Quiet Empire, page 23
I knew my lie would send Bosco over to speak to Piero. A possible sighting of Rosa Coppola would also be shared with Andrea, but she’d never involve the bride on her big day. Andrea was sickeningly thoughtful that way. God, I hated that woman.
I saw Sienna as she appeared across the room. She placed a hand to her precious belly then headed toward the kitchen. I’d nearly gagged when I overheard they were having twins. Of course, they were. What else wonderful was going to be shoved their way?
Now it was my turn. I smiled and twisted in my seat to tuck my phone and vial away, but when I turned back, Sienna’s friend Wyatt slid into the chair next to me. Why was he still here? He should have gone back to America ages ago. He was like a leech sucking onto Sienna and all that she’d just gained.
“What?” I snapped, not wanting to play nice with him. I was surprised he wasn’t hovering around Sienna like a fly in a cow field. He never let me get close to her.
“I wanted to know if you’d like to dance.”
“Why?” I tried to curb my annoyance and looked about as I wondered what he was supposed to be distracting me from. Vinni hurried by, and I noticed Wyatt gave him a quick glance. Was he up to something with my son? Did Vinni know something about me? Dammit. I needed to think quickly here.
“Why not?”
I rolled my eyes and took a sip of my drink, and he chuckled. Suddenly, I looked at Amara’s glass then at my own and spat my drink back out and coughed up any that might have gone down. The little ass switched the glasses!
“She’s okay.” I felt Wyatt pat my back while he addressed the guests around me. “She’s just had a little too much.”
My face heated in embarrassment, and I shook him off as I slid out of my seat. I quickly walked away, avoiding eye contact with the old hags around me.
“Where are you going?” Hector stepped in front of me just as I reached the other side of the room. He now blocked my path to Sienna. Clearly, he was planning on making a move tonight as well.
“Did you see what that woman’s friend just did to me?”
“You mean what you just did to Amara?” He sighed, unamused, and tapped the radio on his uniform. “You’re slipping, Noemi, and I can tell you’re about to do something stupid right now. Don’t you realize they’re always watching?”
A door opened in my head, one I’d been desperately trying to keep locked. My dark thoughts flowed out and swam around freely. My blood heated and my heartbeat pounded dangerously in my throat, and I knew I was about to lose control. I was certainly finished with answering to this kid. He’d held my secret over my head for far too long. Not to mention my bank account. I bit my cheek until I tasted blood.
“Go back to your seat and stick to the plan,” he said as his eyes bored into mine.
“No.” I stood firm, and I knew we were both at our breaking point.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Niccola hurrying toward us.
“Where’s Vinni?” he called in a rush. He clearly knew what was going on, but I needed to sell why I was talking with Hector.
I quickly put a hand to my chest like Hector had just given me the same terrible news. “Rosa Coppola and a few of her soldiers are on their way here!” I reached out for Hector and touched his shoulder for support to give my son a grand performance. “He has more to share, but you two have to go warn the others.”
“We know, but we need more information. Officer.” Niccola addressed Hector and motioned for him to follow. He had no choice but to comply as Niccola was a Capri and Hector had to follow orders. They headed over toward Piero and Elio.
Hector had shot me a warning to stay put, so I waited for them to get out of sight then hurried in the opposite direction. I spotted the bride sipping some water, all on her own.
It felt almost too easy.
I didn’t wait for her to see me. I hurried by and grabbed her arm as I went, quickly opening a door to a small room, then shoved her in before she could react. I blocked her path to the door as she recovered her balance against a table.
“What the hell, Noemi?” She instinctively held her stomach, protecting her twins. Oh, spare me the melodramatics.
“Enough with the games!” I shouted, seeing black spots. “Where’s Greta?” I demanded to know everything.
“In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past few months, that lady despises me. All this,” she waved her hands, “well, let’s just say it’s been a blessing not to have her here.”
“You’re avoiding my question!”
