Page 32 of Tammaro DeLuca

“Did Beni put you up to this?” I asked him.

“If Beni knew you were asking around about Tommaso, he’d have no issue shutting your mouth once and for all.”

“I’m not like everybody else around here. I’m not afraid of Beni.”

“That’s the problem. You should be. Because behind him is an army of hungry soldiers ready to do whatever he wants at the drop of a dime. Instead of trying to make an enemy of us, fall in line. Tommaso wanted all his children dead. He hired people to get it done. Without the power that Beni holds, we’d all be dead.”

“I’m nobody’s soldier.” I squinted while I let the rest digest.

He wanted us dead?

“I know that. But with Beni, we all eat. Do you think Tommaso ever saw the potential in me to do more than hurt people? Do you think he’d have ever let me run the restaurant? Would he let you be here figuring out your real estate problem? No. There’d be more bodies to clean up, and you’d have your ass in Italy where you’ve been hiding all this time.” Massimo stood up. “It’s a new day, Tammaro. Look around you, understand that you’re here living the life that you want to because Beni’s running things. Stop pointing the finger at him for granting you freedom and enjoy what the fuck there is to offer. You showed up here as a stranger, working for the elders. Beni knows that. What are you going to do about it?” He walked to the exit, not waiting for an answer. When he left, something inside snapped into place and didn’t let up.

Once again, that goddamn Massimo was right. He was the younger brother with too much damn wisdom. I wasn’t in Italy waiting for an opportunity to shine. Not any more. I was here doing that now. I picked up the phone and made a call that I never thought I’d ever make. It was time to call Enzo to let him know everything he needed to know.

There were some decisions that I knew I would never have made. If Beni or Max did really kill our father because of something he’d done or for our safety, it made them no worse than him. I still suspected that he had something to do with my mother’s death. It was from natural causes, but when she was in the hospital, they told me she was getting better, only for her to die two days later. I didn’t know he was in town until I was in her hospital room trying to figure out how this happened. He’d been in town for business and they called him. He was never there handling things without letting me know. The entire thing was suspicious. Now I knew I couldn’t trust anything that he’d ever told me. He was dead, and it was time to let old dogs lie.

And he was old as fuck.

I sat in the living room thinking about the conversation between Massimo and myself for a long while. His explanation of how things worked with Beni in charge made me rethink the version of him I’d created in my head. Then I thought about how Papá handled things. Two unique ways. People feared my father and didn’t want to do right by him, but they had to. With Beni, people wanted to show up for him in every way. That was the definition of the leader of a family.

“Boss!” It was one guard from out front.

What the hell was he doing coming inside the house?

“It’s Mrs. DeLuca. She’s on the ground and passed out.” He shouted.

I jumped up, running to the door to find Yolanda on the ground. I picked her up, and she wasn’t responding to the sound of my voice.

“Baby, wake up!” I yelled at her. She didn’t move as I walked her to my car.

“Boss,” the guard pointed to the ground and there were drips of blood.

I searched her body with my eyes to see thin trails of blood down her legs. I got into the car and the guard informed my driver where to go as I tried to find the source of the blood.

Had she been shot?

No. Her panties were soaked in blood. What the fuck was happening to her? I rocked in my seat while holding her as the driver sped through the streets. When we arrived, I rushed her inside. There were so many questions and I didn’t have answers. I tried to zone them out as I followed them to the back of the emergency department.

“Sir, you’ll have to stay out here.”

“I’m her husband!” I shouted at the nurse as I tried to get around her.

“I understand. We have to get her stable before we can let you back here. Stay right here and I’ll come back to get you. Promise.” Her sympathetic expression held me in place. So I stayed right here in this spot. This is where she was going to meet me. There was no need to go anywhere else.

I sent up a silent prayer to keep her safe and to also grant me patience. I knew one thing. If something happened to her while she was in the back, there wasn’t a person or army strong enough to keep me calm and from getting to her.

Lord, help them.

YOLANDA

Iwoke up to hearing familiar beeps. My eyes wouldn't adjust, so I closed them again and retried my attempt. Pain flared in my abdomen, and I grunted, squeezing my eyes once again. What was happening?

Last I remembered, I was trying to get inside the house and then…

“Yolanda?” The voice startled me. What was he doing here?

I remained quiet, focused on what happened after I got home. The keys were in my hand when I got to the door, but I drew a blank after.

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