I laughed. Did the vanity phase start this early nowadays? God, he was growing up so quickly, and Anna too. A deep longing filled me, for another baby, another small human to take care of and remind us of the beauty of life and our glowing future. Because I still believed in it: a good future.
“Of course, they can.” I’d been worried how the Rocco senior situation would affect Leonas’ friendship with the man’s sons, but luckily it hadn’t. His lack of fatherly compassion had something good after all. Leonas grinned, smoothed out his hair, and rushed away again. Almost nine. I needed to organize his birthday party even if it felt like we were stuck in a time of mourning. Life had to go on, especially for our children.
Dante and I had been trying to get pregnant for two years now. It hadn’t worked. I’d even considered doing hormone treatment but with everything else that had been going on, I didn’t want to push my body more than necessary. Maybe I had to accept that I was too old, even if many women got children well past forty and I was only thirty-six.
I went down into the basement, past our panic room, and picked up the box with Christmas decorations. I hadn’t found time to put them up yet, but now that we’d returned to Chicago for good, I wanted to create a Christmas spirit. After I’d sorted through the decoration, I called Anna and Leonas down. Anna had spent the last hour on the phone with Luisa and didn’t look as crushed anymore.
“But we don’t have a tree yet,” Anna said thoughtfully, as she lifted one of the delicate glass baubles.
“You’re right. We’ll get one tomorrow. Let’s decorate the rest of the house for now. How about you prettify all the fireplaces?”
Anna and Leonas grabbed a few items and dashed toward the fireplace in the living room where they began to brainstorm the best decoration. I watched them for a bit, my heart warming.
A few minutes later, the bell rang and Gabby hurried toward the front door. Zita wasn’t as mobile anymore—she was getting old—and so Gabby had been taking over more of her duties.
My parents stepped inside. Dad, too, had become completely gray and the wrinkles in his face had become deep furrows, but Mamma led a strict food regime and so he was still fit for mid-sixty. Mamma kept dying her hair brown, too vain to let a hint of gray show. She smiled when she spotted me, despite the anxiety in her eyes, and rushed toward me. We hugged longer than usual. “I’m so glad you’re back.”
Papa embraced me as well and kissed my forehead. “How’s everyone?”
“The kids are putting up the Christmas decoration, and Dante is in his office.”
Papa nodded with a solemn expression.
“Mamma, can you help Leonas and Anna? Papa and I need to talk to Dante.”
Mamma nodded and hurried into the living room.
Papa searched my face. “He puts a great deal of trust in you. And he’s absolutely right. You are clever and sensible.”
“I won’t become Consigliere,” I said firmly, surprising me but not Papa. I’d occasionally fantasized about the position, but after everything that had happened with the Camorra, I’d realized I didn’t want to be part of decisions like that. I didn’t want to be responsible for having teenage boys tortured, for all the other horrible things happening in this war. I’d still give Dante my opinion if he asked for it, and even if he didn’t, but that was all.
Papa nodded. “It’s for the best, Val. Right now, isn’t the best time for that kind of change anyway, and I’d rather not have you involved in everything we do. Women should be protected. The more you get involved, the more you get targeted by our enemies.”
Fina hadn’t been involved and still been attacked, but ultimately I agreed with my father. “I guess that means you’ll have to live forever so you can advise Dante.”
Papa laughed. “This disgusting low-carb and white meat diet your mother tortures me with has to be good for something.” He paused. “I still want to see my third grandchild grow up, or have you and Dante given up?”
I bit my lip. We hadn’t discussed it in a while but we hadn’t taken countermeasures either. “No, but maybe it’s not meant to be.” Sadness rang in my voice, betraying my lack of acceptance on the matter.
Papa touched my cheek. “Maybe now is the perfect time. We all need something good.”
I nodded but didn’t say anything. We headed toward Dante’s office and entered after I knocked. Dante looked less tousled than before and stood with a composed expression to shake my father’s hand. His mask was in place, impenetrable and strong.
“How’s the general mood?” Dante asked as we settled on the armchairs in front of the fireplace.
Papa shrugged. “Divided. Many are glad to be rid of the Falcone twins. You know how people worried that their looks would eventually draw Remo’s attention, and that man’s attention is never a good thing. It’s better to be rid of them and him. An escalation of the war with the Camorra and the Famiglia is something many want to avoid at all costs. Luckily, the Underbosses seem to sway toward this opinion.” He sighed. “There are the others, of course. The people who think you should have killed Remo and led attacks on both the Famiglia and Camorra.”
Dante nodded thoughtfully. “I assume Pietro and Danilo are among them.”
“Possibly, but neither have made their opinion on the matter public. They are family, or going to be family in Danilo’s case. That’s an advantage.”
“Pietro won’t badmouth you in front of others,” I said. Even if Ines, Samuel, and Pietro were heartbroken and even blamed Dante for it, they were still family and neither of them was prone to emotional outbursts out of vengeance.
“He’s a loyal man,” Dante said, a hint of regret swinging in his voice.
“He is,” Papa agreed. “I have to be honest. Even the people who think you made the wise choice worry. The Famiglia and the Camorra will join forces, now more than ever, to destroy us and split our territory.”
