” She let her hand drop away. “I
thought for a while maybe things could work between us.”

The tentativeness in her voice gave him hope.
He took her by the shoulders. “They still can. If you trust
me.”

“I can’t. I just can’t.”

Anger frothed up in him, hot and dark, and he
let go of her abruptly. How could she do this to him? How could she
make him love her, how could she listen to him pour out his heart?
How could she do all that, and then push him away?