Roz was distressed. Just the thought of little Shane caught up in all of this had to tear Mick apart. And then to find out that somebody in his inner circle was behind it all. Roz knew he was a devastated man.
“What about the gunman you captured? What if he’s lying?”
“He’s not.”
“But how do you know?”
“Leo and some of our experts tortured him, just to make sure. He stuck to his story. It’s Carp. The rat bastard! Wait until I get my hands on him.”
Then Mick stood still. “I handle pain differently, Roz,” he said to her. “But please don’t think I’m not grieving for Shane. I am. I truly am. But I have to protect you. And the rest of my children. I have got to track this cancer down and excise it before it excise the people I love. Then I’ll grieve the proper way. Then I’ll grieve.”
Roz had a terrible thought. “What about Teddy and the others?” she asked. “What about the rest of your children, Mick? If they killed Shane---”
“They’re secure,” Mick said quickly. “They’re in safe houses too. They’re alright.”
“Oh thank God!” Roz was beyond relieved.
“And you’re secure,” Mick said, looking at her. He would have killed the world if she would have been harmed. But she wasn’t. And she was handling it. The stress was on her face, but she was handling it.
“What about Shane’s mother? Has she been notified?”
Mick began pacing again. “They got her too,” he said.
Roz shook her head. “Lord have mercy.”
“Carp got her too. And everybody in her house. He knows what he’s doing.”
Roz looked at Mick. “Who is he anyway? This Carp Bianchi. He works for you, right?”
“He’s one of the three Dons I am in business with. He works for himself, but he answers to me. He was one of the men I relied on.”
“So it’s a severe betrayal?”
“Of the highest order,” Mick said. “He was the one I was consulting with about all of the security breaches we were having. When he was the one either causing them, or decided to take advantage of them.”
Roz shook her head. “It’s always the one you least expect,” she said. “They love to take the spotlight off of them by putting it on somebody else. So you’re right. He might have caused those breaches. And while you’re concerned about plugging holes, he’s plotting and scheming right before your very eyes. You probably thought he was above doing something this crazy.”
“No man is above shit,” Mick said. Then he looked at Roz. “You’ll do well to remember that.”
“You’re above it,” Roz said confidently.
Mick looked at her. He was pleased that she believed it. Then he stopped pacing, ran his hands through his hair, and exhaled. “Shane was a good kid,” he said. “But he was an unhappy child. He probably wanted his daddy and didn’t have him.”
Roz stared at Mick. She could feel his pain.
“I can’t change that. What’s done is done.” Mick said it with such resignation that it worried Roz. But then he rallied. “But I can change things with the rest of my children. And I have every intention of doing so.”
“Of being there for them emotionally rather than just financially?”
Mick nodded. “That’s the beginning, yes. A beginning I wouldn’t even be starting if it wasn’t for you.”
“And at least Shane got to see his daddy before . . . it happened.”
“Yeah,” Mick said. “At least that.”
Then a knock on the door and Leo opened it. “The Dons are here,” he said.
Mick left the room, and Roz followed behind him, as they made their way into the living area. Teddy Stefani and Vito DeLuca were just sitting down. They rose when they saw Mick.
“Thanks for coming,” he said to them.
“Sorry about your boy,” Teddy said, as he and Mick hugged. Of all of the Dons, Mick was closest to Teddy.
“Yeah, it’s a shame,” DeLuca said, and he and Mick hugged too. “They found that cocksucker yet?”
“Not yet,” Mick said. “But they will.”
Roz came up alongside Mick. He placed his hand around her waist. “You gentlemen remember my lady?”
“Rosalind, of course,” Teddy said. “Give me a hug. I’m a hugger.”
Roz and Teddy hugged.
“Have a seat, gentlemen,” Roz said. “Would you care for something to drink?”
“No, no,” Teddy said as the two Dons sat down. “But thanks. Any word on your other children?”
“They’re all safe, thank God,” Mick said.
“Thank God,” Teddy said, making the sign of the cross across his chest.
Mick, heading out of the room, looked at Teddy and motioned with his head.
Teddy stood up again. “Excuse me, please,” he said, and followed Mick into the kitchen.
Mick was leaning against the drain board, his arms folded, when Teddy walked in.
“What a mess,” Teddy said, shaking his head. “Carp has got to be out of his damn mind.”
“I’m going to have to get out there,” Mick said.
“I know,” Teddy said with a nod. “We’re all shorthanded. They hit Silvio and Pauly too.”
“I heard.”
“What you think Carp’s up to? He hate your guts this much?”