CHAPTER TWENTY
Ariana
IT FELT LIKE the world was on fire, but Nonna remained the queen of cool. While I paced the space between living and dining rooms, gnawing off what was left of my fingernails, she sat calmly at the table, sipping tea as she spoke on the phone.
I had no idea who she was talking to or why. I should probably try to listen in and figure out what the hell was going on, but all my thoughts were focused on the fact that Bones was out there running for his life from Carlo while I was sitting here doing nothing.
Feeling frustrated and helpless, I went to the window, pushed aside the curtain, and scanned the driveway, as if I could magically summon him to the in-law suite at the Mariani mansion. Maybe I had, because headlights coming from the gate, flooded the street. Excited and hopeful, I flung open the door and ran out.
Angel’s Hummer parked in front of me. Three doors opened, and Angel, Markie, and one of the guards from our building all piled out. Markie ran straight for me and wrapped me in a hug.
“Ohmigod, I’m so glad you’re okay,” she said, squeezing me so tight I could barely breathe.
“I’m fine,” I said, pulling away. “Just worried about Bones. You haven’t heard anything, have you?”
Both she and Angel shook their heads.
“I’ll call him,” Angel said, pulling out his phone. “See if I can find out where he is.”
“Thank you.”
Moments later, Angel frowned, lowering his phone. “He’s not answering. But there are other people I can call to help him. Come on. Let’s go inside and I’ll make some calls.”
Markie and I huddled on the couch as Angel made phone calls to what seemed like at least half his family, explaining the situation as Nonna had explained it to him.
“Ren,” Angel said into his phone, his body tensing. “You know I wouldn’t ask this shit of you if it wasn’t legit. Bones needs to come in so he can explain everything to Father. If Carlo wasn’t dirty, he’d respect that, but instead, he’s out there trying to kill Bones. You gotta ask yourself why. What’s he so afraid of Father hearing? Father did call Carlo in. He hasn’t responded. Okay. That’s all I’m asking. Thanks, man.”
Angel hung up and dialed another number.
“He’ll be okay,” Markie assured me. “My God, Ari, you should have heard him talk to Carlo. He went all macho and protective of you, saying, ‘No, I’m not letting her die.’ He really took a stand for you, and it was awesome.”
Keeping one eye on the window, still watching for Bones, I listened as Markie told me all about Carlo’s phone call and Bones’s reaction. My heart warmed at the idea of Bones caring about me so much that he’d basically flipped his boss the finger, knowing it could cost him his life.
“He said he protects what’s his,” Markie gushed.
My heart squeezed in my chest. Bones had finally given me a title. His. It was perfect. I wanted nothing more than to be his, and if anything happened to him… I didn’t know what I’d do.
Anxiety gripped my mind and stomach, making me crave the numbness alcohol and drugs incited. The numbness I’d sought so often with Matt. I hadn’t craved an escape from reality since Bones and I started sleeping together. Thinking over the past few weeks, I realized that he was my break from reality.
Bones was my drug.
But instead of leaving me feeling empty and ashamed, he made me feel full and happy.
When Markie finished with her tale of Bones’s loyalty to me, I told her about how he’d contacted Nonna, making sure I was cared for even while he wasn’t.
“You really love him, don’t you?” Markie asked.
I nodded. “I wish I would have told him before…” I couldn’t finish, so I clamped my mouth shut.
“Shhhh,” she chided, running her fingers over my hair like I was a kid again. “You’ll have lots of chances after he gets here.”
Hoping my sister was right, I turned back toward the window, watching and waiting. Markie tried to wait with me, but she was still recovering, and it was well past midnight. She curled up on the couch beside me and passed out, her mere presence a comfort I couldn’t have survived without.
Almost an hour later, more headlights appeared at the gate. Hoping, praying, wishing, I rushed to the door and threw it open. A rough-looking black van pulled to a stop beside Angel’s Hummer. I watched as three doors opened and figures emerged.
Bones.
He’d been driving.
I didn’t even think. I ran to him, throwing my arms around his neck as I covered his face in kisses. His hands locked around my waist as he pulled me closer.
“You’re okay,” I said, reassuring myself.
“Yep. I’m okay.”
He gave me a lopsided smirk… a smirk that would be the death of me. Or the life of me, I wasn’t sure which. I drank in every perfect line and curve of his face, committing them to memory. Committing them to my heart.
“I love you,” I blurted out, unable to stop myself.
His lips landed on mine, stealing my confession away. “I love you, too,” he said as he pulled away.
Before I could explore the depths of his love and show him how very happy I was to have him back, I realized that we had an audience. Bones set me down and pulled away, giving me an apologetic smile before turning away.
“Bones,” Angel’s dad said, stepping forward. “I think we need to have a talk.”
Bones nodded. “There’s a man in the passenger’s seat who’s been shot. I don’t know how bad it is.”
