Chapter 18

A crack of thundersounded close, followed by a flash of lightning that briefly transformed the dark motel room curtains into a mottled gray. Noah and Maggie moved to the side of the bed to face Eric and Valentina on the opposite one. And Boon once again curled up at Noah's feet.

Loud raindrops began to spatter against the glass of the window as Eric took a deep breath and began talking. "Valentina is basically mafia royalty. Her name is not really Valentina Romano. It's Valentina Gianola and she's the daughter of the Detroit mafia boss known as Papa Dom Gianola."

"Mafia? Are you talking about the Detroit Partnership?" Maggie said.

Valentina lifted her head from Eric's shoulder with a look of suspicion. "You've heard of the Partnership?"

"Not really." Maggie blushed under Valentina's sharp scrutiny. "We actually just learned about it after our encounter with Nick the Knife."

Valentina made a sound of disgust. "He gave himself that stupid nickname."

"Well, whatever his name is, he's very, very determined to find you," Noah said.

"Of course he is," Valentina spat out. "God forbid he would ever disappoint my father in anything. His loyalty is pathetic. He probably still thinks there's hope for him in all of this."

"What do you mean?" Maggie asked.

Valentina sighed. "I'm an only child. And from my earliest memories, Papa Dom trained me to take over the family business." She emphasized the last two words. "In the world of crime families, he's actually considered progressive," she added with a humorless laugh.

"The Detroit Partnership is one of the original twenty-four Mafia families that make up La Cosa Nostra in America, or the mafia as you call it. The reins of control in a family always pass to the oldest son of a boss or to an underboss in the absence of any sons. In our case, that would have been Nick.

"However, my father wanted me to follow in the footsteps of Maria Licciardi, who became the first female mafia boss in 1993. He wanted me to become La Madrina, the Godmother of the Partnership, when he stepped down.

"Nick knew all of this years ago, so he began pressuring Papa Dom to let him marry me. Nick figured that as my husband he'd have more power than he would remaining a mere underboss. My father was on the verge of agreeing to this when something happened to change everything."

"What changed?" Maggie asked, leaning forward, clearly captivated by Valentina's story.

"That's actually another long story," Valentina sighed. "Twelve years ago, the Gianolas partnered with Vitale Salvatore's family to defeat the Adamo group that was taking control of the Detroit market. It was a bloody battle, but we won. And our two families worked in harmony after that. Until a few years ago, that is, when one of my father's highest-ranking capos accused Vitale's oldest son of cheating on the proceeds from one of our bakery businesses."

"I'm guessing that caused a big problem?" Noah said.

Valentina shifted on the bed, looking uncomfortable, and Eric put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her up against him. "It did," she said. "Things escalated and it was war all over again, even bloodier than the last one. The Partnership split into West and East factions, both seeking total control. Everything came to a head several months ago when my Uncle Francesco was killed in a drive-by. It was a big deal because my uncle was my father's consigliere, and there's an unwritten rule that no matter how bad things get, consiglieres are off limits."

"A consigliere is a type of advisor to the boss," Eric said, noting the confused expressions on Noah and Maggie's faces.

"Right," Valentina nodded. "Anyway, before he fell, my uncle managed to get off a few shots at the car, and he killed Vitale's oldest son. Now there we were with major losses on both sides. On top of this, both my father and Vitale want to retire. So, they ended up meeting and negotiating a truce. And part of their agreement to ensure lasting peace between our families was that I would be forced to marry Vitale's remaining eighteen-year-old son. He would take over for the Salvatore family and we would co-rule together."

"That's terrible!" Maggie cried. "Being forced into marriage doesn't sound very progressive to me."

"True," Valentina said with a grim smile. "But it's a common practice within La Costa Nostra. Most members are related by blood or marriage. It's just like the days of medieval royalty. They use it as a tool for peacekeeping and empire building. For them, it's never about love and marriage, it's all about profit and loss." The disgust in Valentina's voice was clear. "Arranged marriages, plus the code of omertà, are what make it so hard for outsiders, especially law enforcement, to get any information about what goes on within the organization."

