Bound by the Past (Born in Blood Mafia Chronicles 7)

I didn’t say anything, too torn between blinding rage and despair. If it were just me I had to worry about, I’d attack Boston and kill Orazio, then move on to Vegas to finish Fabiano. But I wasn’t alone.

I downed the rest of my drink.

Giovanni slipped out and closed the door. I slanted a glance over to the photos. Why had Fabiano chosen the Camorra and not the Famiglia? It made absolutely no sense. Back when he’d run away, the Camorra had been in shambles. He couldn’t hope to find anything in the West except for a painful death. Luca would have taken him in, for Aria, to spite me…

A new wave of rage boiled up. Luca risked a lot by making Orazio Underboss. Not only was he born into the Outfit but his wife wasn’t Italian. His Famiglia couldn’t be happy about that development.

Of course, I knew why he did it. To taunt me.

A knock sounded, tearing me from my thoughts.

Val stepped in without waiting for me to invite her in. It was a common occurrence but today my patience had run thin. “I didn’t ask you to come in.”

Val raised her eyebrows then crossed her arms in front of her chest. “I’m not one of your soldiers, Dante, so don’t treat me like one of them.”

I gritted my teeth. She was right. I shouldn’t unleash my anger on her, but right now I felt close to detonating and didn’t want her close.

She took a step closer, but I shook my head.

“I need time to think.”

“What happened? My father and Rocco looked like they’d seen a ghost. Is it about Orazio?”

“Valentina,” I said sharply. “I don’t feel like talking now. I really need to think.”

“Very well,” Val said, her expression making it very clear that it wasn’t. “If you’ve calmed down, maybe then we can have a conversation between partners. I’m not in the mood to be treated like one of your subjects.” She turned before I could say more and left the room, throwing the door shut with more force than was necessary.

I grabbed the edge of the desk, closing my eyes. I hated fighting with Val.“What’s gotten into Dad?” Leonas asked curiously when I stepped into the library where I’d sent Anna and him so they could practice their instruments. Leonas’ pressed the piano keys with little enthusiasm and Anna, too, only randomly tugged at the strings of her harp. She had never warmed up to the piano, so we’d switched her to the harp two years ago, with success.

“He’s just a bit stressed. He’s got plenty of work to do.”

“It’s because Uncle Orazio is a traitor?”

I frowned, wondering where Anna had picked that up. It was impossible to keep everything from them. At only nine and six, my children knew more than I wanted them to.

“I don’t know. Don’t worry about it, all right? Everything is going to be fine. Your dad just needs some time to work in peace.”

“Okay,” Anna mumbled and began to play a beautiful song on her harp.

Leonas got up from the piano bench and walked toward me. I ran my hand through his hair, which had gotten long again, so he had to blow it out of his eyes constantly. “When I’m Capo, I’ll fire Rocco’s dad. I don’t want him as my Consigliere.”

I stifled a smile and hugged him to me. “That’s still a long time to go. I’m sure he’ll have retired by then.”

“If he doesn’t, I’ll just have him killed.”

I froze. “Leonas, don’t talk like that.”

He looked up curiously. “Why not? It’s the truth. Dad kills people all the time.”

Anna tugged harder at the strings of her harp and hummed along to the melody.

I lowered my voice and gave him a stern look. “Who said that?”

“Rocco and Riccardo. Their father talks to them about a lot of stuff. And I’ve overheard Enzo and Taft in the kitchen too.”

“Don’t believe everything you hear.”

He tilted his head. “But it’s true, right? The mob kills people and Dad tells his soldiers who. Like traitors and people he doesn’t like.”

I wasn’t sure what to tell him. He was six, a small boy, and yet he knew these things, talked about death as if it was something ordinary. I swallowed. “You know you shouldn’t talk about these things with other people, right?”

“I know,” Leonas said. “You and Dad always say that we need to keep it a secret. I never tell Outsiders anything.”

I glanced at my watch. “Go back to your piano practice now. Are you done with your homework?”

Leonas made a sullen face. “Yeah.” I pushed him gently toward the piano then headed toward Anna who stared at her fingers with forced concentration. I squatted beside her stool. Her long brown hair trailed down her back and I gently smoothed it out. Anna turned toward me, her blue eyes swimming with worry. Whenever she looked at me, my breath stilled for a moment. She was such a beautiful girl, inside and outside.