Revenge (39 page)

Enrico stared up at Kate, unable to read her
expression. What were the tears about? Was it going to be a no
after all? He was starting to look away from her, when her hand
sought his. “You know, Enrico, there’s something you haven’t asked
me.”

“What?”

“You haven’t asked me if I love you. I’ve
never said it.”

“I do not need to hear it.” He wasn’t going
to press her for it; what did it matter? Someday perhaps, she would
tell him what he already knew.

She let out a little huff of laughter. “I’d
think your wife should be willing to tell you she loves you.”

Hope kindled in him, that miniature sun
glowing in his chest again. “She should.”

“She does.” She pulled her hand from his and
stroked his cheek. “I love you, Rico.”

Joy arced through him. He forgot his
injuries, forgot the pain, forgot where they were. All his dreams
had been answered at once. He’d told her who he was and she’d
understood. She’d forgiven him. And best of all, she loved him. She
truly did. What a comfort to hear those words, to have her confirm
what he’d thought was true, but had known only in his heart. And
had she just agreed to be his wife as well? It was too much at
once. If he didn’t do something, his heart would burst out of his
chest.

He struggled out of the wheelchair and slid
his arms around her, careful of their IVs, embracing her as gently
as he could. Her eyes glistened with tears as she looked up at him.
“I love you,” she whispered again, and he murmured it back, a
lightness, a warmth, he hadn’t known for a long time filling his
chest. He was whole again. Leaning down, he kissed her. Kate,
his
Kate, hugged him back until they both started to wince,
and then he had to sit down, his legs ready to collapse.

He looked up at her. He had to be sure. “So
you will marry me?”

She laughed this time, her face glowing.
“Yes. That was a yes.”

“You have made me the happiest man alive.” He
grinned at her, so wide it almost hurt.

“Likewise.” She stroked his face again. “I’m
glad you didn’t let me get away.”

He stared at her for a while, his heart
pumping wildly with happiness. He was about to risk kissing her
again when a hard rap at the door grabbed their attention. They
both turned to the doorway.

It was Dom. Enrico saw Kate’s eyes dart from
Dom to him and back, comparing them, seeing how much they looked
alike. He introduced them.

“A pleasure,” Dom said to Kate, inclining his
head slightly, then he addressed Enrico. “I sense I am interrupting
something.”

“Kate has just agreed to be my wife.”
Surprise appeared on Dom’s face, followed by something else that
flitted away before he could give it a name.

“Congratulations.” He clapped Enrico lightly
on the back. “And I hear there is a child on the way?”

Enrico shook his head in amusement. “Antonio,
yes? That boy and his mouth. Yes, we will be having a child.”

“I am very happy for you. Getting two things
you have wanted for a long time.”

“
Grazie
.” Enrico waited a beat. “So
what brings you here?”

“I wanted to see how you were.” He gave a
significant glance at Kate. “And I wanted to discuss the
ambush.”

“It was Andretti.”

“Of course. But the question is, how did he
know where you were?”

“I have no idea.”

“We need to speak in private.”

“She knows.”

Dom frowned. “We do not involve wives in the
business.”

With a laugh, Enrico said, “Next to you,
Antonella was my closest advisor. She had a gift.”

Dom switched to Italian, using a Calabrian
dialect Kate wouldn’t be able to follow. “It’s one thing to tell
her who you are. It’s another to directly involve her. How do you
know she doesn’t work for Andretti?”

Enrico’s gut burned, and he leaned back in
the wheelchair. He answered Dom in dialect. “This
again
? Her
husband nearly raped and killed her. She was just shot by
Andretti’s men. If she’s on Carlo’s payroll, he’s trying damn hard
not to pay her.”

“It could be a trap.”

“Hardly.” Enrico switched back to English. “I
have had enough of that subject. Do not mention it again.”

“Fine. But someone close to you is behind
this.”

“I already know who it is.”

Dom’s brows shot up. “You do?”

“It must be Trucco.”

