“A meeting.” We’ve stopped a few yards shy of my car. “I’ll drop you and Bruce back at the club then head out with Johnny.” The two other men linger on our periphery, out of ear shot but standing guard.
“Postpone it,” Ari says. “Come back to the club with me. We have things to celebrate.”
“I really can’t.”
“You sure about that?” Ari looks pointedly at the ring on my left hand. “It’d give you a chance to tell me what the fuck that is.”
“It’s a ring.”
“Obviously. Why are you wearing it?”
It’s stupid to prevaricate. “I got married.”
My brother doesn’t miss a beat. “To who?”
From the corner of my eye, I see both Bruce and Johnny tense. It takes a remarkable level of control to keep myself relaxed when I answer, “Lena.”
Ari’s hiss is audible. “Che cazzo!?What the fuck, Rem!?” His shout echoes against the concrete walls of the parking garage. For the second time in a week a conversation about Lena blows my brother’s characteristic composure out of the water.
Not that I blame him. I’ve been dreading this conversationsince I demanded that Lena walk down the aisle, but it’s one neither of us can avoid. “It was necessary,” I say, cutting to the chase. “Her life is at risk. The most expedient way to keep her safe was to make her a Cosenza. No one would dare take out my wife, not without inciting the bloodiest war this city has ever seen. It was a logical move.”
“This isn’t fucking chess, brother.”
“Isn’t it?” I resist the impulse to lash out in frustration. “I’m making move after move, running counterattacks, constantly fighting against checkmate, and this game still won’t fucking end. I’m close, brother, so goddamn close, and I’m not letting anyone take out the queen. It’s just not happening.”
Ari looks at me, dumbfounded. “I can’t believe you married her. A fake engagement is one thing, Rem, but you know you can’t get divorced. The Family will never let you get divorced. You just brought a traitor?—”
“Stop.” I grip Ari’s shoulders, pouring my conviction into every word. “She’s not. I swear to God. And I still have two days to prove it. Two days until our uncle gets back. Let me do my job,fratello, the one I’ve been doing all along. Trust me. Please.”
Ari studies my expression, searching my eyes for God knows what. That inscrutable mask is back in place, and I have no idea if he finds what he’s looking for.
“Have you fucked her?”
“Not that it’s any of your business but, no.”
“So, your marriage isn’t consummated.”
“Technically, no, but that’s way too old-fashioned to even fucking matter. You’re just like Marco. Everything has to be so black and white with you. So let me say it in terms you’ll understand: she’s my wife, I’m her husband, she’s a member of this family, all our protection extends to her.”
“So you’ve said. You’re a broken record when it comes to her. It makes me even more worried.”
“About what,fratello?”
“That you don’t realize how much damage you’ve done.”
If only he knew how much it keeps me up at night. Everything I’ve learned since returning to the city indicates that Lena’s presence in my life—in the Cerreti family—is more dangerous than I could’ve imagined. But my brain is losing the battle against my heart. I can’t bring myself to let her go. For reasons that have nothing to do with just keeping her safe.
All I can say to my older brother is, “Just trust me.”
“I always have, Rem. I’m just starting to wonder if I shouldn’t.”
Ari’s comment lands like a physical blow, but I don’t have time to defend myself. Bruce and Johnny, who have stayed silent during our exchange, are getting antsy.
Something has spooked them.
“It’s time to move.” Bruce corrals us toward my car.
“I’ll drive,” Johnny says, “Bruce up front. You two in the back.”