Mafia Obsession

Elio

“His boys are going to get suspicious soon,” Luca says as we sit on the balcony, looking over our city. The large lights of the stadium construction have started going up on the outskirts, a project we never should’ve gotten involved with without proper vetting. “We’re going to have to drag the information out of him. Once we learn where he’s saved the video and any copies, we can end the bastard.”

“I’ll do it,” I growl. “After what he did to my woman.” “Is there a reason you’re smiling?” Luca snaps.

I flatten my lips. “No.”

“You sure about that? We just learned Mom cheated on Dad. There’s a fucking sex tape of her out there.”

My brother doesn’t understand that while parts of my world are falling, others are ascending as if on an angel’s wings. Others are pulsing so damn brightly.

“I don’t know what to make of it,” I say, running a hand through my hair. “I can’t think why Mom would do that.”

“Did you ask her when you gave them a ride?”

“No, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. We need to focus on the business at hand. We can hear her justifications later.”

“Justifications, not reasons… interesting word choice.” “Is there an acceptable reason?” I snap.

“I’ve cheated,” Luca mutters. “I’ve had girlfriends who have cheated, too.”

“You’ve never been married. Once a person takes that oath, it’s for life. I don’t give a damn what ups and downs you have. You stick to the path. Loyalty, honesty, family… That’s what a marriage means.”

Luca sighs. “I’ll try to talk to her soon. I feel like a kid who’s just learned Santa isn’t real. Everything’s been pulled out from underneath me.”

“I know,” I say darkly. “Mom’s a good person. If she did this, she must’ve believed there was a reason.”

“Or maybe, no matter how good a woman is, there’s always a chance they’ll stray.”

“No,” I snap. “I don’t accept that. I don’t believe it. There are good women out there. I’ve found one, and when this is over, I’m going to marry her. You’ll be my best man and soon an uncle. We’ll have it all: the Family back where it belongs and the Shanks in the dirt.”

“Amen to that,” he says.

I smirk over at him. “Then you’ll find a woman of your own. You’ll stop chasing tail. You’ll settle down. Our children will grow up together.”

“Wait a sec…” He smirks, too, though I can tell it takes tremendous effort. “How soon are you planning on having some little Elios and Ellas?”

“As soon as I can,” I tell him, thinking of my curvy virgin and the texts we sent earlier.

“You’ll have a head start on me, then.”

“It’s not a race,” I tell him. “Anyway, maybe that’ll be good. My sons and daughters can look out for yours.”

He reaches over and claps me on the arm. “Seeing you like this, I’ve got to admit, makes me wonder. If a cold, grumpy, moody prick like you can start smiling because you found the right lady, maybe it’ll work for me, too.”

I laugh. “But you’ve never been cold, moody, or grumpy.” “True,” he grins, “but I am a prick. You can’t argue there.”

We laugh together, and then one of our men knocks on the glass door to the balcony. We turn. It’s Matteo, one of my father’s oldest and most trusted operators, often working as the doorman to the apartment.

“Russel says he’s ready to make a deal,” Matteo tells us. “It didn’t take long to break him. He’s given us several locations for copies of the video.” When Matteo says video, he looks down respectfully. He’s the only man who knows the nature of it. The other men only know we’re trying to extract information from the dog.

“And the digital copies?” Luca says in disgust.

“He’s given us several passwords to several accounts. I’ve taken the liberty to delete them.”

Luca rubs his hands together. “There’s no way to be sure he’s given us everything.”

“We’ll have to move him, keep him prisoner for a while. Maybe up to a couple of weeks, to be sure.”

“And what, wait for the video to release?” Luca says. “But if we’ve deleted them, he can’t release it,” I reply. “I don’t trust the bastard,” Luca growls.

“Neither do I, but he’s taken a beating. He’s taken some cuts, too.”

Darkness flashes across my mind, across my soul. We’ve had to do nasty things to the prick to make him squeal, but I’d do much, much more after what he did to my woman. Nobody gets to threaten her. Nobody gets to torment her. She’s under my protection now.

“He’ll take a bullet, too,” I go on, “and I’ll pull the goddamn trigger.”

“Sir,” Matteo says. “I’m sorry, but is that the wisest move? You’re acting don…”

He’s right. Typically, the don wouldn’t pull the trigger himself. Risking prison time for the man in charge isn’t a good move, but the circumstances are different here.

