“I doubt that Luca will target them, but it is definitely advisable to be cautious.”
“I guess you didn’t call to tell me about Leonas and Val. Are there any new developments with the photos?”
“Giovanni, Rocco and I will make a list with possible spies.”
Peter was silent for a moment. “And you want names from me? Or am I one of the suspects?”
He said this in jest, but I wondered if Peter was concerned about my trust in him. I had never explicitly told him how much I valued his loyalty. He was one of the last men I would ever suspect, not only because the consequences would have been devastating if that were the case. It was a choice I never wanted to face. “I trust you, Pietro. Ines trusts you.” That was all I said.
Pietro cleared his throat. “So you want names? Do you think one of my men might be among the traitors?”
“I hope it’s just a rat. And I don’t have any of your men in particular in mind. Horatio has been in contact with many soldiers who have worked closely with the Family over the years. I’d like to talk to him.”
“I’m sure he can give you a list of people who got along too well with Family soldiers. But…” He hesitated, “… why are you calling me? Horace has been in Chicago for two weeks and so far has not returned to Minneapolis.
John told me he was supposed to help with the lab for another week. Don’t you think Horace will go to see Leonas and Val?”
“Giovanni had a fight with him, so I thought he came back without saying a word.”
“Oh, well, he hasn’t called me yet. I’ll let you know if he shows up here. Maybe he just needed some time to calm down . Doesn’t he know that Leonas was born?”
My suspicious nature reared its head, but I suppressed it . “Val sent him a message . He congratulated her but did not call or show up. Maybe he wants to avoid John and is planning a surprise visit later today or tomorrow.”
“Maybe,” Peter said. “Giovanni gave him a hard time because of that girl. But he broke up so many years ago that I thought he would have made peace with him by now.”
“They tolerate each other, at best,” I said. I had not meddled in their family matters. John had wanted to keep it a secret; I hadn’t told anyone but Peter because I appreciated his input. Valentina and I had not yet been married when things between Horace and the girl had happened, and I was grieving then.
Pietro sighed. “Don’t you think…?”
He did not express what I did not want to consider. “He is a good soldier and a good family. Horace would never betray the ‘Outfit.” It was a fact I had to trust because the alternative was totally unacceptable.
“It is.”
But he had also worked closely with the Family during his time in Cleveland, and had spoken at length with Matthew at Val and my wedding. He cast that thought aside.
“It’s a family, and family sometimes fights. It will recover . John can be difficult.”
I stared at the frame on my desk with a picture of Val, Anna and me during a day at the Great Lakes last summer. Val had the same picture on his desk in his office upstairs and a picture of our extended family, including Horace. She had tried to intensify their contact and they had talked on the phone at least once a month. Since Anna’s birth, Horace had even visited her every other month. Val loved her brother even though they were not as close as she would have liked.
If Horace had been the traitor….
My chest tightened as I thought about what I should do.
I would not have hesitated to kill him. I would have personally interrogated him. It would have been cowardly not to do so, and even if I had not done it with my own hands, Val would still have been devastated. Could she have lived with it? Could she forgive me if she killed her brother? What about Livia?
“I’m sure she will surprise you in the afternoon.”
“Let’s hope so.” My voice was steely but inside me was a devouring inferno.
After breakfast the next day, Leonas slept beside me on the couch while I read a picture book with Anna who was curled up against my side. She had hardly left my side since Mom and Dad had brought her home the day before. I could tell she was worried that I would no longer have time for her now that Leonas had been born. Stroking her hair, I turned the page and continued reading.
My phone rang, startling me but fortunately not Leonas. I answered it when I saw it was Horace.
“Hello little brother,” I said with a smile. Over the past few years, our relationship had improved again, and that made me deliriously happy.
“Hey Val. How are you doing? Sorry I didn’t call you earlier.”
“No worries. I guess Dad is keeping you busy so you don’t get into trouble.”
He made a noncommittal noise that could only mean they had had another fight. “I’m not on good terms with him at the moment.”
“Again? But I thought you were helping him with the new drug lab?”
Another grunt. “Let’s not talk about that now. I wanted to come in the afternoon to see my nephew, is that okay?”
