Page 79 of Little Dove

“I’m almost afraid to ask, but what did they do?”

“I think the better question is what haven’t they done.” Sofia sighs, shaking her head. “Darling, don’t worry about the past with them. All those boys, they’ve sowed their wild oats, as you Americans like to say, but they are older now, and they are loyal to a fault. Lazaro especially.”

She’s right, but I also really want to know. It’s probably going to eat me up with jealousy, but I’ll handle it.

“Lazaro has always struck me that way,” Sienna agrees, looking at me with a smile. “I mean, he has to be, to put up with Alessio and his bullshit.”

Sofia snorts. “You mean the bullshit that he encourages just as much as Alessio encourages him? Those two have been best friends for a very long time. They know what buttons to pushto get the other to do what they need them to, or want them to, depending on the situation.”

“It’s nice that they’re such good friends, since Lazaro is Alessio’s guard,” I agree.

“They’re all great friends, though some are closer than others. When it comes to brothers, Lazaro and Alonzo are close, but mostly because Urso was always in front of a computer, and they’re much more physical in what they prefer. But if we’re talking relationships to the Carusos, then yes, Alessio and Lazaro are thick as thieves. Massimo and Alonzo are close, and obviously Zeno and Urso are close, but the lot of them all together, they’re like an unstoppable force. Even the soldiers are nervous of them all when they’re together,” Sofia smirks.

“Growing up, I always thought that my brothers were close,” Gia says quietly. “But they’re not, not if you go by the example of the Carusos and Cattaneos. And seeing as my brothers are split down the middle on who to support, they are definitely not close.”

“Few are,” Sofia assures her. “The mafia life is full of rivalries and men wanting more power, more control over things that they feel they have some kind of right to.” She waves her hand around. “I mean, you see this place? Nico’s parents built this to make a statement of who they were and what they were. It’s the kind of place that makes you feel nervous the minute you step into it. They did that purposely, and they knew other people wanted it.”

“Is that why they built those passages you mentioned?” I ask curiously. “In case someone tried to take it over, so they could get out?”

“That’s the most logical explanation,” Sofia agrees. “But also, from the things Nico and Dante have both said over the years, it also has a lot to do with power and control. Knowing they have ways to get out of here if they have to.”

“We have the same kind of passages in my father’s home,” Gia says. “And the only people who knew how to use them were our family. My father would never trust his soldiers with that information. It’s another way for the enemy to get in and surprise you.”

“So is there a passageway to every room?” I ask, intrigued.

Sofia shakes her head. “Not to every room, but to the ones that Nico’s father felt were important. It’s a good network, but not one you want to get lost in,” she adds warningly. “It’s a maze in there.”

“Nico’s parents were big on mazes,” Rori remarks with a roll of her eyes. “I mean, there’s a giant rose maze in the backyard. But from a tactical point of view, it makes sense, I guess. If someone gets lost in there, they’re going to walk right into your trap, or give you time to find them before they can get to you.”

“When we were stuck in that bunker in Arizona, we found a few secret tunnels and rooms in there,” I tell them, trying to keep my excitement at the memory in check. “It was so cool. And they made the entrances out of things you’d never notice. Like the one to the emergency exit, it was only able to be opened by a lever hidden in the table leg, and if I’d have been searching that wall, you’d have never known it was there.”

“That would be so cool to find,” Gia says excitedly. “I always loved puzzles as a kid. When I was trying to find the entrances into the tunnels in my father’s house, I spent a lot of time pulling and pushing things to find them. Well, secretively anyway. Couldn’t chance them realizing what I was doing. Of course, that was before he thought to put cameras in there.”

“All of the ones here are accessed by hidden scanners,” Sofia explains. “And they all are biometric, so even if you put your hand on it, you’ll never know it’s there unless you’re given access. Nico and his father are both really good at hiding entrances.” Then she stops and pins me with a hard look. “I’msure I don’t need to remind you that this is a secret, not to be discussed with anyone other than Lazaro or one of us, and never out in the open where someone can overhear.”

I nod quickly. “I got it.” And I really do. It also makes me feel better that I’m being trusted with this information. They must think I’m trustworthy.

We lapse into silence for a moment before Rori finally asks impatiently, “How much longer do they plan to keep us cooped up in here?”

“As long as they need to,” Sofia replies simply. “Though by my calculations, they should be coming soon. They’ll have men cleaning up, and once they’ve got the bulk of it done, we’ll be allowed out.”

“Translation: They don’t want our innocent little eyes seeing all the bodies lying everywhere,” Sienna supplies with a roll of her eyes. “Do they really think we don’t know what we’re going to walk out to? Or that we haven’t seen all of that already?”

“They’re men, what do you think?” Rori replies sarcastically.

Sienna flips her off, then gets to her feet. “Well, I’m tired of sitting. Amara, the set up for the salon is mostly done, but is there anything you want organized or moved or something? I can’t stay idle any longer.”

“Ah, I don’t know. I’d have to look around and see where they put everything.” She’s right, it’s probably best we get up and do something. I mean, my ass is getting sore from sitting on the hard floor.

“Then I guess that’s what we’re doing,” Sienna says, helping Gia to her feet while Sofia stands up and helps me.

We spend a little while going through equipment and supplies, and with their help, we get things in organized spots that are easy to get at and make sense when I’m working. We’re almost finished when the door to the room finally opens, making us all turn to watch as the men start to pour in. The first oneinside is Nico, and his gaze zeroes in on Gia immediately. The look on his face when he sees her is one of relief, but only for a moment. Then he’s instantly pissed. “What the fuck?” he curses.

Alessio steps around him to look at Sienna, his expression similarly relieved yet thunderous. “Looks like we have some guards to speak to,” he agrees with Nico. I glance at Lazaro and see he is downright furious.

“Whose fucking shirt are you wearing,colombina?” Lazaro demands menacingly, like he’s ready to tear it off me and barely holding himself back.

“Oh, for fucks sakes,” Sofia snaps in annoyance before I can answer. “The lot of you need to calm the fuck down already. Did you really expect that they would all be fully clothed? Or have you forgotten that all of us, including myself, were literally dragged out of bed when all this bullshit started? Would you rather they have given us time to get dressed instead of getting us all in here?” Sofia’s eyes shoot daggers at Dante. He just smirks at her in return.

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