Twisted Bonds by Cora Reilly

CHAPTER 26

KIARA

––––––––

In the first few days, Remo and Nino returned every night and left before sunrise again. As they extended their search radius, they stayed away longer. It seemed impossible that they would find their mother. She could be anywhere. Maybe in Mexico, maybe in Outfit territory, maybe somewhere else. She was a ghost, had been haunting them in one way or another for so long.

“They’ve been searching for three weeks, we should tell them to give up,” Serafina said one night at the dining table.

“They won’t listen,” Savio said, looking up from his cell briefly.

Fabiano nodded. “He’s right. It’s the one thing where Nino doesn’t listen to logic. They both can’t.”

Remo and Nino weren’t just looking for their mother. Adamo had disappeared as well. Nothing would make them give up their endeavor.

Leona came in with a big bowl of spaghetti with tomato sauce. She’d cooked for once. Fabiano and her spent most of the time in the mansion now that Remo and Nino were hunting.

She said, “I don’t get it. Why do they have to catch her? They should be glad she’s gone. What does it matter if she starts a new life somewhere else? I get crazy mother problems, but maybe they should let it drop.”

Savio took the ladle from her and filled several plates. “Did your crazy-ass mother try to kill you? Burn you?”

Leona gave a small shake of her head, a blush taking over her throat and cheeks, blotting out her freckles.

“Then you don’t know shit.”

“Savio, don’t talk to Leona like that,” Fabiano snapped. They held gazes, both not willing to back down. Men and their dominance battles were something I’d never comprehend. It didn’t help that the tension had been mounting because of recent events.

Leona held up her hand. “No, it’s okay. It’s none of my business. I have no right to put my nose in your family matters.”

“You are family too,” Serafina said, trying to wrangle a bib around Nevio’s neck.

Savio sighed and nodded. “Fabiano is, so you are too.”

Fabiano inclined his head then touched his fiancée’s hip.

Leona blushed an even darker red and filled Fabiano’s plate, then her own. Greta and Nevio had already started stuffing their cute little faces with their food, the former wearing her bib without protest, the latter getting smashed avocado all over his clothes.

I ate a bite of the pasta, but I couldn’t really focus on food or anything but the thought that my period had been overdue for more than two weeks. Alessio was asleep in his crib upstairs. Pushing my chair back, I stood.

“What’s the matter?” Serafina asked worriedly.

“Nothing. I just need to go to the bathroom. Can you keep an eye on the baby monitor for me?”

All heads nodded and I handed the monitor over to Serafina who tried to catch my eyes, obviously concerned. Avoiding Fabiano’s suspicious gaze, I quickly moved into the guest bathroom and locked myself in.

I stared at the drawer with the pregnancy tests. Slowly I sank down on the toilet lid, considering if it was worth it. Should I take the test and risk having my hopes crushed, or just wait it out?

Taking a deep breath, I opened the drawer and took a test out. I wasn’t even sure how many of them I had used since Nino and I had started trying to get me pregnant. But this time was different. I had Alessio and in the few weeks since he’d become part of our family, I’d grown to love him so much. He was my son. Blood was completely irrelevant. Even if the test was negative, it wouldn’t be like the last times, because I already had a child to love.

Twenty minutes later I closed my eyes, dropping the second test to the floor and began to laugh softly. The same result as the first. A knock sounded.

“Kiara? Are you all right?” Leona asked.

I took another deep breath, washed my hands and opened the door. She scanned my face, then took in the two tests on the floor.

“I’m pregnant,” I whispered, and hearing those words the reality of the situation really sank in. For the first time a test was positive, two of them even. After all this time, all the tears and obsessing, I was finally pregnant. As if having Alessio, had set me free, had removed some sort of blockade.

“Oh, Kiara,” Leona said and hugged me tightly. “Will you call Nino?”

I shook my head. “I need to see a doctor first. Make sure it’s really true. I don’t want to crush his hopes if it’s a false alarm. He and Remo have enough to carry because of their mother.”

Leona gave me an understanding smile. “I have courses tomorrow, but I could skip if you need support.”

I squeezed her hand. “Thank you, but you shouldn’t skip. Savio’s taking me and Alessio to a pediatrician for a check-up tomorrow. There’s a gynecologist in the same building.”

Leona smiled. “Will you come back to the table?”

“Can you keep it a secret for now? Even from Fabiano?”

“I’ll try. I’m not the best at keeping secrets from him though. He’s just too attentive.”

“That’s not a bad thing,” I said with a laugh.

We returned to the table. Serafina, Savio and Fabiano gave me curious looks but I only smiled. Under the table, I pressed my palm to my belly, wondering if it was really true.

