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Nicoletta had gotten up to refill Velia’s refresher. She stopped and turned. “She does that? Taviano? Why didn’t you say so earlier? I made her so angry. If she could have, she would have ripped my face off. She tried to slap me.”
Velia gasped. “Hit you? Strike you? Physically? Eloisa actually tried to hit you?” She looked to Taviano for confirmation.
“Does Stefano know?” Shockingly, it was Tore who asked. He came out of the corner and handed Nicoletta his glass, but his gaze was on his cousin, demanding an answer.
Taviano shook his head. “No, I told her to leave. She wasn’t welcome. I thought it better not to let Stefano know. Already, there is too much between Stefano and Eloisa. Much more, and there would be no going back. Eloisa needs to find her way, although it might not be our way.”
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Nicoletta half turning toward him, shaking her head, indicating that Eloisa’s way was never going to be their way. She poured the refresher for Tore and handed it to him.
“She didn’t manage to claw me, and I did provoke her. I can get quite nasty when I want to, and I wanted to. She had been very ugly to Taviano. I didn’t like it and I let her know.”
A ghost of a smile played around Tore’s mouth, making him look younger. “I’ll bet you did. Your woman is quite the find, Taviano. I envy you.”
Taviano smiled and put his arm around Nicoletta. “Believe me, I know how lucky I am. The moment I laid eyes on her, I knew. The first time I saw her with Lucia, she had my heart for sure. The way she loves Lucia and Amo gets me every time. I wanted a part of that.”
He had. It had shocked him that Nicoletta had the capacity to love so deeply and so readily after what had happened to her. He hadn’t thought she’d be open to Lucia and Amo. The Ferraros had watched her closely, fearing for the older couple, but from the moment she’d met them, Nicoletta had been more about taking care of them and protecting them than looking after herself. That had shown him her heart.
“Anyone want food? Who knows how long those two will be,” he added.
“If you’re cooking,” Marzio said.
Velia and Tore nodded their assent and Velia hooked her arm through Nicoletta’s. “We can get to know each other since we’re now cousins.”
Taviano gave his woman up to Velia as they followed him into the kitchen, happy to see she was in good hands.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Giovanni Ferraro peered down at the small group of men wearing the Demon colors of the LA chapter. These men were definitely loyal to Benito Valdez and spent more time reporting to Benito than to their president, his brother Tonio.
The leader of the group was a thin man with crooked teeth and a scar that ran the length of his face, from temple to jaw. He had multiple prison tattoos, creating sleeves on both arms and around his neck and up onto his face. Most were skulls, giving his face a strange, dead-like facade. His name was Victor and he appeared very driven. Giovanni pegged him for a plant.
If he could so easily see that Victor and most of those with him were really men Benito paid to spy on his brother, he was certain Tonio could as well. Tonio was an intelligent man. Giovanni was certain all the brothers were. Benito had succumbed to alcohol and drugs. He’d been on a power trip too long, and eventually the chemicals had eaten away his brain cells to the point that he had forgotten all about finesse and ruled his world with brute force. That worked sometimes, but not all the time. Real loyalty counted, and he’d forgotten that.
Tonio had sent the right army to support Benito’s cause. Victor was happy that he was on his way, more than halfway to Chicago with his men. Benito had requested at least fifteen men from each city, and Tonio had been generous and sent eighteen of those he considered his “best.” He’d had the conversation with his brother in front of Victor, and Victor had soaked that praise right up. He confirmed to Benito that the men Tonio sent were all very loyal to the president of the Demons and none of them were slackers.
They were fueling their vehicles and grabbing food and they’d be on their way. They weren’t calling attention to themselves. They didn’t want the cops to identify them or watch their progress to Chicago. They’d get the girl for Benito and make certain to identify anyone who had helped keep her from him. He could come in and kill them himself and then take her back to New York with him. Victor, on the phone, nodded several times and told Benito that they’d be there at the same time.
