Tempted By The Mafia Boss

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

Mimi

“Dad,” I say and he rushes over to me hugging me hard. He looks terrible. His hair is ruffled, his eyes red and skin blotchy. I feel bad because he only looks like that when he’s worried. Most often that’s to do with me.

“Mimi, Jesus I’ve been worried sick,” he blurts.

“You knew to come here?” I have to ask because Salvatore specifically said that I wasn’t to tell him where I was, especially for his safety. Panic races through me when I think I could lose him too.

“I spoke to Salvatore,” he answers.

“Dad, it’s not safe to be here or… around me.” I shake my head.

He winces. “Sweetheart this is just the thing I didn’t want.” Beads of sweat form on his upper lip and he wipes them away. He’s sweating but it’s not exactly hot in here.

“Dad, now’s not the time for that.”

“Mimi, please you need to tell me what’s going on, what’s happening?”

I stare at him. I’m not supposed to say anything until after whatever is going down goes down.

“How about we talk tomorrow?” I suggest.

He frowns. “Mimi, I heard on the streets that you were asking about William Russo, why were you asking about him?”

I freeze up and narrow my eyes.

That night with Porter was awful and it was a night I don’t want to conjure memories of but I was pretty certain that anyone who knew I was asking about William Russo is dead.

Would Porter have said something to someone prior to me getting there?

I’m not sure.

The first thing I think to do is sell him the story I told Porter, except it feels painful to do it. I know talking about this is going to hurt him.

“I wanted to do something to honor Mom, I knew she was fond of him.” My voice barely makes it out and he steps back.

“Mimi, you are my daughter… I know when you’re lying.” His fists ball at his sides and he looks panicked. “Do you have the files? Did Adrian give you the files?”

My blood…

It’s the first to freeze from the chill that rushes down my spine and darts across my body. It happens instantly like it would if I were to be hit by a blast of cold air.

Numbness then fills me and I’m not sure what is worse. The numb tendrils of shock that tighten my insides or the icy cold. I don’t know what feels worse.

I stare at him and see truth.

It slaps me in the face…

He mentioned files, he mentioned Adrian. All things he shouldn’t know.

“Dad…” my mouth moves and I speak his name but I don’t know what more I intended to say.

“Mimi, please sweetheart tell me where the files are. Give them to me and I promise you I’ll keep you safe. Please I went through so much to keep you both safe, please listen to me. She wouldn’t listen.”

She?

“Dad, what are you saying to me? How do you know about the files and Adrian? Are you talking about Mom?” I start shaking.

Shaking from my core. The truth is waving itself in front of me but I don’t want to accept what it’s telling me. Because what my instincts are saying … they can’t be right.

The only way he could know about any of what he’s saying to me is if he was involved in mom’s death or knew about it. And, if he knew that… then everything else is him too.

No…

He’s my father.

He’s a consultant, the middle man who’s worked for the Giordanos for years, so many years.

He wouldn’t be working with the Fontaines too.

Would … he?

I look to the door Salvatore showed me and see it’s slightly ajar. It wasn’t like that when I left here to go and see Charlotte. It was closed.

Jesus is that where he came through? I shake my head at him.

“It’s you who needs to tell me what happened, what is happening? Dad…what did you do to my mother?”

“It was an accident,” he replies and the world stops. The world freezes like the chill that came over me.

“What was an accident?”

“Everything. She found the files in my bag. That bastard, William, saw me with Marc Fontaine and had my own wife spy on me, and boy did she ever hit the jackpot and find everything he needed to destroy me and work his ass up the ladder of success.” He doesn’t look away from me, not once. “She took the files and was ready to take you, leave with him and do an exposé that would shake up the government and take out the Fontaines too. She had to be stopped.”

“Stopped? Papa… what do you mean?” It’s like I’ve become that little girl again, that was what I used to call him. A tear runs down his cheek.