“Sure. Will you stay for dinner?”
“No-no, I can’t.”
I didn’t ask why. Horace was always stepping aside. He was a womanizer, or so he said, and I imagined he would rather spend the night with a conquest than with his sister and her two small children, or with his boss. He and Dante had never become a real family. It was hard for Horace to ignore the fact that Dante was his Boss.
“I have to hang up now. See you later.”
“Until then,” I said. Horace seemed to be in the car.
“Who was that?” asked Anna curiously.
“Uncle Horace. He’s coming to visit us this afternoon.”
“Yay!”
I smiled at his obvious joy, then grabbed Leonas and stood up. “Come. Let’s find Zita to tell her that she has to make Horace’s favorite cake.”
After talking to Zita and Gabby, I went to Dante’s office to tell him about Horace’s visit. He preferred to know who had set foot in our mansion. His protection had not diminished since he had two small children to worry about. I knocked and then entered. Anna immediately ran to her father and he lifted her onto his lap.
Dante’s eyebrows wrinkled in concern. The Family’s situation weighed heavily on him in the last few days.
“Is this a reminder that I’m working too hard?”
“Yes!” shouted Anna, smiling at Dante. He put his arm around her with a laugh. “All right.”
“Horace called. He’s coming for coffee.”
Dante’s demeanor suddenly changed, becoming alert and focused. “Really? Where is he now?”
I rippled my lips. “I guess in Chicago? Isn’t he helping my father?” Dante’s question startled and worried me at the same time.
“Neither your father nor I have been able to contact him since yesterday.”
“He said he had a fight with Dad. Maybe he needed time to calm down.”
“That’s what Pietro said.”
“You asked Peter if Horace was back in Minneapolis.”
Dante lowered his gaze to Anna, who had started drawing on one of the papers on his desk. But I had a feeling she was doing it on purpose to avoid my gaze. “I’d rather know where my people are.”
Then I realized and indignation surged through me. ” You can’t seriously think that Horace is doing anything against the ‘Outfit. He is my brother, Dante. For God’s sake, please don’t drag our family into this war even more than we already are .”
Dante looked up with a pained expression. “I never intended to drag you into this. But it is inevitable.”
Anna looked at us. We tried not to argue in front of her, and I was already regretting my outburst, but since the war had started Dante suspected enemies at every turn. If his paranoia now extended to the family, it was simply too much.
Dante stood up and put Anna in her desk chair. “Can you draw a picture of us?”
Anna nodded and leaned over the sheet with an expression of sharp concentration on her beautiful face. Leonas moved in my grip and I gently rocked him so that he would not begin to cry.
Dante straightened his vest before heading toward me, touching my shoulder. “I don’t suspect Horace, Val. But his conflict with your father is something that concerns me greatly. He needs to make peace with him and assume his duties.”
I did not catch a hint of deception on Dante’s face, but a small part of me still remained concerned. “I know,” I said softly.
“Dad expects a lot from Horace, but my brother wants to have some freedom. Maybe that’s why he’s not willing to settle for one of the possible brides that Dad keeps pushing on him.”
“At some point, he will have to get married.”
“Not everyone wants to settle for less than love,” I said, although I wasn’t sure if it was a desire for love that was holding Horace back or if he just wanted to keep having fun.
“We did not settle,” Dante said firmly, pulling me closer but being careful not to crush our sleeping son. “We worked for our love and were rewarded.”
I arched an eyebrow with a mocking smile. “We?”
Dante sighed and kissed my mouth. “You did all the work in the beginning, I know. If it wasn’t for your stubbornness , I would still be…”
“… sulking in your office?”
A hint of exasperation flashed in his eyes. “… trapped in the past.”
“Done!” exclaimed Anna.
“I will talk to Horace,” I promised.
“I’ll talk to him today, too.”
“Don’t be the Chief with him.”
“I’m his Chief, Val. I doubt he will ever see me any other way.”
I nodded, “All right. Bibi should be here any minute for lunch. Do you want to join us or go to work?”
“I have to work. I’m sure you two have a lot to talk about .”
Anna jumped out of her chair and ran toward us, brandishing her drawing excitedly. “Look!”
