Fight Me Little Pearl

Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty-Four

VALENTINO

H mmm… Francesca wants to see me urgently. I wonder what she wants as I hang up and turn towards Enzo. We received information that he was subtly asking around about where Franco’s new residence was.

“Tell me, what does Sal want with Franco?” I ask.

Enzo looks at me calmly. I know that look. I’ve seen it before. It is the look of men who have stopped thinking for themselves because they’ve brainwashed themselves into believing their entire worth and identity lay in their undying allegiance to whatever mafia family they have joined. I could tear him limb from limb and he will remain fiercely loyal to Sal.

“My situation is simple,” he says. “You’ll kill me while trying to make me talk, or I’ll be killed when I return because my boss will assume I’ve turned on them and become a liability. Either way, I’m a dead man walking so I’d rather die a man of honor.” The cords in his neck pulse even though his expression shows not the slightest fear of his impending death.

“Yes, you’re a dead man, but you get to decide if you die alone or you take your blameless family with you.”

“What do you mean?” he asks, sudden panic flaring into his eyes. “That’s not what we do. We don’t bring women and children into our business. They are off-limits. Those are the rules. We are men of honor. We have to play by the rules.”

“I’m not part of your cult, Enzo. I don’t have to follow the rules and fake codes of honor you do.”

“But you are. I know all about you. I know what you have done to get where you are.”

I laugh shortly. “You really think we are playing the same game. The game you’re playing is for mugs. Look at you. After everything you’ve done for Sal, you’re barely making ends meet. All the spoils are eaten up by the top brass, while the fools like you get to fight over the crumbs. If you’d only put your pride aside and admit you’re giving your blood sweat and tears to men who can do nothing for you, you’d see that you’d make more money running a hotdog stand. So I’ll ask you again. What does Sal want with Franco?”

“I took an oath of silence,” he says stubbornly.

I turn to Dutch. “Show him.”

Dutch walks over to him and shows him the live feed of his daughter riding in the back of a car. Enzo’s eyes nearly pop out of their sockets, and he strains against the steel cuffs. “Fiorella?” he cries before turning to me with desperate fear and urgency. “Please. Please, let her go. Please. I beg of you.”

I shrug carelessly. “Her life is in your hands.”

Sweat pours off him and his eyes plead with me. “You’ve walked away from this life and everyone knows you’ve gone legit. You don’t need to do this. You are a respectable businessman now. Please, Don Barone. You are a good man.”

“Yeah, I’m trying to go legit, but every fucking time I try to walk away, you and your low IQ familia just drag me back into this rotting pit with you. Are you ready to answer my question or is your widow going to attend her daughter’s funeral?”

“Please,” he cries desperately. “It’s not much, but I’ll tell you everything I know. All I know is before your wife’s father died, he tried to sell the land to Sal. They were negotiating the price when he died suddenly. Sal wants the land. One way or another.”

Suddenly everything made sense. Francesca’s father was a bigger scumbag than I had thought.

“It’s not just Sal. Vinny too.”

“Big Vinny?”

He nods.

So they are working together. I should have known Sal wouldn’t have had the finance or the smarts to handle such a big project on his own. I look at Enzo without interest. “As far as I’m concerned you were never here.”

He stares at me with a mixture of astonishment and disbelief, then violently shakes his head. “I was never here. I was never here,” he repeats frantically.

I nod.

“Thank you. Thank you,” he says, his voice shaking with relief.

“Release him,” I say and turn away.

“What about my daughter?” he asks Dutch anxiously.

“She’s probably been dropped off at her ballet class by now,” Dutch answers emotionlessly.

As I walk away, thoughts of Francesca immediately crowd into my head. What could the problem be? She is a willful little spitfire and would not have called me unless she had no choice. Something had to have happened.

I tear down the road, eager to get home and be certain that she’s alright. I’m not worried about her safety because there is a team of men keeping watch over her that she knows nothing about. What I’m concerned about is what could have happened when she went to see her mother. Did Franco tell her something?

I’ll have his head if he did. I swear it.