“Luca’s got Marcella and Amo to protect. Remo’s got Nevio and Greta. Do you really think they’ll let this war escalate?” I said.
Dante raked his fingers through his hair, lips thinning. “I doubt Luca will increase his efforts. Remo is difficult to read but he too will probably think twice now before risking anything.”
“Is there a way we can push them apart? To cause dissent between Remo and Luca?”
Papa laughed.
Dante too smiled bitterly. “Theirs is a bond of convenience. Luca and Remo aren’t allies or friends, they are temporarily ignoring each other. It doesn’t take much to have these two at each other’s throat again.” Dante looked out of the window for a moment before he continued. “I won’t stir up a conflict between them, not at the current time. We might get caught up between their fronts and I won’t make peace with either of them.”
I’d feared that was the case. “How are we going to win this war?”
“We can’t win,” Dante said. “I don’t think either of us can win.”
I exchanged a confused look with Papa.
“Then what?” he asked.
“Our goal must be to make us untouchable. The Camorra and Famiglia can remain our enemies, as long as they hesitate to act on it, I don’t care.”
I tilted my head. “How do we make us untouchable? New allies? But even then, it would be two against two as long as the Camorra and Famiglia work together.”
“The Corsican Union won’t risk being dragged into our war, and you can’t consider a bond with the Bratva, do you?” Papa asked Dante, horrified.
Dante made a dismissive sound. “Even if the Bratva might be open for a loose cooperation now that their non-aggression pact with Falcone has broken, which I doubt, I have absolutely no interest in cooperating with Grigory. They are as bad as the Camorra. Our values are worlds apart.”
Few things were untouchable. The police, for the most part. We bribed them, threatened a few of them, but we didn’t attack any of them. As long as we didn’t target them and paid them enough, they ignored our presence, except for the occasional arrest of soldiers or our drug dealers. My brows drew together. What had Dante in mind?
“Giovanni, this is where your contacts come into play, and you, too, Val will be vital for my plan.”
“My contacts?” Papa asked.
“Yes, you know how to present yourself in certain circles. That’s the kind of man I need at my side.”
Papa narrowed his eyes in thought. “What kind of circles?”
But I had already caught up. Since I didn’t manage the casino anymore, my main job had been to chat up the politicians and their wives. The men were good customers in our brothels and casinos, and many of them enjoyed a discount on cocaine or heroin. Their wives loved the parties we threw, the thrill of the forbidden, and most importantly our almost limitless funds.
“You’re playing golf with senators and the mayor. You have always managed to keep the underworld rumors about your family to a minimum. You are the man who will help me lead the Outfit to a new cooperation.”
Realization descended over Papa’s face. “You want to get a foot into the political scene.”
“Yes, I think we need to make us even more indispensable for the political elite in our city and state. You are friends with a few senators.”
“They will be wary about being associated with organized crime. It’s nothing that gets them any extra points in elections.”
“Unlike the Camorra and the Famiglia, we have been careful. While there are speculations making the rounds, we can’t be linked to any scandals. Elections are coming up. I’m sure you know of a few ambitious senators striving to become more. Let’s help them reach for the stars if they help us too.”
“If we have more friends in the political elite, it might protect us from attack,” I said.
“And it could be good for business too, lucrative contracts, legalization of certain forms of gambling,” Papa mused.
Dante nodded. “Indeed. I want to make the Outfit ready for the future, and I think our way needs to be to blend in even better, to appear as sheep and hide the wolf within.”
“I’m going to start testing the waters. I’m playing golf with Clark senior tomorrow. Maybe he can have a word with his son.”
“His wife is from Italian descent?”
Papa nodded. “They vacation in Italy every year. They have a mansion at the shores of Lake Como.”
“It’ll take some convincing. Many of my more old-fashioned men won’t like this new direction I’m taking,” Dante said.
I smiled, feeling a new sense of hope. “You’ll convince them.”
PART TWO
Dante
I’d never seen the appeal of playing golf. If I wanted to hit a target, I shot my gun, if I wanted to exert myself, I chose a sport that actually got my heart rate up, and if I wanted to engage in business negotiations, I preferred to sit down and talk without any distractions.
Yet, I found myself on a golf course in early Spring with Maximo Clark, Giovanni and the old Clark Senior. We engaged in meaningless chitchat for a while, as was habit in those circles, even if I wanted to cut to the chase. I had more important things to do.
The Clark family have been important players in the political game for decades. They were political royalty. Clark Senior, who had been Senator before his son, had a penchant for our underground casinos and the complimentary girls. His son, the current Senator, was a harder nut to crack. Even if his first name was Italian, thanks to his mother, he was wary of intensifying contacts with the Outfit.
“You want to become Governor?”
Maximo Clark leaned on his golf club, a hint of suspicion on his face. He was a born politician, a turncoat and opportunist. I didn’t trust him and he didn’t trust me. “I do, indeed.”
“Your chances are good,” Clark senior said. “We only need the right campaign to give you a push.”
“Good campaigns are expensive,” Maximo said.
“They are indeed,” Giovanni agreed.
I hated beating about the bush, all these veiled hints. Stifling my annoyance, I gave a tight smile. “Money isn’t an issue.”