“Perhaps. But how would he know exactly where
you were today? This had to be arranged by someone very close to
you. I hate to say it, but we cannot rule out Antonio. Or
Ruggero.”

“I trust Ruggero. He has men watching Trucco.
And others.”

Dom froze, his eyes narrowing. “Who is under
surveillance? Why have you not told me?”

“It is my life that is in danger, and there
is a traitor in my midst. Therefore, I have chosen to trust only
one person with the details.”

“I am your second in command.” Hurt shadowed
Dom’s face.

“Surely you can see the necessity.”

Dom looked at the floor for a second, then
back at Enrico. “I am just… surprised not to know, that is
all.”

A cold hand gripped Enrico’s heart. Dom
should be yelling at him right now, asking why he didn’t trust him.
Dom should be cursing and pacing and throwing up his hands. Dom
should be acting like Dom. But he wasn’t. Don Battista’s words came
back to him:
He is hardening his heart against you
.

“We should know soon who it is. You will be
the first to know after me.”

Dom nodded absently. He seemed to be lost in
thought. Then he said, “I must go.” He stepped around to the other
side of the bed and took Kate’s hand. “
Signora
, please allow
me to welcome you to the family. You will bring my cousin much joy.
He has longed for an heir, and now he will have one, at last.” He
paused a moment. “He loved Antonella deeply, and you are lucky to
be marrying such a devoted man. I do not think I love my wife half
as much as Enrico loved his. I hope you will be happy becoming part
of our family.”

Enrico’s jaw clenched. His devotion to Toni
was the last thing Kate needed shoved in her face. Surely Dom knew
that. He looked at Kate, but she seemed serene.

“
Mille grazie
, Domenico. I look
forward to getting to know you and your family.”

“As do I.” He kissed her hand, then left
without another word.

Once the door shut, Kate looked at Enrico.
“He hates me, doesn’t he?”

So she had noticed Dom’s needling. “Why do
you say that?”

“Whatever he said to you—I assume that was
some dialect I don’t know—it was about me, wasn’t it?”

“Yes.” Enrico sighed. “He thinks you are
working for Carlo.”

She laughed, then groaned and pressed a hand
to her wound. “If I am, he’s the worst boss ever.”

“I know. I have pointed out the madness of
what he is saying. He sees spies everywhere.”

“Antonio, I assume?”

He nodded. “He even suggested Ruggero.”

“Do you think he’s trying to divert your
attention?”

“From what?”

“From himself.”

Enrico rubbed his chin. “The thought has
crossed my mind.” But he kept pushing it away. He knew Dom was
angry, but this much?

“I know he’s your cousin.” She squeezed his
hand. “But sometimes the people who are closest to you are the ones
who hate you the most.”

“I do not want to believe it.” And he
wouldn’t. Not without proof.

Her voice was soft. “It takes a lot of love
to breed strong hate.”

“Are you trying to console me with that?”

She smiled. “That wasn’t very good, was
it?”

“Not at all.” He laughed.

“I’ll work on it.” She caressed his
cheek.

“Please do not. I always want the truth from
you. As much as it hurts.”

She stared at him, her gaze holding weight.
“We’re on the same page then.”

“Always.” He sat back in the chair, feeling
abruptly exhausted. His left side ached, and there was no way he
could manage the chair and the IV on his own. “Antonio!” he called.
He turned to Kate. “I need to rest,
cara
.”

“We’ve had a bit too much excitement these
last few days, haven’t we?”

“A bit. But some of it was good, yes?” He was
so happy he barely cared that someone wanted them dead. Kate was
his, finally his. He’d sort through the rest later.

“Very, very good,” she said, smiling.

Kate watched Antonio come in and take Enrico
away. When they were gone, her mind drifted back to what Domenico
had said to her. It was a nice, pretty speech on the surface. But
he was warning her, telling her that Enrico was marrying her for
the baby, that he’d never love her the way he loved Antonella. And
that last bit at the end, he was reminding her that she was part of
all this now. Part of the family. Part of the Mafia.

And the only way out was in a pine box.

