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It’s been three and half weeks since the Garza Jr. incident with Lia. Angelo and the guys took care of it and produced a cover story. They injected him with meth, and Doc made sure that the bullet was removed. A few days after, his body and my red Ducati were found off a cliff of Silberstrasse Road, burnt to a crisp. I was privy to the details this one time with my godfather’s authorization.
Making a double espresso, I hear someone walking down the stairs. Lia stops abruptly at the bottom when she notices me. Immediately, awkwardness fills the room as we lock eyes. We haven’t spoken about that night and haven’t been alone between Doc, Katarina, and Krista taking care of her.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know anyone would be down here so early. I forgot that you were an early bird, working out first thing.” She looks down with hesitance in her stance.
I push my double espresso towards her. “Just in time, I’m making coffee.” Smiling, I turn around to make another one. I point to the other counter where a tray with a pastry basket and fruit bowl sits. “Help yourself; Oskar delivered it earlier.”
She walks over silently and takes a croissant on a plate and sits down on the counter stool. She starts to nibble it, but it seems to be more of a nervous reaction to being alone with me and not knowing what to say. She is visibly healing; however, mentally, she is struggling and will for a long time. The once comfortable silence between us is struck with the taboos of her horrible night and my nuptials.
I lean against the counter, sipping my espresso. “I heard Krista is coming over and taking you to Josephine’s for a haircut. It will be good for you to go out.” I say looking at her in encouragement. She’s wearing one of Katarina’s scarves wrapped around her head. Her once long, shiny black hair is now mangled from the fight of her life.
She reaches with one of her hands, rubbing her head against the silk scarf. “Looks like I’m going to have short hair first time in my life.” She shrugs tearing a piece of the croissant and placing it into her mouth.
I smile, honestly knowing she will rock any hairstyle. “I’m sure Josephine will work her magic. If not, buy more scarves, you’re rocking the look.”
She looks up biting her lower lip with uncertainty. I finish up my espresso and place it in the sink. I reach in the refrigerator for a water bottle when I hear her shaky voice. “Thank you, Santos... for everything you have done for me.” I turn around holding the cold water bottle in between my warm hands. She gives me a slight smile. “For helping us get out of Len’s bad deal with Garza, for rebuilding Lion Whiskey, for saving us... for saving me.” She sighs, holding back tears. I stand silently letting her have center stage, knowing she needs this to regain confidence. “Does it make me a horrible person for killing him? Because all I feel is relief, no remorse.” The Lia I was fond of is now a shell of a woman.
“Lia, no woman should endure what you went through. You are one of the strongest women I know, and you will heal in time. You are not just a business partner; you are a friend.” I tell her.
She gives me a small smile as tears threaten to spill out of her eyes. She wipes them with the back of her hand. “I spoke with Len, and his flight arrives Saturday morning. Krista will take me home Friday if that is okay. Angelo told me that everything is secure.” She says, trying to sound strong.
I confirm her statement. “The whole estate is secure with a new alarm that has twenty-four hours, seven days a week security. The brand-new gate was installed two days ago. I checked it myself.” I’m happy that she is healing, and Krista agreed to move in to look after her. I know it’s important to Lia to be the stronger sibling especially given Len’s sickness.
“You’re a magnificent man, Santos Ferrari, and I’m happy you found your person. Katarina is amazing; really, she’s a saint being put in this situation. She was so kind, made me feel safe. I’ll be always grateful to all you Ferraris.”
I hear Katarina before I see her. For a little tiny thing, the wooden stairs still betray her with creaks. I start to laugh and keep it at pause but still smile. Lia looks behind me, and there stands my beauty.
“Well, looks like everybody is up early this morning.” I say walking over to my wife and giving her a kiss on her forehead. I hand her the water bottle.
“I was just on my way to bring you your morning water.” I hear the scrape on the floor from Lia’s stool.
“Good morning, I was just telling Santos how I am in debt to all of you. I know I’ve told you before, but I need to say it again. Thank you.” Lia holds her hand against her heart.
“I’m glad you are doing better. A salon day will help even more.” Katarina says with heartfelt sincerity in her voice.
“Well, I have to go and get ready. Krista will be arriving, and it takes me longer to get ready these days.” She gives us a smile and, with a slight limp, walks past us heading upstairs.
“Oskar put some kind of ginger surprise in the refrigerator for you. How are you feeling this morning?” I reach my head down and give her a kiss.
“Hmm, better now that I got my first kiss of the day. I think it’s my favorite kiss.” She says.
“Ha! We will see about that. There are more kisses to come today. Now, go and be a good mommy and eat that ginger surprise. I’m going to take a quick shower.” I hand her the water bottle.
“My mom is picking me up today; a young stallion is being delivered.”
