Omerta Book Two Page 15

  “Satellite phone,” she said to the man in the front seat. He handed her the phone. She turned the switch and pulled up the antenna. She dialed to the channel Lorenzo would respond too.

  “Lo, this is Marie? Over.”

  No one responded.

  “Lo? This is Marie? Over.”

  No response.

  The man seated next to her looked over concerned. His name was Dego, and was the most trusted by her husband. She bit down on her bottom lip and nodded that she shared the same concern. The plane had landed ahead of them by ten minutes. By the time they reached the villa the visitor could be there or just arriving.

  “Should we stop?” Dego asked.

  “No.”

  “He’s not answering.” Alexander warned.

  “He probably hasn’t turned on the satellite phone,” replied Marietta. “Let’s be ready, in case.”

  Her companions removed their guns. The jeep sped up. How many near misses had they encountered since she and Lorenzo lost their child? Too many not to be cautious. Since their escape every alliance Lorenzo built has turned to ashes. The few men he kept with her and him complained and whispered about money and rebellion. This trip to Turin was a matter of life and death for them.

  Did he fail? She wondered.

  As she suspected the visitor arrived ahead of them. Marietta smiled.

  “It’s Lorenzo. See, I told you there was nothing to worry over.”

  The men parked the car and got out. But they kept their guns drawn. Marietta pretended not to notice their apprehension. She was too amped on adrenaline to care. There was news today. If Lorenzo had returned early it must be good news. She hurried inside.

  “Gotcha!”

  She nearly pulled the trigger on her gun. He swept her off her feet from the left and spun her around.

  “Lo!”

  He laughed and so did she.

  “I could have shot my foot off,” Marietta said.

  “Mmm, you’re sweaty. Smell good,” he groaned and nuzzled her neck.

  “Put me down!”

  He bit her neck, cheek, and kissed her lips. He set her down. He squeezed her butt cheeks before she escaped. She looked up into his eyes. His boldly handsome olive tanned face with more than a touch of a beard smiled warmly down at her.

  “Why didn’t you answer? I called, you know the rules.” She slapped his chest.

  “Scusa, I was anxious to get here. Missed you so much. I bought gifts,” he said and pointed behind her. She turned and saw the bags of food and supplies, even toilet paper. To her it was a treasure. She was so tired of fish stew.

  “What’s the good news? How did your meeting go?”

  “Conflict everywhere. I’m not sure if the trip was worth it.”

  “Huh?”

  He kicked off his dirty boots knocking clumps of dirt everywhere. She ignored the mess, though she knew it would be her, and only her who was left clean the place. Gone was the life of servants and cooks.

  “But are they willing to help you with Gio? Fight the Camorra?”

  Lorenzo dropped down in the chair. He put his hands behind his head and feet up on the sofa cushions. “How have the men behaved since I’ve been away?”

  “Samuel and Tino are gone. I think they left in the middle of the night.”

  “No. They didn’t.”

  Marietta looked up from putting grocery away. “What do you mean? I woke and they were gone.”

  “They tried to leave. Our men stopped them. I told you before. No one leaves,” he yawned with his fist to his mouth.

  “Killed them? Samuel is a new father. He was just a kid—.”

  “He knew the rules. Now we’re down to six. Not enough to keep us safe.”

  A knot congealed in her throat and she found it hard to speak. All they had was death and uncertainty. It wasn’t the life she wanted with him. Marietta walked over to Lorenzo. They rarely talked about the daughter they both missed but with each passing day they suffered the loss together. “So, what about the N’drangheta? Can they be helpful?”

  “Everyone wants what I can’t give. The means to destroy Giovanni. I have no more leverage. They heard me out. They’ll push my message north. I have to continue to move under the radar with the family. My boys under Giovanni are listening, I’ve planted enough seeds of rebellion.”

  “Telling Gio’s men that you are really Tomosino’s first born isn’t going to be believed by N’drangheta rumors. And if it is, how long will that take, Lo? You said it yourself, the men we have are too few and the money is running out.”

