Page 14 of Where Wild Hearts Dance
“You do?” Her confession surprises me. I hadn’t realized Fed’s departure had affected anyone else. Which only gives me more reason to despise the man at the head of the table.
“Yeah. He always said I could call him ‘bro. You know, because we don’t have any brothers of our own.”
My heart squeezes painfully. Hearing nice things about Fed only makes me feel more sad that in three years of writing him, I haven’t had one reply.
“That’s nice,” I say, taking another sip of water.
“Anyway, what does Federico have to do with Cristiano’s friend?”
I lower my voice and try to conceal the grit in my tone. “Cristiano’s ‘friend’ is called Benito Bernadi, and he is the reason the Falconis had to leave the city.”
Bambi’s eyes narrow. “Why?”
I swallow the lump in my throat. “He shut down their family business all because of one month’s missed lease payment.” I pan my gaze to Bambi’s. “Heruinedthem.”
Her jaw drops open. This is why I shouldn’t have told my little sister—she can’t conceal horror like the rest of us have learned to. Though even I’m still a work in progress.
“But… how?”
“He took away their biggest contracts, spread false rumors about them. They lost all their clients, suppliers didn’t want to know, insurers wouldn’t go near them. In the end, Bernadi took their premises and left them with nothing. Fed’s mama has connections in California. As far as I know, they moved out that way, but I don’t know if they stayed or moved on.”
I have to take a breath to cut through the fury I feel at telling the story that changed not just Fed’s life but mine too. I’m no longer a virgin because of it, which makes me practically worthless in the community we now find ourselves at the heart of.
“Bernadi didn’t just take everything from them,” I say, the loathing in my voice undisguised. “He left them with the one thing an honest, hardworking man can’t shake: a reputation for pissing off New York’s biggest mafia family.”
A puff of air leaves Bambi’s lips as she flops back against her chair. “Wow. What an asshole.”
I arch a resigned brow and pick up my fork. “Yeah. Like I said.”
After a few minutes, she dips toward my ear. “Does he know you hate him?”
The question makes me pause. “I’ve no idea,” I shrug. “Why do you ask?”
“Because he can’t seem to stop looking at you.”
I growl under my breath. “He’s probably just wondering why I scowl at him all the time.”
She chuckles and spears her fork into a slice of mozzarella.
Not until my stomach is full do I turn a fraction to glance sidelong at my nemesis. His face is angled towards Papa who is telling him a story that must be entertaining because there’s a smile on Bernadi’s face. Then, as if he can sense I’m watching him, his eyes flick to mine. My breath stills and the sound of my throbbing pulse floods my ears. He nods along with Papa’s story but doesn’t remove his gaze from me, and the longer it lingers, the heavier I feel on my seat.
“Tess, you have a show coming up, I hear.”
Cristiano’s question snaps my attention his way and I breathe out, mentally shaking myself. “That’s right. In a few months.”
“She’s rehearsing constantly, but if you ask me, she’s perfect already,” Trilby says, shooting me a wink.
“Thanks but…” I jab my fork in her direction, “you’re biased.”
Cristiano laughs and Trilby’s eyes light up like the Vegas strip. “I am biased, yes. But I can also be objective.” She dabs the corner of her mouth with a napkin. “And,objectively, you are perfect already.”
“Yeah, well, try telling that to Antonio.”
Cristiano’s tone nosedives. “Who’s Antonio?”
I look at Trilby with a thread of alarm. She places a hand on Cristiano’s forearm. “No one you need to take care of, darling,” she says sweetly, and I half wonder if she’s being serious. “He’s Tess’s dance tutor. They have a kind of love-hate relationship. He sees her potential and works her hard.”
I turn back to Cristiano. “He thinks I’m unhinged,” I smile sweetly. “You can take care of him if you want.”