I look at her with skepticism. She knows my feelings of her training horses that aren’t broken yet. Obsidian is a different story. I feel like he would protect her till death as I would. She withheld on purpose. I smile internally, knowing my wife is back to her normal self. I walk back, taking her in my arms.
“Do I have to worry about this young stallion?” I ask jokingly, but not really kidding.
“I shouldn’t say this because it will go to your big head, but you have no competition husband. I’m teaching, not actually doing the breaking. Don’t worry, your heir will be protected.” She says jokingly, teasing me.
“Just be careful, wife. I worry about you, got it?” I crouch down and kiss her belly. “I’ll be at the conference room all day with Angelo. I’ll meet you at the house, so you can introduce me to this new stallion of yours. I love you.”
––––––––
“HI, MARIA. WHAT DO you have for us?” I ask her through the Zoom screen. Angelo and I had decided to add her to our weekly meetings. She needs the extracurricular hours to go towards her grades. Bianca is doing the same; however, she’s doing hers through the equestrian program at the school. Maria refused to get on a horse, so Angelo came up with the idea of her to use her work hours with us.
“Hi, boss! Well, I think I found the perfect lawyer for you. I’m sending you over his portfolio now. Benjamin Sabato—he’s twenty-eight years old, worked abroad in Rome interning at a local firm, and now is working as a first-year public defender in New York.” She rattles out like she does every time she gives me her research.
I’m learning she likes to leave the real reason for her decision until the end of her pitch. “What’s the caviar, Indigo?” I prompt her with her computer nickname, wanting her to get to the end.
“Well, he’s handsome, but the real reason is that his law thesis targets specifically international law.”
Angelo interrupts her. “I’m sorry, but just because he’s supposedly handsome shouldn’t be a factor. All three candidates you sent had international law background.” He leans back in the chair with his hands clasped behind his head. Disgust starts to cover his face.
“I’m sure she is not basing her evaluation on looks, isn’t that correct?” I stare at my brother in annoyance.
“No, jackass. Umm, sorry, boss. I’m name calling Angelo, not you. Of course, my evaluation is based on his merits. He lost his family in a car accident while on vacation in Rome when he was fifteen. He’s fluent in English, French, Spanish, Italian. His German is rough, but he understands enough. His cute roommate is from Germany.” Angelo rolls his eyes. “His thesis concentration is in public, private, and supranational law. That is why I picked him.” She finishes with a big, bright white smile.
Angelo’s chair clicks to the ground, and he starts scrolling on his computer verifying what she said. Having experience in all three types of international law is almost unheard of. The question is why a prestigious firm hasn’t hired him. I look back up at the screen where she is still smiling.
“Finish, please.” I command her. She is now deliberately being a pain in the ass to torture Angelo.
“In college, he was arrested by campus police for selling weed, and he doesn’t come from a pedigree family tree. He grew up with a second cousin in New York City.” She smiles and then takes a bite out of an apple making the speakers crackle in the room.
As I look over her notes, I begin reading between the lines. So, our Benjamin was a dealer, and he wants vengeance for his family’s death. That’s my summary, and that’s why he’s our guy. We can help him, and he can help us.
“So, he was a dealer which paid his tuition and is hunting down the cause of the car crash.” Angelo’s talking out loud but not to us. My brother is spot on with his evaluation.
I look to the screen, my attention back on Maria. “Very well. Set up an interview for this week. I’m curious about his Italian connection of lawyers. What’s the next item that you have?”
I want to push this meeting along. Today’s going fast but not fast enough. I’m eager to see my wife and have a relaxing evening with her. I send a quick text to her to see how she’s doing, reminding her to hydrate. The second text I send is to Oskar, requesting he make a picnic dinner basket. I’ll take it with me when I meet Katarina at our estate.
“I just sent you a list of managers for the Garza Winery. I was thinking you should probably change the name.” Maria says more to Angelo than me.
“What are you thinking?” asks Angelo, who is suddenly acting professional, all disgust and perturb gone from the earlier conversation. His tone is softer.
“Ferrari is a powerful name in this country.” She points out. I’m watching them discuss the pros and cons, talking effortlessly as equals. Something is going on between them, at least that is what my gut says. “I’m also sending you a rebranding firm’s credentials.” She tells Angelo.
“Great, I’ll look into it and let you know how we should proceed.” Angelo answers.
“That’s all I have for you today, boss. My next class is going to begin in fifteen minutes.”
“Thanks, Maria; we’ll be in touch. Let us know if you need anything. See you and B for Thanksgiving.”
“Bye, boss. Bye, Angel Devil.” She sticks her tongue out showing a piercing, and the screen goes blank.