Enrico wasn’t surprised to see Fuente at his
hospital room door the next day. He was surprised, however, by
Fuente’s high spirits. “By your grin, I take it my situation amuses
you?” Enrico asked.

Fuente removed his cap and smoothed back his
dark hair, shaking his head. “It’s not that,
signore
. It’s
merely that you seem to be thrust into a dangerous game, one with
little hope of escape. Luckily—”

“You’re not in the middle of it.” Fuente
shrugged, and Enrico finally understood. “Ah, you’re glad you’re on
the winning side.”

The glance Fuente gave him was knowing. “You
are beset on all sides,
signore
. No one to trust. Except
perhaps me.”

Enrico laughed hard, grabbing his left side
when pain flared through him. He blew out for a second, waiting for
it pass. Then he looked at Fuente. “You? Why would I ever trust
you?”

“I can help.” Fuente picked up the vase of
flowers sent by Giacomo Parini and looked at it, then set it back
down.

What was Fuente up to now? “How?”

“That evidence from the Dinelli case. The gun
that mysteriously disappeared….”

“Yes, let’s talk about that. Why did only one
gun involved in that case have fingerprints on it? That was quite
convenient for Carlo.”

Fuente gave him a quizzical look. “And what
would Signor Andretti have to do with that?”

“He stood to lose as much in front of Judge
Dinelli as I did. He framed me.”

“Not too well. He lost the witness and then
most surprisingly the evidence. Do you expect me to believe that’s
what happened?”

Enrico flushed, hoping it looked like he was
in pain. It was best to say nothing sometimes. This was one of
those times.

“The cat has eaten your tongue, I see.”
Fuente sat down and stroked his moustache as he looked at
Enrico.

“I’m innocent. I was not involved in the
death of Judge Dinelli.”

“Perhaps, perhaps not. But you are not
innocent,
signore
. Never that.”

Enrico couldn’t find the words to argue. He
hadn’t ordered the murder, but he’d certainly exacted his revenge
on the one who’d betrayed him, and he’d certainly tampered with the
process of justice. “So what do you think you can do for me,
Maresciallo Capo Fuente?”

Fuente pointed to the badge on his shoulder.
“I’m a second lieutenant, now, thanks to you.”

“Congratulations, Sottotenente. Again, I
wonder what you think you can do for me.”

“I have heard, perhaps, that this missing gun
can be found. Avoiding a long prison sentence, that would be worth
something, yes?”

Was he bluffing
? “It would be. But
someone wants me dead. I’m more concerned about that.”

“And if I could help you with that
matter?”

“That would indeed be worth something to
me.”

Fuente seemed to be deliberating some matter.
Then he said, “My children’s tuition has gone up again.”

“Escalating costs are a certain path to
ruin.”

“Not if you know the right people.” Fuente
grinned and leaned forward. “I’ll let you have this tidbit for free
though. Franco Trucco is out for blood.”

“That’s not news to me.”

“Ah, but I think there’s a detail you do
not
know. Trucco has revealed something to Signor Andretti
that has enraged him. A secret of yours. About a son in
England?”

Enrico went cold to his core. “How did you
hear this?”

“A friend.”

His heart racing, Enrico grabbed his mobile
phone. “I have calls to make, if you’ll excuse me.”

“Of course.” Fuente stood up, placing his cap
on his head.

A question occurred to Enrico. “Why did you
tell me this?”

“I might find having a Lucchesi in Interpol
useful someday. And I think I might find you doubly generous in the
future.”

He nodded. “Your children will have the best
educations money can buy.”

“You are a saint among sinners, Signor
Lucchesi.”

As the door was closing behind Fuente, Enrico
punched in the number of his top man in London. There was much to
arrange, and little time, if any, to do so.

When Tyrell answered, Enrico rapidly
explained what was needed and why. “Use discretion, but keep him
safe. Do not contact him directly or tell him anything unless you
need to.” Tyrell gave him his word, and Enrico told him he would
call back later.

He snapped the phone shut, his stomach in a
tight ball.
Please God
,
don’t let Nico die
.