“We’ll get him medical attention,” Dominico said, turning to one of his men. “Call the doc. Tell him it’s urgent.”
The guard stepped aside and pulled out his phone.
Angel’s mom, Annetta, emerged from the crowd and draped her arm over my shoulder, tugging me toward Nonna’s house. “Ari, it’s so good to see you again,” she said. “Let’s let the men talk while the women solve the real problems.”
Hesitant to leave Bones again, I glanced over my shoulder. “Will Bones be okay?”
“My husband is a wise, capable man,” she replied. “He’ll get this sorted. Don’t you worry.”
That wasn’t exactly the response I wanted, but I took it. “Thank you.”
She opened Nonna’s door and we walked in, passing Angel as he headed out.
“And Bones has a good friend who believes in him and will make sure he’s heard,” Annetta said, smiling after her son.
* * *
Bones
Tension filled the room as I sat in Dominico’s office between Angel and Natalia. Joey sat on the other side of Natalia, a few other family members and guards had filed into the room behind us, and there was still no word from Carlo. Dominico leaned against his desk, arms folded, listening as Natalia retold the story of our father’s death. When she finished, Dominico stood and paced the office before thanking Natalia and Joey for their time.
Clearly confused by his dismissal, they stood and waited.
“Totino, Pietro, please take Natalia and Joey to the living room so I can speak with my family.”
Natalia cast me a worried look, but I gave her an encouraging smile. “I’ll be right there.”
“You’re guests in my home,” Dominico said. “You put yourself in danger to deliver information I needed. No harm will come to you here. I swear it. Also, the doc has been working on your friend. He needed a small transfusion, but he’s stable and recovering. The doc will be in to update you on his status.”
“Thank you,” Natalia replied. She seemed to breathe a little easier as she and Joey followed Totino and Pietro out of the office.
Once the outsiders were gone, Dominico collapsed in the chair behind his desk, looking completely spent. He rubbed a hand over his head, leaving his thick, dark hair a disheveled mess. Blowing out a breath, he glanced around the room. There were only a handful of us in attendance, including Angel’s uncle, Michael.
Focusing on Michael, Dominico said, “Never saw that shit coming.”
Michael nodded, his own expression as torn as Dominico’s. “No way Natalia could have known what happened that day. The family buried that shit deep. She has to be telling the truth, Dom.”
Dominico nodded. “Turns out Uncle Carlo is just as fucked up as our old man was. Any word on Carlo?” he asked Angel.
Angel studied his phone. “Renzo has him and is bringing him in.”
“Fuck,” Dominico said, hand once again rifling through his hair. “I can’t believe this shit. Bones, I loved your father like a brother. We spent a summer with him when my old man was establishing our family position here in Vegas. Best summer of my life. Well, best summer before I met Annetta.”
The room was silent as everyone leaned in to listen. Dominico was a private man, who didn’t share much about his personal life.
“The day Mike lost his legs, he was making a drop for me,” Dominico continued. “I didn’t make the drop because some woman… who must have been Natalia’s mom… called Annetta and told her I was having an affair. Annetta was so goddamn upset and Angel, you were just a baby. I knew I had to get my ass home and figure out what was going on. The drop was a setup, orchestrated by Adamo Pelino. He was out to get revenge on me. He wasn’t expecting Mike.”
Michael wheeled his chair forward. “Wasn’t your fault, Dom. If Carlo knew about that setup and didn’t tell us—”
Before Michael could finish, Renzo and his team walked in, holding Carlo at gunpoint. Carlo took one look around the room before settling his gaze on me.
“You,” Carlo said. “This is your fault, you ungrateful son-of-a-bitch. After all I did for you, you betrayed me for some stupid bitch.”
I stood so fast my chair toppled over. “Don’t you fuckin’ talk about Ari like that,” I snapped. “You betrayed the family and killed my father.”
Carlo’s gaze once again took in the room. “I see you’ve finally put two and two together. I have to say I’m disappointed that it took you all this long. Had any of you actually heeded my advice, you probably would have figured it out long ago. Bones, what’s the number one thing I tell you?”
“Trust no one,” I answered through gritted teeth.
Carlo’s gaze settled on me. “At least someone was paying attention. I had such high hopes for you, but it turns out you’re no better than your old man. He was just an enforcer who forgot his role and interfered when he shouldn’t have, too.”
“You mean an enforcer who stepped in and saved my ass when my own uncle betrayed me?” Dominico asked, his expression tortured.
Carlo shrugged. “Don’t be so goddamn dramatic, Dom. I didn’t plan the hit on you. I just didn’t stop it, either. Figured I’d let shit work itself out.”
“Why, Carlo? You were my uncle and my mentor. Why would you knowingly send me into a setup?” Dominico asked.
“Because you were a liability,” Carlo snapped. “Head in the goddamn clouds, so busy chasing Annetta that you broke a family deal and pissed off an ally. You weren’t the kind of family man we needed, and I saw more possibilities in your death than your life.”