Angelo’s hands slap on the table. “Unbelievable! Did you see that piercing? I told her not to do it. You know what she said? She read guys like tongue piercings for pleasure. She’s going to kill me.”
“What do you mean kill you?” I agree with him that she shouldn’t have gotten one, but there is obviously more going on here.
“I meant she’s going to kill us.” He answers rather quickly.
“Angie, what’s going on with you two? She’s only seventeen; you better not play your Casanova mind games with her. I’ll personally kick your ass.”
“What are you talking about? You see how we fight. Hell, she was insubordinate twice on the call. What are you going to do about that?” He challenges.
His defenses are up, and I know I’m not going to get anywhere with him. I’ll just keep a closer watch for now.
“She put you in your place, and you know it. I’ll talk to her about the name calling but stop provoking her. You have to admit she’s a genius when it comes to discovering information for us.”
The door opens, and Uncle Carmine walks in and sits down at the head of the table. “Boys, how’s your day going?” He asks with a hint of aggravation in his tone.
I’ve dodged him since Lia’s incident. “Hey, GF, all’s going well.” I decide to update him quickly. “Just got off a Zoom call with Maria. I think we have our new lawyer narrowed down.”
He looks over to Angelo, then back to me. “That’s great news. Miss Leoni is leaving the boathouse this week.” He says, more of a statement than a question.
“Yes, her brother is returning Saturday, and he will look after her going forward along with Krista.”
He looks back at Angelo and just stares without saying anything. Turning to Angelo, I see he’s doing the same. A silent discussion is exchanging between them, as I’ve witnessed in the past.
My uncle gets up from the chair. “I have a conference call that I need to get on now. I’ll catch up with you both later.” He starts to walk out but comes back and places a hand on my shoulder. “Congratulations on the pregnancy, and my best to Katarina. You will make a great father, Santos.” He gives my shoulder a squeeze and then walks out.
I turn to Angelo. “What? No reprimand for what happened with Lia? He’s acting cagey.”
Angelo shrugs. “Let’s hope we will have more normal office days like this one.”
“Okay then, I’m going to finish up some emails and then meet up with Katarina at the estate. They are breaking ground on the Morrones’ new house and the new stable next week.” I begin to scroll through my emails when I sense Angelo looking at me. Looking up, his jungle eyes are piercing me with intensity.
“Anything else, Angie?” I ask. He stands up, so he is towering over me, then he places both hands down on the table, making him shrink a fraction. “We haven’t had a chance to really speak about that night. It wasn’t your fault directly; however, when you make a plan, Mateo will always go along with it. Do you know why? Because he was trained to be a solider and follow orders from a Ferrari.” I look at him with understanding. “He knew the deal with Garza Jr. was beyond risky. I’m not talking about your racing, you had that handled. It’s the way you made the deal. I’m sure in his best friend way he hinted to you that it was a bad idea, but he had to go along with it. You tied his hands, Sonny.” He pushes back from the table, rubbing his unshaved face.
“I understand, Angie. It was a careless mistake that will not happen again.” I honestly say.
“I thought working with you would be early retirement.” He gives me a brief fake smile. Walking around the room, he gives an exaggerated blow of air through his mouth and nose. “A murder coverup.” Opening his eyes and giving me a full view of his serious expression. There was no clowning this time. “This is serious shit, Sonny. I never even had to do this under Father’s reins. Sure, I witnessed and helped with some tortures but never a murder; he has other people for that.” He turns away and puts his hands on his head.
“Angelo, I’m trying to keep all this crap far as I can from Katarina as possible. I will say this one last time: It will never happen again.”
“I know you didn’t mean for any of this to happen.” Angelo says, feeling my anguish. He sits back down in the chair, but I stand up not, liking the uncomfortable feelings swirling around me. I manipulated my best friend with no intentions of doing so. I’ve put everyone at risk for no reason.
“Sonny, all I’m asking is come to me with all your fun plans in the future. Sure, I might squash most of them, but I can help make the ones we agree on safe for all. Being partners, we need that honesty.” Standing up, he walks over to me giving me a side hug. “Look, I had to put you in your place, but now I’m done. I guess I’ll see you at the estate. I’m dropping off some paint for my suite, and then I have my first bonding lesson with Ass.” He pushes away from me and starts cleaning up his work area.
“Who’s Ass?” Before he can answer my question, I start hysterically laughing. “You named the donkey Ass? Such an original name you gave him, Angie.”
“Yes, I named him Ass. It fits the stubborn son of a bitch. Kat told me that I need to socialize more with him to gain his trust.” He rolls his eyes.
“Wait, you’re really claiming him as a pet?” This is the most hilarious thing I’ve heard in a while. When we were younger, he always ended up taking home stray animals. Just like that our serious discussion is squashed, and we are back to normal.
