Page 194 of Vita Mia

Mikhail paused. He looked at Nico with questioning eyes.

“Brian Smith is dead,” Nico announced.

Mikhail’s men drew their guns. Mikhail shoved Nico aside and went to Brian. He turned him over and found him to be dead. Mikhail’s angry accusations were shouted at Nico in a language he didn’t understand. But Lorenzo paid the price. He was brought to his knees and gun put to the back of his head. They were seconds away from pulling the trigger.

“Wait! Wait! It is my fault. Please. Don’t kill him. I am the one to blame. Brian Smith insulted me.”

“Insulted you?” Mikhail shouted.

“He spat on the memory of my dead wife. I shouldn’t have killed him but the insult was... too great. I lost her and my baby in a fire only months ago. Kill me for the mistake. Send Lorenzo back and the Battaglias will consider our business still in place.”

Mikhail looked over to Lorenzo who was on his knees and prepared for the bullet to the back of his skull. He looked at Nico and then to Brian Smith. He reached into his pocket and removed a mobile phone. Nico waited as Mikhail made a call. He said a few words and then ended the call.

“The price for your lives has just gone up. We wait to see what your Don offers,” Mikhail said. “If not we contact Tarzan and make another deal.” He walked out. Lorenzo was helped up from the floor. Nico walked over and hugged his friend.

Lorenzo chuckled.

“You sure do know how to rescue a man.”

“I’m sorry. I risked everything. I’m prepared to die.”

“They won’t kill you,” Lorenzo said and winced when he moved to fast. He held his side and sat on the other sofa in the living space. “That’s not how it works with them. Dead or alive having Brian Smith is a big prize for them. They’ll claim they killed him. Don’t worry.”

Nico sighed.

“Get him some food and drink,” he told his men.

Lorenzo nodded that he was hungry. He then looked at Nico with concern. “Cecilia was pregnant when she died?” he asked.

Nico nodded.

“I loved her too, Nic. She was family.”

“Maybe we aren’t supposed to have family Lo?”

Lorenzo accepted the glass of water. He smirked. “Bullshit. Family is everything.”

***

MIRABELLA KNOCKED ONDominic’s office door. She then turned the knob and pushed it open. Dominic was on the phone. He was speaking Russian. She didn’t even know he knew the language. He gestured for her to come inside. Mirabella had rehearsed her apology. She had too. Part of her was still angry and unable to formulate thoughts that didn’t include accusations.

She looked around the office and saw Dominic’s touch. He loved Roman antiquities. He had everything from a gladiator’s mask to a shield and sword mounted on the wall. On his desk were pictures of the kids. He’d even added Lorenza’s smiling face to the mix. She saw his bar empty of alcohol. She saw a chess game board by the fireplace before a chair. A game he played by himself in solitude.

“What do you need Mirabella?” Dominic asked as he hung up the call.

“To talk, about what happened,” she said. She walked over to the chair before his desk and sat down. “To apologize.”

Dominic stared at her. He reclined a bit in his large wing back chair with his fingers tented before him. He didn’t say anything in response.

“You were right. We had a plan. A good one. I broke your trust by conspiring to go to Rome. You can’t protect me if we don’t have trust.”

“Are you saying you trust me now?” he asked. “Or do I need to hide the kitchen knives?”

Mirabella smiled. “I’m not going to stab you in the back Domi. We want the same thing. We want to get Giovanni back home, with us.”

“Well, that has just become a bit more complicated.” Dominic sighed. He sat forward with his elbows to the desk. “Nico may have cost us everything.”

“Nico?”

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