Page 88 of Twisted Obsession

So, its started.I closed my eyes to find the composure I was renowned for.

‘No.’ I shook my head and gripped hold of the safety rail, making my knuckles turn white with the strength of my hold. ‘He’s alive?’ I questioned, already knowing what it was like to lose an elder brother.

‘He is… but barely.’ I released an audible sigh for my intelligent, gentle brother, who had only been married to his wife Luna for a couple of years, and then my head pictured the photograph he had sent me of their first child, a son named after our papa. ‘They ambushed him in Palizzi.’ My mind went back to the day when I had nearly run over a small boy in the same village.

‘A Giordano, shot in Palizzi? Do they have no respect?’ I demanded, as I banged a hand down onto the railing and listened to my anger vibrate along the stainless steel.

‘It wasn’t the villagers, of that I and Salvatore are certain.’

‘That’s good.’ I thought back to the young boy, who would now be a teenager, perhaps being questioned for the attack and losing his life to a Giordano after all.

‘Whoever they were shot at the car, it’s riddled with bullets. Somehow, it seems Alessio managed to clamber out and roll into a rain ditch to shelter, but that wasn’t before he took six hits in various parts of his body.’ I heard my papa inhale deeply, and I waited. His heart condition very often left him breathless and with the added stress I was afraid it would be the end of him. ‘Dante, they… whoever they are… meant to kill him, I’ve no doubt about that. It leaves our family weak; we need you home.’

‘He’s consigliere,’ I stated. ‘Everyone knows his position is non combative.’ Although what I said wasn’t completely true. Alessio had headed up our family when our papa had been incapacitated after his heart attack. He had moved back to therole of consigliere, at our papa’s instructions, but I was certain he did far more than was asked of a normal advisor, as our papa no longer had the strength he had once had.

‘It appears these people have no respect for our traditions—we, I… need you home.’

I let his words resonate for a few seconds.

‘Then that’s what’s going to happen—How’s your security?’

‘Our Don moved your mama, Luna, little Alessandro and me into the De Luca compound an hour ago.’

‘You left our villa?’ Somehow, I couldn’t imagine him leaving there, but knew he would have had no choice. One disabled man in a wheelchair, was not going to be enough to fight off a sudden attack against him, two women and a nine-month-old baby, however many soldiers he had with him.

‘I…’ His voice sounded hesitant and feeble and immediately I was ashamed of the question.

‘Papa, I shouldn’t have asked that. Of course, you needed to do your Don’s bidding. You did the right thing in going. I take it Serafina and Mia are also there?’

‘They are.’

‘And Alessio, what’s the prognosis?’

‘He is critical,’ he replied and I heard my mum wail again.

‘I’m coming home, Papa.’ I nodded with absolute conviction that it would be so. ‘Tell Mama, I’m coming home.’

I knew, with what we’d found out over the previous twenty-four hours, that today I would be leaving Malta for home, but now I had an added reason.

‘Elio, keep your eyes fixed over there.’ I jabbed a finger in the direction of Ariti’s boat.

‘Boss,’ I heard him reply.

I disconnected the call as I made my way back inside the boat. Just as soon as my feet hit the wooden floor of my stateroom, I inhaled the faint perfume of the woman I had hurtbeyond measure and sent away. Its floral signature wrapped around me, soothing and riling me in equal measure.

‘One day, Giovanna, our time will come… I promise, amore mio.’ I spoke the words out loud before opening a closet door and pulling out a large, black leather holdall. Throwing the holdall onto the still unmade bed, I moved around the stateroom hurriedly, finding Giovanna’s shoes and kicking them to one side before grabbing at my Mac and any clothing and toiletries I would need for an imminent departure. Like a pennant monk, I picked up her panties from the floor and tucked them in an inside pocket, knowing it was my way of keeping her with me and punishing myself at the same time. With the bag full, I pressed the digits I needed on my mobile and held it between my shoulder and chin, while I zipped up the bag. The international dial code sounded, and I waited the couple of rings I knew it would take to grab Salvatore’s attention. When it rung only the once, I instantly knew he’d been waiting for my call.

‘Ciao,’ he answered.

‘Salvatore.’

‘You’ve heard about Alessio?’

‘I have. Thank you for taking my family onto De Luca land.’

‘I did what was necessary for my children’s Nonno and Nonna.’

‘My papa said Alessio was ambushed in Palizzi, but that the villagers aren’t under suspicion?’

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