  He dropped his arms over his eyes and groaned. “It’s a good plan Marie. There are still men in the Campania that would rather be under me. Maybe the division in our family will be perceived as weakening Battaglia. But it’s a price he’ll have to pay. I’ll be the savior. The family will thank me.”

  “Or maybe not,” Marietta said softly. She didn’t bother with any further questions. There was no good news, just more of the same. Unbeknownst to her he’d gotten up from his relaxed position on the sofa and joined her in the kitchen. She was closing the cupboard when she felt him behind her. She tried not to let his presence affect her, to keep her disappointment hidden, but he didn’t move away. He stayed behind her until she faced him.

  “I miss her too Marie. I never got the chance to hold her. To know her. She’s my first born. My baby-girl. I think about her every day.”

  Marietta dropped her head and in sadness. She clenched her fists on the counter and tried to rein in her anger. But anger was that constant brewing storm in her gut fueling her survival. On most days it consumed her with guilt and grief. He touched her shoulder. She flinched. His hand dropped away.

  “She’s safe and loved. I won’t give Giovanni credit for much, but I know she’s safe.”

  “How could you say that!” she looked back at him. “She’s not loved by us. She’s not protected by us. I never knew my mother; you never knew yours. I thought being in Africa away from you was torture. It’s nothing compared to this. Hell is life without her. I... don’t know how much more of this I can stand.”

  He gathered her into his arms and locked them around her. She cringed. Not because she didn’t love him or want his comfort, but because she vowed not to make him weak with her doubts. Marietta buried her face against the corded muscles of his chest. She hated being weak. Lorenza needed her to be strong.

  “There’s another way,” Lorenzo whispered into her hair.

  “No!” she tried to push free, but he held her firm to him.

  “Listen, you have to listen to me. Please.”

  “This is why I don’t want to even talk about her. Because you feel guilty and you want to give up. You will not crawl back to Giovanni. We fight to the end. That’s our way.” Marietta shrugged free of him. “Now. I need to prepare dinner for us and those hungry neglected men outside.”

  Lorenzo backed away from her without looking away. Marietta flashed him her bravest smile. He winked, grabbed an unopened bottle of beer and walked back into the front room. There was no need to lose hope. His surrender would be the last resort. The very last.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  The New One

  Palermo, Airport

  LEO AND ROLANDO STOOD shoulder to shoulder. Leo wished they stood back to back. His eyes could not track all the unseen surveillance around them. Airports were a hotbed for the authorities. And since the cooling of the Mafia wars the polizia had enough energy to focus on the movements of the Battaglia men.

  Palermo was no different.

  “Are they late?” Rolando asked.

  “They’ll arrive soon,” Leo replied to the scared gangster in training. He glanced to Rolando and cut his eyes away. Men who had also travelled with the women to Paris had done so without incident. The arrival of the ladies in Sicily had to be handled personally by him. The Donna had given birth. It was a special and sensitive time for the Battaglias.

  “What do you think about Umberto?” Rolando whi
spered.

  “I think nothing.” Leo scanned the faces of the Arma dei Carabinieri. The men in uniform paced in the luggage terminal with dogs on leashes and guns. The people scurrying pass them meant nothing. He sensed that their elevated presence was due to Giovanni’s station in Palermo.

  “Carlo did it.”

  “Did what?” Leo frowned, once again dragged from his thoughts.

  “He found out the truth and he killed—”

  “A word of advice tadpole, accusing a capu of killing another capu in the family is an irreversible accusation and the most serious of charges. One you should never make no matter what you know, no matter who you trust, no matter what you’ve seen. Capisce?”

  Rolando double blinked.

  “Put on your sunglasses. You look like a frightened rabbit.”

  Rolando did as he was told.

  “I meant no harm. I give my life to the Battaglias.”

  “Yeah, yeah, we all do.”