"Omertà?" Noah said. "We saw that word tattooed on Nick's neck."

"Of course you did," Valentina said with a roll of her eyes. "He's so intense. Omertà is a vow of absolute silence about our business and complete loyalty to the family that everyone must make in order to become ‘made,' as in an official soldier of the organization. A broken vow means death."

"Have you taken the vow of omertà?" Noah asked.

Valentina's eyes dropped. "I did," she admitted. "Not willingly, but it came to a point where I had no choice. Any member of the organization wouldn't hesitate to kill their own mother in cold blood just to honor this stupid century-old fraternity." Then her eyes lifted again, their dark depths glinting with fire. "But years before I took that vow, I'd already made a vow to myself and I will not break it."

"What kind of vow?" Maggie asked, curiously.

"A vow that I would escape from this life, escape from my father's control. And that I would live free," she said fiercely.

"We will live free," Eric said, gently turning her chin toward him and planting another soft kiss on her lips. "We're in this together now."

"Yes," she sighed, threading her fingers through his, her expression softening as she gazed at him.

"So, is this a Romeo and Juliet thing?" Maggie asked, leaning forward again. "Are you from another rival family, Eric?" Noah suppressed a grin as he watched Maggie. Her desire for a romantic story was almost palpable.

Eric burst into laughter and Valentina's face held amusement. "Romeo and Juliet, I like it," Eric said, nodding slowly. "But, no. I'm just an ordinary guy who fell in love with a princess."

"There's nothing ordinary about you, amore mio," Valentina said, raising their clasped hands to her lips to kiss his.

Noah cleared his throat, drawing their attention away from each other. "Well, what's the story then? How did you guys get together?"

"It's kind of a fluke," Eric said.

"More like fate," Valentina said.

"I'm a physical therapist," Eric said. "I treated Valentina last winter after she got injured on a ski trip in the Swiss Alps. My Valentina is a bit of an adrenaline junkie," he added, giving her an indulgent sidelong look. "She went heli-skiing off the snow-capped peak of the Matterhorn.

"It's an incredible experience," Valentina said, her eyes dreamy.

"Anyway, she wiped out part way down and tore her medial collateral ligament. She was lucky in that she didn't need surgery, but she did need PT."

"Best accident that ever could have happened to me," Valentina said with a smile. "And God bless my father for one thing, he always has to have the best. And Eric is the best." She gazed at him adoringly.

"I don't know about that," Eric said modestly.

"You are!" Valentina exclaimed. "My father searched his entire network for the best physical therapist to treat my injury and I ended up with you."

"Anyway," Eric pressed on. "We began working together several times a week for a couple of months. I actually stretched out her treatment program longer than necessary because..." He turned to look at her again. "I'd fallen in love with her, and I didn't want our sessions to end."

Valentina glowed as Eric continued. "When I couldn't extend her treatment any longer, I bolstered up my courage to tell her how I felt about her, and I asked her to dinner. Then she crushed me by turning me down."

"But I explained why!" Valentina cried.

"Not at first, you didn't," Eric said with a gentle smile. "She was very mysterious. All she did was admit that she had feelings for me, too, but that she wasn't free to date. I had no idea what that meant. But the facility where I work is also connected to a gym. So, once her treatment ended, Valentina kept coming back in to work out, and we would talk.

"Over time, she told me the truth about her background. I couldn't believe it. She told me about the plans she'd already made to...disappear. She even tried to say goodbye to me. But by this time, we'd both confessed our love for each other. And I couldn't imagine my life without her in it. So, I told her I was coming with her."

"At first I refused," Valentina said, picking up the story. "I couldn't ask Eric to endanger his life for me."