“No, I’m saying I don’t care to know where that nasty, old, rosary bead rubbing mongrel is, nor do I care.” Her hands went to her hips. “Now, move, or I’ll move you.”
“Who do think you’re talking to?”
“Oh,” she smiled, and I saw it, something in her eyes, “I’ve very aware of who I’m speaking to, Noemi.”
“Tell me where you got the photo.” I changed my tone.
“Rosa’s office.” What? The way she just tossed that answer at me made me stop caring. “You want to tell me who it is? Or do I have to keep digging?” Sienna asked.
“You’re playing with something that will undoubtably destroy everything you’ve worked so hard to gain.”
Sienna shook her head slowly like she was tired of me, and it only made me see red.
“How about this?” She took hold of her long white gown with her perfectly manicured hands and readjusted the skirt. “Despite you trying to kill me, I’ll give you an opportunity to fill in a blank for me. Then perhaps I’ll fill in what I can for you.”
“I’m listening.” I folded my arms.
“You should…” She inclined her head. She looked so damn confident I wanted to punch her in the face, but I knew I had to hear her out. “Tell me the rest of the sentence. I saw the indents from something written on the photo. What does it mean?”
Then like the sun returning after an angry storm, it hit me…she doesn’t know.
Don’t smile. You’ve got this.
“All right, Sienna.” I lowered my eyes and tried to calm myself so it would sound convincing. It was time to play the last card I had. “I can’t keep running from my past, so let’s do this. But you must promise me, if I tell you the truth, Elio can only know a part of it.”
“I’ll decide that after I hear it.”
If only I had my dinner knife, I could do so much damage right now.
“Fine.” I sagged against the door. “I was and will always be in love with your father.” I watched her face fall, but she cleared her expression of emotion quickly. “When your mother married Theo, I hated her for it. I still do, so I did the one thing I could think of to hurt them both. I dated and got pregnant by Bosco. He was one of Theo’s biggest rivals. It was a kick in the gut to Elenora that now I’d forever be linked to the Capris when she couldn’t. It worked. Theo took me back, which, of course, upset Elenora and made me beyond happy.” I gave her a sickeningly sweet smile to drive my hate for all things Elenora home to her daughter.
“Nice,” she snickered.
“We kept our secret from Rosa Coppola. I knew she’d carve it out of me much like she did Francesco’s baby.”
Sienna looked away from me, twisting her mouth. Then she finally spoke. “And my father was okay with raising a Capri as his own?”
“Francesco did it with you. What’s the difference?” I jabbed at her past. “I never said your father was a good man, Sienna. Theo felt the pressure and needed to have a son before his brother did. It was a race to the finish line. Which brings me to this…” I pulled out the baby photo and tossed it on the table. “Let’s back up here for a moment. When Elenora had you, a girl, the pressure was on him again. Theo was beside himself, which was why when I got pregnant, we hatched a plan with Rosa. I’d provide information on the Capris and, if I had a boy, we’d secretly raise my son as a Coppola.”
“Sienna!” Wyatt burst through the door, and I jumped to my feet.
“No!” Sienna shook her head, holding a hand up to both of us to stay put. “Wyatt, just give me a moment alone with her.” Wyatt’s face fell then he looked at me.
“Then let me just…” He made a motion, and I lifted my arms a little. He patted me down for weapons, then indicated my purse, and I saw Sienna nod. Damn. He found it and held up the vial for Sienna to see. “Don’t drink or eat anything around her.”
Sienna closed her eyes and cursed under her breath but stayed calm and said nothing.
“I’ll be right out here.” He shot me a nasty look as he left, and I sank back down in my seat. I knew my time was limited.
“Wow,” Sienna shook her head in disgust as he shut the door, leaving us alone, “the way you play with people’s lives is revolting.”
“It’s war out there, Sienna. It’s either them or you.” I brushed off her pissy-face look. “Where was I? Oh, yes, but Theo, being the man he was, took it one step further. He took another woman to bed just to ensure he got what he needed.”
