Emma seemed filled with a new purpose when I came home for dinner that night. Leo had told me how she’d spent the day, so I knew she’d spent three hours at the community center.
I went over to where she waited at the table for me and kissed her briefly before I took my seat across from her. She wore a flimsy top that revealed her slender shoulders and throat, and the enticing swell of her breasts. I wondered if she’d worn the same thing during the day.
Before I’d even said a word, she asked, “Do you know Fiorentino?”
I shook my head, racking my brain for that name. He definitely wasn’t one of our men. “He’s one of your Captain’s sons. He’s hard of hearing.”
“He’s the Greco heir.”
“Not if you ask his father.”
I sat back as our cook served us involtini and risotto, my favorite combination. I didn’t have time to eat several courses every night.
“The boy isn’t part of the Outfit.”
“But he wants to be.”
I could tell how agitated Emma was. Staying out of family business, unless the situation was extremely dire, was one of the top rules in our world.
“I know how you Made Men think about family business,” Emma muttered, and I couldn’t help but smirk.
“It’s serious. He could be very valuable for the Outfit. He is tall and strong. He can fight, Geno assured me.”
“Geno?” I asked quietly. Leo had mentioned that they’d talked a lot. I doubted Emma was someone who would cheat, but my trust issues were hard to overcome. The person I’d trusted most, my own twin, had betrayed me to save the man who’d kidnapped her and killed my friends. That wasn’t something you just moved on from.
“One of your—”
“Enforcers, I know who he is.” He’d shown admirable perseverance returning to his former position after his injury.
Emma pursed her lips, then continued. “He’s good with computers. He could help the Outfit with hacking and all that stuff.”
“Fiorentino, not Geno, I assume.”
“Yes,” she said, sounding exasperated. It was quite entertaining. “Why won’t you induct him?”
“His father asked us not to induct him.”
I remembered the conversation now. My father and I had talked to him without the son, and he’d assured us that his deafness would be too much of a risk for us and him.
“That doesn’t usually stop you, right? A boy born to a Made Man belongs to the Outfit. Or could I ask you not to induct a future son of ours?”
I regarded Emma curiously. We hadn’t broached the subject of kids yet, and I had no intention of discussing the topic now, nor did Emma from her look of regret over bringing it up. “Of course, our son will be part of the Outfit.”
“Then give Fiorentino the chance to be a Made Man, too.”
I cocked an eyebrow at her demanding voice, though it was more endearing than insulting.
“Please, Samuel. He can hear with hearing aids.”
“Not as well as someone with regular hearing, I assume.”
“Don’t tell me that the older Made Men still have amazing hearing after decades of gunshots and explosions.”
I chuckled. Emma had a point. “They don’t. What about speech? I won’t convince our soldiers to learn sign language.”
“He can talk without a problem.”
I nodded again. I had never met the boy. Maybe I’d passed him at social gatherings, but I had never paid much attention to him. I had simply taken his father’s word on the matter that he couldn’t become a Made Man. Dad too had never doubted it.
“If this was his father’s way to rob us of our rights, then I might have to punish him.”
Emma shook her head, shocked. “Trust me, he thinks his son is incapable. He sees him as a burden. That’s why he’s trying to produce another heir.”
“I’ll talk to my father, and we’ll invite Fiorentino to talk with us. I’ll have him evaluated that day. If he can prove himself, he’ll get his chance to become part of the Outfit.”
“Thank you so much.”
“I know of a way you can thank me,” I murmured over my glass of white wine.
Emma perked up, then flushed when she understood what I meant.
The phone in my pocket, my second phone, vibrated. I still hadn’t had the necessary willpower to cut Serafina off completely. Our contact had become less frequent over the years, but in the weeks prior to my wedding and ever since, Serafina had tried to rekindle our bond. She would have loved to be at the wedding.
But she had made her choice.
Feeling Emma’s eyes on me, I ignored the phone and finished our dinner.
EMMA
Samuel slept soundly beside me. He’d had only one glass of wine during dinner, but I was sure he’d had more drinks afterward while in his office. I had already been asleep when he joined me. A nightmare had woken me, and a message popping up on his phone that illuminated the room had stopped me from falling back asleep right away. The room lit up with another message. It was past midnight. I carefully sat up, worried about waking Samuel. His two phones both sat on the nightstand, but it was his second phone, the one with F., that kept lighting up.
I couldn’t make out who sent the messages. I craned my neck as another message popped up, this time with a photo that didn’t show on the screen. My curiosity and suspicion were almost unbearable. I should trust Samuel, but our world rarely rewarded trust. I bit my lip. If I used my wheelchair to get to Samuel’s side, he would definitely hear it, even if he was slightly drunk. I scooted a bit closer to him. Maybe I could reach over him? But if he caught me, he’d be furious.
I lay back down and tried to fall back asleep, but two more messages lit up the room. I sat back up and tried to lean over Samuel to reach his phone. If I could touch the screen, I’d see if the messages were from F. again. Another message illuminated the room.
Samuel stirred, his brows snatching together, face twisting with pain. “No.”
He shook his head, his body twisted. He was having a nightmare. My gaze drifted between the phone and Samuel, and I touched his shoulder gently. He didn’t react until I shook him harder, then his eyes flew open a moment before his phone turned dark again and blackened my vision.