Serafina handed the baby monitor back to me. “Here.”

“Thanks.” Alessio was still stretched out on his back, sleeping tight. Would he soon become a big brother?

After Alessio’s check-up, which went well, Savio wanted to head down to the underground garage. I pressed the button for the floor below ours. “I still need to go to another doctor.”

“All right,” he said slowly. His expression turned pained when he saw we were heading to the gynecologist. “Seriously?”

I gave him a pointed look and set Alessio’s carrier down on the reception desk of the practice. Savio looked around with a frown as if he was worried one of his friends could catch him in a place like this, or maybe one of the girls he slept with.

I told the receptionist, “I need to see the doctor.”

“Do you have an appointment?” she asked, barely glancing up from her computer screen.

“No, I—”

“How long have you lived in Vegas?” Savio asked coldly.

The woman’s head shot up with a frown. “What?”

He leaned on the counter and stretched out his arm with the tattoo, a smile on his face that raised the little hairs on my neck. “The name is Falcone, Kiara Falcone. Now tell the doctor to hurry, we don’t have all day.”

She looked clueless. The other receptionist stood at once. “I’ll ask her to see you right away.”

“Was that necessary?” I whispered.

Savio shrugged. “I didn’t like the tone she used on you.”

Savio waited outsidethe door while the doctor did her check-up, and afterward I couldn’t get the smile off my face.

I walked out, causing Savio to straighten at once from where he leaned against the wall.

“Is he the father?” the doctor asked.

Savio’s eyes widened in alarm.

“No,” I said quickly, then smiled and we took our leave.

Savio waited until we were in elevator before he asked, “You’re pregnant?”

I nodded as I took Alessio from the carrier because he’d started crying. The moment I pressed him to my chest, he quieted as usual. Savio grabbed the carrier.

“Fuck, the mansion will be overrun with these little monsters soon.”

“You’re exaggerating.”

“If one of them turns out to be like Nevio, we’re doomed, that’s all I’m saying.”

I chuckled. Nevio was a very active, very loud child, the complete opposite from his sister.

“If you tell Nino, he’ll return right away, and I don’t think he’ll leave again. If you tell him you don’t want him to go, he won’t. You know you’ve got him wrapped around your little finger.”

The elevator came to a stop and we headed toward the Porsche Panamera. Since we had three kids in the family, some of the sports cars had been exchanged for vehicles with a bit more room.

“I know he would have stayed if I’d asked him but he needed to do this.”

“Maybe Leona is right, you know?” Savio murmured. “Maybe it’s for the best that she just disappeared, so neither of us has to kill her. With a little luck, she ends her own life.”

Savio’s gaze darted away from me, searching the parked cars to our right, and he became tense.

“Get in the car!”

He was about to pull his gun when five men jumped out from behind the other cars. Two of them gripped him from behind, stopping him from drawing the weapon. I stumbled back when Savio rammed the back of his head against the face of one of his attackers, who released him with grunt. Savio did a high kick against the chin of another, causing his head to fly back with a sickening crunch. The man dropped to the ground unmoving.

I whirled around, pressing Alessio to my chest and ran back to the elevator. The sounds of fighting followed me and then steps. What was I supposed to do? Calling the police was out of the question, but I needed to get help for Savio. Fabiano was the only option but he couldn’t leave Fina and the twins alone. My mind stumbled over each thought, not able to hold on to one. I didn’t dare look back and suddenly I was doused in liquid. It dripped down my hair, my neck, onto Alessio’s head and his romper. He began to wail.

“Stop!” A woman ordered. “Stop or you’ll burn.” It was a melodic, soft voice. One meant for soothing words and lullabies.

I sucked in a sharp breath, and then the stench of gasoline clogged my nose and I froze, staring down at Alessio in horror. He, too, was covered in gas. Slowly I turned around to stare into gray eyes. Like Nino’s, but unlike his, they didn’t give me a sense of calm.

Mrs. Falcone had a half-empty bottle in one hand and a lighter in the other.

“Stop the shit or the baby and the girl will burn!” one of the attackers snarled.

Savio was holding another man by the collar. His eyes darted to me, then his mother, and slowly he released the man, sliding his knife out of his chest. The man dropped to the ground, eyes wide and lifeless, and soon blood spread around him. Only three men were still standing, two of them bleeding, the third now pointing a gun at Savio. The man with the gun hit Savio over the head, causing him to fold into himself and fall to the ground.

Alessio started crying once more and my rocking did nothing to soothe him.

Mrs. Falcone smiled at me. “You are Kiara Vitiello? And this must be your son?”