“Stellar father I had.”
“Well, we agree on one thing.” I broke eye contact as the hurt spread through me. Theo could have at least waited a few months to see what I was having before he took someone else to bed. When I looked back to Sienna, I saw her mother looking through her eyes, and I felt fire lick at my insides. “You never lived in that house then. You couldn’t understand the darkness that lives in them all. Even you.” I jabbed again, but it didn’t seem to affect her. “That baby in the picture,” I paused to drag out the moment, needing it to hurt more than anything else, “is your half-brother.”
“What?” She snatched the photo up and studied it then looked at me. “Where is he now?”
I let her stew on that for a long, hard moment, and just when I thought she’d burst, I went on. “Before I tell you, you have to understand something. His mother’s been blackmailing me for years over this. Threatening to tell Bosco, telling him where I was staying, what I was doing. That went on all through my pregnancy, too. She’s drained my bank account. If that gets out, Sienna, it’ll destroy everything!”
"Noemi, stop.” She tried to stem the flow.
“I’m already on the outside of that family. Bosco loves Amara, and I’m stuck in limbo. I know Greta moved in years ago because she always suspected me of playing both sides, but she couldn’t prove it. Do you know what that was like? Living under the eye of that old bat? What could I do? She’s a syndicate elder.” I shook off the coldness that came with that thought.
“Am I supposed to have sympathy for you?” Sienna looked skeptical as she shook her head. “You played games. You were a traitor to the family that took you in. You were given a life that should never had been yours in the first place. Now, years later, you tried to kill me in a fire!”
“Please, you must understand, I was brainwashed into thinking you were going to tell Bosco my secret! I was out of my mind thinking that if you knew, then my sons would be without a mother! God, the money I took from the family just to keep her quiet…” I started to cry, and her face finally softened, so I went for it. “Bosco’s just looking for a reason to kick me out so he can bring Amara in. Please have mercy on someone who’s just been trying to keep her family together.”
“Noemi.” She just stood there, and I wasn’t sure what was going through her mind. She closed her eyes and muttered something I couldn’t hear. “His name.”
“If I tell, he might try to kill you again.”
“Again?”
“Yes,” I sniffed and went for a look of distress, “it was him.” I leaned forward and pointed at the photo. “He wants you dead! He told me where you were at the Coppola house. He was the one who spread most of the gasoline. He even helped me get that woman onto your bed. I didn’t know he was going to stab her! It just got so out of control.”
“His name,” she repeated.
I needed to sell he was the true villain here.
“The bomb!” I blurted to get her to remember. Stefano had used that blast to separate Sienna from her new driver, but then Hector got her and took her to my mama’s house and kept her hidden. Mama used her as leverage to make a deal with Stefano, and everything would have worked if Sienna hadn’t escaped. I moved toward her. “He wants you dead, Sienna, and he won’t stop until he does.”
“I’m not asking again.” This time her tone struck a chord, and I knew now was the time.
“Officer Hector, the policeman who’s working with Elio.”
“Oh, my God!” She looked shocked and suddenly paled. I wondered if she might faint, but I knew her well enough now to know she’d keep it together.
She raced past me and flung the door open, and her dress swirled around her legs as she ran. I supposed it was too much to hope she’d trip. I gathered my purse and hurried outside. I needed to get home and pack. My shoes wobbled on the cobblestones as I dashed through the sea of cars to my own and fell into the driver’s seat with a crash.
As I started the engine, movement caught my eye, and I saw Hector’s confused face as I spun off.
It was time for him to go.
“Where is she?” I boomed through the private room, making Mama and Papa jump to their feet. “Is she with Wyatt? Because he’s missing, too!”
Vinni returned, looking pale and worried with the phone to his ear. “No sign of Wyatt,” he whispered.
I rushed through the patio doors to the outside and scanned the parking lot.
