“Then what was he doing meeting with Rinaldi?”
He seems momentarily taken aback but recovers quickly. “Rinaldi was attempting to re-negotiate his contract. Remember Scarlett would have been the glue to bind us to him.”
I knew this. I knew why the marriage between Scarlett and Rinaldi had to take place. But to hear it from this scum, to hear him talk about her life like it’s his to be played with, it makes my blood boil.
“But he no longer has possession of her. You do,” he tacks on.
Scarlett is a pawn. It’s all she ever was to them. It’s what she should be to me.
“Turns out you were right, Cristiano,” he finishes, and I realize I’d tuned him out. He talks too much anyway.
“Right in what?”
“Keeping her alive,” my uncle says, standing now, joining us and making a point of not looking at Cerberus who raises his head and tracks him across the room.
“The Cartel wants her and Noah back. Assuming the boy isn’t dead yet,” Jacob says.
I don’t confirm one way or another. “And why do they want them back, pray tell?”
“They’re blood.”
“So family is important? I’m confused.”
Jacob snorts, looks toward the bottle of whiskey. “My brother used to drink the same brand you know that?”
I glance over at it, remember how Scarlett always looks at it. “Did he?” I wonder if it reminds her of her father and I think about what Lenore said this morning. But I don’t care to discuss this detail with Jacob. I want the information he has. The information he is feeding me piecemeal.
“That meeting between Rinaldi and the cartel didn’t go as Rinaldi hoped. He thought he’d meet the next in charge. Pick up where Diego and Angel left off. But they know what happened. They know it was you who killed the brothers.”
“Do they know you pulled the trigger?” I ask, wanting to be sure he understands his predicament and my power.
From the way his expression tightens, I know they don’t.
“Not to mention the money Rinaldi owes the cartel with the cocaine shipment at the bottom of the ocean and the human cargo intercepted,” he continues, not missing a beat. “All that matters is that my son-in-law is the one in charge now in Mexico and I’m in charge here.”
I feel my eyebrows rise on my head. “You’re in charge?”
“What I mean is that through me you have a path. The cartel knows Rinaldi is a longshot for the winning side. You hit them hard. He owes them a lot of money because it happened here. After delivery. They also know he has lost Scarlett.”
“And that you have her,” my uncle tacks on but I’ve done the math. I did it a few years ago.
“Make her your wife and you’ll have the cartel’s loyalty. Together, with the Cartel reinstated to nearly the numbers my brother had, you can crush Rinaldi under your foot and regain your position as the most powerful man in Italy. In all of Europe.”
“And what’s in it for you?” I ask Jacob.
“Me? Well, I will see my niece married. Her future secured.”
“You would have executed her just two days ago, Jacob. I was there, remember?”
He smiles a smile that doesn’t touch his eyes. “I’ll be honest here. I don’t see myself going back to Mexico. I know there are those who still blame me for going along with Diego and Angel’s plans to overthrow my brother. As far as Rinaldi was concerned, I was never welcome. He had Diego and Angel. Why pay a third man? In exchange for my role in helping you secure your place with the cartel I would like to have what I need to retire comfortably. Disappear from the world so I don’t have to look over my shoulder at every turn.”
“You want out?” Why does that surprise me?
He nods. “I’m not young like you, Cristiano.”
“Hm.” I’m not sure I buy it.
“What about you, Uncle,” I ask, turning to my uncle. “Have you had a change of heart about the girl?”
“It is convenient, isn’t it? She’s not Italian of course but, well, you’ll have to settle.” I feel my jaw clench, but I keep my feelings to myself. “It’ll be in name alone anyway. You marry her, reinstate your original contract with the cartel. They’ll agree to your rules as far as flesh trade. You’ll have to make a few more examples, I’m sure, but they’ll agree, isn’t that right, Jacob?”
Jacob nods. “I have a list of the men who will oppose the end of the flesh trade. It’s very lucrative, as you know.” He takes an envelope out of his pocket and sets it on my desk.
I stand so Jacob is the only one still sitting. He slowly gets to his feet. “Shall I give my niece the good news, then?” He extends his hand for me to shake.
“Antonio will take you back to the mainland,” I tell him, pushing a button under my desk. A soldier opens the door within moments.
“Oh, all right then. Thanks.”
I nod.
Jacob awkwardly tucks his hand into his pocket, says goodbye to my uncle and leaves.
“You buy that crock of shit?” I ask my uncle.
“I wouldn’t trust him as far as I can throw him, no, but the facts are the facts. Marry Scarlett and you’ll have sealed your deal with the cartel. It’ll leave Rinaldi wide open.”
“What time am I expected at the gala?” I ask, changing the subject.
“Eight. Bring the girl. Let them see her on your arm,” he pauses. “How did last night go by the way?”
He means the older couple. “Like it always does.”
“It’s done?”
“Has it ever not been done?”
He smiles. “Let’s focus on the cartel. Then we’ll hit Rinaldi.” He checks his watch. “I have to get back. Meeting in an hour.” He walks to the door but stops. “Oh, one more thing.”
“Yeah.”
“I heard Lenore talking to Dante about Mara.”
“Ah.”
“I didn’t realize he had anyone looking for her.”
“She’s Lenore’s granddaughter. It’s understandable she needs closure.”
“You need to let any hope for Mara go. It’s a waste of effort and resources. She’s dead, Cristiano. And better off, considering.”
“Dead is never better off.”
“You’ll drive yourself crazy if you don’t put this to rest.”
I check my watch. “I’ll see you tonight, Uncle.”
16
Scarlett
The first thing I see when I get upstairs is the veil. It’s folded and set on the foot of the single bed I slept on last night.
Picking it up, I smell detergent and see how much whiter the lace looks. I didn’t have a chance to wash it before the wedding day. The stains are gone too. No blood. Like it never even happened.
I’m glad.
Keeping it on my lap, I sit on the edge of the bed and look around. This is Elizabeth Grigori’s room. Cristiano’s little sister. She was five when she was killed. She’d have been fifteen now. Same age as Noah. And her little friend, what was her name? Mara. She disappeared. Seems strange if they took someone that they’d take Mara and not the daughter of their enemy.