Page 35 of Reign of Commotion

“Yes.”

“What did you hear?”Alessio demands.

“Hand her over or…” He trails off.

“Or what?”Alessio asks with eerie calmness.

“I’ll destroy you all,” he finishes.

My brain keeps repeating the words,hand her over.They’re talking about Milana.A burning ache builds in the pit of my stomach.Rage rises through my being.“No fucking way are they getting my wife.She.Is.Mine.”I enunciate the words so it is clearly understood by all that Milana belongs to me.

Davide is at my side in seconds and murmurs in a low voice, “Calm the fuck down.You’re the one who told me to trust Alessio, right?”Even though he’s trying to soothe me, I want to reach out and punch him in the mouth.I glare at Alessio, who hasn’t taken his eyes off Tomasso.

“Il Destinodoes not cower to the demands of the enemy, and we certainly won’t hand over a woman who has committed herself fully to the family.”Tomasso’s eyes become fearful, but Alessio continues.“It takes a lot of courage to come to me, and I can see there’s much more that you haven’t said.Start at the beginning and leave nothing out.”

“The other night, right before Julian’s wedding, I came into the house.It was late, like really late, three o’clock in the morning.I had finished my last exam, and I and a bunch of guys from school went out to have a good time.I saw my dad’s light on in his den.I thought I’d let him know I was home.As I got closer, I heard him talking.I only heard his voice, so he must have been on the phone.I was going to leave.Damn!I should have left.”

“But you didn’t.Go on,” Alessio encourages.

“Dad was saying that the Russians are on the attack because they want Julian’s woman.He was pissed that all this was happening in his territory and he was being blamed, and all they had to do to make it end was give the girl up,” Tomasso says.

A growl rises from deep in my throat.Tomasso looks up at me.“I think this is bullshit.You don’t do that.You can’t!It’s as good as pulling the trigger yourself,” he says.He looks back at Davide.“I didn’t know what to do, so I just stood there, listening.”He turns to Alessio.”I don’t know who he was speaking with, but they wanted to find a way to make it possible to have Milana in a place where she would be vulnerable and the Russians could get to her.I heard something about the wedding itself, but their voices got quieter, and I didn’t catch it all.I was about to turn away when Dad opened the door and found me there.He knew I heard him,” Tomasso states with a groan.

“Angelo caught you outside his door,” Davide repeats, “and then what?”

Tomasso stares up at his friend.“He went crazy.Started pushing me and telling me I had no business spying on him.I told him I was coming to say good night.Then he did a complete one-eighty and said I was such a good son, and he was taking care of my future and the future ofIl Destino.”He redirects his gaze to Alessio.“He said you would understand.He was doing this for you because you were losing the respect of the men.”Tomasso looks at me, locking eyes.“I didn’t believe him.My own father, and I didn’t trust him.The next morning, you were getting married.I don’t even know why I did it, but I went to the church and hid behind the trees and waited, long before anyone was even there.I waited and waited.A car came.Two men got out.I took a shot at their car.And they took off and never came back.I stood there through the entire ceremony and waited.When it was over, I didn’t know what else to do.”Tomasso looks bewildered, lost.

“Listen to me.”Alessio gives him a little shake.“Has your father spoken to you since?”

“Only on the phone.I asked him what he meant by what he said that night.”Tomasso shifts forward in his seat.“Here’s where it gets crazy.He doesn’t remember it.He says we never spoke that night.And he means it!He really doesn’t remember.Then I think back, and he’s been doing that a lot lately, you know, forgetting stuff and getting mad for no reason at all.I haven’t been home since, and I don’t know where to go.”

“You’ll stay in the bunkhouse for now,” Alessio tells him, “but first eat.You look like you need a few good meals in you.”

“What about my father?What kind of man rats out his father?”he groans.

“If your father is ill, then we will deal with the illness.If he’s directly defying his capo, that’s another story.You saved a woman’s life.A woman who saved one of our own.You need to straighten that out in your head.Whatever comes next, we’ll deal with it.”

“How could Dad agree to hand her over, just like that?Like her life didn’t matter?”

“He may not be in his right mind, Tom.It’s something we may need to face,” Davide tells his friend.

Alessio steps away, taking me with him, Niccolo following.

“Time to make a visit to Angelo Corso,” Alessio decides.

FIFTEEN

Angelo Needs Help

JULIAN

Alessio sat with Tomasso for several more hours, extracting every bit of information he could.Alessio was thorough; he made Tomasso go over the identities of the men who arrived at the church that morning.He focused on what they looked like, the type of car they drove, and even information that would seem insignificant to anyone else that could be significant in tracking down Anton.

Once Alessio was done, Davide took him over to the bunkhouse.The guys named it that, but in reality, it’s a very cool place.It looks like a modern barn, but inside, it has ten private bedrooms, a family room, several modern bathrooms, and a state-of-the-art kitchen where a cook comes in to make sure all the guards are fed well.It’s where all the men stay when they’re on duty to look after our capo and their family.

Davide is staying with Tomasso for the next few days.Meanwhile, Alessio has given Niccolo and me the task of tracking Angelo down.Before leaving, I find Milana upstairs, sitting in the chair by the window, staring out at the garden below.

“Babe, what are you doing up here all alone?”I ask.

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