Ricco leaned over and brushed a kiss on the top of her blond head. “You are so forgiving, farfallina mia.”
“We are not,” Stefano said.
Vittorio echoed his older brother’s sentiment. It was hard to forget their childhood and even harder to take Eloisa’s attacks on their women. Emmanuelle was the one to always try to soothe her, but more often than not, Eloisa seemed to revel in tearing strips off of her. She found every reason to complain, mock and ridicule her. Nothing Emmanuelle ever did was right or good enough and yet she always helped her mother. Her brothers held Eloisa’s treatment of their beloved younger sister against Eloisa more than almost anything else.
“Let’s circle back to Phillips. There’s no explanation for Eloisa or her treatment of her daughters-in-law. We know Phillips can’t get to Francesca or Stefano,” Vittorio said. “He won’t be able to get to Eloisa, all the precautions are in place as they are in all of our homes. What about Lucia, Amo and Nicoletta? He might not know our connection to them, but we can’t take any chances.”
“I sent them all to Italy,” Taviano said. “As soon as I knew our family might once again be under attack, I thought it best to remove them from danger. Amo and Lucia only know that we wanted them to take Nicoletta to Italy and Sicily. They were more than delighted to surprise her with a long vacation.”
“I’m making certain my staff is protected,” Vittorio said. “And also, Katie Branscomb. He’s been in her home already. I had Tomas and Cosimo talk to her last week and explain the danger. I offered to put her up in the Ferraro hotel and she agreed to move there until this is over. They’re with her now.”
Vittorio glanced at his sister. Tomas and Cosimo Abatangelo were Emmanuelle’s regular bodyguards, but lately they’d been used as roving guards, going to whoever needed them the most. Emmanuelle sent him a small smile as if she had it covered. Each member of his family present in his home had ridden the shadows to get there, which meant leaving their bodyguards behind.
“We’ll keep someone on her,” Stefano said.
“Thank you. Grace will be relieved to know she’s safe. If he can’t get to us through our homes, he’s likely to come at us another way,” Vittorio said.
“Grace’s apartment is being watched so hopefully we’ll know when he’s there,” Taviano said. “In the meantime, we’ve made it look as though Grace has been there on and off. Let’s put her phone in her apartment as soon as the Grecos have the photographs they need.”
“That’s done,” Vittorio said. “You can have the phone.”
Ricco flashed Vittorio a grin as he took the cell phone. “It will make him crazy that he missed her. He’ll need to camp there in the ducts, staring into her apartment.”
“Maybe,” Vittorio said. “He’s cunning. He’s been eluding the law for a very long time, which means he’s extremely intelligent.”
“True,” Stefano agreed, “but those text messages prove he’s unraveling. That means he’s going to make a mistake. We have to be there to nail him if he does.”
“What about the meeting with the Saldis?” Vittorio asked. “Is that still on?” He almost wished it wasn’t, although he knew they had to get it over with. If war between the two families was coming, they had to know.
“Absolutely. Be at the hotel tomorrow at four.”
“I’ll be bringing Grace with me. She’ll be able to meet Francesca if Francesca is up to it. It sounds like things have changed in the last few days.”
Stefano nodded. “Doc wants her to stay off her feet as much as possible. He says things are fine with the baby, but she’s had a little too much activity, meaning a few contractions. He’s had a room with all the equipment he needs set up in our home. If the contractions continue or get stronger, he’ll give her some medication to stop them. The meds would be hard on her.”
Vittorio could see why Stefano had banned Eloisa, with her abrasive personality, from seeing Francesca. He stood up. “I appreciate you all coming here. Doc says Grace is almost ready to start physical therapy, which means I won’t worry about her losing her arm.”
“She’s probably losing her mind being so helpless,” Giovanni said and got up as well. “I know that was the worst for me.”
“That’s right, Gee.” Vittorio said. “You don’t get to use the shadows like a normal person, you have