"But she quickly found out that I could be just as stubborn as she is," Eric interjected.

"Hey!" Valentina punched him playfully in the arm, and he laughed.

Noah observed how Valentina's tough fa?ade seemed to melt away when she interacted with Eric.

"There was no way I was going to let you go," he said. "I was all in."

"Until you learned all the details of my plan, that is," Valentina said.

Eric's lips tightened. "That's true," he said. "Honestly, I thought Tina was being overly dramatic about the lengths she was going to in order to escape. She comes from a world that I don't understand. And her plan sounded more like the plot of a movie than anything anyone would do in real life." He looked directly at Noah. "When she told me about framing you for her murder, I balked."

"But there is no other way," Valentina said.

"Uh, I can think of another way," Noah said. "How about just disappearing without involving me at all!"

"Unless my father thinks I'm truly dead, he will never stop looking for me," Valentina said.

"Couldn't you just go to the police," Maggie said. "Tell them about your father's illegal activities and go into witness protection?"

"Right!" Valentina scoffed, rising quickly to her feet, the venom in her voice clear. "I will never go to the police about any of this!"

"Why not?" Noah asked with a frown. "Because of omertà?"

"No," Valentina crossed her arms. "Because I've seen what police protection looks like, and I can do a better job myself."

Valentina pressed her lips tightly together and turned her back on the room.

Eric watched her for a long moment, then turned to Noah and Maggie. "I tried so hard to convince her to do just as you suggested. To go to the police and turn in her father and other key members of the Partnership. But no matter what I said, she refused. I couldn't sway her because of what happened to her mother."

Noah felt the tension in the room thicken. He'd seen the pain in Valentina's eyes as she'd turned away and had a sinking feeling he knew what was behind her reluctance to go to the authorities. He glanced at Maggie who seemed equally concerned.

After a moment of heavy silence, Eric continued. "Valentina's mother tried to escape the Partnership with Valentina when she was ten years old. Her mother went to the authorities, hoping for protection and a chance at a new life. But they couldn't keep her safe."

"My father found us," Valentina hissed, once again turning to face them. "He persuaded my mother that he'd forgiven her and wanted to make peace. But he lied." Unshed tears glittered in her midnight eyes. "He planned a family holiday for us in Paris to celebrate. We spent a week sightseeing around the city and having dinner as a family every night.

"But then, on the last night of our trip, I heard strange sounds in the middle of the night. I peeked out of my bedroom door and saw several of my father's men dragging my mother out of the penthouse where we were staying. She was trying to fight them, but they were too strong for her. I just watched it all, terrified and frozen in my hiding spot. You can't imagine the guilt I have over that to this day," she said, dropping her eyes.

"You were only a child, Tina," Eric said gently.

"I know that," she said, her chin shooting up, sparks flashing in her eyes. "But it doesn't stop me from feeling somehow responsible. Like maybe I could have stopped it if I'd only been brave enough.

"The next morning, my father tried to play it off as if my mother had run away again. But I know what I saw. And I have no doubt my father had her killed."

Fresh tears rolled down Valentina's cheeks, and Eric instantly rose to wrap her in his arms.

Noah couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for Valentina as he watched her break down once again in Eric's embrace. Her vulnerability was raw, her pain unmistakable.

Maggie rose from the bed and moved to gently place a hand on Valentina's back. "I'm so sorry, Valentina," she said softly, her voice filled with genuine empathy. "No one should have to go through something like that."

Valentina turned to look at Maggie, a mix of appreciation and determination reflected in her tear-stained face. "Thank you," she murmured. "In the end, I was forced to go back and live with my father. He told me to never mention my mother's name again. I had to act as if nothing had happened. But I promised myself that one day I would succeed where she had failed. I would find a way to live the life she'd dreamed for me."

"The only question now, is how?" Noah said. "What's another way we can make sure your father believes you're dead? Because I'm really not a fan of your original plan to frame me for your murder."