“I didn’t mean to hit her. I just… saw the danger of what she was about to do and I knew they’d kill us. The Fontaine’s would kill us. I lost control when she wouldn’t give me the files. I grabbed her. I didn’t mean to squeeze her neck so tight. Then when she told me Adrian had them I … hit her and… she fell over the balcony. When I looked in my hand I saw the paperweight. I didn’t even remember reaching for it. I don’t remember. I just remember her …. falling…”

“You… it was you? You killed Mom?” The words don’t feel right and I wish for moments ago when I was thinking about the questions that were still hanging over me. I wish I didn’t have answers. I wish I didn’t know.

Never could I guess that the answer was this. Dad. He’s the answer.

Jesus…

No…

“It was an accident Mimi…”

“But the note,” I cry. Tears are pouring from my eyes like I’m set to cry and never stop. Like something switched them on and I can’t switch them off even to see him clearer.

“It was a note she was writing for me. She was leaving me. I found her while she was writing the note,” he explains.

Jesus Christ… God… all the things I thought were true are true.

I thought the note looked like she hadn’t finished because she was so particular about punctuation. Such a little thing, but a tell of what happened, a piece of the picture.

“I didn’t remember the note and you found it after. The same as you found her in the pool.”

“This can’t be right. You came home…after me, you found me by the pool.”

“I… made it look like I did.”

I open my mouth to talk but no words come. I have no words.

I step back and press against the wall trying to get some support but it doesn’t work. My knees cave and I sink to the floor grasping on to the carpet fibers so I don’t fall away.

“Mimi… I’m telling you all of this because I can’t lose you. Marc Fontaine needs those files sweetie or he’ll kill you. He’s going to kill you. He’s serious and pissed as fuck because the presence of them has thrown off his plans for the Giordanos.” He grimaces.

“You’re the spy.” The spy Adrian spoke of. More like a rat though. “It’s you why Sorcha is dead. It’s you isn’t it?”

“Sometimes things have to happen to cut certain people down like grass.”

I can’t believe the words coming from his mouth.

“You think Sorcha had to die? Her baby, they were going to kill the baby too. You’re okay with that?” I scream.

“Mimi, fuck. I don’t have time for this, tell me where the files are. If I get them to Marc we’ll be safe again.”

“No,” I cry and break down, crying hard. It’s all too much. I can’t believe my own father is the cause of so much grief. So much death and loss.

He reaches for me, grabbing me off the ground and shakes me hard.

“Mimi you don’t understand, please I can’t lose you. Please. Please tell me where they are.”

My next words are stolen from the echo of a gunshot. The sounds coming from outside.

Another round sounds and we both look to the door.

Dad shoves me behind him as the door flies open and Marc Fontaine comes in.

“Where is she?” he demands, face contorted into a deep scowl. I’d only ever seen pictures of him. It’s enough to spot him from a mile away and flee.

You know not to fight a man like that. Tall like Salvatore, with olive skin and jet black hair. The same tough guy presence, no heart though.

I look at him, at his soulless eyes and stop breathing.

He barges in when he sees me and Dad shoves me back away.

“Mimi get out of here, run,” Dad shouts, pushing me forward.

I make a move to run to the secret door but Marc’s men swoop in and they’re too fast.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

I’m not fast enough. I was an inch away then I felt hands on me.

I’m grabbed and lifted into the air.

My screams are fruitless.

“Traitorous rat,” Marc snarls at Dad.

“Let her go please, I’ll find the files.” Dad’s voice comes out in a stutter. “Please just let my little girl go, please… I’ll do whatever you want me to do, please.”

Marc laughs. “I think I have a better idea Joey Cipriani. I’m going to use your little girl for other purposes.”

“No, no please, no,” Dad begs.

“Too late, you’re all dead men walking. But you can join the rest who have gone before you. Your contract is terminated.” Marc laughs. All I see next is the gun. He raises it and just fires the bullet.

Dad was about to say something when the bullet lodges in his head and I scream.

I scream and I scream and I scream.

Everything else happens in slow motion.

Dad falls to the ground and the man holding me starts walking.

Marc laughs again and fires another shot at Dad.

“Traitorous fool.” I hear him say but I’m screaming too much to truly hear.

I scream harder as we go through the door and I see Gabe lying on the ground in a pool of blood.