I pinched the bridge of my nose as I listened to Danilo’s account of that day’s search. We had spent the night in the safe house and would stay there for a couple of days until we found Serafina or until we decided it made more sense to go back to Minneapolis or Chicago.
“I think we have to take into consideration that Serafina is already in Las Vegas or another city in Camorra territory. I doubt they will keep her near our borders.”
“Let’s destroy their property in Kansas. Let’s kill that fucking Under Chief there and all his Captains,” Danilo said fiercely. He was young. He was driven by wounded pride and an absolute need to protect what was his. I understood him all too well, but a brutal attack on one of Remo’s Sub-Chiefs would have been too risky with Serafina in his hands.
“It is too risky. Once Serafina is back, we will retaliate .”
Danilo straightened up and began pacing back and forth across the room.
Samuel slumped in his chair, looking exhausted and desperate, but I could see the same hunger for attack in his eyes that I had seen in Danilo’s. They were not so different.
Peter was more restrained. His concern for his daughter was no less acute than theirs, but he knew how dangerous Remo was and that he was not going to return Serafina to us because we had started killing his Subchiefs. He was going to send her to us , piece by piece. Val appeared on the threshold of the kitchen. The children and women had spent the day in the garden, waiting and worrying. “We can eat.” Peter and I got up. Samuel did not move and Danilo only shook his head and looked out the window. “We have to do something.” “Danilo,” I said imploringly. “If we attack driven by anger and fear, Remo will not only kill Serafina, but also many of our men.” “I don’t care how many men will die.” “But you do care about Serafina’s welfare.” Danilo nodded firmly, then lowered his head and took a deep breath. “Let’s eat and then try to discuss the options.
We need a break.” “I’m not hungry,” Samuel muttered. Peter touched his son’s shoulder. “You need to eat to heal. We need you to be strong.” This convinced Samuel, and he finally stood up, grimacing with a hand clutching his side. The table in the large kitchen was set for our family. Ines looked up as we entered, and the pain in her eyes rested on my shoulders as an added weight. I did not have a chance to sit down because my phone rang. I pulled it out, cast a glance at the unknown number, and suddenly a feeling of foreboding seized me. I brought the phone to my ear. “Cavallaro.”
“Dante, it’s good to hear your voice.” I had never heard Remo Falcone’s voice and yet I knew it was him. Every word exuded confidence, arrogance, and mocking triumph. I could feel the heat rise on my face as anger exploded inside me. My fingers around the phone tightened and I struggled not to let my strong emotional reaction show. It would only have excited Remo and worried my family. I crossed the room and left, but of course footsteps followed me. “Remo,” I said. “Tell him I’ll rip his fucking throat out!” roared Samuel. Danilo joined me. “Where is Serafina?” “Let me talk to my daughter!” shouted Ines. “I’d like to have a word with you, Cape to Cape. From one man who has seen his territory violated to another. Two men of ‘honor.” I raised my hand to stop the others. Their shouting and screaming would only give Remus what he wanted, and I would not let him have it. “I am an honorable man, Remo. I don’t know what you are, but honorable isn’t it?” “Let’s agree to disagree on that.” “Is Serafina alive?” I asked softly after bringing a few steps between me and the others, but they followed. Ines froze and grabbed Peter’s arm. Pure, unadulterated fear flashed in her eyes. “I’ll break every fucking bone in your body!” shouted Samuel. I made another gesture of silence, but it was useless. Remo had gotten what he wanted. He would soak in his triumph for a while. “Is that his twin?” He did not even try to moderate his gloating. My own fury burned so fiercely that I was surprised I didn’t catch fire. “Is she alive?” Everyone looked at me. Their fear, their hope, their despair hit me like an avalanche I could hardly cope with. Remo chuckled. I was going to make him pay. One day I was going to make them suffer ten times as much. “What do you think?” he asked. “It is, because it is worth more alive than dead.” Remo would not give up this cat-and-mouse game anytime soon. It was too much fun for someone like him. “Really. I don’t need to tell you that I will kill her in the most painful way I can think of if a single Outfit soldier violates my territory to save her, and I can be very creative when it comes to inflicting pain.” I felt relieved knowing that Serafina was still alive, could still be saved. But I had heard what Remo and his brother Nino had done to their enemies, and I could only hope that they would not show that side to Serafina. Not because they felt pity, but because they wanted to dangle her fate over my head. “I want to talk to her.” Ines sagged in relief, realizing what that meant. She squeezed Peter, who let out a visible sigh. Danilo closed his eyes, letting go a deep breath. Samuel hovered next to me, his hand pressed to his side, which had begun to bleed again . “Not yet.”