Dominico’s eyes narrowed.
“Don’t look at me like that, Dom. We were trying to rise to power, and all you cared about was dippin’ your fuckin’ cock into some cook with no benefit to the family. You humiliated the Pelinos when you knocked up Annetta and broke your engagement to Valentina. They demanded your blood. Your father was too big of a pussy to hand you over, so I did. I expected them to kill you, and knew your father—hothead that he was—would retaliate, probably getting himself killed in the process. Thankfully, your old man died in the other attack I allowed.”
“You son-of-a-bitch,” Michael growled.
Carlo spared him a pitiful glance. “I was trying to help you, you ungrateful bastard. You were never meant to take the fall for your brother’s transgressions. You were meant to lead the family. To be greater than your father and your grandfather. With me by your side, telling you what to do… God, Mike, you were so easy to train, to influence. You were weak, and I knew you’d lean on me. You would have let me mold you and make you into the boss the family needed. I would have finally gotten to lead the family. Through you, of course.”
“You think I’m weak?” Michael asked, his face murderous. “I will fucking kill you. You’ll see how weak I am then.”
Carlo glanced around the room dismissively. “I think you’re gonna have to take a number and stand in line. You’re just a cripple now, and there are far more important people who want me dead.”
Unable to believe my ears, I stared at Carlo. He knew he was caught. He was confessing everything in that no excuses, no bullshit way he had about him. He’d accepted his fate, and he was ready for what was coming. But he was making us listen to the details of his life-long fucked-up power trip first.
“Do you have any other last bullshit to get off your chest, Carlo?” Dominico asked, leaning forward. “Or are you ready for the family you betrayed to send you to hell, where you belong?”
“This family will collapse without me,” Carlo replied, drawing himself up to stand taller. “Everything I did, I did it for the family. I don’t expect any of you to understand that, though. You bunch of pussies. None of you have any idea what it really means to be a wiseguy.”
“I think we know exactly what it means to be wiseguys,” Dominico replied. “Angel, get me the plastic. I’m not messing my floors up for this chooch. He’s not worth it.”
Carlo’s face reddened as Angel retrieved a roll of plastic drop cloth material from the office closet and unrolled a length out on the floor beside Carlo. When he finished, he cut the plastic and returned the rest of the roll to the closet.
Carlo watched the entire thing without saying a word.
Dominico pulled a pistol out of his desk drawer and pointed it at Carlo. “Step onto the plastic like the piece of shit you are. You’re not worth the stains you’d leave behind without it.”
For a moment, I didn’t think Carlo was going to comply, but Dominico waved the gun at him again, and he moved.
“Now, you’ve wronged every man in this room,” Dominico said, standing as he plucked a switchblade from the top of his desk and flicked it open. “So, every one of us is gonna get a piece of your sorry ass. Starting with the one your betrayal crippled.” He handed the switchblade to Michael, handle first.
Michael wheeled himself directly in front of Carlo. Then, in one fast swipe, he stabbed Carlo in the stomach. Carlo cried out, doubling over in pain. Michael gripped the handle and yanked the knife out. Blood bubbled around the wound.
“You motherfucker,” Michael breathed. “You don’t know what the fuck strength is. You’ve spent your entire life hiding behind your desk like a goddamn coward, surrounding yourself with people who risk their necks for you. You say love makes people weak, but my wife and kids made me a hell of a lot stronger than you ever did.”
“Bones,” Dominico said.
Michael handed me the knife, and I took my turn, stabbing Carlo in the side. “You’re a goddamn disappointment,” I said. “Nothing but lies and manipulations. Too damn cowardly to be honest with anyone. You told me to trust no one, but all I learned was not to trust you. I trusted Angel, Nonna, and Dom, and they helped me bring your ass down. I want you to go to the grave knowing that trust made me a better man than you’ll ever be.”
“Angel.” Dominico gestured him forward.
Angel planted the knife in Carlo’s shoulder. “You think you did this shit for the family?” Angel asked. “You don’t even know what family means, asshole.” He pointed at me. “That’s family, and you would have thrown him away to save your own skin. You killed his father to cover your ass. You can tell yourself whatever you want, but your motives were always selfish. Go to hell, Carlo. You’re not part of this family any longer.”
“Renzo,” Dominico said.
We went around the room until everyone had taken their turn. Then Dominico slit Carlo’s throat, putting an end to both his life and his pain. As the last spark of life fled from Carlo’s eyes, Dominico muttered, “Quando finisce la partita il re ed il pedone finiscono nella stessa scatola.”
When you finish the game, the king and pawn end up in the same box.
They sure as fuck did. As I stared down at Carlo’s corpse, I couldn’t help but wonder if he thought of himself as a king or a pawn.
But then again, it didn’t matter. We buried his ass in the dessert like he was nobody.