Giovanni exchanged a long look with his cousin Maximino. Benito was definitely on his way to Chicago. They had confirmation. If Rigina or Rosina could get a lock on Victor’s cell they might be able to trace where Benito actually was, and they could send riders to intercept him. The family didn’t want him getting anywhere close to Nicoletta.
Not one of the Demons was drinking. None of them appeared to be doing drugs. There were four vehicles. The drivers and two others stayed with each SUV. While they were putting gas in the cars, the others walked across the street to the diner. Six men walking into a diner didn’t raise alarms. They went in quietly and sat down in two separate booths.
Giovanni immediately signaled to his cousins to choose a shadow that would take them to the parking lot where the drivers would bring the SUVs. The lot was on the small side but well kept, with trees shading many of the spaces from any afternoon sun. Two overhead lamps illuminated the lot, presumably making it safer at night. The lamps, coupled with the trees and their twisting boughs, threw interesting shadows in all directions across the lot, giving the riders quite a bit of tubes to choose from.
The first SUV pulled into the lot and the driver parked right in the front in a space to the right of the handicap parking. It was just out of sight of the plate glass window where the booths faced the lot. Vico, the youngest of Giovanni’s cousins there, moved immediately, catching a shadow and riding it straight to the SUV and inside. He was on the man in the back seat, delivering the wrenching signature kill and out of the vehicle before the driver had turned it off.
The passenger opened his door and turned slightly in his seat to pick something up. Vico immediately caught his head between his hands and wrenched, murmuring that justice was served as he pushed the body back into the SUV and quietly closed the door. The driver had jumped out and slammed his door just as Vico closed the passenger door.
“What are you doing?” the driver asked, turning back toward the window.
Vico came up behind him, catching his head in his hands and wrenching. He heard two more of the SUVs in the parking lot, but those weren’t his problem. He lowered the body of the driver beneath the vehicle and stepped into the shadow, allowing it to take him away from the parking lot and back to the vantage point overlooking the little diner. Giovanni signaled to Vico to watch the six men in the diner. They had a good view of the lighted parking lot. No one had emerged. No one had seen. It had taken him only seconds to kill the three Demons, and the bodies couldn’t be seen in the dark where they lay.
Remigio and Maximino both stepped into two different tubes, each one small, the narrow ones that moved fast, tearing one’s body into what felt like a million pieces, scattering them everywhere and hurtling one out as viciously as possible. The shadow riders couldn’t be seen when they slipped out of the shadows and delivered the signature killing moves to those in the vehicles. They couldn’t take chances that anyone in the diner would call the cops; Victor might alert Benito that someone was killing his army.
They wanted Benito to show himself, not go into hiding. As long as he thought he had a huge backing of his men behind him, he would swagger into Ferraro territory demanding everyone in his path to tell him where to find Nicoletta and anyone who might be hiding her from him. They needed Benito Valdez to show himself so they could dispose of the threat to Nicoletta.
Giovanni took the last SUV as the three Demons turned into the parking lot. He rode the shadow right to it, timing it perfectly to enter the back of the vehicle just as it entered. There was a dark strip to the left, and
the driver chose that direction so he could park next to the other cars. He was driving very slowly, using care as he entered the lot.
Behind the Demon in the back seat, Giovanni gripped his head, wrenched and laid him gently to one side, and then was on the front seat passenger before either he or the driver knew anyone else was in the car. He killed the passenger just as the driver parked the SUV and turned off the ignition. As he turned his head slightly, just as if he might have sensed something might be wrong, Giovanni was already on him. It had taken only seconds to kill all three men.
It was necessary to exit the vehicle via a door, as there were no shadows to catch inside, but he was wearing gloves. He used the driver’s side door and immediately stepped into a shadow, deliberately leaving the door to the SUV open behind him. No one could see the bodies unless they came up to the vehicle and looked inside.
He waited there, just in the mouth of the shadow. Vico came closer, as did Remigio and Maximino. It was only a matter of time before Victor and the others came out to see what was keeping the rest of their crew.
