Page 102 of Niccolo (Mafia Kings #7)

Sofia

I t was raining in Modena the evening everything started to fall apart.

I was sitting in my bedroom at the farmhouse, obsessively rereading the poem Niccolo had sent me so long ago.

Text him, a little voice whispered.

Even better: call him.

But he already had a partial hold on me, even at a distance of hundreds of miles and a week of silence.

I already ached for him… a terrible pain I’d never felt before.

If I invited him back in…

Then his hold over me would be complete.

And that was the only reason I didn’t give in. Couldn’t give in.

The tap tap tap of raindrops against the windowpanes was the perfect accompaniment to my misery and loneliness.

I wondered if I would ever see him again –

If this pain I felt would ever disappear –

When there was a knock on my door.

I guiltily swiped away the text message window and called out, “Who is it?”

The door opened, and Fausto stood there with a grin on his face.

“Hiring Friedrich Zollner was worth it. He found Massimo and the girl.”

We got on a three-way phone call – Fausto and me, Zollner, and Aurelio.

Zollner was in the Dolomite mountain range, while Aurelio was still in Venice.

“I have trailed them back to a cabin,” Zollner said. “A shopkeeper told me earlier that Massimo proposed to the girl this afternoon.”

“He what?!” Fausto said.

“Ja – and with a toy ring, no less! From a gumball machine!”

“Oh, the Widow’s going to love that,” Fausto said with a snicker. Then he turned serious. “Do you think you can take them?”

“Of course! It will be, how do you say it – ‘kinderleicht’ – like taking candy from a baby! I just wish to confirm the plan: that I should take Lucia to the cemetery island near Venice and leave Massimo alive.”

Fausto was about to speak –

“Wait,” I interrupted.

He looked at me in surprise.

I’d been thinking about Zollner ever since I got back from Taormina.

Even though I hated Niccolo right now, I couldn’t bear the thought of him dying.

If Massimo led an assault, he and several of his brothers would probably get killed.

That was bad enough –

But one of them might be Niccolo.

I couldn’t live with that.

And if I could save two or three brothers by sacrificing a single one, it was a good trade.

At least in game theory.

I tried telling myself that I was seeing things clearly – dispassionately.

It didn’t matter.

Niccolo would never forgive me for what I was about to suggest. I knew that.

But I was willing for him to hate me forever if I could spare him the deaths of multiple brothers –

Because I knew that losing them all would destroy him.

“I’ve changed my mind,” I said. “I think we should kill Massimo and be done with it. And leave the girl alone. Don’t touch her.”

“What?!” Fausto exclaimed. “Kidnapping her and leaving him alive was your plan!”

“I know, but I thought about it some more, and I changed my mind.”

“Fuck that,” Aurelio snapped.

He’d originally resisted my ideas – but once he found out Fausto was putting him in charge, he was all in.

“I’ve already scoped it out, and it’s perfect. The church is built like a fortress, and the bell tower will make a perfect sniper’s nest. It’ll be like shooting fish in a barrel. We’ll fucking wipe them out.”

“IF everything goes perfectly,” I said. “What happens if it doesn’t?”

“I have my Wagner guys, and Friedrich is probably the best sniper in the world.”

“Modesty prevents me from saying such things – but yes, it is true.” Zollner sounded like a grinning child soaking up praise.

“He’ll probably end up killing every single one of them single-handedly!”

“For a reasonable fee, of course,” Zollner added.

“We can END this in 24 hours,” Aurelio snapped.

I knew that in order to torpedo the plan, I only had to convince Fausto.

But to do that, I had to make my argument fucking airtight –

So I came out guns blazing.

“We keep underestimating them, over and over. They wiped out the Turk, even though he hit them with a surprise attack. Mezzasalma was the goddamn boogeyman, and they still killed him.

“Every time we throw something at them and we think there’s no way they can survive it, they come back twice as strong.

“Take the easy win: get rid of Massimo and leave the girl alone. Otherwise you’re going to make an enemy out of the Widow. Didn’t you say she’s one of the richest people in the Cosa Nostra?” I asked Fausto.

“THE richest,” he said.

“Don’t make another enemy even worse than the first.”

“We’ll control her if we have her granddaughter!” Aurelio yelled. “And as far as the others, we have the advantage!”

“What advantage? We have paid mercenaries; they have a bunch of foot soldiers who would die for them. That’s not a fucking advantage.”

“We’re laying a trap for them!”

“But they’ll know it’s a trap. If it were a complete surprise, it would be great. But it won’t be. Plus, there’s no place to retreat to. You want to back yourself into a corner inside a church on an island. If Massimo and the others breach the walls, you’re fucked.”

“They WON’T!”

“Based on their past track record, I wouldn’t bet against them unless I had overwhelming odds in my favor – and these odds are slightly above even at best.”

“We’ve invested too much time and money to just kill ONE of them!” Aurelio snarled.

“All that time and money mean nothing if you fail,” I snapped.

“What the FUCK?! This was YOUR PLAN!”

“I told you, I changed my mind,” I said. “There are too many variables, and if you DON’T succeed, the consequences are catastrophic.”

“Papa – ” Aurelio complained to his father.

“A moment while I have a word with my consigliere,” Fausto said.

Then he hit the ‘Mute’ button and turned to me.

“What the fuck is going on?” he asked angrily.

“I already told you: I thought about it some more, and I think it’s a bad idea.”

“Is that so?” Fausto narrowed his eyes. “Or could it be that you’ve become overly fond of one of my nephews?”

That was exactly it.

But I couldn’t let him know that.

I scoffed. “That’s idiotic.”

“Oh? And why is that?”

“Because I’m telling you to kill his brother! You think Niccolo would appreciate that?!”

Fausto made a face and nodded as if to say You have a point.

“Nevertheless, I think your original plan is better,” he said. “We have a real shot at ending this by tomorrow night.”

I clenched my jaw… then exhaled in irritation. “Well, I’m your consigliere, not your boss. Do what you want, but just remember – I’m against it.”

“So all the glory will accrue to my son,” Fausto said smarmily.

Hopefully all the death and defeat, I thought, but I bit my tongue.

Fausto hit ‘Unmute’ on his phone. “I’ve decided to go with the original plan, Aurelio.”

“YES!” Aurelio exclaimed, and I could hear the subtext: Suck it, bitch!

“Capture Lucia Fioretti and take her to the Isle of San Michele,” Fausto ordered Zollner. “Leave Massimo alive so he can rally his brothers. He’s no good to us dead.”

“As you wish, Herr Rosolini.”

I really, really didn’t want the plan to go through –

But Fausto had made his choice.

I wasn’t about to alert Niccolo or do something to sabotage the attack; that would be suicide on my part. If Fausto found out, he would absolutely follow through on his threat to flay me alive.

I just prayed Niccolo could see it for what it was: a trap.

And that he and his brothers could pull off yet another incredible save.