Page 88 of Thorns of Death

I thought I heard Isla say, “We’ll see.”

We made it back to our seats and she kicked off her heels. The moment dinner service began, Isla’s attention was back on her friends.

Manuel sat next to me while my sons abandoned their seats to sit between the girls. Isla was right. They were actively trying to charm them all. Even my wife wasn’t spared.

It had been a long time since I felt this light. Even this happy. At this very moment, I felt at peace. Like the world had been turning only to get to this moment.

Isla laughed and talked with her girlfriends, all of them using American Sign Language for Phoenix’s benefit. Enzo and Amadeo chimed in often and my wife or Reina would take turns signing what they were saying. I gathered it was because those two were the most proficient.

“How does it feel to be a married man?” Manuel asked offhandedly, switching to Italian. None of the girls spoke the language. Each time Enzo or Amadeo said something in their native language, the girls pulled up their Google Translate app and had them speak into it.

“Good. You should give it a try.”

Manuel shook his head.

“I saw what it did to my brother. Your brother. Our fathers. I don’t need that headache.” For a long time, I thought the same. Until I met her. Now, I’d burn hell itself if it meant keeping Isla with me. “Have you told her?”

“No,” I muttered.

“Will you?”

I didn’t want to tell her. Any of it. But she already suspected something.

“Where in the fuck does one even start?”

He let out a sigh. “Maybe at the beginning.”

My head tilted to the side to glare at him.

“Sometimes you really act like an old man.” He chuckled, leaning back into his chair. Then, because he liked to be the comedian in the family, he rubbed his non-existent belly and his chin. “Now you’re just acting like some deranged Santa Claus.”

He waved his hand, dismissing my insults. “I’d be the hottest Santa Claus that ever walked this earth.”

I rolled my eyes. “You wish.”

“I see your young wife’s already rubbing off on you,” Manuel noted. “Such disrespect for your elders.”

“Better watch it,vecchio,” I mused, switching back to English. “Or I might find you an even younger wife.”

It didn’t sound like a bad idea at all.

THIRTY

ISLA

Itried to keep my friends around for as long as I could. Not because I feared the wedding night, but because I feared what I’d learn. Each time they readied to leave, I’d pull them down and start another conversation. Until my husband caught on and put an end to it with a single dark expression.

With a heavy heart, I said good night to them and waved at the door until they disappeared from my view. Reina kept glancing back at me with a worried expression, and I forced a somewhat reassuring smile.

The words she signed in ASL so only we could understand kept playing in my mind.Don’t tell him anything about the body. He’ll seek revenge or tell the Leone brothers. They’re bound by the Omertà oath.

“He swore he’ll protect us all,”I signed back.

“Don’t trust them,” Reina signed. “Never fully trust them.”

After all, she trusted blindly and look where it got her. I couldn’t blame her for her mistrust, so I nodded. I’d be careful with our secret because it wasn’t only one of us who would pay for that death. All of us would. The thorns of death wrapped around my lungs, plunging its spikes into me and pulling me into darkness. That day was a hard one to forget.

“Enzo, Amadeo, it’s time for bed,” Enrico said, interrupting my thoughts.