Page 64 of Twisted Obsession

‘If this is something I’m not going to be happy with, make sure you have all the evidence before you present it to me,’ he carried on.

‘Thanks for the heads up.’ I knew what he was implying. Fuck this up… get this wrong and I’ll take you down for it… You know I’ve been waiting.

Salvatore and I had history, a hate filled history. But we worked, however much I despised the fact, and I knew he understood that as well as I did. I was also convinced the working relationship between us gave him absolutely no pleasure either and from that I took a small amount of satisfaction. It would have been much easier for him had I fucked up or disobeyed his orders over the past few years, because he would have had an excuse to use the knife that he always carried with him. What was the saying? Keep your friends close and your enemies even closer? He and I fitted that bill. Because, at the back of it all, our two families were now so intertwined, the generation that would come after us was made from a mixture of both of our blood.

I thought quickly back to a day on the beach when we’d been just kids. Salvatore had cut the hands of my brother Alessio and his brother Romeo, after finding them fighting. He’d joined their blood covered palms together and he’d declared them blood brothers—we truly were bound by blood. His children and our shared nephews and nieces were all under seven years old. They were our families’ future, and I knew I would do anything needed to protect them all, and without question so would he.

‘I’m going to ask this once. I will not lower myself to ask this again, because if I find out this has anything to do with you, I will kill you with my bare hands.’

‘If you need to ask, then maybe you should have killed me years ago.’

‘Maybe I should have.’ Salvatore laughed and I heard as he revved the car he was driving, encouraging it to go faster at his acknowledgement. ‘Do you have anything to do with this, Dante?’

I laughed out loud at his question, before replying. ‘No.’ I shook my head as the smile evaporated from my face. ‘Believe me, there’s been many times I’ve wanted to take a piss up your leg, Salvatore, but this isn’t down to me.’ I flicked my cigarette packet over and over with the tip of my finger, before flicking it open with my forefinger and lifting a cigarette to just in front of my mouth. ‘I have ten months left here. Do you honestly think I’d bring down my house of cards now?’

‘There is no love lost between us, Dante… but no, I don’t,’ he offered.

‘And now I’m asking the same of you, De Luca. Is this your way of getting rid of me, after all your previous attempts have come to nothing?’

‘You know, as your Don, I could have you killed for even questioning me?’ I could imagine the expression on his face when he answered me. It would be disdainful, with indignancy cascading from each pore.

‘You could, but as Serafina’s husband, you won’t.’

I heard a laugh leave him.

‘Dante, Dane, Dante…’ he reprimanded. ‘Over the years there have been many ways I could have wiped you off the face of this earth.’ I knew what he was saying was true. As I listened, I fidgeted with my silver pen, tapping one end on my desk and then turning it again to tap the other. ‘I could have had you shot on exercise… a friendly-fire mistake, of course. A car accident, which would have been so very sad, but you know what those Maltese roads are like. Or found at one of the clubs, with aconcoction of drugs and alcohol found in your body, all put down of course to your growing addiction… Many, many ways.’

‘But where would the satisfaction be in any of those, De Luca?’

‘True…. So, you live… and much to my disgust you prove your worth time and time again. Whatever is happening, does not have my name on it.’ I closed my eyes and blew out a long, but silent exhale at his answer. The man had never proven himself a liar, whatever else he was. ‘But the longer I sit here thinking about it, I’m concerned that this could be the start of another attack on our family.’

‘By whom?’ I questioned, ‘The Ricolletis and Lombardis?’

‘Possibly. But it won’t be the two of them conjoined. They’ve gone their separate ways. I have it on good authority that there is now bad blood between them.’

‘Yeah, bad blood, huh?’ I questioned, with a smile on my face. ‘Because of their defeat to us?’

‘That and something to do with a child of the now under boss of the Ricolletis, being discovered as an adult within the Lombardis, having been brought up by them. The said child, no longer thinks of the Ricolletis as family and refused an offer to go back to Sicily to take up his rightful place. There is no trust left between them and, as you know, without trust there is nothing.’

‘Wow.’

‘The child was taken about thirty years ago; we think as payment from last time they were at war with each other. But, who knows?’’

‘Do we know who it is?’ I questioned.

‘Don Inzerillo failed to mention that,’ he answered sarcastically. ‘But rest assured, I will be asking him again.’

‘Right.’ I raised my eyebrows at his explanation.

‘Enough. Back to what’s going on in Malta… Who else knows?’ He took charge of the conversation and took us off the dangerous path we’d so nearly fallen onto.

‘Marco, only Marco.’

‘Marco is a loyal soldier, but you should never trust anyone one hundred percent, especially if it could cost you your life.’ I nodded rather than answer, as having been in the military I had a slightly different view. Marco had been a good friend to me since we were boys. He had even joined the army at the same time as me after De Luca demanded it as part of my penance for taking Giovanna.

‘I trust Marco,’ I finally voiced.

‘I think I understand, but you and I are very different.’

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