Shadow riders learned patience very early. As young children they were taught to be still, no matter how long they had to lie in grass or rock or whatever the circumstances and wait. They couldn’t fidget. They couldn’t be seen. They had to remain absolutely still, and if they were spotted, the exercise was often repeated over and over until they could do it before they were allowed to stop for that day. Then it was done the next day and the next. Learning not to move was drilled into them, and yet being ready to move at a moment’s notice was just as important as the next lesson to be learned.
Giovanni couldn’t remember when he wasn’t learning lessons. Granted, most of the earlier ones were couched in playing, just as what Stefano and all of the Ferraros were doing with Crispino, but they were still necessary life lessons to keep them all alive. He waited, knowing one wrong move could bring awareness to those inside the diner and not only end his life, or those of his cousins, but perhaps Nicoletta’s as well.
Victor and the other Demons at his table continued to talk animatedly for some time. It was actually one of the Demons in a plaid flannel shirt that suddenly frowned, slid out of the booth and stood to look out the window at the SUV with the door open. He indicated it to Victor and the others. Those in the second booth swiveled around so they could look as well.
Victor nodded his head and the three in the other booth immediately rose and came toward the door. Giovanni remained still, his breathing easy, his heart rate steady and normal. The three men had to come up to the SUV in order to see the dead men inside, and to do that, they would have to pass through the dark section, which would make it difficult for those inside to see them. Waiting for them was death.
His cousins emerged from the shadows on that side of the SUV, moving into the shrubbery closer to the building, waiting for the three men to come along the sidewalk.
“Danny!” one called out, hesitating as the others walked straight toward the SUV. The one doing the shouting hurried to catch up. “What the hell? Where’d they go?”
The three men stopped together, looking toward the other three vehicles. Vico, Remigio and Maximino came up behind them and simultaneously delivered the signature Ferraro kill. Rather than leave them where anyone could find them, the three were taken to the vehicle farthest from the windows and set inside with the other dead Demons.
Giovanni continued to watch Victor and the other two men. Victor had already signaled the waitress for both checks, paid them, and then was up and walking toward the door, flanked by his two guards, after the three he’d sent out to find his crew. He clearly didn’t suspect anything was wrong.
Victor shoved open the door, came out onto the walkway and looked around. For the first time he looked confused. He turned back to his closest guard. “Where the fuck is everyone, Zeus?”
Zeus shrugged. “Hell if I know.” He walked toward the corner of the building. “Try to get Danny on his cell. I’ll take a look out back.”
Victor pulled out his cell, but he paced along beside Zeus, as did the third man. He seemed more nervous, looking around him, standing on his toes to try to look into the darkened SUV.
“Victor. Wait. I think there’s someone inside.” The third man stammered when he delivered the bad news. “Laying down on the seat.” He was standing by the last vehicle, the one farthest from the diner’s doors, where Vico had put the last three men.
Victor and Zeus turned back toward him. As they did, Giovanni came up behind Victor while Remigio shadowed Zeus. The man facing them opened his mouth to shout a warning, but Maximino was on him, gripping his head while his two fellow Demons looked on in horror. Their heads were wrenched simultaneously. Three voices murmured at the same time, “Justice is served.” Vico opened the door of the SUV, and all three bodies were put inside. Vico closed the door and then went to the SUV with the driver’s side door open and closed that one as well. The four men immediately stepped into shadows to begin the journey home, three to Los Angeles and one back to Chicago.
I didn’t exactly invite you into my home, Stefano,” Eloisa said, staring coolly at her eldest son. “Nor do I remember giving you an invitation, either, Severino.”
“I believe you use the shadows to enter any of our homes at will, Aunt Eloisa,” Severino said. “As riders, it’s a fairly common practice.” He nodded his head at Henry, who sat looking extremely comfortable and at home in the overstuffed and very expensive French chair in front of the burning fireplace.
