Page 105 of Where Dark Hearts Devour
“Think about it,” Augie says. “Who else in your family has the same build, the same inked right forearm? Who might have been hanging out near the boat shed?”
My mind scrambles, but only for a second or two.
“Nonni.”
When Augie doesn’t confirm or deny, my stomach drops.
“Why would Nonni hold my brother at gunpoint?”
A long sigh of resignation mixed with decades-old relief winds its way down the phone. “Because he’d just caught Savero trying to drown you.”
What?
In less than five seconds, I know what it feels like to have my face drain of all color.
“No,” I say sternly. “I fell overboard ... I couldn’t swim ...”
“He pushed you, Cristiano.”
“No ...” I don’t remember. I’ve never been able to remember, and now I wish with all my heart I could. “But ... the rope?”
“What rope?”
“The rope that got caught around my ankles.”
“There was no rope,” Augie says in a low voice. “He was holding you down with his bare hands.”
I can’t speak. I have a million questions on the edge of my tongue, but none of them will take shape or form.
“Your nonni was inside the boat shed. It was late at night, and Savero thought no one was around. Nonni pulled you out and pumped your stomach until you vomited. You were seconds away from drowning to death. I don’t know how long your grandfather had your brother at gunpoint, but that was the way your papa found them both.”
“Wh-why didn’t Father tell me this?”
“Your father and nonni had a tense relationship. You were probably too young to remember. Your nonni never liked Savero, and in this case, it was your brother’s word against his. Your father never knew who to believe.”
“But you believed Nonni?”
Augie sighs again, and I hear him scrub a hand over his thick eyebrows. “One time, not long before your nonni passed, I had a drink with him. He told me he regretted very little in life, but the one thing he regretted the most was not shooting your brother in the head for what he did that day. He was afraid of what Savero would grow into. When I looked into your nonni’s eyes, I saw nothing but raw, genuine regret. I don’t think I’d have seen that had it not been true.”
I sink into my seat.
Savero tried to drown me.
Cars burn past me on the freeway as though my world hasn’t just collapsed. Everything I thought I knew about my life needs to unravel, and fast.
“Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?”
“I couldn’t do it to your father. He didn’t trust Savero to succeed him as don, but that doesn’t mean he believed himcapable of killing his own flesh and blood. I had to honor your father’s belief.”
“What am I supposed to do?” I whisper the words, but I know exactly what I need to do. My fingers are burning to spin the car in the opposite direction, because if Savero could do that to me—to his own brother—then what the hell is he capable of doing to his fiancée—someone he’s marrying for pure convenience? I need to get Trilby out of that house, and I don’t think I’ll be able to breathe until I do.
“I have to go,Zio.”
“What are you going to do?” His tone is anxious.
“I don’t know yet. I just need to get back to the house.”
I hear doors opening and closing in the background. “I’ll see you there.”
