19. Franco

Chapter 19

Franco

My brother is still stewing over the loss at the horses and then Vito's attack—now is probably not a good time to go to him with this. But if I wait, he will find out, and it will be a thousand times worse for all of us.

I know where to find him. When he's this upset, he day-drinks. He will be at Donatello's having a drink or ten. At least if I catch him, it is public enough that he will have to contain his outburst. Remaining civil is not something he'd do if we had this conversation behind closed doors.

I park in the back of the building. They might as well put our family names on the spots—no one else parks in them. Before us, my father always parked where I do now. I push open the back door with my elbow, looking over my shoulder to make sure I wasn't followed. Marco's men hover around in corners and watch the patrons for signs of trouble.

The bar stinks of stale smoke and old beer. Marco is sitting in his usual spot at the end of the bar, where he can see all the exits.

"I found Vito's cousin." I sit down next to him. "You were right about the connection." I loathe staying he is right about anything. There's a grin on his face. He loves having one over me. This time, I especially wish he had been wrong.

"Something wasn't right," he says.

It's true. There has been chaos since Aria arrived in our lives.

He continues, "No such thing as coincidence." Clicking his fingers at the barman to get me a drink, Marco asks, "What did his cousin say?"

This is where shit hits the fan . The pause right before I blow up my own life. Maybe I should wait for my drink first.

"Vito has a contract out on us." I start with the part where Vito is the problem. He was the one who wanted her to kill us.

"So why is he trying to kill us himself?" Marco looks confused. "You don't have a dog and bark yourself."

"His dog wasn't loyal," I say, glad to have a cognac put down in front of me. "She bit the hand that fed her, and instead of killing me, she married me." I watch his expression change as what I have said slowly sinks in. "Aria's job was to kill us both. She was working for Vito." It still hurts when I say it, even if she didn't follow through.

"Get rid of her," he says. "If she didn't have your bastard fucking child in her belly, I'd do this myself. Get her out of my city, Franco, so help me God or I will kill her. I should have killed her when she married you." Exile . She told me this would be his answer, and I promised her I wouldn't let that happen.

"If she goes, I go." I'm determined not to let her down .

"Oh, no." Marco glares at me. "This isn't how it works, Franco. You can't save her by saying you'll leave. You will stay here and will rip her from your life if I have to. But Aria is no longer welcome here."

Family first, Mafia first—always Cosa above all else. He knows I cannot disobey him and go, so I need to force his hand to allow her to stay. "She knew what she was doing and what would happen once we found out."

"Marco."

I am so tired of him and his superiority complex. "She is my wife. She broke the contract and stayed loyal to us." She chose our side.

"I don't care," he says, downing his drink. "If she stays, I look like a fool welcoming a killer into my house. Franco, this is not a fight you can win."

He's wanted to take her from me since the start. Now he has a good reason to.

"No one makes a fool of me. Definitely not a whore."

When he calls her a whore my blood boils two degrees hotter. "She is still my wife."

"Divorce is cheap these days. I'll get a lawyer for you."

I hate him. "I'm not getting a divorce." I won't. "And I am not sending my wife and child away." My phone keeps buzzing, non-fucking-stop. Anyone who is this persistent obviously has an urgent need to get hold of me. I take it out and there is a string of messages from Luca .

Luca—Boss, your wife is going after Vito,

Luca—What must I do?

Luca—Boss, I am going with her, but you really need to get out of whatever you're doing and stop her,

Luca—I think we are in trouble here, Boss,

Luca—Dammit, FRANCO, where the fucking hell are you? Everything is turning to shit! Aria needs help.

He never calls me Franco unless he needs my attention—of course, she went after Vito. Aria thinks she can fix this. Why is she like this? What is wrong with her?

"Who is it?" Marco hates being interrupted. He believes phones have made people rude, and he's not wrong.

"Luca," I say, putting my phone back in my pocket. I need to get out of here. "Aria went after Vito."

"Stupid woman." He tuts and orders another drink. "Let her go. Vito has every right to get what is owed to him if she broke a contract."

I am not going to let her go. Is he crazy? As I am pushing my chair back, he grips me by the collar, pulling me back down to sit beside him.

"I said leave it, Franco. You are not getting involved in their fight. She has done enough damage to this family."

"If you think I am going to leave her alone with Vito, you are the stupid one, brother." I peel his fingers off me. "That is my child and the woman I love. So, I will respectfully ignore you this time." His jaw ticks, and I can see the violence in his eyes. "Let me go, Marco."

"If you go, you better not come back," he says, and I wonder how we became this way. Why we'd die for one another but cannot stand the sight of each other either. "You are walking into your funeral. Vito and Aria both have reasons to kill you. Don't be stupid, Franco." Marco is warning me of the danger I know I'm willing putting myself in.

"She would die for me before she ever killed me," I say. He will never understand what I have with her. "Loyalty and family. You know what we should have."

"Franco, I would die for you. But you have put her between us."

In my heart, I know if I needed Marco, he would be there. I turn my back on my brother and call Aria's phone, but there is no answer.