  Leo liked the kid but he wasn’t sure why the runt was suddenly thrust ahead of other more disciplined and deserving earners. His mouth ran like a faucet. And he was too young to be of any use to him. Rolando was one of the recruits that even Giovanni said should be sent back to primary school. But Carlo insisted on the kid. For whatever reason, the boss was far more lenient with Carlo lately. Especially when it came to the bullet in Umberto. That should have been the end of Carlo. It was not. Umberto’s death came as no surprise to any of them and even those who were there to dispose of the body didn’t speak of the injustice done to the high ranking capu.

  “You excited to see her?” Rolando asked.

  “Who?” Leo answered with a yawn, before checking his watch.

  “You know who I’m talking about. I’ve heard about her, but never seen her up close. She’s the one you’ve been sneaking away to visit in Milan and—”

  Leo delivered a backhanded slap with his fist to Rolando’s face. It caused the young man to stumble backward with a nose bleed. To a passerby it could have looked like an accident. He was swift in his reaction to shove Roland toward the vendor booth of cigarettes and newspapers.

  “Scusi? A napkin for my friend,” Leo said. “He suffers nosebleeds.”

  The vendor handed over several napkins and eventually a small white towel. He saw what Leo did but preferred to be accommodating rather than accusing. Leo pushed the wipes on Rolando who did his best to recover from the hard smack. Leo glanced to see if his attack on the kid went noticed. It had been. Two officers smirked at him, they didn’t move on him. Not yet. But he’d made a mistake by giving them a reason too.

  “You are a chitter chatter tadpole, aren’t you? Always watching, and talking?” Leo seethed.

  “Apologies, Leo. I meant no—”

  “What I do in my personal time is no business of yours.”

  “Si, si, si, I understand.”

  “She and I are friends. I know she will want to see the Donna and tour Sicily. I, ah, thought to take her on a short drive. It is not personal. None of this is ever personal.”

  “Yes, yes, yes,” Rolando waved off the explanation as if there was no need.

  “Do you ever wonder why the boss has never been arrested?”

  Rolando eyes stretched.

  “Even here in Sicily, time after time, we tadpoles swim around and get scooped in the net. We’re herded to the jails like sheep for the slaughter. Some of us are smart enough to not get caught. Most of us aren’t. But never the boss—he goes untouched. Always. Do you ever wonder why that is? Why those fucking Carabinieri rats pace, instead of approaching us like men? Why they wait for weakness, any sign of it? Do you?”

  Rolando nodded.

  “It’s their failure. The capture of tadpoles that are never disobedient. The true test of manhood has been our survival. Our existence is their failure. So learn the lesson. Learn to be silent and you grow from the tadpole to the frog. Or be Umberto. Fish bait.”

  Rolando again nodded his head repeatedly. The kid pointed. “Here they come.”

  Leo let Rolando go. The women approached. Kyra’s baby girl was on her hip. A toddler now she could easily be walking at her side. Jamie, the woman who used to be a man, wore a bright fuchsia pink pantsuit that complemented her curves and flattered her copper brown skin. She carried the baby bag and pulled the luggage. It was Belinda who looked the most beautiful of the three. She wore a jean skirt and yellow shirt with matching pointed toe high-heel shoes. Her hair wasn’t in braids any longer. It was silky and parted on the side so some of it covered the left side of her face. She stared directly at him. Leo was glad he wore his sunglasses, so his bulging eyes of adoration couldn’t be seen. He’d missed her. It had been six days since he was last able to hop on a train and steal away for a day or two to be with her. He couldn’t wait to taste and hold her again.

  “Leo!” Belinda said.

  She waved happily and then rushed over to drop her bag and greet him with a hug and kiss in front of everyone. Her tongue slipped in so effortlessly and she tasted so womanly that he forgot his audience including the Carabinieri. Leo drew back from his lapse of weakness. After all he’d just told Rolando that there was nothing but a platonic relationship between the two of them.