I clutched Alessio protectively against me, taking a step back. Images of what she had done to her sons formed in my head, stirred terror in my insides. “What do you want?”

She pointed toward a black limousine. “Head over there.” Her mouth twisted into a too wide smile. “Please.”

Quaking from fear, I moved toward the car then got into the backseat. Savio was shoved into a second car. Mrs. Falcone got into the passenger seat of the car I was in and one of the men took the steering wheel. Alessio’s cry rang out harshly in the small space.

I tried to wipe the gasoline from Alessio’s head but it clung to him. Rubbing his back, I began humming. Yet, Alessio kept wailing, his little face turning red.

Mrs. Falcone pursed her mouth. “Get him to stop.”

“Shhh,” I cooed against my son’s temple.

“Stop him.”

“I’m trying.”

“Stop him! Or I will!” she screeched, whirling around in her seat and staring at us with a wide-eyed expression.

I froze, my hold on Alessio tightening, but he, too, had become completely quiet, as if he could sense the danger we were in. I kissed his forehead despite the gasoline, never taking my eyes off Mrs. Falcone.

She nodded once, then turned back to the windshield. “I’ve been waiting for a long time for this moment.”

“Please,” I whispered. “Don’t do this. You can start a new life.”

She peered over her shoulder. “I don’t want a new life. All I want is to finish what I’ve begun, don’t you understand?”

The feverish determination in her eyes made me shudder. I pressed my cheek against Alessio’s head.

“You don’t have to be scared. I won’t hurt you or him, if my sons do what I say. He’s not Nino’s, right?”

I swallowed. “We adopted him.”

“Good, then you two can live.” All I could think about was the baby in my belly, Nino’s baby. What would she do if she found out I was pregnant with her son’s child?

I tried not to panic. It would only transfer to Alessio and make him cry again. Remo and Nino would figure out a way to save us.

NINO

We were on our way back home after four days on the road and without a trace of our mother. “Our wives and children need us,” I said again, because Remo was dangerously silent since I’d convinced him to return to the mansion for a few days.

I added, “We don’t have a lead, Remo. I want her gone as much as you do, but we can’t spend every second chasing her, not anymore, not like in the past.”

“Every moment that she’s out there is a moment where she can ruin everything. You know her.”

“I—”

The ringing of my phone stopped me from saying more. It was Kiara’s number. I picked up at once. “Did something happen?”

“Hello Nino,” a woman said and it took my brain a moment to recognize the voice and my insides froze over. “I know we haven’t spoken in a while, but I’m only calling you to tell you we have your Kiara and her baby. I don’t know if you care, but I think maybe you do, so if you want to see her alive, you and Remo come home now.”

Remo slowed the car, taking in my expression. “Nino?”

My mother’s voice went on calmly, “Tell Remo, Kiara and the baby are covered in gasoline and if he doesn’t behave, I’ll have to let them burn. We’ll be waiting for you.”

She hung up and I could only stare at my cell. Images from the past, of hungry flames eating away at the drapes, slithered through my mind, followed by the horrible realization that today it might not be I who burned, but worse, Kiara and Alessio.

“Nino, say something.”

“Our mother has Kiara and Alessio. She’s going to kill them if we don’t come home.”

Remo’s phone rang and he picked up, saying immediately, “Fabiano, what the fuck is going on?” My brother closed his eyes, his chest heaving. “Take Fina and the twins into the panic room in your mansion if you’ve got time. Maybe our mother doesn’t know about them.” Remo nodded. “Let them in. Don’t risk that she hurts Kiara or Alessio.”

Remo opened his eyes and looked at me. I was still clutching my phone in my hand.

“We have to save them,” I rasped. “Help me save them.”

Remo gripped the back of my head and hugged me. “You’ll never have to ask me for something like that. Never. We will save them, and if anyone burns today, it’ll be us.” He pulled back, his eyes harsh. “I know it’s fucking much to ask right now, but shove your emotions down as far as you can. If we want to save them, I need you to be the sociopathic killer, not the husband or father, got it?”

I gave a nod. “I will kill them all.”

“You and I will.” He hit the gas and took us back home.

The gates swung openand in the driveway, we found three cars that didn’t belong. Two men stood guard in front of the entrance. I recognized them at once as Carmine, Cosimo’s younger brother, and beside him another one of our father’s former lapdogs.

Remo and I got out, and Carmine with a wide grin pointed his gun at us. “The wind’s turned, hasn’t it?”

Remo’s mouth curled. “Your brother begged and cried like a little girl before I killed him. To think that a pussy like him had dared to call himself Capo for even a second makes me want to jab a knife into my brain so I can cut out the part remembering it.”

