Page 112 of Mafia Virgin (The Kings of Italy)

“To his credit, he told them no,” Enzo said. “He refused to give Emma over to Buscetta. And Buscetta didn’t want the marriage, either. Everyone assumed the matter had been dropped.”

“Well, it wasn’t fucking dropped.” Gia dragged her hands through her long hair. “I hate the goddamn mafia. This is such bullshit.”

“You don’t hate all of it,” Enzo murmured, a small smirk on his face as he regarded his fiancée.

“Shut up. You know what I mean.” Closing her eyes, she blew out a long breath. “Okay, keep going. I’m sure this will get worse. Are you going to tell me you’re in love with him?”

I didn’t want to have that conversation now. Maybe not ever. “We need to deal with the situation in Toronto before Virga realizes I’m not in Palermo any longer and has Papà killed.”

“This makes no sense,” Gia said. “How are Virga’s men allowed on the estate? Papà’s security used to be tight.”

“It is tight,” I said. “Someone is helping Virga.”

“Your uncle.” Enzo shook his head slowly. “He’s learned about the succession plan.”

Gia’s brows pulled low in confusion. “Succession? You mean when Papà . . . .”

“Dies,” I finished. “Yes, that’s what he means. I don’t know who is inheriting Papà’s business afterwards, but apparently it’s not Uncle Reggie.”

“It’s Vito.”

We both gaped at Enzo, who was studying the back of the plane. Both of his brothers were back there, talking. Vito, Enzo’s consigliere, and Massimo, who was a soldier.

Gia recovered first. “Your brother is taking over Toronto? How long have you known this?”

“Roberto and I came to an agreement six months ago.”

That must’ve been when my father was first diagnosed.

“And you didn’t think to tell me this?” Hurt tinged the anger in my twin’s voice.

“Tesorino,” he said with a sigh. “The less you know about my business, the better. We’ve talked about this many times, no?”

“But this is different. It’s my father’s empire. Did you also know about the cancer?”

“Roberto said nothing of his health. I assumed this was years away. And I made the deal because I didn’t want Raffaele Ravazzani to be named successor instead.”

“God, you are literally impossible,” Gia said with a dramatic roll of her eyes. “You are damn lucky that I love your competitive ass.”

He took her hand and brought it to his mouth. Instead of kissing the back, he flipped it over and pressed his lips to her palm. “Ti amo, micina.”

I couldn’t take any more of their sappiness. I was too raw, and there was every chance I might break down in tears at any second. “Let’s focus, you two. We need to figure out what to do about Uncle Reggie and Don Virga.”

Enzo raised his head and called out toward the rear of the plane. “Venite qui, stronzi!” Come here, assholes.

Vito and Massimo got up and joined us. “Che cosa?” Vito asked. I could see the outline of a gun under his gray suit jacket. Massimo was a little more direct, wearing a pistol on his belt.

“We have a problem in Toronto that needs to be dealt with immediately.” Enzo pointed to the seats across the aisle. “Sit down and I’ll explain.”

My twin grabbed my hand and tugged me from my chair. “You come with me. Let them figure out what to do about Uncle Reggie. I want to talk to you.”

I braced myself and allowed her to pull me toward the back of the plane where we settled into plush leather seats. There were two glasses of beer left behind from Vito and Massimo, so Gia grabbed one and took a long swig. “I really hope this was Vito’s,” she said when she swallowed. “God only knows what kinds of diseases Massimo has, that man slut.”

I almost smiled. Only my sister could crack the ice in my chest when I was at my lowest point.

“I notice you aren’t drinking.” She put the glass down. “Does that mean you’re pregnant?”

“I don’t know. I could be. But I don’t feel like drinking right now anyway.”

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