Page 215 of La Dolce Vita

"Okay, thank you." Catalina hung up. She dialed Carlo. The phone rang, and he answered on the third ring.

"It's me, Catalina. I'm home. Have you spoken to Domi?"

"Domi? Ah, no, not since uh yesterday. What's wrong, Catalina?" Carlo asked.

She could tell he was sleeping.

"Nothing. Sorry to wake you." She hung up.

She dialed Cecilia and got no answer. She paged Umberto and Nico. Someone had to know where he was. Catalina paced with the phone in her hand. If she didn't tell Domi the entire truth, she would lose him. But if she told him the truth she would trade it in for another heartache. What was she supposed to do?

The phone rang, and she nearly dropped it. "Hello! Hello!"

"Catalina? It's Nico. What's the problem?"

"Have you heard from Domi?"

Nico went silent.

“Nico!”

"No. Is something wrong?"

"If you know where he is you have to tell me. Please. We had a fight. A terrible fight. I have to find him."

"I'm not supposed to say anything.”

“Nico please,” she wept. “Please, I swear to God if you don’t tell me I will kill myself!”

The enforcer sighed. “I spoke to Renaldo. He says Domi is with him. He's not in good shape, Catalina. Wait until he calls--"

She hung up the phone. Catalina grabbed her purse and hurried out of the door. The moment she reached the stairs she knew her dilemma. She would not be able to leave now. Raffaele was at the door. And she knew Paolo was close behind. They both knew her secret. And they were under orders to watch her. She had to wait, possibly use someone in the family to sneak her out. Catalina stood at the top of the stairs with her heart broken. The good news was she knew where he was. Renaldo and Kyra would take care of him. He wasn't out there trying to gun down Armando. That was the good news.

And then she saw Rosetta. Her cousin walked over to her mother and hugged her, grinning. Catalina watched as her other cousins gushed over Rosetta like she was a celebrity. Rosetta pranced around sharing stories of her time in Paris.

There would be two missions for Catalina. The first would be to beg for Domi's forgiveness for her lies and win him back. The second would be to kill Rosetta.

***

"Do you have to go right now?" Mirabella asked. "We just landed, sweetheart. Let's get the kids home and settled first." The men loaded luggage into their waiting car. She shifted a wailing Gianni on her hip. Customs was a nightmare. TheCarabinieridrew out the search of their things and questioned the family together and separately until his son had a complete meltdown. The toddler pulled at his mother's hair and kicked his feet as he fought her for freedom, yet the baby would cling to her and refuse to be held by him or Marietta. Giovanni kissed his son but was glad to leave her to the task of dealing with his tantrum. He was already walking on glass while he tried to keep his temper under control. He would talk to Dominic about the constant harassment. Hell, the Prime Minster dined at his home. He shouldn't have to put up with this bullshit.

"Please, Gio. I need you to come home with us tonight," Mirabella said after an exhaustive sigh. It was enough to make him rethink his plans.

"I promise to come home as soon as I can," he said. He kissed her cheek when she turned her head, and he couldn't seal his promise on her lips.

"Arrivederci! Papa," Eve said. She rested her head on Lorenzo's shoulder and hugged his neck. Her uncle held her in his arms as if she weighed nothing. He stared directly at Giovanni.

"A presto, lucciola," he said.

Only Gino remained unfazed by the long flight. He stood tall and straight at his aunt Marietta's side. He looked up at his father and blinked. And then he smiled. Giovanni gave him a little salute. Gino tried to mimic him but only waved his hand. He winked at his son.

"I think she's right, Gio. Let's get the women home and I can go with you tonight," Lorenzo offered.

"We'll talk," Giovanni said and turned to leave.

"I should go with you," Lorenzo said and caught up with him. "You don't need to be going to meetings alone. It's dangerous. Especially now. You can't trust the Benicias! The only person you can at trust is me."

"We'll talk when I return."

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