Page 226 of Bitter Poetry
“Helena’s child is not her late husband’s.”
He goes perfectly still. He chuckles. “You’re implying the child is Kabol’s? I don’t believe you. It made me very happy when he let his little toy go at the risk of war. Your wife is a disagreeable woman.”
“Not my wife anymore. The marriage was declared fraudulent and annulled a few days ago, thanks to your contact.”
He mutters something in Russian that I suspect is a curse. “And a DNA test?”
“Would be arranged post-haste.”
“You have thought of everything. What would you have done if Ettore were already dead?”
“Does it matter?”
“I suppose not… You brought me here under false pretenses. I don’t appreciate that.”
“Not entirely,” Leon steps in. “Now that is out of the way, I’d very much like to sit down and discuss the business we proposed.”
We sit down and talk.
One week later, the DNA test comes back.
They hand over Ettore.
We hand over Helena.
Edoardo still hasn’t made a move.
Two capos have sided with us.
It’s peace of a kind, but one neither side is taking for granted.
CHAPTER 68
CHRISTIAN
Leon and Dante inherited a construction company when they took over Jimmy’s concerns. Technically, it belongs to Ettore, or used to. It’s amazing what a man will sign under duress… It made a good base to keep ten of Ettore’s men we captured from the Russian warehouse while we dealt with the fallout. A few days ago, Ettore himself was handed over by the Russians and is likewise here.
I’ve had time to reflect on my working-over by Jero, Roman and the others in the warehouse. They didn’t feel like overly long rest breaks, from my side of the picture, but in hindsight, they probably were, and it was Jero’s decision when they started and stopped.
They could have done a lot worse to me in the time they had.
He’s said he would have my back, that he was on my side, more than once.
Was he, even then, looking out for me?
Yeah, I think he might have been.
Time to get some answers.
Time for Leon to make decisions on what to do with them.
None of the usual workers are on duty today. Leon has commandeered the construction manager’s office and sits behind the desk. Dante is seated to his right. Me, I’m pacing. The ants are restless. It’s not my decision who gets to live or die, but I’m about to play my part. The men are going to be brought up. Leon will question them and decide.
A life-or-death kind of decision.
“Christian?” Leon says.
I stop my pacing and blow out a breath. “Yeah, I think Jero was helping me. He’s been helping me for a while.”
