Page 123 of Crazed

They take seats, and Katiya and I return to the sunbed. There's a bucket full of beers and two brand-new coconuts with straws. I hand a coconut to each of the women and give a beer to Tristano. I grab a beer for myself and sit next to my dolce. I take a sip then command, "Tomorrow at this time, Katiya will be my wife. You will treat her with respect. You will apologize for your rude behavior. You will not ever again have me followed. Do you understand?"

Tristano stays quiet and scowls.

I pick up my phone. "Should I call Dante right now?"

"No! Please don't!" Pina begs.

"I don't care. Call him," Tristano orders, then takes a mouthful of beer and turns his glare on Pina.

Pina shakes her head. "Massimo. I'm begging you."

"What's it going to be, Tristano?" I threaten.

"Tristano," Pina pleads.

He sighs then pins his eyes on Katiya. "I'm sorry for being rude."

She offers a tiny smile. "It's okay. I promise you, I hate the Abruzzos as much as you do."

He clenches his jaw and stares at me. "Put the phone down."

"Tell me you won't have me followed anymore," I repeat.

"Fine," he agrees.

I drop it on the mattress. "How long were you following me?"

"A few months."

"A few months!" I seethe.

He holds his hands in the air. "Easy."

Abhorrence and embarrassment explode in me. "So the person following me wasn't an Abruzzo? It was our men?"

"Luca, actually," Pina mumbles.

"What? You had Luca on me? Are you kidding me?" I explode. Luca's one of our best men, our cousin, and used for only the most important jobs.

Tristano jumps out of his seat. "You would have done the same thing. You weren't acting rationally."

"Fuck off," I hurl.

The sound of the tide picking up and the waves rolling on the shore fills the tense air.

Katiya questions, "How did you know Leo wanted me to find out info about your contacts?"

Pina scoots her chair closer. "Tristano got it out of one of his men."

"Who?" my dolce asks.

"Tommy," Pina answers.

Katiya gapes. "He told you? No way!"

"He didn't have a choice. Tristano made him," Pina informs us.

It hits me that Tristano's not just fucking Pina. He's telling her about torturing the Abruzzos, and who knows what else. She may work for Dante, but this is past her level of clearance. I accuse, "You shooting your mouth off?"

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