Where are you, bella? I bit my tongue to keep from lashing at everyone. This was the one night that needed to go smoothly. She deserved it!
“Elio, we have company on the way.” Niccola came outside with Officer Hector on his heels.
“Why do you think I’m looking for my wife?” I snapped.
“Sorry for coming uninvited, sir,” Hector looked around at all of us, “but Rosa Coppola and a few soldiers were spotted heading in this direction. There could be more. I’m not sure who she has left working with her.”
“He’s right.” Bosco came rushing up behind them. “Noemi got a call that someone spotted them.”
I looked over at The Finder, and he shook his head. “I wouldn’t risk staying, on the off chance she really is coming, but I haven’t heard this from any of my people, and they’re all on high alert.”
“Bosco,” Papa came to my side, “who did Noemi hear it from?”
“I’m unsure. Someone called her, and I didn’t wait around to ask.” Bosco rubbed his hand over his head as he tried to call Noemi. I glanced at Papa, and his mouth twisted.
“Papa,” I pulled him away from the others, “did she just separate me from my wife?” A chill blanketed the air around us, and my head spun. “If I was going to make one last effort to figure out what Sienna knew, the wedding would be a good place to try it. There’s so much going on, and we are about to leave for a three-week vacation.”
“I agree.” He nodded, and I knew he was thinking the same thing.
“We’re concerned for Noemi’s safety.” I looked at Papa, and he knew I’d taken that angle to spin the story to the cousins. I was still trying to protect them for a long as possible.
“Vinni! Niccola!” Papa started to gather the guys to form a search party for Noemi, Wyatt, and Sienna.
“Sir?” The Finder cautiously approached us, and Papa raised a hand to stop everyone from moving. “One of your guests just confirmed that she saw Noemi heading into an empty room—"
“Elio!” Sienna yelled as she raced around the side of the building, her heels and gown glowing in the garden lights. She threw herself into my arms as she gasped for breath. “I need to…” She tried to catch her breath, but her face was as white as her dress. Wyatt was a few yards behind her.
“Take a breath. It’s all right.” I couldn’t imagine her elevated heartrate was good for her or the babies. She’d probably heard about Rosa coming.
“The gasoline,” she panted and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to speak, “the bomb.” The hair on the back of my neck rose, and something cold passed through me.
“What are you talking about?”
“Noemi—” Her body suddenly went stiff in my arms, and her gaze moved over my shoulder to someone behind me.
“Let’s give them some space,” Hector ordered like he owned the place.
“Who are you to speak like that to—” Niccola’s words were cut off by Sienna’s cold voice.
“No!” The venom in her words took everyone by surprise, and I felt her fight response surge through her arms and into mine. “How could you?”
“Miss Sienna, what’s wrong?” Hector licked his lips while he looked around as though weighing his options.
“What’s going on here? I demand to know.” I stared at Hector as Sienna disentangled herself from my arms.
“Elio,” she said in that cold voice, “Hector tried to kill me.”
“Is that what Noemi told you?” Hector laughed in disbelief. “The lies that woman spreads!”
I saw her hesitate. She and I both knew how Noemi could twist things.
“So, you’re not my half-brother?” she hissed. I vibrated at that, and my face snapped back to her as I registered her words. “This isn’t you?” She held up the photo I knew Noemi had stolen from our home. “She told me we share the same father, and she told me all about the money you were stealing from the Capris.”
Papa and Bosco stepped toward Hector at the same time as I tugged Sienna behind me. With a snarl, Hector pulled a gun on them. Sounds of weapons being drawn was all that could be heard in the room.
“Your mother ruined everything!” he spat. “She killed our father! Killed any chance of me having the life I deserve!” His suddenly wild eyes widened, and saliva flew from his lips. “Then you returned, and everyone just moved aside. Noemi should have kept her mouth shut. I’ll take care of her later. But let me tell you, Sienna, I’ve gotten close to you many times before, and I’ll do it again.”