“It’s nice to see you both,” Henry greeted. “Stefano, is everything all right with the family? With the baby and Francesca?”
Eloisa’s mask of indifference slipped, and she looked distressed. Her fingers gripped the stem on her glass of wine. She pressed her lips together as if refusing to inquire further, but she waited for Stefano to answer.
“Thank you for asking, Henry. They’re both doing fine. Crispino is very healthy. He’s a good boy and learning fast. Francesca is doing very well.”
At his reference to Francesca’s health, Eloisa did frown. “And Grace? Is she doing any better?” Henry asked. Eloisa’s frown turned to a scowl. “Is there something to be concerned about with my daughters-in-law that you knew and didn’t tell me, Henry?”
“I wasn’t aware that you would want to know, Eloisa,” he returned gently. “You’ve never asked a single question about either of them, and you know I visit them regularly.”
Eloisa hissed her displeasure but simply turned her face away from him, as if dismissing him. Henry didn’t seem perturbed in the least by her actions.
“What can we do for you boys?” Henry asked.
“I’ve come to speak to Aunt Eloisa about an incident that happened a few weeks ago that I just learned of tonight,” Severino said. “It came out by accident, and I could barely believe that such a thing would happen, but I was assured it did. Aunt Eloisa, I was told that you not only referred to my mother as a whore in front of Velia, but you informed her that my father was forced to take her in marriage and that Velia was like her.”
Henry turned completely in his chair to face Eloisa. Stefano’s dark blue eyes never left her face. Color stained her cheeks and her chin went up defiantly, but she avoided looking at Severino.
“Yes, that did happen,” Eloisa admitted. “It was unfortunate. She was with Emmanuelle, and I was very angry with my daughter for her ridiculous attachment to Val Saldi. She just can’t seem to get over that horrid man. It’s treacherous on her part. She’s a traitor—”
“Stop deflecting, Eloisa,” Stefano snapped. “This has nothing to do with Emmanuelle. Your behavior is escalating out of control and you know it. What the hell is going on with you that you would say such a thing about Velia’s mother? Her mother was a rider. A shadow rider who served our community with distinction and honor. We don’t ever talk disparagingly about another rider, let alone one that is a Ferraro. Your behavior is a disgrace to our family, not Emmanuelle’s, as much as you’
d like it to be.”
Eloisa rubbed her forehead as if it was throbbing. “I know, Stefano,” she admitted in a small voice. “I’m very sorry, Severino, and I will apologize to Velia. I’ll make it a point to go to your sister as soon as I can and tell her in person that I’m sorry for the things I said to her. I can’t seem to stop myself, Stefano. I keep getting these headaches. I have for years, and they’re so much worse now. That’s not an excuse, but I can’t think clearly, and then I’m saying horrid things and I can’t stop. I’m so afraid now, afraid for all of you …” She trailed off and looked at Henry as if she might crumble under a great weight.
There was a long, shocked silence while Stefano regarded his mother with a frown, his fingers steepled under his chin. The last thing he had expected was her frank confession of a physical ailment. In all the years he’d known her, that had never happened, and it alarmed him. “How long has this been happening to you?”
She shrugged and took a deep breath, waving it away. Stefano glanced at Henry. He wasn’t in the least surprised that the man knew all about their lives; he’d been with the family too long not to.
“No, Eloisa, you just admitted something that may end up affecting all shadow riders. We don’t know what long-term effects being in the tubes can have on our bodies or brains. Before, there were lots of riders, and so they didn’t have to go in as often. We’re riding all the time, long distances, staying in the shadows longer. Taking shift after shift. You took far more rotations than your share because Phillip didn’t take any and most of your brothers and sisters weren’t able to be riders. You should have told me immediately that you were having repercussions.”
Eloisa was silent for so long Stefano sighed and started to speak, but Henry signaled him to wait. The older man reached across his armchair and took Eloisa’s hand. At first, she resisted, looking stiff, but he didn’t relinquish his hold.