Hours later, I am lying on my back next to Katarina in the middle of our bare family room. “Once we replace the small windows with one large, it will make this such a bright and happy family room. Don’t you think, Santos?”
“It was my idea, so yes, I think it will make it a happy family room for us.” I state, giving her a quick kiss and smiling before laying back down on the picnic blanket that I laid down in the middle of the room. It’s becoming colder outside, so I decided to have our picnic dinner in the house. The fireplace is on, taking the chill out of the room. The painting is completed, and our new appliances and furniture will be delivered in the next couple of weeks.
My wife moves to straddle me. “Claudette picked up my reception dress. She’s taking it with her to Vegas.” Katarina says.
“I think it’s kind of too sexy for a pregnant woman.” I rub her belly. She is not even showing yet. “You could walk down that aisle in a potato sack, and I would think you are the most beautiful woman in the world.”
She leans back against my knees. “Don’t tempt me. Your mother sent an email of the itinerary. It’s a little intense. I’m happy we said our vows when we did.”
Leaning up, I give her a slow, soft kiss, brushing my lips delicately against her. I back away, “I think this is my favorite kiss of the day.” I tell her. The connection we are building between us is more powerful and sensual than sexual. My mother can be very intense, and I know it can be a little overwhelming, especially to a pregnant woman.
“You like every kiss; you are incorrigible. But I agree, this dinner kiss is a favorite.” She play punches me. I grab her hand and kiss it.
“Mmmmm...you are right as always. I like all of your kisses and can’t choose. Don’t worry about my mother and her party planning. I’ll be by your side the whole time.”
“Do you think we can celebrate Christmas here? I know we will celebrate your Thanksgiving holiday at the hotel restaurant. I was just hoping to have Christmas here with my family and yours.” She’s smiling, looking all around the room pointing to the corner where she wants to put the Christmas tree.
“The window will not be installed, but everything else will be completed. Shouldn’t be a problem. Your Christmas wish is granted, my dear wife.”
She grabs me, hugging me tightly. “You make me so happy, Santos.”
“It’s going to be Maria’s first Christmas with us. I would like to make it special; will you help me with that?” I ask.
“That is funny, Angelo asked me the same thing. He wanted to make sure we included Maria in Christmas and the wedding.” Coincidental, I don’t think so. I decide to keep that in mind.
The past few weeks, Katarina has been so understanding and kind. I’m not sure I would be if an ex of hers was staying with us. She really is my light and the light of everyone who comes in contact with her. “Beauty, I thank you for being you. I’m sorry for the position I put you in. Seems like drama has found me since I’ve come back to Italy.” I tell her. “Believe it or not, I usually live a pretty boring life. I promise I will never let something like this happen again.”
“Shhhh, my amazing and gorgeous husband. I know you never meant for this to happen. I also know the man I married, and I’m not naive of the family I married into.” She smiles taking my mouth once again.
The front door crashes open, and moans of pain coarse through the house. “Katarina, Santos!” Katarina’s mother is shouting our names. We both jump up to see what the commotion is.
“Mama, what is it?” Katarina starts running to the entrance. Two stablemen are holding an injured Angelo, who is moaning in excruciating pain. I run over to him, “What happened?” I demand.
One of the stablemen holding Angelo answers, “The donkey.” Alarm shoots through me. Shit, it could have been Katarina instead. I really am not at ease with her around the horses and Ass. I quickly call Doc for him to come check out Angelo. Hopefully, there will be no internal bleeding.
“Put him down on the blanket. Then go in the barn and bring some saddle blankets. We need to keep him elevated.” Katarina orders and points to our blanket.
They lay my brother down, and he lets out a moan, grabbing his stomach. “Shit! It hurts so bad! Ass really kicked my ass and my ribs. I think he broke my ribs.” He’s gritting his teeth but still laughing.
“How do you know they are broken?” I ask.
“Ughh, bruised them in a fight before. This hurts twenty times more.”
Katarina kneels down next to him. “I’m going to put some blankets under you. It’s going to hurt a little. I’m sorry.” He moans again in pain as he has to move around.
Katarina starts to unbutton his shirt. “What are you doing?” I ask, and she looks up at me rolling her eyes.
“I’m checking for injuries.” She says.
“Hey, brother, no need to get jealous. I’m down for the count.” Angelo jokes.
Having my wife touch another man, even my brother, sends jealousy through me, and it’s an unfamiliar feeling.
“Oh boy, he really did a number on you.” Her mother hands her some ice.
"This is going to be cold, but we need to keep the swelling down.” Katarina warns him.
Angelo says a couple flirtatious remarks, but before he can continue, Katarina slaps the cold ice down on his wound, which makes him yelp out in shock with pain following.