“He broke into my girlfriend’s house,” I tell Matteo.

Shock registers on Matteo’s face, but he’s too experienced in the life to outright question the don.

I smirk, leaning forward. “You heard me right. He tried to blackmail my woman. He tried to make her life hell. Nobody gets to threaten her. Nobody gets to make her feel weak or small. Nobody.”Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

Matteo nods, fear flickering in place of the shock as he steps backward, frowning as if he thinks I will leap at him.

“Are you sure you want to advertise this, bro?” Luca asks when he’s gone. “Why shouldn’t I?” I snap.

“You know what mob guys are like. They hear the don’s found a lady, and it won’t be long until they start talking about wedding bells.”

“Good,” I tell him. “That’s exactly what I want. If it weren’t for this crap with Russel, I’d marry her right now.”

Luca leans forward with a slight smile on his face. “Good for you, man. Good for you. Okay, time to roll out?”

“We’ll hit the physical locations,” I reply, nodding. “Then we’ll transfer Russel to one of our safe houses in the ‘burbs. It’ll be simple enough to keep him there until we’re done with him. In the meantime, we’ll need to get ourselves out of that shitty stadium deal. I’m not touching anything that has Russel’s prints on it.”

Luca lets out a breath between clenched teeth. “That’s a lot of work.” I reach over and clap him on the arm. “Rather be at the bar?”

“No. Hell no. It’s time I took after my big brother and put that hard work in.”

Luca stands, enters the apartment, and prepares for the word ahead. I take out my phone and send a text. After this, I’ll have to put my phone away and make a conscious effort not to contact my woman. She’s so distracting in the best way, constantly making me want to forget about everything but texting her and being with her.

I love you, I type, then bite down so hard my jaw hurts. Is it too fast? Is there such a thing as too fast for us?

Thinking about the future, I wonder what our kids would say if they knew I’d told their mother this so soon after meeting her. If we want-need- each other, nobody else… If even the idea of being with somebody else is bizarre to us… If we’re ready to commit our lives completely, isn’t that love? If not, what is love?

Screw it. I click send.

Staring at the screen, I wait, but a red exclamation mark appears. A “Message failed to send” notification appears on my screen. I’m not a superstitious man, but maybe that’s a sign.

Deleting the message, I stand, roll my neck from side to side, and swing my arms a little. There’s a lot of work to do.

Scarlet

I wake with sunlight across my face and to the sound of Mom vomiting. It’s a weird contrast. Sitting up, I see Mom hunched over a small bin across the room. She looks up, her mouth aimed down, her eyes glinting apologetically.

“I’ll get you some water,” I say. “Thank you,” she replies wheezily.

As I walk through the apartment-smaller than the other one but just as expensive-I’m shocked to find a spring in my step. After everything that’s happened, I should try to take this a little more seriously. I should probably be shell-shocked about Dad still. Yet all I can think about is the texts Elio and I sent each other last night, the heat, the closeness, the destiny.

Returning with the water, I place it on the side table and tenderly touch Mom’s shoulder. “Have you taken your pills, the ones that will help with the withdrawals?”

She nods, shaking. “It’s still going to be tough. The doctor warned me about that. I just want to sleep.”

“Let’s make a deal. Eat something, drink some water, then you can rest some more, yeah?”

She takes my hand, smiling with such sadness that I feel my heart trying to break down the middle. It’s a sad smile, but it also has some pride. It’s like she’s the kid, and I’m the grownup. “Okay, Scarlet. Thank you for being so strong.”

“It’s not as hard as you think,” I murmur. She laughs shakily. “Maybe not for you.”

“No, I think it would be, but I’ve found Elio. He’s helping me to be strong.” “You’ve… found him?” she says.

I swallow and nod. This is one thing I didn’t take into account-her reaction. “We’re going to be together long term, Mom,” I say, deciding to keep the explanation simple for now. All the destiny and children talk might be too much for her.

Mom would probably have more of a reaction if she didn’t feel like every inch of her body was burning intensely. Instead, a spaced-out smile spreads across her face. “After everything, you look happy. How is that possible?”

