Page 84 of Ti Amo

Lorenzo cast Dominic an amused grin over his shoulder. “Giovanni doesn’t think you can do much on your own lately. He wants to know who leaked the truth about Mira to the press.”

“Who the fuck knows? She and Catalina leftMelanzanafor a shopping trip. Any number of people could have seen her. That wasn’t my fault.”

“Maybe. But sticking your cock in our little princess is your fault, and trust me Gio won’t easily forget or forgive yourfaultsagain.”

The steel door opened noisily. Dominic held his breath against the wave of stench from feces, sweat, and vomit smeared on the floors and walls. Lorenzo strolled ahead of him. Dominic felt a bit light-headed and then his senses stabilized enough for him to follow. He entered behind him. The man they came to see sat on a soiled cot. He wore only a pair of pants. His body was peppered with bruises.

“Do you know who we are?” Lorenzo asked.

The man didn’t lift his head.

“Doesn’t matter.” Lorenzo chuckled. “When we’re done with this meeting you’ll know all you need to, and you will give Don Battaglia what he wants.”

Dominic eased his gloves out of his pockets. He didn’t want blood or whatever filth that covered this bastard on him. But thanks to the putrid conditions the inmate was kept in he figured he and Lorenzo wouldn’t be able to wash away the stink for many weeks to come.

“Look at me motherfucker!” Lorenzo barked.

The man lifted his head. They got a good look at the Asian. He sneered up at them and cursed in his foreign tongue.

“Does he speak Italian?” Dominic asked. They had to ensure that Cheung Bojing fingered Kei Hyogo as the man who sent him to Italy to kill Giovanni. If he didn’t speak Italian, then how the fuck would they manage it?

“Doesn’t matter.” Lorenzo looked him over with a dark sinister smile. “When I’m done with him he’ll speak any way I want.”

****

Eve ran in circles under the bright sunshine. The east gardens away from the estate were plush with green grass and flowers the colors of the rainbow. Mira shook her head and chuckled. Though the temperature dropped in the evenings, it was Christmas and you could barely see nature acknowledge the holiday. Instead of the snowy hills and cliffs, the place felt like a beautiful day in Spring. “The girl loves being outdoors.”

Giovanni’s arm slid around her waist. “She’s beautiful. Like her mama.”

Mira and he followed Eve who hurried on her little legs in the grass chasing something neither of them could see. Mira hoped it was just an imaginary thing or butterfly. She didn’t want her daughter fixated on some bug or critter in the grass. “I told Catalina to come downstairs and join the family. I couldn’t help but notice Domi and Lorenzo aren’t here.”

“They had some business to take care of. They’ll be back.”

Mira stopped. She turned and looked at Giovanni. “What have you decided regarding Domi and Catalina?”

“Let’s not discuss it now.”

“Giovanni, please. We’ve all been through so much. It’s time for us to be a real family. To heal. Can’t you forgive them?”

“Is she pregnant?” Giovanni asked.

Mira bit down on her bottom lip to resist the urge to lie. She threw her hands up in defeat. “No. She’s not.”

“I didn’t think so.”

“You can make this a beautiful Christmas if you forgive Domi and Catalina. It’s our first Christmas together. We should all have a fresh start after the year we’ve had. Don’t you agree?”

Eve turned and ran back toward them, her eyes large with fright. Something in the grass had scared her. Giovanni laughed and caught his daughter. He lifted her up in his arms and then threw her higher, catching her in his hands. Eve squealed. Mira sighed. Had he even heard her? He was such a stubborn man. But she believed he had a heart, compassion. He could be forgiving. She would make sure to remind him of these things. She would try. After their stroll, they went inside to a meal prepared by the women in the family. Catalina appeared, and though she said she didn’t care for her cousin Aurora, they seemed to get along okay while hanging lights through the lower rooms ofMelanzana. The place was so decorative not a face in the house was caught without a smile.

Mira, however, kept thinking of the box upstairs. It was easy to slip away. The family either vied for Giovanni’s attention or fawned over Eve who now took to Zia as if she were her second mother. Not many made conversation with her. Mira tried to escape to her room. Giovanni would of course catch her and make a request, anything from her fixing him a plate of food or getting him another glass of wine. She didn’t mind, but her anxiety over the test kept her distracted and jumpy.

Eventually she abandoned the thoughts of the pregnancy test. Dominic and Lorenzo returned, and the men began to sing. Rocco performed some foot dance that kept everyone laughing. Mira settled next to Giovanni on the sofa and relaxed.

****

The snoring in her ear woke her. Mira blinked in the dark. He slept so close his tall frame covered her. His large muscular arm was thrown over her and so was his thigh. She ached between her legs from the workout he gave her just hours before. Gently she moved his arm and tried to ease from the bed.

“Where are you going?” he groaned pulling her back under him.

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