Page 187 of Vita Mia

Brian’s unconscious state did not last for long. He blinked awake as he lay in the crumpled wreckage. Blood dripped in his eyes. There was ringing in his ears and something pierced his leg. He was pinned under the dented roof. But someone was working to free him. He could hear the door to the car being yanked and pulled and creaking open. Hands were inside. He was dragged rather roughly against a gravelly street covered in shattered glass and then he was freed.

Due to his pain, he could not see. His head trauma was severe enough to blur his vision. His entire boy was searing hot with agony. He didn’t know what was broken or what was ruptured. He imagined plenty.

A man leaned into his face and Brian could see only the shadow of him.

“Is this him boss?” the man asked as he studied Brian. The question came in a deep Neapolitan dialect. Another person walked over with his hands in his pockets. Brian could hear glass from the car crushing under the taller man’s feet. He squinted up at the giant that towered over him and with an effort of straining his vision cleared. He recognized the fucker. It was the consigliere and protector of Mirabella Battaglia.

“Don Giovanni sends you his regards. You are now under his protection,” Nico said. “Take him.”

Brian tried to resist but when he moved his leg he howled in pain. He looked down the line of his body and saw the bone sticking out of his thigh. The horror of his injuries made him cry out agony. He’d never in all his life of dealing with the ruthlessness of his uncle organization been touched or harmed. He was terrified.

***

“DONNA, WE’RE HERE,”Iacopo said.

Mirabella nodded her answer as the chauffeured vehicle slowed up to the jet. She was a bundle of nerves. The trip she arranged, was the riskiest one she’d ever taken. Neither Domi nor Nico knew of her plans. She confided in only one person, Catalina. It was her sister-in-law who helped her get access to a private plane that Dominic would not easily discover. And the kids were with her and Zia now. This was it. This was her danger. She accepted the risk.

Iacopo got out of the car. He opened the door. Mirabella emerged into the deepest black starless night. There were no stars. The storm clouds covered the sky. The humidity was heavy with the smell of pending rain. And a wind blew so hard her hair was tossed to one side of her head.

Three of her men stood outside of the plane. They waited for her patiently. She walked confidently to the small ladder and climbed up into the plane.

Once inside she was greeted by defeat. Dominic sat in one of the passenger seats.

She paused at the sight of him.

“Join me,” he gestured to the seat across from him. Mirabella let go a deep sigh and walked up the aisle to the seat and sat down.

“Planning a trip?” he asked.

“Did Catalina tell you?” she asked.

“No. And that’s unfortunate. I thought she and I understood each other. But I thought you and I understood each other. I guess I was wrong about you both.”

Mirabella frowned.

“I need to see him Domi. It’s been too long. He needs me, you know he does.”

“Do you actually believe that you could walk into a prison in Rome guarding one of the most hunted and wanted men in all of Italy and have a chat and no one would suspect?”

“Sophia and I—“

Dominic smiled. Mirabella paused.

“Sophia is another disappointment. That one is my mistake. Sophia works forGénérale di corpod'armata. This isn’t a planned reunion. This is him luring you into breaking the law so he can put you in a cell next to Giovanni. This is him using you as the biggest weapon against Giovanni to get him to confess. This is why Flavio never thought you’d ever fit in this life. Because as much as you learn you remain pathetically incapable of understanding our ways.”

Mirabella slapped him. Her strike was exact and quick. He didn’t even blink. “How dare you throw Flavio in my face! I am Gio’s wife. He chose me and I’d walk through hell to help him.”

“Then by all means, help him. I’ll get off the plane and you go to Rome. You seem to know everything. Right?”

Her vision shifted to the window of the plane and focused on the men standing on the runway. Several long minutes slipped by before she could swallow her embarrassment and hurt and answer him.

Dominic sat patiently while she wept. When she realized he would offer her no words of comfort she used the tissues in her purse to clean her face and collected herself.

“I will admit it is my fault for bringing Sophia back. After Carmella and her son, I should have known that her loyalties would not be the same. But I thought a familiar face would ease your suffering. Instead it just made you weak and stupid.”

“Don’t speak to me like that!” Mirabella said.

“Or what? What will you do Donna Nera? Tell Giovanni? Tell him. Tell him how you’ve learned nothing. Tell him how you would take a risk like this and leave his children abandoned. Tell him how this would have cost us all.”

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