I meet Francesca in the foyer thirty minutes later, and the desire to pull her into my arms is so strong I have to clench my fists. She looks breathtaking in a white pleated dress. A black belt accentuates her tiny waist. Instead of complimenting her on her beauty, I school my expression into indifference as I approach her and I remind myself that I’m still mad at her.

“You wanted to see me?”

“Yes.” She nods meekly, and that immediately makes me suspicious. My little pearl is far from weak and submissive. She’s a spitfire who is not even afraid of me. Her soft gaze roams my face and I wish she would stop because those big blue eyes are practically begging me to ravish her.

“Valentino…” She sighs. “Can we please sit?”

I move towards one of the chairs, as far away from her as possible, and to my surprise, she daintily sinks into the one closest to me and smiles prettily at me.

I take a deep steadying breath. “I’m busy, Francesca. What don't you want?”

She winces at my tone. “I’d like you to tell me about Nina.”

What the fuck? She called me here for this shit. I frown. “Why?”

“Because I’m your wife and I deserve the truth.”

“Isn’t it a little too late for that?” I ask, pride swirling in my belly. I’ve been stabbed, shot, and tortured, but somehow, one wrong look from her can hurt more.

“This marriage is falling apart, Valentino, and?—”

“Isn’t that what you want?” I ask bitterly. “For this marriage to be over so you can go back to that maggot.”

She takes a deep breath. “He’s not a maggot, but I shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry.”

“Your apology is meaningless because you will go running to that revolting maggot at the first sign of trouble. You--”

She rises to her feet suddenly and slides into my lap, her arms circling around my neck. My words get lost in the mist of lust curling in my guts. I have a feeling she is trying to seduce me into forgiving her. It will work and she fucking knows it.

“The truth is…” Francesca’s gaze drops to my lips. “I miss you. It is you I’m married to, not him.”

“But you don’t hesitate to throw him at my face at the slightest provocation.”

“You should punish me for it,” she says, arching into me and lowering her head until she’s only a few inches away from my mouth. “It was wrong.”

“Be careful what you ask for. If I want to punish you for it, I’d do it by gutting Thomas and feeding him to the swine. Would you like that?”

She freezes. “You don’t have to kill him, Valentino. Thomas isn’t a threat. When I said punish, I meant, handcuff me to the bedposts and smack my bottom or something along those lines.”

My eyes widen. “You want me to handcuff you and smack your bottom.”

A secret smile plays on her lips. “I’m game if you are.”

I fell for it. Hook, line and sinker. “Yeah, I’m game.

Her eyes glitter. “Tell me about Nina first.”

I look her in the eye. “I didn’t sleep with that woman on our wedding night. Believe it… or not.”

“So why did you smell like her that night?”

If she had not sunk her teeth into her bottom lip before she asked that question, I would not have answered, but she did… The little minx did.

“Because I went to the Pavilion Margaux and she was there. She rubbed herself against me and wanted me to go to her apartment, but I refused. That’s all there is to it.”

Her gaze roams my face, but I don’t say anything further to defend myself or convince her. I need her to trust me. Either she does or she doesn’t.

“But when you left me that night, you had every intention of sleeping with someone else, did you not?”

“Yes.”

She stares at me. “Why didn’t you? You could have fucked Nina if you wanted.”

My gaze never leaves hers. “Yes, but I wanted you.”

Her lips part in a soft gasp. “I’m sorry I didn’t believe you.”

“This time you get a free pass, but you have to learn and quickly, little pearl. My word is everything. You have to trust me implicitly for I never lie to you. We are one. That is the only way we will survive.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know you well enough and she was very convincing,” she whispers.

“You will never meet her again, but you will meet others like her,” I say. “There are hundreds of women out there who want me. They will give anything to be in your shoes. They will drop snide remarks to make you believe I care about them. But it will be a lie. Sometimes, the only thing you’ll have is my word. And you have to trust me because you, me and any children we have are one unit. Never to be separated.”

She’s silent for a moment. Then, she nods. “From now on, I will. Implicitly. Until the day you lie to me. Then I will be gone forever.”

Not even for a second do I hesitate. “Deal. And now… it’s time for your punishment… smack your bottom you said…”