Page 62 of Finn

I laugh but don’t say anything. It’s not as though I can deny it, and he wouldn’t believe me if I tried. After these past several weeks, Finn has become well acquainted with who I am and vice versa. Even if he could change it, I have a sneaking suspicion he wouldn’t.

After finishing the exquisite meal my parents’ cook prepared, Finn leans back in his chair and rests his hand on his stomach.

“That was absolutely delicious. Maybe your cook would be inclined to teach Alessia how to prepare some of her recipes,” he says, smiling at my mother.

“What do you mean? Alessia’s been cooking with her since she was, I don’t know, eight, maybe? Remember when she wanted to open her own restaurant, Mario?” My mother looks at my father with a warm smile. “Honestly, we were both surprised when she went to college for finance instead of culinary school.”

Finn’s eyes shoot to me. “You said you couldn’t cook.”

“No,” I correct. “I said you had two hands and could fend for yourself. I never said I couldn’t. Besides, it's been years since I made a full-course meal like this one.”

“You could give it a shot,” Finn murmurs, taking a sip of his wine.

“I could do a lot of things. I’m also quite adept at carving meat. Would you care to see my knife skills, husband?”

Finn shakes his head with a smirk playing on the corner of his lips. “Little demon is right.”

I shrug and sip my wine as Finn turns to my father. “We should talk about a few things before Alessia and I head home, Mario. There’s been some new developments.”

My father nods, and my mother rises from the table, grabbing the plates to take to the kitchen. We have staff for this kind of thing, but whenever business conversations come up, she takes her leave. It’s not that my father hides things from her; it’s that she’s not the type of wife to involve herself in the business. She’s perfectly happy hosting parties and being a mother and wife to the head of a family, but that’s where her involvement ends. Unlike me, who’s been involved in a lot of what goes on in my father’s illegal pursuits since working for one of his companies. He was always honest about what my job truly entailed. It never bothered either of us that I knew most of the details of his business, which is far from common in other families. My mother has her way of contributing to this life, and I have mine.

The three of us make our way into the study where I first met Finn. We’ve come a long way since that night and still have a long way to go. But instead of fear of the unknown, I’m walking in here happier than I ever remember being in my life.

Finn and my father have a seat on the couches facing each other while I pour us three glasses of whiskey and hand one to my father then my husband before sitting next to him. It’s so different from where we were positioned barely a month ago.

“Cataldi has been seen in both of our territories,” Finn tells my father. “We still don’t know where exactly he’s been hiding, but we have a feeling he’s planning something. It looks to us like he’s trying to drum up support. Many of his father’s capos knew about his side of the business,” Finn says, referring to the sex trafficking Carlo’s been facilitating through the ports. “And my source tells me they aren’t happy about it. Not all, but most of the men in the Cataldi organization don’t agree with what Carlo’s been doing or the fact his father was turning a blind eye to it. There’s been infighting about who is going to take over Francesco’s territory since he went to prison. Some think they should stay loyal to Carlo, while others want to move in a different direction. It’s the perfect time for our families to move in on all the Cataldi businesses, not just the ports. I think it’s time the Cataldi organization answers to a new boss, and it isn’t Carlo.”

My father absorbs his words and blows out a long breath. “You’re talking about a war. That can get expensive and bloody.”

Finn nods. “If we’re going to act, the time is now. Their organization is in tatters, and we think he may be trying to find support with the Farinas.”

My head whips toward Finn, and my father’s eyes widen for a moment before he schools his expression.

“Why do you think that?” I ask.

“He was spotted near your border at a bar meeting with Orlando. It would make sense that he’s trying to find allies somewhere, and since the only other family in Massachusetts is your father’s, Farina is the only viable option. I also know that Orlando was visiting Carlo at his home often before his father was convicted.”

“How do you know that?” my father asks.

Finn looks between the two of us and leans forward, resting his forearms on his knees. “I have an inside man in the Cataldi organization. He’s made it possible to get information we wouldn’t otherwise have. It sounds like Orlando and Carlo were planning on uniting two families to be the driving force of the Massachusetts criminal world.”

My father and I look at each other when he mentions Orlando again.

Finn catches the look between us, studying the expressions on our faces. “What aren’t you telling me?”

My father holds my gaze and nods his head, prompting me to be completely transparent with my husband.

“Do you remember when I told you I was in a relationship and he beat me?”

Finn nods, his jaw ticcing as he waits for me to continue.

“It was Orlando.”

Finn’s eyes stay glued to mine as he studies me intently. “There’s more you’re not telling me, Alessia. I knew, when we were in Atlantic City, you were keeping his name a secret for a reason. There’s more to the story.”

My eyes close and I tilt my head down toward my wringing hands resting on my lap. I need to get it out. Finn needs the truth about the entire situation and Gio’s death.

“I was pregnant. He didn’t believe me and beat me so badly I miscarried,” I whisper before clearing my throat and meeting my husband’s gaze. “I called my brother, and he took me home to his house. My mother was on a holiday visiting her parents in Italy, so Gio called my father. He had a doctor come to his apartment to treat me since I refused to go to the hospital. I told them everything. After sitting with me night and day until I was on a steady road to recovery, Gio left to handle Orlando. My brother beat him to bloody hell and could have killed him, but Gio knew that would have started a war between our families. He came home and told me he took care of Orlando. When I asked if he was still alive, Gio assured me he hadn’t taken it that far, but he was a bloody mess, so I’m sure Orlando didn’t fare too well. Then, two days later, he was dead, stabbed in a ‘mugging’ outside of a bar he frequented often. It was too coincidental, him being murdered right after beating Orlando. Orlando is a vindictive son of a bitch, and I knew, in my gut, he was responsible for Gio’s death. Not to mention, everyone knew my brother and knew who our father was. No one would’ve had the balls to kill him, knowing the hell that would rain down on them. The only people who knew what Orlando had done were my father and I. And until that point, the only people who knew Orlando and I were involved were Gemma and Enzo. My father called Massimo Farina and accused Orlando of killing Gio. Of course, Orlando denied it.”

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