Page 180 of Vita Mia

Mirabella hesitated for a moment then nodded. “I understand.”

“I have one more request Donna.”

“Okay?”

“I, ah, I need to request a week off. I have a brother that I must visit. Only for a short while.”

Mirabella frowned. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes, oh yes, but we’re aging and he’s alone so—I’m all he has.“

“Will you be in Sicily? Italy?”

“I need to go to Verona to be with him.”

“Take the time, just let me know whatever you need.” Mirabella got up from her chair and went to Sophia. She hugged her. “Bless you Sophia. Thank you for forgiving my family and helping us.Grazie from the bottom of my heart.”

Sophia returned her hug then broke away. “I need to get this letter to my friend.”

Mirabella nodded. She watched her leave. She looked over to the sleeping girls and smiled. Hope felt sweet. It felt as close to the love she carried for her family. No matter what, she’d see Giovanni again. She’d let him know the truth. The end is near. Things were going to change for the better. She could feel it.

***

CARLO SAT IN THE CARwith a cap pulled down on his head and his eyes focused on the street. He sat there staring, drinking beer and eating chips until the sunset and he drifted to sleep. The long drive and the stifling confinement of the vehicle had depleted his energy. There weren’t many places he could be seen in Napoli without being recognized so he spent his time in the shadows. He had his companions rent a room inCentrale Railway Station,which was a well-known tourist area. He needed them to be seen. They would use tomorrow to get to know their mark. That evening he had a different mission and the wait was killing him.

There was a tap at the window.

In an instant, he was awake. Carlo reached for his gun. He sat up from his reclined position and squinted at the night scene beyond his view. A face appeared. He unlocked the door. Nico slipped inside. Before Carlo could greet his friend, Nico delivered a bone crushing punch to his chest. If it had been just a fraction harder, it would have certainly cracked his ribs. Carlo folded and dropped forward on the steering wheel.

“Why the fuck did you hit me!” Carlo coughed.

“For making me think you were dead!” Nico grunted.

Carlo dropped back smiling between his winces of pain. He coughed a few times and rubbed his chest. Nico always had a helluva first punch. The laughter subsided. It felt obscene to even smile knowing that their brother was dead.

“I know why you did it,” Nico sighed. “I should have taken Cecilia and done the same fucking thing.”

Carlo glanced over at him. They sat in silence for a moment. It was hard for Carlo to find the words to apologize. His friends needed him and he had run away. The fucking cowardice of his actions stretched his guilt a mile long.

“I’m sorry brother,” he said.

“For what?” Nico answered.

“You had lost her and I was too drunk and full of shit to be there for you.”

“We were born in this shit, we’ll die in this shit,” Nico mumbled.

“Maybe. But you’re still my brother. And Renaldo would be alive if I had been here.”

“What are you saying? That Gio and I just sat back and let that motherfucker murder him?” Nico shouted. “That we should have done more?”

“No. No. I’m saying... I fucking don’t know what I’m saying because I don’t know what the fuck happened to him? Even Domi, couldn’t explain what happened?”

“Then let me tell you. We were all swept up into Poggioreale. Giovanni was kept separate from us. Put in the with gypsies and foreigners. We couldn’t get to him. And when we paid for information we found out that he was taken to Room Zero.”

Carlo frowned. “They put Gio in Room Zero?”

Nico nodded.

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