Page 25 of Cara

I stand, adjusting my tuxedo. “If you’ll excuse me.”

Placing a hand on her back, I nod to Dario, who informs the others to stay back while I guide her into the house. The noise and chatter dwindle as I close the sliding door. Before I can turn, she’s surrounding me in warmth, sniffling into my clothes.

“Have you heard anything? Anything about her?”

One of my first acts as Don was to pay her a visit, as I knew Sophie would have wanted. I eased Courtney’s concerns by letting her know that Sophie was safe in a location of her choosing. As much as I wanted to urge her to follow my wife, telling even one person could jeopardize her.

“No, I haven’t.”

That disappoints her. She paces the pattern on the vintage carpet. “I lie up at night thinking about her. She’s out there all alone, no one to look after her.”

“She’s safer there than she would be here.”

She shakes her head resolutely. “That’s not true. She’d haveyouif she were here.”

“Courtney—”

“You promised to protect her! You made vows—till death do you part!”

Her words cut deeper than any knife could. “I’mkeepingthat promise, Courtney. Look where you are. Look at the Italian faces beyond this door. Those people believe my wife is dead. If they knew any different, it would seep into a network so intricately wound that her location would be uncovered within days. She would be hunted, simply because people want to hurt me. Every damn day, someone schemes for my death. Enemies are lurking in every corner, trying to find my weakness.”

Tears course down her cheeks. She keeps silent, listening.

I understand her pain. More than anyone, I do.

“She wanted to be free of this.” I inhale deeply, accepting the truth. “Well, this is all I am.”

“You’re wrong.” She inches up to me, her gaze probing the darkness around my eyes. It’s more than just a lack of sleep, and she understands that. She squeezes my hand. “You are so much more than this. Sophie could see it. Bo can see it. I can, too.”

There’s a soft tap on the soundproof glass.

When Bo and Dante enter, followed by Zeke, Courtney’s exasperation is replaced by excitement. As they embrace each other, I'm transported. To days when we gathered in her small apartment, drinking till dawn. Days when Sophie and I would fumble around her kitchen, always failing to cook something decent for her.

Wherever I looked before, Sophie was there, right at my side. My hand always sought hers, relaxing when I felt her warmth.

Eighteen months I’ve been cold. Ice cold.

“I hoped you’d come,” Bo says pleasantly. “I sent the invitation months ago.”

As much as I love that woman, seeing her now only distracts me.

“Excuse me,” I say, heading for the doors when Dario hails me. I know Courtney’s eyes are latched onto my back.

She speaks to them when she believes I'm out of earshot. “I'm worried about him.”

“So are we.”

“May I have an audience with you?”

Relieved the person asking isn’t keen to score a business deal, I take my mother’s outstretched hand. She glows brighter than the moon over our heads as I guide her onto the dance floor. The guests twirl around us, some more experienced than others. Laughter is clearly infectious, springing from person to person. My mother grins, but her excitement fades to concern when her attention returns to me.

“I don’t remember the last time I saw you smile, figlio.”

“I'm fine.”

She shakes her head. “No… I don’t think so.”

Noddingonce to the police commissioner, who brought some model as his date, I feel my mother adjust the rose on my tuxedo jacket. “That girl hasn’t stopped looking at you since she arrived. Most women have their sights set on you. You’re quite the bachelor?—”