Page 70 of Impenitent Claim

“Or let the little heiress enjoy Jerry, spreading the rumor of your prowess in the circles of mob women?” Sylvia radiated glee.

“They’ll shoot me if the men hear.”

“Mafia men pay very little attention to their wives, even less to their daughters and sisters. If the affair isn’t witnessed by a member of the girl’s family and she doesn’t get pregnant—which she can’t because Jerry is cautious—the only possible outcome is that they beat her for sneaking out. Andthatyou can’t save her from, now that she’s already in the hotel room. Might as well let her have her night of fun.”

“You’re terrible,” I ground out.

“The Made Men aren’t like you Russians, who revere your ladies.” She shifted in her seat. “Now, if there’s nothing else, we’ll call it a night. Don’t go so long without a visit, alright, darling?”

“Alright,” I agreed.

With a roar of her engine, the businesswoman sped into the night. There was too much history dredging up in my mind. Only a powerful distraction could save me from wallowing in the memories of a time when neither Sylvia nor I was free, when war and despair were our reality. I shook my head before I returned to my stolen vehicle to find my own underworld queen. Sylvia didn’t need me to save her, not that she ever had. But someone in this city did, and I answered my siren’s call with eager steps.

Chapter 29 – Isabella

The thick squares of glass set high in the brick let some natural light filter into the stall, while the plastic covered ceiling lights buzzed to keep up with their job. The grout between the coin size tiles on the floor was brown with age and use. There was a certain funk that permeated the rooms of this building, and I would always associate the smell with old church. The few other parishes in our circuit that I’d visited were dated like Our Lady of Mercy. They smelled just as dusty, ancient, and pious.

Mass would start in a few minutes, but I needed a moment before the ordeal of sitting next to the strega for the next hour. Few of the menfolk would bother to make appearances. There’d been another illegal cage fight in Atlantic City. Our famiglia hadn’t hosted the event, but they flocked to the seashore in droves.

I checked my reflection in the compact mirror, not using the facilities for anything more than privacy.

The door to the bathroom banged open, and a chorus of giggling burst into the room.

“You’re so bad, Giulia,” Benedetta whispered.

“Sshhh, someone’s in here!” Giulia couldn’t stop laughing.

“Are you really going to try?”

Giulia murmured in assent. “All I’m saying is that if Caterina can pretend to be a hooker and have a taste of thebear, then why can’t we?”

If they thought turning the faucet on would help muffle their hushed speech, they were wrong.

“We don’t know anything about him,” Benedetta insisted. “Signor Fabrizi brought him along, and now suddenly everyone wants him.”

“But Caterina called me this morning with the details,” Giulia confided. “She said the new bodyguard was the best she’s ever had!”

My heart dropped painfully in my chest. They had to be wrong. Caterina was a lying little sneak. There was no way she would be able to sneak around her older brother and sleep with the underboss’s newest associate.

And Ilya….

He wouldn’t.

I fisted my hands at my side. He wasmystalker. He left me gifts; he left me food! Every night there was a meal, and every morning there was some nutritious, high calorie snack such as a protein bar weight builders ate. I’d been eating them with gusto, liking to see that my ribs didn’t show as badly in the mirror and my cheeks were once again filling out.

The only regret was that we hadn’t been able to talk. I never caught him sneaking into my space and cornering him while he guarded the underboss was impossible. He hadn’t listened; he hadn’t left town, nor stopped his attention. It made me…happy. As twisted and messed up as this thing was, Ilya’s constant presence made me happy!

By any standard of a normal relationship, I might not know him at all.

But there was an undeniable connection to him.

No, whatever these little mafia bitches were talking about, they were wrong. He wouldn’t spend the night with another woman. I knew that in my heart. I wouldn’t accept any alternative.

The two women slipped into stalls, and even though a cold feeling made my limbs numb, I hurried out of the stall while I could move.

“Oh! Fourteen men were found in a dumpster this morning,” Benedetta added. “Every one of them was under Gambino’s charge before he disappeared and his fingers showed up at Isabella’s bridal shower.”

I frowned at the closed stall door. While the majority of parishioners of Our Lady were in the famiglia, Benedetta’s lack of discretion was disturbing. Before I could think, I pounded on her wall.

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