Page 28 of Hateful Vows
The sign of the cross escapes me.
I close Matteo’s eyes first. Then his father’s. I try to remember if Venti had a wife. If little Francisco will have someone to hold onto where he buries his father and brother. I didn’t cry when my own father died but delivering the news of pain on someone that young,thathas me shed a tear.
Light steps echo behind me, traces of Shalimar floating in the air.
“Who are they?” Irina asks.
“Two of our men.” Tino is the one to answer.
Something doesn’t fucking add up. Venti wasn’t even high up in the organisation, and I threatened him not two weeks ago. They weren’t in my inner circle though I’ve seen the kid around the grounds of my estate on Mondays. They didn’t have anything to report last week, but when they did receive another text, it’s Francisco who told me, not Matteo.
I search their pockets, starting with the Signore Venti.
A paper is folded neatly in Matteo’s front pocket of his too-big suit.
I like the chase. How many of your men do you think I can kill before you find me?
“Fuck!”
I straighten and pull at my hair, throwing the paper away. It falls on the blood and Irina picks it up.
“Blyat.”
If even my cold-hearted Ice Queen swears, it’s not good news. She gives the paper to Tino who frowns and clicks his tongue.
After calling for reinforcements and Capaldi’s security team, we find the phone that sent the second message, barely hidden in a crack in the wall. The set up wasn’t hidden and I walked right into it like a fawn taking its first steps. The embarrassment grows to anger and resentment in minutes and I drive back tomy house in silence, ignoring everyone and locking myself up in the gym to expel that energy out of my body.
THIRTEEN
IRINA
After we came back from Milford, Dante locked himself into the building’s gym and I took the opportunity to swim a few laps in the massive pool on the rooftop. Italian lives should mean nothing to me, yet I couldn’t shake the unease I felt at seeing the young boy’s open and unseeing eyes.
I push my body to its limit as the chlorine burns my eyes, forcing myself to swim further without taking a breath. When I come up for air, I gasp. The space is empty, the sounds of lapping water and my heaving breaths the only things disturbing the calming silence.
After a quick shower in the luxurious bathroom with too many water jets coming from the wall, I take the elevator down to Dante’s flat.
Clicking bowls and the mouth-watering smell of baked cookies welcome me. As well as Tino, in a fucking apron above sweatpants and a too-tight tee-shirt. These men really need to start taking their measurements, and dress appropriately.
“What are you doing here?” I ask.
“What I do best,” he answers with a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes.
“Baking?”
“Cheering up my best friend.”
“With cookies?”
“Dante has a sweet tooth.” He shrugs. “And he feels… a lot. He’s very attuned to his emotions in case you haven’t noticed, Irina. And he’s not afraid to feel them. But sometimes, they can be all-consuming.”
“So you baked for him?” I’m still not understanding what’s going on. “How is that going to help?”
He sighs like I’m a child and I click my tongue, ready to shoot him with the gun I’ve hidden in the cutlery drawer I’m standing in front of. “I’m just reminding him of simple pleasures. This life we lead is full of pain and death. It doesn’t mean it can’t be full of life and joy.”
My shoulders drop. It seems so easy. But it’s never been easy for me. I was never allowed the simple joys of life, constantly reminded that if I wasn’t careful, I would die or worse. Tino’s view on life is a luxury for me.
“You want one?” he asks, taking me out of my negative thoughts.