Carmine’s face turned red. “You ... you are going to die today.”

“So, will you,” I said calmly. He’d gained weight around the middle and his hairline had receded.

“Inside,” he ordered, “But first you give us your weapons. Don’t forget, that woman and the baby will burn to coal in a blink if you try anything.”

Remo and I removed our holsters and gave them to Carmine, who glared at Remo. “Inside, now!”

We made our way into the mansion with them pointing their guns at our backs. I searched the adjoining corridors for more attackers, but didn’t see any. Remo alone could have taken the men who held us at gun point and together we wouldn’t have had any trouble, but we couldn’t risk it as long as Kiara and Alessio were in our mother’s hands. The torturous images from the past kept licking at my consciousness like hungry flames, waiting to banish the here and now. With sheer force of will, I shoved them down.

My heart picked up when we arrived in the gaming room. Kiara sat on the sofa and cradled Alessio against her chest. Her hair was sticky and the stench of gasoline hung in the air. My insides constricted. I only gave her a small nod, remembering Remo’s words. Savio lay on the floor, bleeding from a headwound, and looking up at me dazedly. I didn’t discover any other wounds. If things went down, he’d still manage to put up a decent fight despite his injury. Fabiano’s hands were bound behind his back and he was kneeling beside two other former Camorrista.  Remo shot him a look and he gave a small nod.

Serafina and the twins were in the panic room.

And then I spotted her, the woman who’d destroyed what little innocence Remo and I had possessed as children. In a moment she moved to Kiara’s side and held up the lighter. “You are going to put down all of your weapons, or they’ll both burn.”

“We took their weapons,” Carmine said, perspiration glistening on his receding hairline. His brother’s screams all those years ago would be nothing in comparison to what Remo and I would do to him today for threatening the people we were meant to protect.

Our mother shook her head with a benevolent smile. “No, no, you didn’t. I know Benedetto’s sons.”

“We are your sons too,” Savio ground out, rolling onto his back and touching the spot of dried blood on the side of his head with a grimace.

She ignored him. “A gunshot could set Kiara and her boy on fire too. A little spark and everything goes up in flames, do you really want to risk it? Hear their agonized screams?”

Remo looked at me, hoping I’d contradict her, but I couldn’t. Not with absolute certainty and the fire would spread too fast. I couldn’t risk this, couldn’t risk Kiara and Alessio being consumed by flames. Remo and I bent down and reached for the guns strapped to our calves.

“Careful now,” Mother said. “You know how excruciating it is to burn alive. I can’t imagine how it would feel to die that way.”

“Maybe you’ll find out today,” Remo said, his eyes full of hatred.

Inside me there was quiet, a terrifying stillness, only interrupted by bursts of what I could assume was fear, fear of losing everything. Not my life. I didn’t care about that.

Carmine took the guns from us with a nasty smile then backed up again to the other men.

“What did you promise them to do your bidding?” I asked.

Mother smiled. “Money. Power. Revenge.”

“Power,” Remo scoffed. “Do you really think my men will follow either of you? They’ll laugh into your pitiful faces and then smash them in. And even if you manage to seize power by some stroke of luck, you won’t have it for long. Luca will wipe the floor with assholes like you and just claim the Camorra for himself.”

“We’ll see,” Carmine said. He was obviously the leader of the remaining traitors. That they’d chosen a man like him showed how weak they were.

“Help him to his feet,” Mother said, indicating Savio.

An older man, one of my father’s old Captains, grabbed Savio’s arm to pull him to his feet.

Savio jerked his head forward, breaking the man’s nose with his forehead. “Go fuck yourself, motherfucker.” The man staggered back, clutching his nose, then he raised his gun and pointed it straight at Savio’s head. My own body went into fight mode but I forced myself to stay put.

Our mother waved the lighter. “I told you. They’ll burn.”

I looked to Kiara and Alessio. She was stroking his back, her gaze on me. She wasn’t crying, only looking at me with absolute certainty that I could save them, and no matter the price, I would. Those kind eyes had helped me tear down parts of the walls from the past and today I’d smash the rest of them. Maybe I wouldn’t survive; it didn’t matter, as long as I took my mother and those traitors with me so Kiara and Alessio could live in peace.

Savio staggered to his feet and moved toward us, limping slightly. There wasn’t a bullet or knife wound in his leg, so I hoped he’d only twisted his ankle.

“Where’s Adamo?” Mother asked, flicking the lighter open, causing Kiara to flinch and me to take a step forward. Mother smiled at the orange flame before her gaze latched onto mine then to Remo. Her expression, full of manic excitement, it had haunted many nightmares of my past.

