Page 14 of Reign of Fate
Francesco is Evangeline’s bodyguard. Whenever Raffaele can’t accompany her, Francesco’s on duty, and he takes his responsibilities very seriously. Raffaele would give him a slow and painful death if anything happened to his wife. He’s one of the best soldiers I’ve trained. Francesco took another path before coming back toUltimo Morte.At nineteen, he approached Raffaele and begged him to let him join the army. Francesco and his father were always at odds, and he feared that one day, the damage between father and son would be irreparable. Raffaele agreed, much to Francesco’s father’s dismay, but it was the best thing for both of them.
Francesco came back four years later a changed man. He climbed the ranks in the army into a special ops team and became a sniper. But not just any sniper, the best his unit had, and they weren’t too happy when Francesco decided he’d had enough and came home. Francesco learned that the ugly part of the Mafia life is just a glimpse of the real world. Ugliness exists everywhere, sometimes disguised as innocence. He’s seen kids using machine guns, female suicide bombers, villages torn apart for the sheer hell of it. Although the lines have blurred through the years in the Mafia world, there’s still a sense of honor among the families that uphold their traditions.
Raffaele has always had the attitude that he won’t begin a fight, but he will certainly destroy the enemy if he comes knocking at his door. Francesco sees Raffaele and the family for what it is. He’s a hard man to get to know, but once you do, you can see that he’s one of the most loyal people I’ve ever met. His father continues to build his empire, and one day, Francesco will become the new underboss for the territory, but for now, he’s content with holding one of the most important roles in Raffaele’s eyes: protecting Evangeline.
I alert Elisa that I’m expecting Francesco so that she can let him right in and direct him to the office. Once he arrives, we divide and conquer. I weed through the paperwork, one page at a time, while Francesco starts at one end of the shelves and goes through each book with a fine-tooth comb. It’s going to take more than a day to get through it all.
It’s almost three hours later, and we’ve barely made a dent in it all. That’s when I hear the faint voices that seem to be coming from the front of the house. One voice grows louder and sounds insistent. I open the office door. I can’t get a visual on who’s here, but I can hear Elisa pleading with him.
“I already showed Bruto everything Guido had. I’m not sure what you want. If you tell me what you’re looking for—” Elisa starts.
She’s rudely interrupted by a male voice. “Just move out of the way, and I’ll find what I need.” Then I hear Elisa crying out in pain, but standing her ground. “This is my house, and I don’t want you in Guido’s bedroom.”
“I’m here at Bruto’s request. Don’t make me hurt you,” the menacing voice threatens.
The words hardly come out of his mouth before I’m racing down the hall to find Elisa on the first step to the stairway, her fingers clinging to the banister, and a man with his back to me, whose large hand is wrapped around Elisa’s arm as she winces in pain.
I stalk the last twenty feet to where they stand, but I call out a warning. “I suggest you take your hands off her if you want to keep your fingers.”
Elisa looks over the shoulder of the guy who has her in his grip, and when the man turns to see who it is and finds me, his jaw clenches and a fleeting look of fear passes over his face. He lets go of Elisa. I recognize him as Ruggero Botano, Bruto’s son-in-law.
Ruggero recovers quickly and plasters on a smile, pretending like I didn’t just see him manhandling my woman.
“You do not put your hands on a woman in anger. And never in my presence.” I know how to make my tone sound lethal, and it seems I accomplished my task. Ruggero drops the smile and goes on the defensive.
“Ivo, I can explain.” Ruggero raises his hands as if to ward me off.
“I’m listening,” I tell him, quirking my brow and crossing my arms over my chest.
“You see, Bruto is desperately missing his son, and he wants to surround himself with memories of him. We’re family. I want to make him feel better. I thought I’d come over and take a few things to help console him in this difficult time.” Ruggero goes for a heartfelt plea, but I’m not buying what he’s peddling. It’s utter and complete bullshit.
“And at this difficult time, did anyone consider that Elisa needed to be consoled? Where have you and thefamilybeen for the last three months?” I sneer. Ruggero is at a loss for words, mainly because there’s no answer to my question that would satisfy me, and he knows it. “And when has it ever been acceptable to lay your hand on another man’s wife?” I add.
Ruggero’s face grows pale, and he mutters, “I’m sorry. I was just trying to help an old man ease his pain, and I wanted Elisa to step aside and let me pass.”
“Your apology should be to Elisa. And this home, as of this morning, is under constant watch by me, under Raffaele’s orders. Do not show up here unexpectedly and demand a damn thing,” I say, taking a step toward him. Ruggero shifts his feet but holds his ground. I look past him to Elisa. “Go upstairs, please.” It wasn’t a request, and Elisa scurries up the stairs. I wait until I hear the bedroom door shut.
“This is all a big mistake. You’re making a big deal out of nothing,” Ruggero snaps. The man knows my temper, and he’s seen me rip a man apart with my bare hands. Ruggero quickly changes his expression and puts a smile on his face. “This is just a misunderstanding.”, his tone completely subdued. He has every right to be nervous.
“Let me make this clear for you, and you can take this back to Bruto. Raffaele and I have already discovered that you haven’t been looking after Elisa’s bills. In good faith, we let you handle the funds because Bruto begged to take care of the estate. As of this moment, that changes. The money will stop, and Raffaele will do this himself. I’ve seen the mess in Guido’s office. Someone’s been in there searching for something. It would be in your and Bruto’s best interest to speak up now. If you’re hiding something, we’ll find out, and I’ll remind you, Raffaele will not be merciful if he discovers this on his own.” I see the wheels spinning as he comes up with a plausible excuse. I don’t have enough proof yet that Ruggero or Bruto are involved in something they shouldn’t be, but I’m certain something’s amiss.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m not aware of what Bruto does or doesn’t do with his money,” he says. “But I’ll be sure to give him your message.” Ruggero moves to brush past me, and as he does, I grab him by the collar, lifting him up onto his toes and forcing him to meet my eyes.
“If you ever touch Elisa again, it will be the last thing you do. Am I understood?” I growl.
“Yes,” he grits out.
I drop him and watch him leave the premises. I advise the man I have standing at the gate that I want to know if Ruggero or Bruto ever return to the house.
I’m discovering Guido had secrets, and they could be deadly toUltimo Morte.
SIX
Warm Memories, Cold Walls
ELISA
There’s something horribly wrong. I can feel it in my gut. Since the night that Guido died, I’ve felt this cloud hanging over my head. At first, I thought it was the loss of a good man who I loved dearly, and I believed that this uneasiness would settle as the days passed, but it hasn’t.
