Mercenary (Gangsters of New York #3) - Bella Di Corte Page 0,43

her body when she danced. The way her hair fell down her back and swayed. The way her mouth moved but no words came out. The way her eyes brightened when she laughed.

“Corrado Palermo,” my grandfather said, barely breaking through my concentration. “Your biological father. He got a taste of powerful blood when he came close to killing Arturo Scarpone, when he was this close to slitting his throat. After, it did something to him. It clouded his judgment. He lost it all because he couldn’t see past his own arrogance. He became blinded by it. A blind man doesn’t go far in war, especially on an old battlefield, where he’s up against ghosts who died there.”

I leaned forward some, watching her eyes when she looked up into the man’s.

My grandfather made a noise in his throat. He was put off by my lack of focus, but not surprised by it. But if he thought I wouldn’t recover at some point, he would have said so. “I am proud of the man you’ve become, Corrado,” he said. “That is why I give you the gift of this woman, of clearing her debt with one of my closest men.”

“Is that my wedding gift?” It was the closest thing to a wish from a genie in our world. Whatever his children or grandchildren asked for on their wedding days, he gave it to them.

“No.” He sighed. “You still get your choice of a gift.”

“I want Junior dead. There’s no room for the both of us in this world.” I would have done it myself, but I had no idea when my exile to Italy would be over. I couldn’t risk defying my grandfather, and I refused to risk Alcina’s safety. No one could protect her like I could.

“It’s her word against his,” my grandfather said.

“She tells the truth.”

“You would put your balls on a chopping block for her word?”

“Both of them,” I said. “Even my heart.”

He became quiet for a minute or two, stroking his chin. Finally, he cleared his throat. “It will be my pleasure to bestow this gift upon you on your wedding day.”

“I want his face unrecognizable,” I said. “I want him to run, to feel real fear.”

“No,” he said. “This I cannot do. His father is one of my best men, my most trusted men.”

“They lied,” I said, reiterating the point.

He moved around some and then placed a key in my hand, signaling the end of that conversation. “This is from your grandmother and me—something more personal. A gift for you and your wife. A private plane will take you there tonight. Nunzio has the information. I’m sending more men with him, since it’s a little further than I’m comfortable with.”

“Grazie,” I said. After I stood, I kissed him on each cheek, and then turned to go.

18

Alcina

The post wedding high was still surging after we left my grandparents’ casa. We were headed toward Catania—that’s as much as Corrado would tell me. Once there, we boarded a private plane. The men who filled the cabin were unknown to me, except for Nunzio, the serious Italian, and Adriano, the Chipmunk. I’d finally learned their names during our reception. I did not think Corrado would be introducing me to anyone else.

He had been quiet on the drive from Forza d’Agrò to Catania, and he was still quiet an hour into the flight. Though right after the plane took off, when he must have sensed my unease—it had been years since my flight from America back to Italy—he opened his arms for me, and I found peace there.

“Grazie, mio marito,” I whispered and then looked down at the dress. Mamma and Anna had helped me change into it before I left.

Corrado had given it to me as a gift. It came in an elaborately wrapped box, stamped with a luxury brand name. Inside was a gorgeous cream silk dress. It was the most beautiful dress I had ever worn, apart from my wedding gown. The material was thin and soft, it had no sleeves, and it came in at the waist. It showed a good portion of my back but fell below my knees. It came with a pair of heels to match, with silk bows at my ankles.

His fingers stroked the bare skin on my back. The soft touch and his steady heartbeat lulled me to sleep, and when I woke up an hour—or two?—later, we were bouncing on the runway as we touched down. I went to get up once