Mafia's Final Play (Mafia's Obsession #3) - Summer Cooper Page 0,17

a large living room with a glass wall, a bathroom, one bedroom, a study, and a kitchen. Upstairs were four more bedrooms, two bathrooms, and above that was the attic. That section was designed like an open-spaced apartment, with its own bathroom and a kitchenette that split the living room and bedroom into separate but still open spaces. The only heat came from the two fireplaces downstairs, one in each bedroom upstairs, and the one in the attic. That accounted for the massive pile of chopped and split wood outside.

“Okay, I’m going to have a shower, see if that will clear my head before I eat. That nap you suggested was a good idea.”

“I know you haven’t been sleeping well, so I thought it might. Hopefully, with all of this fresh air and freedom, you’ll be able to sleep better.” Matteo pulled his bottom lip in between his teeth and frowned. He didn’t like mentioning the fact that he’d basically held her prisoner for weeks now.

“See you in a bit.” She kissed him on the cheek on the way out.

Matteo watched her go, concerned that she hadn’t been able to smell the onions. She should have been able to smell them, but as he’d said, maybe it was the flight, and being somewhere new at such a higher elevation than she was used to. Or something like that.

They were about five miles outside of Thompson Falls, Montana, up the side of a mountain covered in snow. A couple of thousand feet above sea level, at least. In Louisiana, she’d been near to, maybe even below sea level. In New York, they were a few dozen feet above sea level. Here, they were all but in the clouds, in comparison to the other places she’d lived. Maybe that’s all it was, no need to worry.

He’d done his research when she’d first mentioned going to the doctor. He’d read about the signs and symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease. He was worried, but the likelihood that she’d develop the disease was very slim. Everything he’d read said the disease wasn’t inherited, in most cases. It was the “most cases” that bothered him.

He knew that if she developed it, he would be there to take care of her, to provide her with the best doctors and treatments that money could buy. But how would she deal with it? With him there, hopefully, she’d cope.

He sighed deeply as he listened for the sounds of her moving around upstairs. She’d just come out of the shower, so she’d be down soon. He had found a way to hide his worry, to rein it in. He was set to be the next big Mafia king, the one with all the power and control. He couldn’t be seen to be weak, even with his wife.

Even if he wanted to be with his wife.

She came in just as he put the pasta into a pot of boiling water, Anton not far behind her. This was weird, having Anton around so much but the man was quiet, unobtrusive, and did his duties. That was what mattered. “How’s it looking up there?”

“Good, real good. We have a clear line of sight all around the perimeter and beyond that, it’s just forest. I don’t like that part, but the way the owner put concrete all around the house in an oval shape makes this a lot easier to keep an eye on.”

“Great,” Matteo said as he stirred the pasta. “Dinner’s almost ready.”

The rest of the night was spent watching television with Marie. Anton went back upstairs to keep watch from there, while Matteo would get up every now and then with the excuse of getting a bag of chips or getting them both drink refills. He wouldn’t let her do it, not because he was coddling her, but because he didn’t want her to know that he was also keeping a check.

There was no proof that she was in danger, but Anton hadn’t been able to trace who the contract came from. To Matteo, that meant it was someone with a lot of power, someone like his aunt. Someone that hadn’t yet received what they’d paid for. It was up to him to keep her alive.

The house came with a security system that covered all the windows and doors, as well as a four-foot perimeter outside of the house; they would know if someone tried to get in while they were asleep. That eased some of Matteo’s worries and he went to bed