“Remo, you have crossed a line and you will pay for it.” “Oh, I’m sure you feel that way.” “What do you want?” I had attacked his territory. From what I knew of Remus and how he had conquered the West and regained his birthright to rule the Camorra, he would not be appeased easily. Remus considered himself the undisputed ruler of the West. Anyone who doubted his rule was removed in the most brutal way possible. That my men had dared to attack him and his brothers was something he would never forget or forgive, and he would make me pay dearly for it. I doubted that he would name a price in exchange for Serafina that I would ever be willing to pay. “It’s not time for that kind of conversation yet, Dante. I don’t think you’re ready yet. We will have another appointment tomorrow morning. Get a camera ready. I want you, her brother, her father, and her boyfriend to be in a room in front of that camera. Nino will give you instructions on how to get everything ready. I will set up a camera myself so we can see and hear each other .” “Remo…” I growled, but then a click was heard. Remo had ended the call. I resisted the urge to smash the phone. I had more control than that, even as it slipped away with each passing moment. Slowly, I put the phone back in my pocket, weighing the words I would say. Danilo smiled bitterly. “He’s playing with us, isn’t he?” I gave an abrupt nod of assent.
“At least he’s trying.” Samuel moved closer to me. “What about Fina? Do you know anything?” “She’s alive,” I said. “Tomorrow morning, she wants to establish a video connection.” Ines frowned, looking between Peter and me. “What does that mean? Will she allow us to talk to Fina?” Val pressed a palm to his chest and swallowed hard, realizing what Ines was incapable of seeing. Danilo shook his head. “Will she make us watch?”
He dropped into an armchair and rested his elbows on his knees. “That bastard will make us watch when he tortures or … o… fuck!”
Samuel nodded toward the door where Anna, Leonas, and Sofia were sticking their heads, eyes wide and lips half-closed. Danilo stood up sharply and walked out of the room, past the children who were staring at him open-mouthed. A few seconds later the front door slammed shut and the engine of his Mercedes roared. Ines staggered toward me. “Dante, do you really think they’re going to hurt my girlfriend on camera and make us watch?” She looked at me, hoping I would deny it, begging me to do it, and I wanted to do it, needed to do it, and so I lied. “Danilo is overwhelmed. We don’t know what Remo wants to achieve with this call. Maybe he will let us talk to Fina to show that he is okay so he can start making demands.” Ines nodded. She needed to believe it. “Mom?” Sofia whispered and slowly entered. Peter lowered his gaze to her clenched hands and Samuel had gone to the window and was clutching the frame. Ines turned to Sofia and hugged her tightly, whispering words of reassurance. Val came up to me and squeezed my arm, then kissed my cheek, whispering. “That was the right thing to say.” Lies have a way of getting out, and in this case, they would undoubtedly do so the next day. Ines escorted Sofia back to the kitchen. “Can you also take Leonas and Anna back to the kitchen ? I need to talk to Pietro and Samuel.” Val nodded, then turned and gently escorted our children out. Leonas gave me a curious look as Anna approached Val. When it was just Samuel, Pietro and I, I let out a sigh. Pietro looked up. His eyes were tortured.
