“All right, but going back to what happened in Naples…” I said.
“Anna knew about my meeting with her brother. She was the one who suggested it in the first place back in the spring. I couldn’t refuse only because we weren’t together anymore. Emilio would feel disrespected, and I couldn’t have that. So I went to the meeting spot, accompanied by Mario and several people who I ordered to stay in the cars. The negotiations didn’t turn out to be as easy as I would have liked. Besides, I knew Emilio wasn’t telling me everything. When we decided we wouldn’t be able to reach an agreement, I left the building. Emilio followed me, spewing threats and calling me names. Saying that I’ve treated his sister badly and disrespected her, making her abort her unborn child. And then he said the most hated word. The one word in our business that always leads to something bad. Vendetta, or bloody vengeance.”
“What?” I exclaimed, shocked. “Isn’t that a thing only in movies?”
“Unfortunately not. The Cosa Nostra works like that. If you kill a member of a family or betray them, the entire organization is entitled to hunt you down. I knew I wouldn’t be able to get it across to him that it was a lie. Talking any further would take us nowhere. If not for the place and time of our meeting, it would have played out then and there. But Emilio is not stupid. He needed it done as soon as possible. When we drove to the airport, two Range Rovers blocked our way. Emilio’s people stepped out. He was there, too. There was a shootout and he died. I think I got him. Then the Carabinieri arrived and Mario and I had to hunker down for a while. Wait until it all blew over. The cars we left were registered to one of my companies. The police only spilled the bare minimum of information, but the damned hacks wrote about the incident anyway, killing me instead of Emilio.”
I was breathing loudly, staring at Massimo. Listening to him felt like watching a gangster movie. I didn’t know if with my weak heart I’d have made a good mobster’s wife, but one thing was certain—I was madly in love with the man facing me.
“Just so you know, Laura—there was no pregnancy and no unborn babies. I’m very cautious with those things.”
I froze, hearing him say that. I’d completely forgotten about what Domenico had said to me before I left Sicily.
“Do you have a transmitter implanted under your skin?” I asked as calmly as I was able to be, under the circumstances.
Massimo made himself more comfortable in his seat, playing for time. His expression told me he knew what I was getting at.
“I do,” he said simply, biting on his lip.
“Can you show it to me?”
Massimo took off his shirt and drew nearer. He stuck out his left hand, grabbed my fingers and placed them on the correct spot on his skin. I jerked away, as if it burned, before touching my left bicep.
“You’re getting hysterical, Laura,” Massimo said, putting the shirt back on. “That night I—”
I didn’t let him finish.
“I’ll kill you, Massimo. I’m serious,” I growled. “How could you lie to me about something like that?” I glared at him, waiting for him to say something smart in response, while my head was spinning with thoughts. What if…
“I’m sorry. I just thought that the easiest way to keep you with me would be if I got you pregnant.”
I knew he was being sincere, but normally it was women who played that trick on rich men, not the other way around.
I got up, grabbed my bag, and went to the door. The Man in Black jumped to his feet and followed me, but I waved him away and left. I took the elevator down to the garage, trying to calm my nerves, and drove to the mall not far from my new apartment. Having found a pharmacy, I bought a test and drove back home. When I got back, Massimo was sitting in the same spot. I dropped my things to the coffee table and said resolutely, “You’ve barged into my life, kidnapped me, stolen a year of my life, threatening to kill my loved ones, but it wasn’t enough for you. You just had to try and fuck things up even worse by singlehandedly deciding to get me pregnant. Now, don Massimo, I’ll tell you how it’s going to be.” My voice was loud and confident. “If it turns out I’m pregnant, you will leave this place, and I’ll never be yours.”
The Man in Black rose, inhaling loudly.
“I’m not finished,” I said quickly, turning my back on him and walking to the window. “You’ll see your child, but you’ll never see me. The kid will never take over after you and live in Sicily. Is that clear? I’ll have it and raise it, even though I don’t want to. I always say that a family should be at least three people—two parents and a child. But I won’t allow your behavior to destroy the life of a human being that is not even born yet. Do you understand?”
“What if you’re not pregnant?” Massimo asked, taking a step toward me, stopping just a few inches away.
“Then you’ll have some atoning to do,” I said, turning away.
On my way to the bathroom, I took the test from the glass tabletop and shut the door behind me. I did what was necessary and placed the plastic test on the rim of the sink, crouching with my back to the wall and waiting for the result to show. I stayed there for much longer than necessary. My heart was pounding so hard I could see the blood pulsating in my veins through my skin. I was afraid I was going to throw up.
“Laura.” Massimo knocked on the door. “Is everything all right?”
“Give me a moment!” I called out, standing and glancing at the sink. “Jesus Christ…” I whispered.
CHAPTER 14
When I left the bathroom, the Man in Black was waiting for me on the bed, his face contorted in an expression I had never seen before. It was fear, worry, anxiousness, and most of all unease. Seeing me, he jumped to his feet. I stopped him, reaching out with a hand clutching the test. It was negative. I let it go, and it cluttered to the floor. I went to the kitchen, took a bottle of wine from the fridge, poured myself a glass, and downed it, wincing. Turning my head, I shot a glance at Massimo, standing with his shoulder to the wall.
“Don’t do this ever again. If we decide to become parents, it has to be either our mutual decision or an accident. Do you understand?”
Massimo closed the distance between us and hid his face in my hair.
“I’m sorry, baby,” he whispered. “I’m sorry about that kid. It would have been a beautiful child.”
He stepped away, laughing, as if knowing I’d hit him anytime. He snatched my arms as I swung at him, teasing me.
“If it were a boy but inherited your character, he’d be capo di tutti capi before he was thirty. Even I didn’t manage that!”
I stopped fighting. “You’re bleeding again,” I said, unbuttoning his shirt. “We’re going to a doctor right now. And that stupid conversation is finished. My son will never be part of the mob.”
Massimo pressed himself against me, heedless of the red stains he was leaving on my clothes. With a wide smile, he looked me in the eyes and kissed me.
“So,” he said, breaking off the kiss, “we’re going to have a son?”
“Stop it, you! That was purely theoretical. Get changed. We’re going to the clinic.”