Page 85 of Born a Queen

They had been talking for about twenty minutes, sipping on cups of tea that Raina requested from Lydia, when Mateo and several armed men strode into the room. Mateo's face could have rivaled a thundercloud as he marched over to Raina, jerked her out of her chair, ignoring the clattering of her teacup and the splash of hot liquid as it hit the floor and shoved her behind him.

He pointed at Giovanni. "Start talking or I will have you questioned in my bunker and then removed from the grounds in pieces."

Raina tried to protest but Mateo grabbed her wrist and held tightly, a subtle threat. Raina bit her lip. She wanted to give him a shove right between the shoulder blades but decided to wait and see if the boys could work it out for themselves.

Giovanni stood and stretched lazily, arranging his suit jacket so that it sat perfectly on his tall lean frame. "I’ve come for a visit. The young lady standing behind you invited me when she was in Italy and I thought it would be rude not to accept. If I'm not welcome, then I will leave. I don’t wish any harm upon your family."

"I don't believe you," Mateo growled.

Raina felt the tension thrumming through his body. She believed he really was ready to shoot Giovanni for arriving unannounced on their doorstep. Once again Raina wanted to intervene, explain that Giovanni was telling the truth and she invited the man for a visit. But Giovanni jumped in before she could speak.

"Of course, I can understand why you would think I mean you harm. You beat my son to within an inch of his life and threatened to kill him if he so much as sniffed near this continent. Any father might be upset by this. But I can assure you, I am not." Giovanni's voice was serious, as though he badly wanted them to believe him. "You did what I would have had to do, only you left him alive. Antonio betrayed me and that betrayal required a response. Though he is my only child, I would have had to beat him or worse, to send a message to the Cosa Nostra. Any challenges to my authority will not be tolerated. You saved me having to do something very painful."

“I took two of his fingers as a trophy. You condone this action against your own progeny?” Mateo’s bald words were meant to prod the older man into an emotional response. It worked on Raina who flinched, but Giovanni continued to look bland.

“We both know that Antonio got off light.” Giovanni’s voice was hard with censure. “I love my son, but he deserved whatever you chose to do to him.”

“You attempted to distract me while your son’s men surrounded my hotel suite.”

“Wouldn’t you have done the same if your family was being threatened? As his boss, I condemned his actions and approved your presence in the city. As a father… I felt I had to do what I could to help him.” There was no doubting Giovanni’s earnestness.

Raina could feel the gradual loosening of Mateo's muscles as Giovanni spoke. Mateo believed the other man. Raina let out a sigh of relief, pulled her wrist from Mateo's grip, bent over and picked up the spilled teacup. She set it on a side table and then slipped around until she was standing at Mateo's side. She would much prefer a united front than cowering behind her fiancé.

"I meant to kill your son; I won’t lie. I beat him, I cut off his fingers in retaliation for harming my woman, then I shot him the way he had her shot." His words were cold and Raina felt his renewed anger as he spoke of her injury. "But as I pressed my pistol against his temple, I realized, I wanted him to remain alive. I wanted my threat hanging over his head every minute of every day. That was more satisfying than actually putting a bullet in his brain."

Giovanni looked grave and then nodded. "I appreciate your honesty. I thank you anyway for sparing his life. I can assure you he will not be a future problem. He’s been banished from Venice, his assets stripped away and his connections severed. He has nothing left but a legacy of idiocy that will follow him and his mangled hand. I’m having him watched at all times. I do this so that none of us will have to watch our backs when it comes to him."

Mateo stared at Giovanni; his brow wrinkled in a frown. "Your generosity surprises me. I would think you’d want to kill the man who mutilated your only child, but I understand you. I would feel the same if I was betrayed in such a way, no matter who was the betrayer."

The two men seemed to settle on a temporary truce. Raina pushed for Giovanni to be allowed to take their evening meal with them. Mateo grudgingly agreed and the three of them set about having a pleasant evening together with good food and even better conversation. Raina suspected Giovanni was somewhat lonely, isolated over in Italy, with no family and few friends that weren’t subordinates and business associates.

Raina begged Mateo to allow Giovanni to stay the night. At first, both men were hesitant, but Raina managed to win them over to the idea. She suspected Mateo was of the keep your-enemies-close camp while Giovanni was grateful not to have to search for accommodations in a tourist city.

Later, after Giovanni retired for the night, Mateo and Raina went upstairs to bed together. Mateo laid her down and set about telling her without words how much he worshipped her. She sighed happily and settled back on the bed, enjoying the embrace of her lover.

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