Page 101 of Cruelest Contract
So far, I haven’t had much to teach him. Since we landed in New York we’ve been biding our time and waiting for Mafia bigshot Vittorio Messina to agree to sit down for a meeting.
The start of this sticky situation can be traced back to the Mafia wars that broke out two years ago. Two of the biggest bosses, Albie Barone and Richie Amato, were killed, leaving a power vacuum. My father was calculating the best way to capitalize and Albie Barone’s youngest daughter, Sabrina, was still unmarried. She also happened to be Vittorio Messina’s niece.
Cass Tempesta thought he could manipulate the situation to his advantage and get a piece of the New York organized crime pie. He lured one of Messina’s soldiers and secretly paid him a hefty sum to monitor Messina and his niece. Then he extended an offer to bring Sabrina to Storm’s Eye Ranch in the hopes of arranging a marriage.
The thing is, he kept me out of the loop.
I knew nothing until my father flew into a rage after learning that Sabrina had impulsively married my cousin, Monte, her former bodyguard.
There was already a family rift between us and our cousins. I’ve deeply regretted it ever since it it happened. Both Monte and Nico grew up spending summers at the ranch and we were always tight.
Monte, the eldest, was still in his teens when my father offered him a place in our family. As the nephews of his beloved Teresa, he swore Monte and Nico would be treated as sons.
They refused his offer. Cassio Tempesta isn’t the type of man who adjusts well to hearing the word ‘No’.
Hard feelings were in the air and I should have stepped up to be the voice of reason. Instead, tempers flared and a full scale physical brawl between us and our cousins ensued.
After that, Monte and Nico returned to New York and we remained at an icy cold impasse for years. I thought this would change after the death of our mutual grandfather but we’re all a stubborn bunch of fuckers and it wasn’t until last year that I finally convinced my father it was long past time to make amends.
We’re on good terms now and I’m grateful. Nico even flew all the way out to the ranch for my wedding. He’s the one who tipped us off that Messina is in town and suggested there’s an opportunity to resolve the grudge between Sicily’s most powerful boss and my father.
Easier said than done.
Messina is one cagey bastard and so far he’s not too interested in letting bygones be bygones. I’ve got three of Sonny’s boys out and about keeping watch on the neighborhood, although it’s a safe bet Messina would never give an order to spill blood around here. Uncle Sal is in a serious relationship with thewidowed Guilia Messina Barone, Vittorio’s younger sister. Plus his niece is married to Monte.
“Guilia and Sabrina are still out to lunch,” Uncle Sal says, guessing my thoughts. He’s always in motion, wiping down counters or checking the next batch of rising pizza dough.
As soon as we arrived, Guilia promptly announced that her new mission was to persuade her brother to accept a meeting with us. I objected to having my uncle’s girlfriend run interference on my behalf but she insisted. Today she and Sabrina joined him for lunch where he’s staying at the Plaza Hotel.
My father sent me here because my diplomacy skills are better than his. I’ll play nice with Messina if it means we can put this shit behind us for good. All I want to do is go home to my wife.
Leaving Cecilia tore me up a lot more than I expected. As I watched the country pass by from the window of our private jet, I felt more desolate with every minute that took me away from her.
We’re not phone talkers, either of us. Our conversations are always short and avoid deep topics. Last night when we spoke she sounded distracted, even a little gloomy. It’s been eating at me all day.
Uncle Sal plops a fresh ball of dough down beside me and rolls it out with impressive speed. “Tell me about your wife,” he says. “Cecilia, right? Nico showed me some pictures from the wedding. She’s pretty as can be.”
“Yes, she is,” I agree and try to copy the way he shapes the dough. “She’s smart too. She doesn’t put up with any crap and even earned Getty’s respect.”
He looks up and grins. “In that case, your mom would have liked her. Teresa never had any trouble putting any of these wise guys in their place no matter how tough they thought they were.But she always made her point with a smile.” His grin fades into a more melancholy expression. “I was here the day your father walked in. Cass had already made a name for himself but one look at my sister and it was like he’d been hit by a comet. He never recovered.”
“He sure didn’t,” I say, trying not to wince because at this second there’s a high likelihood my father is sitting in his office and talking to a painting of his dead wife.
My uncle sets down the dough and crosses his arms, inspecting me more closely. “How is your dad, Julian? I mean, how is he really? Cassio and I never saw eye to eye on a lot of things but he loved my sister something fierce. I know the pain never faded.”
Loyalty won’t let me admit the truth. The older my father gets, the more he craves to get lost in his memories of Teresa.
My fear is there will come a day when he sinks into the echoes of the past for good and no one will be able to pull him out. Not even us.
“My dad’s doing just fine,” I say, careful to keep my tone even.
“Hmph,” grunts my uncle, not fooled.
His concern is appreciated. But the inner circle made by my brothers and me and our father is not accessible. We are the unbreakable, impenetrable eye of the storm, just like the land we live on. The bonds uniting us are not for outsiders to understand. That’s the way it will always be.
Monte has been listening to the conversation. A subtle flash of sympathy tightens his mouth and then he starts raking a pizza cutter across the latest pie to leave the oven.
Uncle Sal returns to the front counter to help with a new wave of the lunch rush. I’m not really doing much good back here in the kitchen and I’m on my way to step out and giveCecilia a call when my phone buzzes in my pocket. I’m hoping it’s her. She never answered the text I sent hours ago.