Dante squatted beside her and patiently observed her artwork as she explained each stick figure to him. I stifled laughter at his serious expression. I loved seeing him with Anna, how he tried to make her feel validated with everything he did.
Fifteen minutes later Bibi arrived at our villa for a play date. Luisa and Anna loved each other, a fact that made me insanely happy. I was glad that Anna had one of her best friends living nearby because she was always sad that she couldn’t see Sofia very often because of the distance between them.
I nodded to the guards sitting in the car in front of our house who had accompanied Bibi. She didn’t have a license unlike me, but even I hardly ever drove now that I had children. Dante didn’t want me to go anywhere without Taft or Enzo, or preferably both anyway.
Bibi looked stunning in a tight wool dress with her red brown hair down as she walked toward me, holding hands with Luisa who was wearing a pretty pink dress. Luisa looked exactly like Bibi as a child, a fact for which I was very grateful because Bibi no longer needed any more reminders of her dead brute husband. Holding Leonas, I hugged her with one arm and then arched my eyebrows. “You are gorgeous. Who are you trying to impress? Now I feel scantily clad.”
I had opted for comfortable chino pants and a blouse that would allow me to quickly reach my breasts for nursing.
She blushed, looking around embarrassed as if someone might hear us, and I let her in. Anna and Luisa hugged each other, then ran upstairs, probably to play in Anna’s room.
Bibi sang to Leonas, deliberately avoiding my gaze.
“Bibi, tell.”
“You just gave birth, Val. You should be the center of attention , not me. I can’t tell you about my dates.”
I pushed her slightly. “Bibiana, you spent years living in misery and had to listen to everyone’s happy stories. Now it’s your turn. Please, I need to distract myself.” I really didn’t want to worry about Horace and my father anymore. Then I realized what he had said. “Appointments, as in more than one? I thought you needed me as a date.”
Bibi looked mortified. “I know … but you had Leonas …”
“And you were looking forward to meeting Dario as soon as possible .”
“We only went out twice,” she admitted with an embarrassed laugh as we entered the living room .
“E?”
“He’s very charming.” Her cheeks turned even redder and she focused on Leonas again. It was adorable how embarrassed Bibi was about her love life. She had never had a crush or been in love, so this made me deliriously happy for her. “Can I hold him? He’s absolutely adorable!”
I nodded. She took Leonas from me and rocked him gently, looking absolutely in love. Maybe Bibi was catching baby fever again. We dropped down next to each other on the couch. Gabby had already prepared a teapot and an assortment of Bibi’s favorite macaroons. I felt like I had been eating nonstop since I had come home.
“Bibi, you’re hiding me.”
She bit her lip, then met my gaze. “I let him kiss me after our second date. I didn’t want to…”
“He forced me…”
“God no,” Bibi said quickly. “I mean I promised myself I wouldn’t allow him the closeness because I didn’t want to give him the wrong impression, but then … I don’t know. He was so close and smelled so good and it just happened.”
“So you kissed,” I said with a smile. “So what? You’re a grown woman. And you deserve to have some fun.”
Bibi shook her head. “You know what people will say if they find out I kissed a man I’m not married to.”
“No one will find out, and if they do, they’d better keep their opinion to themselves. No one deserves it more than you. So how was it?”
Bibi smiled. “It was just, wow. I never felt anything like that, like every part of me was melting. I had so much trouble pulling away.”
I brought our fingers together, unable to stop smiling despite my concern for Horace and the war. “Then don’t back out next time. Who cares?”
Bibi shook her head, looking determined. “No. I can’t be selfish in this. I want Luisa to have the best possible future, and I don’t want people talking behind her back about how her mother had an affair.”
I shook her hand. “Dario is a lawyer. I’m sure he has his own ways of being sneaky about it.”
Bibi giggled but then became serious. “I want to do it on my own terms. I told him I’d like to see him again but that we have to take it slow.”
“Do what feels right to you. I’ll support you no matter what.”
I leaned forward and kissed Bibi’s cheeks. “But Bibi, you deserve artificial orgasms.”
Bibi gasped then burst out laughing and I fell in, feeling lighter than I had in a while.