Page 63 of Primo DeLuca

He stepped inside and headed for the small marble topped dining table. He positioned the white leather chairs so that I would be facing him directly before aiming his hand across the table. His serious expression and cold demeanor all of a sudden had me frozen in place.

Waiting, he allowed me time to gather myself. My legs felt heavy and my heart rate accelerated, but I inched closer and took the seat. Aurelio sat after I did and stared across the table at me.

“I’m going to ask you some questions and want you to answer them as quickly as you can and as honestly as you can.”

I nodded. “Okay.”

“You and Primo met under a set of unique circumstances, correct?”

“We met in his cousin’s club,” I told him, my voice dry, and emotionless.

“If you had met him, let's say, at a park jogging, would you have dated him?”

“No , but we're here now and I’m not sad about it. I believe we can be happy together.”

He nodded, his expression unreadable. His eyes bore down on my face with quiet scrutiny.

“Aren’t you afraid of Primo? Aren’t you afraid that he’s going to snap on you and set off some of that savage rage, I know you’ve witnessed?”

“Why are you doing this Aurelio? Did Primo put you up to this?”

“Answer the question,” he said, his tone remaining even, almost soothing, but his gaze pinned mine, unblinking. “Please.”

“No. I’m not afraid of Primo. There is no circumstance in which I’d ever believe he would hurt me.”

Again, a simple nod and unreadable expression.

“How do you feel about Primo’s job as Capo of St. Louis for the DeLuca Crime family?”

I shrugged. This was starting to sound like an interrogation, something that may get Primo into trouble if I didn’t watch what I said. My gaze did a quick scan of Aurelio. Was he wearing a wire?

“I don’t know what a Capo is. Every DeLuca that I’ve met has not given me any reason to be afraid…until now.”

He cracked his neck, the sound piercing through the room although it was muffled.

“Do you feel safe around Primo? How long do you think you can last in his world before you catch a stray bullet or someone aiming for him gets you?”

The questions were getting tiring now.

“I could have a heart attack and die right here at this table. To assume that being around Primo will get me killed is pointless.”

I could have sworn I saw a smirk on Aurelio’s face, but was it one of mockery? I was starting to feel like a criminal, like he knew something about me that I didn’t want getting out. Did he know that I’d snapped and killed my husband? Was that what this line of questioning was leading up to? Did he think I was crazy enough to snap and try to kill Primo too? The questioning dragged on.

Ten minutes.

Fifteen.

I did my best to give vague and evasive answers. It was the ones pertaining to how I felt about Primo that I couldn’t hide from. My emotions where it concerned my feelings for him wouldn’t be silenced. I had fallen for him way too fast and that in itself was questionable among his family.

“Would you lie for Primo if you witnessed him kill someone in cold blood?” Aurelio asked.

All of the questions were suspect, but this particular one was a red flag for me. It sounded like something a detective or law enforcement would ask a suspect or accomplice to murder. Aurelio knew I was with Primo when he had committed murder. Now, he was trying to get me to admit it.

My eyes squinted into slits.

“He would never murder someone in cold blood.”

It wasn’t a lie. Primo would make sure the person was making an attempt on my life, his life, or at least guilty of committing some horrific act against his family or humanity.

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