“You know what a video call means, Dante. You know.” I knew. Remo was going to hurt Serafina for us to see him. That was the beginning of our torture, the next step in his game. “We can’t allow women to look at him.” Pietro nodded. “Ines will insist, but I will put my feet on the ground. She must not see this.” He let himself fall onto the couch, closing his eyes. “Fuck, I don’t want to see this. I…”
She covered her face with her palms, taking a shaky breath. “If he … if he …” I walked over to him and touched his shoulder. “We will find it. That video is our chance to collect clues. The more we collect, the better it is for us.” It was no kind of consolation, but I could not allow my despair to surface. My family needed my guidance, and I would give it to them. Ines had insisted on watching with us, but neither Peter nor I had relented. It was not going to do any good. Danilo, Pietro, Samuel and I gathered in the lodge conference room in front of a camera and screen. Of course , Remo also wanted to see us. He wanted to taste our pain. He was going to enjoy it. “Try to stay calm,” I urged him again just before the appointed time for the video.
“Remo will only get more ammunition against us if he sees how much this annoys us.” Samuel cast a grim look. “He’s bothering us? He kidnapped my sister! He’s going to torture her. And you think I can stay calm?” Danilo gritted his teeth. His thoughts probably followed a similar track, but he had learned to think strategically since becoming a Sub-Chief. Losing his mind in this situation would have been the worst thing we could do.
I looked for Peter’s gaze. I had known him most of my life.
Peter had nerves of steel but at that moment his emotions were written all over his face. I could not blame him. If Anna was in Remo’s hands, he chased that thought away. I could only hope that Remo was bluffing, that he wanted to have us at the breaking point but was not willing to risk war. Because if he hurt Serafina, war would be the result.
“One minute,” I reminded them.
Santino lifted his thumb. He had arranged everything since he was the one with the most technical knowledge. I gave a small nod of assent.
Then the screen flickered and the camera glowed red, announcing that we were now life. Serafina appeared on the screen, dressed in a thin silver nightgown, her arms crossed over her chest. Her face was pale, her eyes swollen from crying. My goodness.
Samuel stepped forward, his face a mask of horror.
Peter and Danilo stood frozen.
My fingers twitched, my teeth clenched in an attempt to maintain my outward calm even though inside me trembled a hatred so pure and raw that it was almost impossible to contain.
Remo stood beside Serafina, but he smiled at the camera, not at her. I had seen photos and videos of him, so I recognized him immediately. The scar along his forehead and temple twitched as he smiled triumphantly. “I’m so glad you made it through,” he said in a drawling voice.
Danilo made the smallest sound, one we hoped only we could hear. His struggle was written all over his face.
Remo seemed to look straight at me for a moment, a challenge, an invitation to war. He wanted war, he was going to get it.
Then he faced Serafina, who stiffened.
“Serafina, in Las Vegas women have a choice…”
“Don’t you dare!” Samuel shouted, rushing toward the camera as if he were Remo and could strangle him with his bare hands.
I clamped a hand on his forearm and made him stop short. Samuel’s eyes flashed at me, and for a moment he seemed to be thinking of hitting me. The anguish in his eyes was reflected within me. I had held Serafina in my arms when she was only a few days old. I had watched her grow up. She did not deserve this. Least of all the choice Las Vegas was famous for.
Even without seeing her face, I knew Remo was gloating.
He knew exactly what she was doing there. Even if he didn’t care enough about anyone to feel the same anguish when they were tortured, he knew human emotions well.
Remo pulled a long shiny knife out of his holster. I let go of Samuel, who began to tremble. Peter took a step forward in disbelief, as if he was not sure whether what he was seeing was reality or his cruel imagination. This was a real nightmare that would surely haunt us for a long time.
“They can pay for their sins with pain or pleasure.”
Danilo shook his head, muttering, “No.”
Pain or pleasure. I would have killed Remus.
“You have no right to judge the sins of others,” Serafina said in a trembling voice. She held her head high, trying to appear strong but her fear was obvious to me and would be obvious to Remo.
Remo moved behind her, looming over her with a smile I would never forget. If I could find a way to hurt him the way this had hurt us, I would pay him back. Hell, I wouldn’t have stopped until he was a shadow of the man he was now.
