Page 65 of Forbidden Whispers

“Always,” she said.

“Then I think we need to tell them the truth.” He angled his head in the direction of Noah and Maggie.

“How much of it?” Valentina asked.

“All of it,” Eric replied.

Chapter 18

A crack of thunder sounded close, followed by a flash of lightning that briefly transformed the dark motel room curtains into a mottled gray. Noah and Maggie moved to the side of the bed to face Eric and Valentina on the opposite one. And Boon once again curled up at Noah’s feet.

Loud raindrops began to spatter against the glass of the window as Eric took a deep breath and began talking. “Valentina is basically mafia royalty. Her name is not really Valentina Romano. It’s Valentina Gianola and she’s the daughter of the Detroit mafia boss known as Papa Dom Gianola.”

“Mafia? Are you talking about the Detroit Partnership?” Maggie said.

Valentina lifted her head from Eric’s shoulder with a look of suspicion. “You’ve heard of the Partnership?”

“Not really.” Maggie blushed under Valentina’s sharp scrutiny. “We actually just learned about it after our encounter with Nick the Knife.”

Valentina made a sound of disgust. “He gave himself that stupid nickname.”

“Well, whatever his name is, he’s very, very determined to find you,” Noah said.

“Of course he is,” Valentina spat out. “God forbid he would ever disappoint my father in anything. His loyalty is pathetic. He probably still thinks there’s hope for him in all of this.”

“What do you mean?” Maggie asked.

Valentina sighed. “I’m an only child. And from my earliest memories, Papa Dom trained me to take over the family business.” She emphasized the last two words. “In the world of crime families, he’s actually considered progressive,” she added with a humorless laugh.

“The Detroit Partnership is one of the original twenty-four Mafia families that make up La Cosa Nostra in America, or the mafia as you call it. The reins of control in a family always pass to the oldest son of a boss or to an underboss in the absence of any sons. In our case, that would have been Nick.

“However, my father wanted me to follow in the footsteps of Maria Licciardi, who became the first female mafia boss in 1993. He wanted me to become La Madrina, the Godmother of the Partnership, when he stepped down.

“Nick knew all of this years ago, so he began pressuring Papa Dom to let him marry me. Nick figured that as my husband he’d have more power than he would remaining a mere underboss. My father was on the verge of agreeing to this when something happened to change everything.”

“What changed?” Maggie asked, leaning forward, clearly captivated by Valentina’s story.

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