Page 133 of Vicious Behaviors
“I think she more than made amends for lying to us with the plan she brought forth to save your brother, don’t you?” Vincent counters, arms crossed over his chest, leaning against the edge of his desk.
“So you think it might work?” I ask, hopeful.
“It just might,” he says, rubbing at his chin. “That is if you are up for the task,” he adds, but that remark isn’t directed at me, but to the priest sitting at the far side of the couch with Enzo’s arm draped over his shoulders.
Alejandro hasn’t said anything all afternoon, still processing my plan and what it will entail.
“It’s too risky,” Enzo says, not at all pleased with my proposal. “What if we can’t make some sort of deal? Then what? What will happen to Alejandro then?”
“Let’s leave that for the good priest to decide, shall we?” Vincent retorts, his voice empty of all warmth.
“I don’t like it. I don’t like it one bit. What if Izzie’s boss doesn’t go for it?”
“Leave that to me, son,” Gio chimes in, trying to tranquilize a nervous Enzo, while placing his hand over the phone to prevent being overheard on the other side.
What a mess I’ve made of their lives. Of Marcello’s life.
I bite my swollen lip, the pain making it easier to bear than the one my heart is suffering with.
Enzo’s right to be worried. Since watching Marcello drive off in handcuffs, I’ve been trying to get a hold of Director Roderick on the phone, only for her to reject every call I make. Whatever proof Haynes gave her was enough to poison the well of trust she had in me. I’ve been shut out of the case and anything related to Marcello’s investigation.
“No. Alejandro isn’t doing it,” Enzo says, taking a final stand.
“Would you rather see your brother in an orange jumpsuit? Visit a prison just to see him on his birthday, knowing you won’t even be able to wrap your arms around him? Only seeing him through a glass, talking into some shitty telephone, your time cut short before you can even say what you need to?” Vincent hurls the accusation at Enzo.
I watch Enzo open his mouth to defy his father, only for Alejandro to place a hand on his thigh to silence him.
“Your father is right. I couldn’t live with the guilt of seeing Marcello behind bars. He protected us, Enzo. He saved us from what I’m sure would have been our certain deaths. He deserves someone to save him now. Lord knows your brother has sufferedlong enough. He wouldn’t survive whatever place he ends up in if found guilty.”
Jude, Alejandro, Vincent, and I look at each other in silent conversation. We all know that prison would be the last place they’d send Marcello if convicted of murder. One psych evaluation would be enough to condemn him to a place that none of us wants to see him in. Marcello would not survive in such an environment. We all know that, even if the rest of his family remains clueless.
“If you do this,” Vincent starts, his attention still on Alejandro, “then you are making a decision you can’t come back from. Now, I have waited patiently for you to decide between our family and the cloth, considering it is a difficult decision for you to make. But if we go ahead and proceed with Isobel’s plan, then that decision will be made for you. Are you ready for that?”
Alejandro looks deep into Enzo’s eyes and nods. “Yes. I see my future clearly now. I’m ready to start living it, with your son at my side.”
I feel Annamaria melt beside me, touched by the selfless act. Selene’s green gaze also softens at the priest’s words. The only one who looks immune to it all is Stella. I don’t fault her reaction since I’m the reason she’s acting this way. Stella is still too angry at me, too blinded by the hate for selfless acts of love and sacrifice, to even make a dent in her fury. I can only hope she’ll be able to forgive me one day and we can regain what we lost. I might have lied about who I was, but the friendship we built wasn’t a lie to me. I made a true friend in Stella. One that I’ll do my very best to keep, if she ever gives me a second chance. However, that could prove difficult if I don’t get Marcello out of this mess.
“Good. I’m pleased to hear it,” Vincent says, pulling my attention back to the matter at hand. He then looks over hisshoulder toward Gio, standing in the corner of the room. “Any luck?”
Gio hangs up the phone, looking pissed. “No.” He shakes his head, his chestnut eyes on me. “Your director is a piece of work. She’s not taking my calls either.”
My shoulders slump. “My plan won’t work without her.”
Vincent glances over at me, then to his children, and then over to Selene. She looks ashen and needs Dominic to hold her shoulders so she doesn’t curl into a ball and allow the grief to take her completely.
“Then plan B it is. I say we go in guns blazing and get Marcello out of there,” Lucky chimes in. “Hell, I’ll even talk to Frankie’s asshole uncles, see if they’ll join in and help us.”
“Leave Kirill out of this!” Stella cuts in firmly, rising from her chair. I notice Selene’s inquisitive eyes shift to her daughter as Stella quickly smooths over her unexpected outburst. “I mean… we don’t need theBratva.If push comes to shove, I’ll break Marcello out of there myself. Alone, Lucky, since everyone knows you hate getting your hands dirty.”
“I’ll gladly do it for Mar,” Lucky frowns, Frankie threading her fingers through his. “He’s always been there for us. It’s time we be there for him.”
“As much as I’m grateful you feel that way for Marcello, storming the FBI’s Chicago field office guns blazing, as you put it, Lucky, would be considered an act of terrorism. We’re already in hot water as it is.”
“We?” Stella snorts. “You think you’re part of our family?”
“Yes, she is,” Selene quickly comes to my defense, though the bitterness of Stella’s words hit their mark.
“Is that right?” Stella cackles. “Am I the only one here who is even thinking clearly? She lied to us. To all of us. If the Outfit finds out that Marcello was dating her, he’s as good as dead. Not only that, but everyone saw her at Anna’s party. We’ll be lucky ifany of us stay alive when this shit hits the streets. Theomertàis very clear when it comes to associating with the likes of her. It’s a betrayal to even let her walk through the door. And in case you all forgot, the punishment for such a betrayal is death.”
