Leo sat in his den with Angelo over copious amounts of alcohol.
“Well?”
Since the previous day, he’d been a crazed lunatic, intent on revenge and blood and death for the bullets that had been meant for him but had hit the woman he loved instead.
“It was Emilio’s cousin. When I caught up to him, he wouldn’t talk. Davide and I had to overpower him and tie him down. It took hours before I got the full story.”
“And?”
“You won’t like it. Caprice told him what you did to Gemma’s husband.”
Leo paced the floor, regret and the weight of responsibility crushing him. Caprice should never have been at their family Christmas. But even so, if he hadn’t played with her, used her body and screwed with her mind, she might not have gone to Emilio’s cousin set on instigating violence.
“I know Vinny is your best friend and you and Caprice have history, but she’s a loose cannon. She’s dangerous to all of us. I have to…”
Leo finished the sentence, “… kill her.” Something wild and evil rose from the depths of his soul, single-minded and obsessed. “Yes, I know. But don’t just put a bullet in her head, Ange. Make her suffer first. I don’t care what you do, but make sure she suffers. And before you kill her, tell her the order came from me.”
Angelo’s eyes widened before his face went back to its normal, cold perfection. They embraced and kissed, then his brother set his glass on the side bar and started toward the door.
“Ange?”
His mirror image turned back to him. “Yeah?” “Vinny can never know.” Angelo gave a short nod.
When his brother was gone, Leo went to the east wing. The pain and memories rose in his chest, a physical thing threatening to take his breath. The memory of her lifeless in his arms.
As she’d gone still, he’d snapped into focus, like a robot, seeing her no longer as the woman he loved, but as a broken piece of flesh to fix.
Leo leaned his forehead against the door to Faith’s room and took a long, shuddering breath, to pull himself together. Thinking of all he could have lost was pointless torment. He hadn’t lost her. No thanks to his own foolish choices that had put her in harm’s way.
He’d thought it best to keep her in the glass room during recovery. The sunlight would do her good. Leo knocked, then turned the knob without waiting for a reply. She was still too weak to call out. A nurse sat on the sofa reading a book, and his ma sat in a chair beside the bed, watching over Faith as the machines beeped away.
The room overflowed with balloons and flowers and stuffed animals from all of the family. If Uncle Sal or Uncle Bernie, or even Angelo had doubted Faith’s worth, they were her biggest fans now. The word liability would never cross their lips again.
Max sprawled across the foot of the bed, guarding her, while the two cats cuddled into her side. The animals kept their vigil, and no power on earth would have removed them from their stations.
Faith’s eyes fluttered open as he approached the bed. He took her hand and leaned in to kiss her forehead.
“I’m going into town. Do you need anything?”
Her heart rate beeped erratically on the machine. “No! Don’t go out, you might… he might…”
“Shhhh, sweetheart. Angelo took care of it. It’s safe. It was personal. It was one mistake. I have no other enemies.”
After a few moments, she released her death grip on his hand. “Now, do you need anything?” She shook her head.
Leo turned to his mother and the nurse. “I need to speak with my wife in private.”
Looks were exchanged, but the two women removed themselves from the room. When the door clicked shut, Leo said, “As soon as you’re better, I’ll take you to the church so Father Joseph can bless the marriage properly. Then we’ll have the reception. I’m flying everyone in. They all want you to have your party.”
She gripped his hand tighter than her strength should have allowed. “You’d have the marriage sanctioned?”
“I was so busy thinking of it as a sham and you as an unwilling prisoner, that I didn’t stop to consider how both of our feelings had changed. I don’t want it to be a lie.”
“Me either.”
“Then it’s settled, and we’ll attend St. Stephen’s.”
“Thank you.”
“But Faith, being my wife doesn’t change our relationship.”
She touched the collar at her throat almost unconsciously. “Yes,
Master.”
He squeezed her hand. “Good girl. I’ll be back soon. I promise.”
The day had been filled with rain and gloom, the perfect, bright sun of the wedding refusing to return. Leo drove to St. Stephen’s and sat outside the building for a long time.
He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and stared at Angelo’s name in his contact list. He knew he couldn’t stop his brother from killing Caprice, but he could remove his blessing. He could stop the rest, whatever Angelo would do to her that would go far beyond a quick shot to the head.
He could be merciful and make sure she never saw it coming.
He closed the phone and cursed when the call went to voice mail.
Inside, the church was quiet, but Leo knew someone would be there. He opened the door to the confessional booth and sat. Cloaked in the warm, tight darkness, he breathed in the smells of the incense and candles.
“Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned.”