<b>114 </b>
GIANNI
Things are starting to look up, which leaves me wondering when the other shoe will drop. I’m finally starting to move without too much pain, and whatever lingering pain there is is much more manageable with the help <b>of </b>ibuprofen.
If it wasn’t for the fact of Jack and Donovan Moroni being out there somewhere, mocking me with their very living and breathing, I’d have to say life is pretty good. I have a lot to be grateful for, and I am, though it doesn’t feel like anyone is truly safe with them still out there.
I can imagine Jack sitting back andughing–even if he didn’t get what he wanted and all his efforts were for nothing. He didn’t get a single cent out of me and had no control over my businesses. All he did was nearly lose his
son.
If only I were na?ve enough to think he won’t try again, however I’m too jaded to believe that. A man like Jack will not rest. He’ll want revenge for Donovan’s injuries and for the men he lost. He’s like <b>an </b>arsonist who wants repayment for the damage he caused. None of this would’ve happened if it hadn’t been for him setting things in motion.
Him, and Amalia.
The thought of her makes me rub my temples, leaning back in my chair with a weary sigh. After imagining so many times how simple it would be to end her life and rid me of her permanently, it seems I should be relieved. Even grateful. She’ll never darken my doorstep again. There will be no more threats. No meetings withwyers. No insults toward Caterina.
Instead, I have my daughter to worry about–the trauma of losing her deadbeat mother in such a violent way. Never getting closure. I can’t pretend to understand why she cares about a woman who never cared about her, yet it’s clear she does. That’s all that matters.
Roger should be wrapping things up on that front as I sit here in my office, reviewing candidates to rece the men we’ve lost. ording to him, these guys are the best of the best. Then again, Booker was supposed to be one of the best back when he first joined my crew, and where did that get me? He acted as Amalia’s spy for months. Considering the nude photos she sent him, I don’t have to ask what she used to bribe him.
There I was, thinking a generous sry would be enough to keep my men loyal to me. Turns out loyaltycan’tbe bought.
When my cell buzzes, I expect it to be Roger calling to let me know he’s on his way from the crematorium, where Amalia’s remains were taken after being removed from the warehouse. It took the regr payment amount, but I am confident about the guys working there. This would hardly be the first time we’ve sent business their way- the kind the public can’t and will never find out about.
Unfortunately, it’s not Roger whose name shes across the screen. I sit up a little straighter, my impending headache forgotten. “Sebastian. I’ve been meaning to call you.”
“I understand. You’ve had plenty on your te, and I take it everything turned out as well as it could?”
“We’re home safe and sound, and with the exception of a few sutures to my side, all is well.”
“I’m d to hear it.” He clears his throat, then takes a prolonged pause while I wait to see what this is really about. It wouldn’t be like him to call and see how I’m doing. No, we don’t do that type of thing in my line of work. He wants something, or at least has something he feels he needs to share with me. I won’t prod him. Let him be the one to make the moves.
<b>+15 </b>BONUS
<b>“</b><b>I’m </b>in the neighborhood and wondered if you had a few minutes for a one–on–one, Understandable <b>if </b><b>you </b><b>aren’t</b>. I <b>know </b><b>you’re </b>getting things back in order, so if it doesn’t work, maybe we can choose another day?<b>” </b>
I close my eyes, clenching <i>my </i>hand into a <b>fist</b>. “Not at all. A <b>I </b>said, all is well. You’re more than wee to stop by.”
<b>“</b>Great. Ten minutes, work?”
“I’ll be waiting.” What choice do I have? If I say no, it’s as good as admitting any weakness, and the worst thing you can do is let someone know when you’re weak, even if you really are. Besides, I want to keep this rtionship warm and friendly, I might end up needing him somewhere down the line and can’t afford to alienate an ally with so many loose ends.
I’m pulling on my suit jacket when Roger’s footsteps echo down the hall. He stops short on rounding my doorway, sizing me up. “What did I miss?”
“Why do you assume you missed anything?”
“You’re in meeting mode‘.” I raise my brow, and he continues, “Call it an energy that fills the air.”
“Costello’s on his way over. He called a minute ago. He wants to have a conversation in person. What it’s about, <b>I </b>don’t know.” I pretend not to notice the sour expression he gives me, instead nodding to the small, brown box he holds in one hand. “Tell me that isn’t what I think it is.”
“Let me exin.”
“This had better be good, because I can’te up with many reasons why you would bring my ex–wife’s ashes into this house. You were supposed to leave them there to be disposed of, or did you forget that part?” I crane my neck, peering behind him.
His jaw ticks, irritation bubbling to the surface, though that’s the thing about Roger: he’s smart enough to take a breath before responding. “I wanted to give Tatiana the chance to decide whether she wants them.”
“You’re fucking with me, right?”
He blinks, his expression unmoving. “Would you rather tell her the ashes were lost and there’s no hope of getting them back? I have to wonder if you even discussed this with her. Does she know her mother was cremated?”
“Alright, fine, you win. But it’s damn morbid, if you ask me.<b>” </b>
“That’s your opinion,” he reminds me. “She might not feel the same, and if she doesn’t want them, she can… I don’t know, scatter them or whatever it is people do. She deserves to have a choice in the matter. She wasn’t a great mom, but she was her mom, nheless.”
How does he manage to make me feel like an asshole when ites to my own child? The pride I need to swallowes damn close to choking me before I mutter, “You’re right. I didn’t think about it: All the bad blood between us… Amalia hasn’t been much more than an enemy for a long time, you know that.”
“And you know you don’t need to exin anything to me. I’ve been here through all of it.”
Note to self: have a discussion with my daughter about the remains of herte mother. I’m sure this will be easy for both of us.
When Henry calls from the front gate to alert me to Sebastian’s arrival, Roger makes a point of going to mis office. “You’re not going to sit out the entire meeting, are you?” I call out.
“No. I’m setting these somewhere safe.” And something tells me Roger is in no hurry to meet up with him, anyway. I’ve never known him to be so openly averse to any of our associates. Normally he’s cold, emotionless.
<b>Although</b><b>, </btely, he’s shown more and more of the boy he was back when I first took him in.
<b>+15 </b>BONUS
He does have <b>a </b>point, though. I don’t need a box of ashes on my desk when Sebastian walks in. I’d rather they not be in my house, at all, honestly. I’m not about to develop a soft spot for the woman now that she’s dead, especially when she caused me nothing but misery till the very end.
It sounds cruel, but she got what wasing to her. I can stifle my true feelings for Tatiana’s sake, but when <b>I’m </b>away from her, there’s no pretending Amalia was more than a waste of oxygen.
Pushing out of my chair, I walk to the entrance to greet my guest, walking as smoothly and quickly as possible. Thest thing I want to give off is the impression of weakness–maybe it’s childish or makes me a stereotype, but I’ll be damned if I slow down or show difort. Especially in front of some cocky young kid.
I’ve opened the front door and am stepping out onto the brick patio when Sebastian’s car pulls around the courtyard. As before, he is not alone, his driver remaining behind the wheel whille two guards exit the vehicle, scanning the area from behind their sunsses despite the severely overcast skies.
It’s a show of power that I give zero fucks about. Sebastian emerges, raising his own sunsses before lifting a hand in greeting.
“It’s good to see you,” I greet, offering a firm handshake before ushering him into the house. “Especially under better circumstances.” Thunder rumbles in the distance, signaling an oing storm. “We’d better get inside before the sky opens.”
“I’m d everything turned out alright. Your daughter’s okay? And Caterina?”
“Everyone is doing fine.”