“Does Dante seek you out at night?”
I almost spit out what was in my mouth. “I’m not going to talk to you about that, Mamma.” My cheeks burned up from embarrassment and Mamma gave me a knowing smile.
I loved her, but she was the most infuriating woman on this planet.
***
Enzo picked me up in the SUV. Except for a bit of smalltalk, we didn’t speak during the short ride. When we drove past Bibiana’s street, I said, “Wait. Turn the corner. I want to pay Bibiana Bonello a visit.” I’d promised her I’d tell her how things between Dante and me had progressed. She’d hopefully be happy to see me.
Enzo didn’t argue. He steered the car toward Bibi’s house and parked at the curb. “Do you want me to wait?”
I hesitated. “If you don’t mind?”
Enzo shook his head. “That’s my job. He reached behind his seat and pulled out a magazine about Oldtimers.
“It won’t take long,” I said even though Bibiana and I could spend hours chatting.
I climbed out of the car and strode toward the front door. I rang the bell, then waited. Nothing happened for a while and I was about to return to the car when the door opened.
Tommaso stood in front of me. My eyes widened in surprise, then worry. “Hello Tommaso,” I said, forcing my voice to be pleasant. “I hope I didn’t come at a bad time. I wanted to talk to Bibiana. Is she there?” Is she okay was the question that I really wanted to ask. Tommaso was sweaty, his skin red and his fly was still open. A feeling of dread cursed through me.
Tommaso bared his teeth in a wide smile. He took my hand in both of his. “She’ll be down in a moment. We have always time for Dante’s wife.”
I fought the urge to pull away. His skin was clammy with perspiration and the thought that the reason for his rumpled appearance had something to do with what he’d been doing with Bibiana made me want to scrub my palms raw until no trace of him was left on me. “Bibiana, hurry up. Valentina Cavallaro is here.” As if Bibiana didn’t know who I was.
I gingerly pulled my hands out of his grip.
“I hear you’re taking over the casino,” Tommaso said curiously, his small beetle eyes keen as they watched me.
“Did Raffaele tell you that?”
Tommaso guffawed. “He didn’t have to. Everyone’s talking about it. I wouldn’t allow Bibiana to work, but Dante has been trying to change things up in the Outfit for a while now, even before Fiore retired.”
I tried to figure out if I could construe his words as traitorous, but sadly they were only mildly critical. Nothing that would cause Dante to put a bullet in Tommaso’s head. “Even the Outfit has to keep up with the times,” I said neutrally.
Bibiana appeared at the top of the stairs, her hair all over the place, her blouse dress buttoned wrongly and she didn’t wear shoes. Tommaso winked at me. “Please excuse me. I have a meeting with Raffaele to discuss tomorrow night’s girls.”
Keeping up the smile was almost painful and the moment he was out of sight, I dropped the charade and hurried toward Bibiana who’d come down the stairs. “Hey, everything okay?”
She swallowed. “Can we talk upstairs? I really need to shower.”
“Of course,” I said quickly. She gave me a tiny smile. I followed her silently upstairs, trying to suppress my fury toward Tommaso. I was already looking for ways to make Dante kill him and that wasn’t something I should ever consider. I’d never been responsible for someone’s death. Even if Tommaso was the lowest scum on earth, I shouldn’t want him dead.
Bibiana led me into their bedroom. I pretended I didn’t notice the ruffled sheets as I followed her into the adjoining bathroom. Bibiana and I had seen each other naked before, especially when we were younger, so I wasn’t surprised when she got undressed in my presence. I perched on the edge of the bathtub.
“If I’d known Tommaso was home, I wouldn’t have come over.”
“No,” Bibiana said. “I’m glad you’re here. That way, at least, Tommaso won’t go for a second round right away.” My eyes flitted over the bruises on her hips, inner thighs and upper arms. I lowered my gaze to my lap and blinked away angry tears. Bibiana stepped into the shower and turned the water on. “Val?”
I stood and approached the shower stall. Bibiana’s expression was imploring. “I know I shouldn’t ask you this, but is there anything you can do?”
“Is he doing anything that goes against Dante or the Outfit? Anything at all?”
Bibi shook her head as the water plastered her dark hair against her forehead. “He’s loyal to the Cavallaros.”
That’s what I’d suspected. “Dante won’t act unless he’s a traitor, but maybe we can set him up.”
Bibiana’s eyes became huge. “You would trick Dante if we did that. You can’t go against him, Val. I can’t ask that of you.” She put on a brave smile. “I’m being overdramatic. Women have been going through this for centuries and they all survived.”