  “I’ve missed you, handsome,” she said. The tips of her fingers caressed the scarred side of his face.

  “The Donna had the baby,” Leo coughed out.

  “How is she?” Belinda pulled her arms down from around his neck and glanced back at the others staring.

  “It’s a girl. They’ve named her Leeza MiaBella.”

  “My beautiful Lisa,” Belinda translated.

  “Very good,” Jamie winked. “Leo’s a good teacher.”

  Leo removed his sunglasses. “You’ve been practicing without me?”

  She showed him a conversation translation book. “Two months and I can understand the basics. Speaking it is still hard. Jamie has been teaching me French too. Wait. Wait. Let me try. Okay. Here goes. Non vedo l'ora di dimostrartelo stasera a letto,” she said and rubbed Leo’s chest. She said she couldn’t wait to show him in bed that night. Jamie roared with laughter. Kyra did not.

  “That’s enough Belinda,” Kyra said. Kyra’s attention was fixed on the bleeding boy next to Leo. “What happened to him?”

  “He walked into a wall. Maldestro,” Leo replied.

  Rolando put his hand to his nose and turned away.

  “Well, that’s that. If Belinda isn’t going to show you all her goodies right here boys, I suggest we leave.” Jamie teased. She gave a nod to the Carabinieri who were now gathering in a small watchful group with their assault rifles. The men agreed and got the luggage and led the way.

  EVE WOKE TO A BABY wailing. She had come to dread the whiney noise. Her puppy lifted her head and looked at the open door with curiosity.

  “You hear it too, huh Boo-Boo?”

  The puppy crawled over to her. They slept in a giant bed, alone. Auntie said that whenever she visited her house this room would be hers. Auntie also said they could decorate it any color she wanted. Mommy kept promising her a room of her own. But every time she started on it she got distracted with something or someone and it never got done. Eve stretched her arms up above her head and yawned. In this room she felt all grown up.

  “Buongiorno Boo-boo, did you sleep good?” she asked.

  The puppy leapt on her and knocked her over. Eve was tickled and not by the licks. She was tickled by the love. At least with her puppy she felt all the attention and adoration she needed.

  “Evieeeee!” Her aunt Catalina called out.

  The sound of her name over the baby cries startled her. She yanked on her covers and discovered another yellow stain. Boo-boo frolicked around her happily. “Ut-oh. You peed the bed again. Again! Boo-boo! This is Zia Catalina’s house. I begged mommy to let us stay here and not Bagheria. Now Zia Catalina will be mad at you.”

  “Eve?” Catalina said from the other room where the noisy baby was kept.

&nb
sp; “Here I come auntie!” She flipped off the bed. Her puppy leapt. She hurried out of the room and slid in her stocking feet nearly pass the door. Boo-boo was right behind her. Eve found Catalina changing the noisemaker. And her brothers were running around half dressed. It was always the same. Always.

  “Wanna be my little helper?” Catalina smiled.

  And just like her mother, Zia Catalina expected Eve to be nothing more than a caregiver for the kids.

  “No. I. Don’t. I thought you were calling me for breakfast?” Eve pouted. “I want my mama. Where is she?”

  “She’s coming here today. And guesssssssssss what?”

  “Che cosa?” Eve answered.

  “She’s bringing home your baby sister. Isn’t that cool?”

  “Already?” She glanced to the baby on the changing table and then to Catalina. She then glanced to the baby once more.

  “Do you want to help auntie?”

  “No.”

  “Just this once. The boys have had their baths and I put clothes on them. See? Can you help them put on their shoes?”

  “Where’s Zia?” Eve asked.

  “She’s getting the best breakfast you ever ate ready. You’re at my house so we can have anything we want. All of your favorites!”

  “Everything?”

  Catalina put a hand to her hip. “Biscotti, faggotino, macedonia, sugo di frutta!”

  So many sweets piled in one breakfast made her squeal with delight.

  “What else? Can I have cereal?”

  “Yes. The American kind!”