Page 60 of Assistant to the Mafia

Eleonora gasped. “That woman. I can’t believe she’d act that way around her own child.”

“It’s not the worst thing she’s done to her own child,” Romeo grit out.

Eleonora was silent for several seconds. Then, in a voice that was more full of shame than he’d ever heard from his mother, she said, “Her leaving was horrible, but the truth is she didn’t necessarily leave … as spontaneously as you think.”

The breath rushed from Romeo’s lungs and he swore the SUV must have flipped entirely over for the way his head and his stomach rolled. “What?”

Again, his mother hesitated. When she spoke again, however, her voice was stronger. Defiant. “Amber was never fit to be a mother. You know it. It’s a miracle Lucia wasn’t born with health problems, considering the drinking and the drugs. We both know she had a stash you never found. And I don’t recall ever seeing her sit with her own baby. She could barely stand to touch Lucia, even long enough to breastfeed, remember? You were doing everything, from day one. That’s why I came over to help for a little while.” Eleonora paused for a beat. Just long enough for dread to settle like lead in Romeo’s gut. “So, while you were at work one day after Lucia’s bottle routine was figured out, I offered that woman money. On one condition.”

“You what?”

Eleonora kept going. “I brought her two million in cash on the agreement she leave the ring and the phone and leave right on the spot, never to return. Not even once Lucia was grown.”

Bile rose up the back of Romeo’s throat, the memory of his mother’s panicked phone call from the day Amber had disappeared replaying in his mind. The image of Amber’s engagement ring—admittedly not as impressive as he could have provided, or as he’d picked out for Grace—sitting beside an equally abandoned phone on the old kitchen table. He couldn’t speak.

“She asked me if I promised our family wouldn’t come after her,” Eleonora said. “As soon as I assured her I wasn’t even going to mention our deal, she took the cash. She was out the door in less than ten minutes.”

The sense of betrayal slammed into him. Romeo ground his teeth and fought the instinct to curse at his own mother. “You had no right. I don’t care how much you hated her, or even if her exiting our lives was ultimately for the best, you had no right.” He hung up before he could hear her counterargument and dropped the phone to the seat beside him.

“Sir?”

“Just get me the fuck home.”

eighteen

What Needs Doing

“Did you know?” Romeo demanded as soon as Dante answered the phone.

It was mid-afternoon, and he’d done a decent job at curbing his anger for his family’s sake, but he was back in his SUV and the reality of his destination was enough to draw that anger to the forefront again. That, and the fact that he really needed to go and deal with this shit at all, when he would much rather have preferred to stay.

Lucia was only mostly calmed down, both from the incident itself and the conversation they’d all had to have after. And Grace was once again not feeling well. She assured him it would pass and wasn’t that bad. She’d taken some ibuprofen on their way to lunch and eaten a healthy meal, so she was keeping food down, but he hated that she was suffering at all. Even if she’d agreed to it.

Part of him wondered if she’d have agreed to any of it if things had happened in a different order.

“Be more specific,” Dante said after a momentary pause.

Romeo fought to keep his tone civil enough. “What Mom did. Did you know?”

“I’m generally aware of our mother’s larger movements,” Dante replied carefully, “but I don’t stalk her every step. Quit playing word games with me, Romeo. I know you’re upset that Amber came to the house this morning, but I won’t be your punching bag.”

“Mom’s the reason Amber left,” Romeo said, pushing the words out. He hadn’t mentioned that part when he’d told his girls the story of Amber and her abandonment. He didn’t know what to do with the information yet himself, he couldn’t do that to Lucy.

“That’s a bold claim.”

“She confessed.” Romeo drew a breath and repeated his mother’s cold explanation.

Dante grunted. “I was unaware of that,” he finally said.

Romeo let himself sit with that response for a few seconds, mulling it over and deciding whether or not it felt genuine. Ultimately, he decided Dante absolutely would lie to him, but not in this. A portion of the tension in his shoulders eased. “That’s something, at least.”

“Where are you?”

“Off to visit my ex-fiancée,” Romeo bit the words out. “Grace is home with Lucy. I have to turn my phone off, but if they call—”

“I’ll take care of it,” Dante cut in. “Do what needs doing, brother.”

Romeo disconnected, gave himself a few moments to stare at the picture of the sleeping angel he’d set as his wallpaper, and turned off the phone. He dropped the device into the console and leaned back. “Take the long way, Mo. Just to be safe.”

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