“He disappeared after you tricked him into helping you.”

“Poor boy,” she crooned. “He’s weak, lost. He isn’t like you or Benedetto.” She regarded the flickering flame of the lighter again and every fiber in my body tensed. I wouldn’t reach Kiara in time if Mother touched the flame to her hair or clothes. Her eyes became eager again. “What about those kids and wife of yours, Remo? Where are they?”

Remo’s nostrils flared.

“Everyone knows about that kidnapped girl and those twins that look like you,” she continued. “Especially that boy. Your spitting image. Your tainted blood.”

Remo gave her a wide grin, full of maniac darkness. “You know me, don’t you? You really think I could ever have a woman in my life without killing her?”

Mother tilted her head and closed the lid of the lighter. “You killed her?”

“Her and those useless kids.”

Mother regarded him closely, but from the look on Remo’s face even I would have believed his words to be true if I didn’t know what Serafina and his twins meant to him.

“Why don’t you douse us with gasoline? That way you can guarantee we don’t act out of turn and you can let Kiara and Alessio go,” I said carefully.

Mother’s laugh was girlish, too high, too fake. “Oh no, no. I won’t let the past repeat itself. She stays. You’ll behave as long as she does. You don’t want her to get hurt, do you?”

I swallowed hard, trying to suppress the need to attack, to dish out the pain she deserved.

“We need to hurry up here,” Carmine said, looking at Remo. My brother appeared to be imagining all the ways he could break the man before him. “We don’t know if they didn’t alert their soldiers. As long as they still live, every fucking Made Man in the city will follow their command.”

Mother gave him an indignant look then sighed before smiling at us. “Okay, this is how it goes, boys. I want you to cut your wrists, all right?”

Savio scoffed.

Remo’s face transformed into a mask of absolute fury. “I should have killed you right after they cut Adamo out of you. Father wouldn’t have stopped me. He would have found a new woman to terrorize.”

I held Kiara’s shocked gaze and she shook her head, asking me not to act on my mother’s demands, but that was a promise I couldn’t give, because my life wouldn’t matter without her in it.

Mother smiled. “And I should have killed you first, in your sleep, but I didn’t know how strong you were. I do now, my son.”

“Don’t call me that!” he snarled.

She glanced from Savio, to me then to Remo at last. “This could have been over many years ago. It must end this way, don’t you see?”

I could only stare at Kiara who was clutching our son with tears in her eyes, and the love in her face grounded me, gave me peace and certainty. She’d live no matter the price.

Mother opened the flap of the lighter and I took a step forward. “No!” she screamed. “All three of you will cut your wrists now. I’ll wait until you’ve passed out before I burn down the mansion and your bodies in it. If you don’t, I’ll burn her and the baby right in front of you and have my men shoot you anyway.”

Carmine and the men exchanged looks, obviously not in on the plan until now. Hadn’t they realized how crazy our mother was?

“You’ll burn them anyway. The moment we’ve passed out, you’ll kill them,” I said tonelessly.

Our mother shook her head with a soft smile. “No, no, she’s a victim like I was, and the boy isn’t yours, so he can live as well. We have to go but not them, boys, don’t you see?”

Savio stared at her in disgust. “Fuck, if I’d known how batshit crazy you are, I would have killed you myself.”

“See?” she said. “It’s in you like it is in them, like it was in your father.” She regarded us. She motioned at Carmine, who gave her an incredulous look, then he handed me my knife back. “Either you’ll cut your wrists now, or I’ll burn them. I’ll count to three.”

Kiara began crying softly, rocking Alessio.

I brought the blade to my forearm, then slashed horizontally, never taking my eyes off Kiara.

“No!” she gasped, but it was the only way, and she knew.

“Good,” Mother crooned. “Now the other.” I slashed my other wrist, feeling the warm liquid slithering down my palms then my fingers before it dripped to the floor. There was no pain, no fear, nothing, only the determination to save my wife and son.

“Two,” Mother counted. “Savio, Remo.”

I glanced at my brothers and held out my knife for them to take, feeling empty inside, and at the same time filled with a terror like never before, not for myself, but for Kiara and Alessio.

Remo grasped the knife with a growl, and holding my gaze he cut his wrists open and my shoulders sagged.

“Fuck,” Savio breathed, closing his eyes.

Fabiano’s eyes glistened as he pressed his lips together. I could see him working on his bindings but from his look of despair he wasn’t making progress.

“One,” Mother warned.

Savio opened his eyes, snatched the knife from Remo and slashed his wrists. I gave him a grateful look before he lowered his gaze to the blood running down his hands. I wished he didn’t have to share this experience with us.