He stays silent, eyes on the road.
“Giuliano. Answer me, what are you going to do?”
He changes the gears at speed. “What needs to be done.”
Panic runs through me. “Killing Lombardi is not going to fix this, Giuliano. Don’t be a fool, you don’t need an all-out war.”
“This one isn’t for me.”
“Who’s it for?”
“Your father.”
Giuliano
I do up my tie as I stand at the end of the bed, Francesca is naked and sleepy still under the covers. “You are not to leave the apartment today,” I tell her.
Her eyes find mine.
“Do you understand me?”
She doesn’t answer.
“Francesca, do you understand me,” I snap, making myself clear.
“Yes.” She sighs, her eyes follow me around the room as I put on my watch and shoes. “What time will you be home tonight?”
“I’m not sure.”
“We have church tomorrow with my mother, remember?”
“I won’t be going to church.”
Her face falls. “Faith means a lot to me; I want you to convert to Catholic.”
“That won’t be happening.”
She sits up, annoyed. “Why wouldn’t you want to go to church?”
“Because I’m not a fucking hypocrite like the rest of the Ferrara men were. I’m pretty sure they don’t sell blow in heaven, Francesca.” I put on my cuff links.
“Do you think you’re going to catch on fire the minute you walk into the church or something?” she snaps.
I smirk, an image comes to my mind of exactly that. “To see your mother’s face.”
She twists the blankets between her fingers as she thinks. “If you’re not a Catholic, we can’t get married in a church.”
“You told me you always wanted to get married in the snow.”
“I do.” Her eyes search mine. “But….”
I watch her for a moment, her face is filled with sadness, empathy wins and I crawl over her. “I’ll make a deal with you.”
“What’s that?” she whispers up at me.
“If I am a Ferrara, I will become a Catholic…for you.”
The truth is that we both know that’s not happening.
She smiles softly as her eyes fill with tears, I kiss her big beautiful lips. “Promise me that you won’t leave the apartment today.”
“Why?”
“Because I have a lot on my mind and I don’t want to be worrying about you.”
“Okay.” She puts her arms around my neck and holds me down to her. “What are you doing today?”
“Working.”
“Don’t get yourself killed.”
“I haven’t yet.”
She hugs me tighter. “But you have more to lose now, we have a wedding to plan.”
I smile into her neck, she’s right, I do.
“I love you.” I spread her legs with my knee as I kiss her once more. “See you tonight.”
I take the elevator down to the ground floor and walk out to see Bruno.
“Giuliano.” He smiles. “Good morning.”
“I want extra staff with you. As many as you need, Francesca is not to leave the building until further notice, do you understand?”
“Is something going on?”
“Yes.” I roll my lips as I consider if I should tell him my next move. Fuck it, he needs to know. “Lombardi is going to die in the foreseeable future, I know for a fact that she will be their retaliation target.”
His face falls.
“She is the one person….” My voice trails off.
If they want to hurt me, they will hurt her.
“I will guard her with my life. You have my word.”
“Thank you.”
I think for a moment, there is one person who I know that will give his life to guard her. “I’ll organize for Antonio to return from Rome to assist you.”
He nods. “Good idea.”
I go to walk off.
“Giuliano,” he calls.
I turn back toward him.
“Are you sure about this?” he asks.
“It’s time.”
He nods. “Yes, sir.”
I take the elevator down to my car, get into my Ferrari and pull out of the parking lot, I dial Valentino’s number as my eyes flick up to the rearview mirror and the three cars following me.
“Hey,” he answers.
“Find me Lombardi’s whereabouts.”
“Why is that?”
“I’m going to kill him.”
Silence.
“Did you hear me?”
“I’ll have someone else do it.”
“No,” I snap. “This kill is mine.”
Francesca
I lie on the couch and stare at the television, ugh, this day is long. I’ve exercised, I’ve baked a cake, I had a swim and now what?
I hear a bang outside my front door and I sit up, startled.
What’s that?
I walk over and put my ears to the double doors, is someone out there? I look out the peephole, can’t see anyone. I flick on the iPad next to the door and hit the camera.
The foyer is empty.
My shoulders slump in relief, I’m imagining things now.
I open the door and look around, my eyes widen. The door to the fire stairs is open. It’s never open.
I slam my door shut and lock it, my heart hammers in my chest.
It’s just a coincidence, I tell myself. It’s just a coincidence.
I dial Bruno’s number.
“Hello, Miss Ferrara,” he answers.
“Can you check the fire stairs please?”
“Why, what’s wrong?”
“The door on my level is open.”
“I’ll be right up.”
*
It’s just on six when I hear the door and I smile broadly. He’s home.
Giuliano comes into view, he’s wearing a charcoal suit and crisp white shirt. His dark hair is messed to perfection and he gives me a slow sexy smile before taking me into his arms. “Hey you,” he whispers, his voice is soft and cajoling, the one he saves just for me.
We kiss, slow and tender, and he brushes the hair back from my face as he stares down at me. “How was my girl’s day?”
“Long without you.”
He sits down onto the dining chair and pulls me onto his lap and holds me tight.
We hug, as if we haven’t seen each other in years.
The warmth from each other slowly defrosting the cold.
How is it possible to miss someone so much when they were only gone for eight hours?
“What happened with the fire stairs?” he asks.
“I don’t know, I heard a bang.”
He frowns as he listens. “What kind of bang?”
“It sounded like a door or….” I shrug. “When I checked the cameras, the room was empty so I went out there.”
“Rule number one, Francesca,” he says sternly. “Never unlock a fucking door, not for anyone other than me.”
“But the cameras….”
“Can be manipulated.”
“Anyway, it was a false alarm. The serviceman was changing the lightbulbs in the staircase, they must have left it open.”
His eyes hold mine as he runs his hand up my thigh. “The staircase is now under surveillance.”
I nod, relieved. “Why do I feel like everything is coming to a head?” I ask.
“Because it is.” He kisses me softly. “The paternity tests will be back, we can soon be publicly together and….”
“And what?”
“And other things…are being taken care of.”
“Lombardi?” I ask.
“You don’t need to worry about Lombardi.”
“He’s dying anyway, Giuliano. Let him go naturally without starting the war,” I whisper. “Don’t bring any danger to us that isn’t necessary.”