Page 42 of Tesoro: Mayhem Makers

“I—”

“Don't even think about lying to me, Valentina. I'm the leader of this Family and you know what will happen if you do.”

“I saw Dante put the phone in her backpack. I didn’t think much about it until I saw her,” Val’s voice drops to a whisper. “I had to do it, Angelo. I love him. Kate doesn't deserve him, I do.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Val. I don't deserve her.” I may not deserve her, but that didn’t stop me from wanting her.

Picking up his phone, Angelo raises it to his lips “This is low, even for you, Val. I want you out of my house by the end of the month.” He spoke flatly before ending the call.

“Promise me one thing, brother,” Angelo tosses his phone to the table, shifting his attention to me.

“I think we are beyond oath swearing.” Pointing at the ring which sat on the middle finger of his right hand.

“I need you to swear this obsession you have with Kate isn’t about bringing Bellamia back.”

I’d kept so many things that happened in my marriage to myself, believing if I took them to the grave it would be easier for everyone.

“Kate isn’t Bella,” I answered honestly. “They may share features, but that’s where it ends.” I could go on and tell him all the differences, however that isn’t what he wants to hear. “I swear, I’m not trying to bring Bellamia back.”

“Good.” Reversing his wheelchair, “I’m going to go meet with the next doctor. Once you’re done finding her, we need to have a talk about you taking the lead again.”

I want to argue, however, Angelo wheels out of the room before I can.

Tapping my fingers against the grain of the table, my thoughts are in overdrive. Kate hadn’t returned to her apartment, nor had she stepped foot inside the hospital. So where had she gone? There was no family I could find. Even the surveillance on her former best friend, Andi, hadn’t provided any answers.

“Where are you, Tesoro?”

Chapter

Twenty-Nine

KATE

Lifting the cup to my lips, I savor the sweet taste of cappuccino outside the local shop I’ve visited every morning. A gentle breeze blows my hair across my face, obscuring my view of the flowers in the center of the table.

“Can I get you another?”

Genivia, the woman who owns the shop, stands with a smile on her face, shielding her eyes from the morning sun.

“I’m good, thank you.” Setting the cup on the saucer, turning my attention to the children playing near the fountain across the square.

“Any plans for the day?” She questions as she wipes the table next to mine. Genivia reminded me of my nona; always something cooking on the stove, and the neighborhood gossip.

“Nothing planned, no.”

After having the immense pleasure of meeting Valentina, and the subsequent brush off by Dante, I decided it was time I carried out the promise I made to Nona.

Gathering my backpack and the sizable tip the Cavalettis left for me, I hired a car, and snuck into my apartment through a window on which the lock had been broken since I movedin. Grabbing a handful of clothes, my passport and Nona’s and Nono’s urns, I boarded a plane for Italy.

I spent the first week touring the village they grew up in, meeting their remaining family and then placing their urns in the family cemetery. It was a tearful moment, like having their funerals all over again. While I was there, the local priest stopped by, offering his condolences and sharing his memories of Nona, who he’d gone to primary school with.

The next two weeks were spent in a small cottage on the edge of the family property, where I spent my days studying and the nights enjoying the townsfolk.

“My grandson’s offer is still open,” Genivia prods, having made the same offer every day since I’d arrived. Antonio, the grandson in question, was much older than me, and so shy he’d looked at me once before running and hiding in the back of her shop.

“I’m afraid I will have to decline, I’m leaving today, back to America.”

My exam was three days from now in Houston. I’d reserved a room in a fancy hotel near the testing center. According to my confirmation email, the test would last two days, six hours each day with two fifteen minute breaks and a half hour for lunch.

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