Page 93 of Tesio
Chapter Forty-Five
Ididn’t like leavinghim in there with that dangerous asshole of a man.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” I asked the woman, who was clearly the daughter of a mafia Don, and therefore no safer to be around.
She laughed, waving a hand in their direction as she led me down the hall.
“Oh, they’re just talking. My father doesn’t lie, and he certainly doesn’t get his hands dirty.”
That was so comforting.
“I don’t know your name,” I said apologetically, as I flagged down a nurse, and demanded that she go check on Grease, which apparently she was on her way to do. Good luck in there with that stuffy visitor of his.
“Tori. I’m the Don’s daughter, but I’m also just an old lady. I’m with Ryder.”
I had no idea if I’d met a biker by that name, which seemed a little tame for a biker name, because duh, didn’t they all ride?
We stopped by a coffee machine, and she dispensed one for each of us, reminding me just how much I needed sustenance of any kind.
“Sit with me a moment. They need time to settle things.”
“What are they settling exactly, though?” I asked as I dropped wearily into the first seat I found, watching as Tori sat far more delicately beside me.
“I grew up with Tesio, he probably never mentioned that,” she said, cradling her paper cup in both hands.
“At the mafia mansion?”
She snorted. “Yeah, I guess. It’s not like we ran around together, or spent much time near each other. Mafia life is… well, it’s different than normal lives. It’s stuffy and pretentious, and not very safe. Tesio was one of the ones charged with keeping an eye on everything, so that my father and I, and all of his men, were protected as much as possible. I’m massively underselling everything he did, because I don’t know most of it. I disappeared for a long time… but I know my dad always cared for Tesio. He’s… he’s like a son to him. The betrayal hit him hard.”
I wanted to say something along the lines of ‘boo hoo’, but she was being real with me, so I owed her something other than petulance and bitchiness.
“I don’t think it was a betrayal, though. He knew I was in danger, and he protected me. It sounds like his job has always been to protect those he cares about. Why is it such a problem that he did the same for me?”
Tori sighed, taking a moment to sip her coffee, grimacing delicately as she set it aside on a low table.
“It’s all alpha male bullshit, I swear. You both risked your lives to save him, and to save me. I swear to god, I won’t let him be punished for that.”
“Or me?”
She smiled wryly, gesturing to my cup. “I wouldn’t risk it. It’s disgusting. I promise you I’m doing everything to help protect you both. I’m in your corner, and I won’t give up.”
I felt the burn of tears at her words, because that was what we needed. Someone important in our corner. Someone who could maybe make a difference, and influence the Don, her own father. I hadn’t expected help from anyone, least of all her, but it was such a relief.
“Aw you poor thing. I’m sure you’re exhausted and feeling like hell. If you need to go and freshen up, and get some rest, there will be plenty of people who want to check in on Tesio.”
I swallowed hard, wishing I could speak without falling apart on her.
“I’m… I’m too scared to leave, in case he’s gone when I come back.”
Tesio / Grease / Dead Meat
We sat in silencefor long painful moments after the women left the room, and while, unlike Jamie, I knew he wouldn’t kill me in this moment, the silence was kinda doing that for him. Finally I groaned.
“You know the whole deadly silence thing is agonising, right? Guessing that’s why you do it.”
Rossi chuckled, dragging a hand over his face. Truthfully, he looked drawn and tired, and he almost looked like he hadn’t shaved this morning, which was unheard of with him.
“Sometimes there’s a reason for it, and sometimes I’m just being… vexatious. I don’t know. I’ve found people will always tell you more than they planned to, if you leave them to flounder. This time, however, I’m truly lost for words, son.” He hadn’t called me that in forever. He slumped a little in the chair, again, something you never saw from him.