Love. That’s my instinctual answer. However, that message not being sent has messed with my head, as crazy as that seems. Yet when everything seems crazy, is it fair to pick out one note of madness?

“I don’t know,” I say. “What do you want? Some toast?” “Sure,” she replies. “Just one slice.”

I return to the kitchen and quickly make the toast. Then I have a shower, leave Mom resting in bed, and go to make myself some breakfast. As I put my bread in the toaster, Alessia enters, wearing a dark dress, her eyes downcast with heavy makeup. She looks like she’s barely slept.

“Good morning, Mrs. Marino,” I say.

Her expression is just as sad as Mom’s. It’s like she’s grateful to me for even addressing her. She acts as though I will call her names, push her

away, or insult her. “Yes, hello, Scarlet.” “How are you feeling?” I ask.

“How am I feeling?” she repeats, shaking her head as she sits at the kitchen bar. “I hardly think that’s the right question. How my husband feels is more to the point, isn’t it? I wonder if he even knows what’s going on. Oh, goodness gracious.”

“What is it, Mrs.-”

“Alessia, please,” she says tightly.

My toast pops, almost making me jump. It feels like there’s way too much tension in the room. “Is something wrong?”

“Not wrong. Not right. It just feels like a relief not to have to pretend anymore. Pretend he was speaking. Pretend I knew what I was doing. Oh, I’ve ruined everything.”

She starts to cry, hunching over. Despite what she did, I can’t just stand here and watch. Walking around the bar, I place my hand on her shoulder. It’s just like in the dining room last night. She turns and presses her face against me.

“You’re so strong,” she says after a minute or two of heart-wrenching sobbing. “Such a resilient young woman.”

“I don’t know about that,” I say. “I try my best. It’s all we can do, right?” “But you judge me for cheating.”

I hesitate. She leans back, staring firmly up at me. “If you’re going to be my daughter-in-law one day, get used to being honest.”

“Uh… Mrs…. Alessia… I’m not sure…”

“Oh, please,” she says, dabbing at her cheeks. “If I know one thing, it’s my family. I’ve never seen Elio look at anybody the way he looks at you. I tried. His father and I tried. We wanted grandchildren. We wanted our son to find love, but he’s always been obsessed with his work. Then you came

along. You changed everything. I can see it. When he looks at you, it’s like how Leo used to… used to…”

She breaks down again. This time is worse than the last. I do my best to hold her, trying to contain some of her heartache. It’s like she’s tearing apart from the inside. Finally, she manages to stop herself. “So?” she says. “Honesty, dear, please.”

I swallow a ball of nerves. Even if she made a mistake, I don’t want to start our relationship with judgment, but I don’t want to start it with lies, either.

“I don’t agree with cheating,” I tell her. “I think if you’ve committed yourself to one man, you should keep that commitment. If you can’t, you should leave him, but there’s no excuse for cheating in my book. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t you dare apologize for that,” she replies. “It’s exactly how I feel, which may surprise you. I was weak. Leo was working so much. I let this person fill my head with stories of romance and princes and princesses. I enjoyed the physical side, but I hated myself afterward. I scrubbed myself raw in the shower every time. I broke it off after a month.”

When I nod, she tilts her head at me. “You don’t think that’s a reasonable excuse.”

“With all due respect-”

“I don’t need respect. Just the truth.” “Okay. There’s no excuse for cheating.”

“Yes, you’re right. Leo knew, by the way.” I gasp. “He did?”

“I told him the day I ended it. I couldn’t live with this secret. He knew and getting back to where we started was a lot of work. I thought he’d never stop hating me, but finally, we recovered.”

We sit silently for a while, and then I touch her arm. “Why don’t I sing for Leo?”

“Would you?” she replies eagerly, as though she’s been waiting for me to ask this question. “Last time, I know he understood. He heard your voice. He hasn’t reacted like that to anything since the stroke.”

“Whenever you’re ready-whenever he’s ready-I am, too.” “He’s awake now if you’re sure you don’t mind?”

“If I’m going to be your daughter-in-law one day, I should get used to singing, right?”

She grins, looking like a little girl for a moment. Wiping her cheeks, she nods and takes my hand. I know she’s made mistakes. I know it will be hard for her sons to forgive her. Yet despite the fact she did something I could never dream of, she’s a good person.