Page 46 of Wild Card

She blinks back tears.

“I’m still worried about her,” she says. “I know you told my brother.” She wipes her eyes with the back of her hand. “You did, didn’t you?”

It hurts that she thinks I’d lie to her like that, but I can’t blame her for that either.

“I did. I promise. I won’t lie to you, Catriona.”

She sniffles.

“But your uncle…”

“He’s a loose cannon right now. I know what you’re saying.”

I know his habits well enough to know that tonight he’ll be drowning his sorrows in alcohol, but tomorrow? He’ll be driven by raw fear and anger, and Catriona’s sister will be his target. He won’t wait for the end of the week.

“Your brothers will take care of your sister and I’ll take care of my uncle.”

Her bright green eyes search mine.

“I’ll kill Lorenzo if I have to,” I say, finally. If James Carney goes along with my plan, that buys me time with Freddie. But I don’t trust Lorenzo not to do something brash in the interim.

I’ve threatened Lorenzo in my mind a million times, but the reality of taking a life, any life, let alone my uncle’s? It’s not something I actually want to do.

But I can’t let him further embroil Nonna, me, or Catriona and her sister in his downward spiral. And I’ll do whatever it takes to keep Catriona from Freddie. Which is where her despicable father comes in. It will take a lot to go to him for help, but I’ll sacrifice my pride for my grandmother and for Catriona.

A look of surprise passes over her face.

“I know how much you care about your family,” she says, quietly.

“He burned down my bakery.” I blurt it out. This isn’t about the bakery anymore, but I want to share this with her. I want her to know who I am, who I really am. A man who wants to rebuild from a place of pain, not destroy from it.

Catriona looks confused. “I thought my father sold it?”

I shake my head. “Not that one. I’d saved enough to buy a new space, had it ready to go, and he torched it for the insurance money last week.”

I squeeze her hands.

“Insurance doesn’t cover arson,” she says, wearily.

I laugh bitterly. “I know. Wish he’d done his research better.”

“I’m sorry, Gio. I know you’ve been through a lot, and I know how much that place must’ve meant to you.”

“I don’t want you to be sorry, Beauty, I’m not looking for sympathy—I don’t deserve that from you. I just want you to know I’m not like Lorenzo. I don’t want all this pain and violence. I want to remember the good things—it hurt to lose my parents because I loved them so much, and it’s the joy I felt when we were together that I want to recreate with the bakery. And Lorenzo took that from me. I was willing to forgive him for that.”

I close my eyes.

“I was willing to forgive him, even though it gutted me. But how he’s set you and Nonna and possibly your sister up to be hurt or killed? I can’t forgive that. The only reason I didn’t finish this sooner is because I thought losing him would send Nonna into an early grave. Turns out she’s stronger than I knew.”

Saying it out loud sends a wave of grief through me. It’s like Lorenzo’s died right here and now. A memory of him putting his arm around my shoulders at my mother’s funeral flashes across my mind’s eye, and it’s all I can do to concentrate on the present grief.

I clear my throat and try to focus.

“He plays Keno in the afternoon at the convenience store on the corner. Always. I’ll find him there tomorrow.” I kiss her hands. “I have a plan for Freddie, too. Just give me tomorrow. After that—if anything happens to me—Nonna will help you get in touch with your brothers.”

With Lorenzo gone, I won’t need to worry about Nonna or Catriona being injured in a potential fire fight.

And if I’m gone, her brothers won’t have any family to avenge themselves on. I doubt they’d hurt an old woman, and something tells me Catriona would make sure she was looked after. She’s a remarkable woman.

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