Of course, another message lit up our room shortly after, so Samuel’s disorientated expression came into view. He sat up, so I had to lean back. He reached for his phone and turned it over.
I swallowed. “You had a nightmare.”
“I have many nightmares,” Samuel murmured. He turned on the light, causing me to squeeze my eyes shut. He perched on the edge of the bed, his back to me. Scars covered his skin. I too had a few of them, but not as many as Samuel, and I couldn’t remember the incident that caused them, so my nightmares always revolved around the moment I woke up in the hospital, unable to speak.
“Do you want to talk about them?”
“No,” he clipped. He touched a scar on his side.
Hurt, I leaned back against the headboard. His gaze darted to the phone he’d turned over so I couldn’t see the incoming messages anymore.
“Go on, read your messages from F. I’m sure she has something important to share.”
Samuel slanted a cautious look over his shoulder. “Did you read them?”
So it really was a she. I was angry with myself for thinking that our promising sex life meant Samuel wouldn’t also seek out other women. Why did I believe his talk about fidelity?
“I did not,” I pressed out, close to tears.
Samuel regarded me closely, then shook his head. “I told you I’m faithful, Emma. This isn’t what you think it is.”
I raised my eyebrows. “It’s not? You’re chatting with a woman, and you keep it a secret from me. She’s even sending you photos, and I’m pretty sure they aren’t G-rated.”
Samuel reached for his phone and stared down at it. His body was shielding the screen from my view. “Here,” Samuel murmured and handed me the phone. I took it with shaking fingers, and with a feeling of trepidation, I looked down at the screen and the string of photos. I frowned, not understanding what I saw. It showed two dark-haired children in front of a huge birthday cake. I could only see their backs. The girl wore a tutu, and the boy what looked like boxing shorts. And suddenly, it clicked. I looked up at my husband.
Samuel’s shoulders sagged, and he shook his head with a look of resignation. “What I tell you now is betrayal. Not of you, but the Outfit. If word gets out, I’d be punished harshly.”
My eyes grew wide. “My loyalty lies with you, not the Outfit.”
Samuel twisted his head toward me and smiled bitterly. Then he sighed and nodded. “F is short for Fina. Serafina, my twin.”
“Oh,” I breathed, my suspicions being confirmed. The children in the photo must be the twins. Remo Falcone’s twins. Now I knew why he thought it was betrayal. Why had I never thought about F being his sister? I hadn’t known he called her Fina, but I could have made the connection if not for being so insecure because of gossip. It had seemed more logical for him to betray me than the Outfit. I was relieved but, at the same time, worried for him. Our Capo Dante was his uncle, but betrayal was difficult to tolerate.
“I thought you ended all contact when she went back to Remo Falcone.” I glanced at another photo showing Fina’s smiling face as she hugged the girl in the tutu.
“I should have,” he murmured, pain and regret in his voice. “But she’s my twin.”
I couldn’t even begin to understand what it meant to be connected to someone from the womb, so I didn’t judge him.
“The twins had their sixth birthday a couple of weeks ago. Then there was our wedding. My sister tried to establish closer contact again, probably feeling nostalgic.”
“You miss her,” I said softly, touching his back.
“I miss the sister I had before Remo twisted her into someone else. She isn’t that person anymore, and I’m not the same person I was before she was kidnapped.”
Again he touched the scar on his side.
“Does it hurt?”
He dropped his hand. “No. I got it when Serafina was kidnapped. The memories of what followed hurt more.”
It was the most personal thing Samuel had ever shared with me, and it made me feel even worse for accusing him of cheating. “I’m sorry for accusing you of cheating. I just thought…”
I trailed off, not sure how to say it.
“You just thought?” he asked, his gaze boring into my eyes.
“You are a man, a man who had many lovers before our marriage.”
“I did,” Samuel admitted, turning around to me. “And I have no need for further conquests. What you said sounds like something your mother put in your head.”
“She probably did,” I muttered. I sighed, then narrowed my eyes. “So you say because you had so many girls before marriage, you can be faithful now. By that logic, I’d have to go look for a lover, considering my lack of experience.”
Samuel climbed back on the bed and cupped my face with a dominant smile. “This world doesn’t give girls the same freedoms as we get, and while this is certainly not a fair concept, I like that you are mine alone and will always only be mine.”
He kissed me. Soon, his kiss became more demanding, and we ended up having sex again. Afterward, I snuggled up to him with my cheek pressed to his strong chest. Samuel had no trouble allowing this kind of closeness. His fingers were even stroking my arm gently, making me feel cared for and very drowsy.
“I thought about your wish to dance.”
I held my breath.
“I think it’s a good idea. As long as Leo’s observations don’t give me reason to change my mind, I’ll allow you to take dance lessons.”
I pushed up and kissed his lips with a big smile. “Thank you!”
His eyes scanned my beaming face, and he brushed a strand away from my face. I kissed him lightly, then put my head back down and cuddled even closer to him. He wrapped an arm around me. “I feel safe in your arms,” I admitted in a small voice.
Samuel released a deep breath. “I’ll do everything in my power to keep you safe.”
