Page 29 of They Found Us

“Yes. It is my duty. I am the eldest in the Guerra.”

“And what about Marco, the current leader?”

“He will step aside for the true heir. After all, he hasn’t exactly been doing a sufficient job.”

I crack my neck at Alex’s words. Not only do I have the Martelé to deal with on our return, but I also have my big brother. I had forgotten how arrogant he can be. Deciding not to argue at his point, I ask, “When do you suggest we leave?”

“As soon as possible. We need our return to be as big a surprise to the Martelé as possible.”

“Oh, I think they will be surprised, especially when they find out Vanna is alive. How exactly are you going to play that one?”

“She is going to take over the Martelé, of course.”

Nothing leaves my mouth as I stare at Alex in disbelief. Does he really think the Martelé are going to allow Vanna walk back in there and hand over the lead to her? He has lost his head.

“You’re out of your mind.” I shake my head as I exit his car which, is now parked in his driveway.

Alex laughs. “You’ll see. Italy is ours, brother.”

“When are you going to tell Katie?” Alex asks as we enter his home.

“Tell me what?” My wife’s voice appears out of nowhere, followed by her long, tanned legs, which make their way down the stairs in front of me. She has Mark in one hand, wearing his pyjamas, and his bag in the other. She has obviously just gotten him changed.

“Nothing to worry about at the moment, la mia ragazza.”My girl.I giveher kiss on the lips. She tastes of her usual sweetness mixed with a little lemon. She tastes like home.

“Hmm,” Katie murmurs, raising her eyebrows at my dismissive answer.

Katie

I thought there was something, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Now I know for definite that Leo is hiding something from me, and Alex knows about it. I wonder if Vanna knows what it is too. I hate secrets. I hate not knowing things. But given we’re at Vanna and Alex’s house, now isn’t the time to discuss it.

Vanna and I have had a lovely afternoon. Mark has really enjoyed playing in the swimming pool. Vanna and I took it in turns to play with him in the water, throwing him about and having races. Mark is very tired from all the excitement, and now that he’s dried and in his nightwear, I have no doubt he will be asleep soon. We all walk through the house and out into the pool area. Vanna is sat in the shade, giving Zander his bottle.

“Look who I found,” I say to Vanna, gesturing to Alex and Leo behind me.

“You’re back. Did you have fun?” she asks.

“What exactly have you been doing?”

But neither of them directly answers my question.

“Bonding, and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves,” Alex says, putting an arm around Leo’s shoulder. He then gets cigars out of his jacket pocket and hands one to Leo.

My eyes bore into the side of Leo’s head, but he purposely doesn’t give me eye contact, knowing full well I will disapprove. That doesn’t stop him from taking the lighter Alex offers andigniting the cigar in his mouth. A cloud of smoke surrounds him, and suddenly I’m transported back to a time in Italy when Leo was different to the man I married.

“So, Katie. You still haven’t told me how you and Leo got together,” Vanna remarks from where she sits, happily winding Zander on her knee.

But I can’t take my eyes off Leo. Something has changed in him. He and Alex talk quietly to each other and make their way over to the outside bar, out of eyesight .

“Oh, you know, the usual mafia love story. He kidnapped me, kept me prisoner, took away my passport so I couldn’t leave, and forced me to marry him.”

Vanna laughs at my reply but stops uncomfortably when she looks behind me. A glass smashes on the floor, but I don’t turn to look. No doubt Leo has heard my answer, and from the look on Vanna’s face, he is not amused.

“I think it’s time we were going,” Leo’s voice booms from behind me.

“But we’ve not eaten yet.” Vanna stands hopefully.

“The boys are tired. We need to get them to bed.” Leo gathers up their things and puts it all in their bags.

---