“What will you choose, Serafina? Will you give in to torture or pay with your body?” He ran his gaze down her body, lingering on her cleavage, undressing her with his lascivious gaze to show us.
Serafina said nothing and her eyes flickered with terror. I cast a glance at Danilo. Terror settled in his eyes. Should he have watched Remo rape Serafina? This choice Remo had given Serafina was a damn travesty.
I wasn’t sure I could bear to watch such a thing. How were Samuel, Pietro, and Danilo going to survive?
“If you don’t choose, I will choose for you,” Remo said, his voice full of excitement as he excluded Serafina from our sight.
“I will choose the bite of cold steel at the touch of your unworthy hands, Remo Falcone.”
Surprise flooded me. Samuel opened his eyes wide, then smiled slightly.
“I will enjoy your screams.”
“Remo, that’s enough,” I gasped.
Remo pulled Serafina against him, her back flush with his chest, and grabbed her chin, forcing her face up to his. I took a step closer to the screen, unable to stop myself.
Neither Remo nor Serafina looked at the camera.
“Where would you like to feel my blade?” He showed the knife to Serafina. “Or have you changed your mind about your choice? After all, you will pay with your body?”
Serafina guided the knife toward her forearm. I wasn’t sure what she was doing, what was going on between them. And then Remo cut Serafina’s arm. The blood rushed up to her. She sank her teeth into her lower lip, trying to hold back her scream. Remo grabbed her waist, holding her up. He closed his fists.
Peter staggered forward. “Enough! Enough. Enough now!”
Remo let go of Serafina and she fell to the ground, panting and dripping blood. Remo reached out and then the screen went black.
Silence resounded in the conference room.
Santino turned off the camera and screen, then stood up and slipped out of the room. Peter slumped against the wall, trembling fingers spread over his mouth. Samuel stared at the black screen with widened eyes, his chest heaving.
Danilo’s dark eyes met mine. “He won’t stop.
He wants her. It was written all over his face. He wants her!”
I had seen it, too. I wasn’t sure exactly what Remo wanted from Serafina. Maybe he didn’t know either. But he wanted to possess her. I knew because men like him, Danilo and I always wanted to possess what they should not.
That look on his face had been on mine when I had fought against my desire for Valentina.
We decided to leave the shelter the next day.
There was no point in staying in Indianapolis. Since Danilo had not yet married Serafina, Peter, as her father, would officially lead her rescue and so our base of operations would be in Minneapolis.
Valentina and our children silently agreed when I told them that we would not be returning to Chicago for the time being. The ‘school year had not yet started for Leonas and Anna was homeschooling anyway.
Ines took the news hard. For her, leaving Indianapolis meant a defeat and as if she had lost another part of Serafina.
She collapsed and refused to leave her bedroom.
Peter and Samuel were both exhausted and shaken, so I took the trouble to talk to her.
When I entered her bedroom, I remembered when I had found her crying in the library.
Ines lay curled up on the bed, sobbing. Slowly, I walked over to her and perched on the bed. I touched her head as I had done when she was a little girl and my father had treated her badly. Her eyes opened so full of anguish that my heart clenched tight. She threw herself at me and I hugged her. “My little girl is suffering. I can’t stand it … I just can’t . I wish I were in her place. I would defy the pain for her, I would defy anything for her.”
I had thought of asking Remo to exchange Serafina for someone else, but Remo had targeted her on purpose because of the shock of having a bride, and maybe even worse.
He was not going to let her go. That look on his face had made it clear. He wasn’t done playing games yet, not with her and certainly not with us.
“Ines, we have to go back to Minneapolis. It will be good for you to be at home. We can’t do more for Serafina here than from there.”
“I feel like I’m abandoning her.”
“You are not abandoning her. We are not. But we have to stay strong and you have to keep Sofia in mind. She is overwhelmed and being in her home will help her too. We all need stability. Val, the boys and I will stay with you for a while until we save Serafina. And we will save her. I swear.”
It was an oath I wasn’t sure I could keep.