Angel’s Trumpet by Sem Thornwood
The day after I got a lecture from my disappointed wife, I was ready to go home for dinner. I ended the day by checking out one of our underground casinos. I still had some work to do, but I could do them at home in my office. I didn’t know if Mia wanted me to go to bed with her, but I hoped after attending dinner and spending time with her and my sibling, she would just be in a good mood and let me do my thing. I really didn’t want to repeat the previous night.
When I was about to close everything and leave, my phone rang. My first thought was it was Mia checking if I was coming, but it was not her. It was my Consigliere, Antonio.
I groaned at the name. I really wanted to be done for the day, at least for now. But still answered because Antonio wouldn’t have called me if it was not necessary. “Please tell me you call because you missed me.”
“You wish,” he said flatly. He said everything that way unless he was trying to act like the rest of the human race in order to not freak people out.
“What is it then?”
“Franco Ricci is in town.”
My eyebrows shot to my forehead. “He was not at the wedding.” He was the younger son of Duran Ricci, the black sheep of the family. I could not believe Ricci would take him to Chicago with him.
“He is not with Duran. I think he is on vacation, having a good time.”
Well, he could not have a vacation since he didn’t do shit normally. He just lived off of his family’s money. I didn’t point that out, though, because Antonio already knew that, and I was more interested to know what he was doing here. “Having a good time, how?”
“He is at the Zest.”
Zest was the Outfit’s biggest strip club in Chicago. “I assume you are on your way there right now.”
“No, you should be on your way there.”
I was not ditching my wife to go to a strip club. That was just another level of fucked-up. “I don’t think so. You are my Consigliere. You should go.”
“Franco Ricci is an asshole.”
“And you don’t do assholes?”
“I don’t do this, asshole,” he amused. Then he turned into his serious self, the one that Valerio so desperately idolized. “He is an arrogant bastard for some reason, and even though he is useless, he knows we need him. He is aware of the situation between his father and us. He would demand to talk to you even if I go. So, spare us the time and go.”
I knew he was right, but I really didn’t want to. I wanted to just send Alessio and kill every Ricci alive. The hardest part was that I knew Alessio would do it gladly. He was always much more controlled than me, and he was the softest motherfucker when it came to his sister or his wife, but he had his weaknesses too. Anyone who hurt Bella would not see his controlled cruelness. They would see much worse.
I pressed my hand to my face and groaned. “I was going to go home for dinner.”
“Since when do you do that?” he asked, his voice puzzled. Fuck, I ditched my siblings so much that Antonio thought me going home to dinner was so weird.
“Since I married your sister, and she told me that she wants me home for dinner.”
He laughed a little. Mia was probably the only person and topic that could put a genuine smile on his face. “Skip tonight. She knows how things work.”
“You would think,” I murmured. I really didn’t want to bail on her, but this time I really did have to deal with work. So, without letting Antonio ask further questions, I said, “Okay, I’ll be there.”
While going to my car, I texted Mia and hoped that she wouldn’t be angry. Actually, angry was not bad, but I wished that she wouldn’t be upset. That was unbearable, really.
Salvatore: I have to take care of business. Have dinner without me.
Then I really couldn’t help but send another message even though it made me feel like a fucking softy and an asshole at the same time. Still, it put me at ease since I felt like it might soften things up for Mia and me.
Salvatore: I’m sorry.
She didn’t answer, and I knew I had to find a way to make it up to her, but right now, it was time to focus on the Ricci situation. I would figure out what kind of romantic shit I have to do later.
The second I stepped inside the Zest, one of the waitresses came up to me and showed me where Ricci was. Of course, the fucker was at one of the private rooms with three girls. It was better. I could not talk to him in a crowd anyway. So, I got into the private room without knocking. One girl was on the poll, one was on Ricci’s lap, and the other one was sitting next to him.
“Hope you are having fun, Franco.”
The girl on his lap leaned to the side and turned to my voice. I could feel the fear all three of them radiated. They knew me being here was not good news. But I didn’t care about them. My main focus was Franco Ricci.
A big grin appeared on his face, and he didn’t make a move to get the girl out of his lap. Asshole was aware he had important information and was adamant about using it as long as he could. “Oh, if I knew I was going to get a visit from the Capo, I would have taken more girls.”
I sat on the couch opposite his. My expression was probably as calm as it could get. “I think you very well know I am not here for girls, Franco.”
“Oh, right.” He threw his head back as his hands roamed over the stripper’s ass. “You have fresh pussy at home now. It must taste sweeter than these ones.”
Franco probably didn’t see how fast I moved, but in seconds I threw the girl away from his lap and wrapped my hand around his throat. That erased his smug expression real fast. “Don’t you dare talk about my wife. Actually, don’t even think about her.”
He laughed nervously. “I was just joking. You know I have no filter.”
“Well, get one,” I snarled and then let go of his throat. I sat back and examined my suit to proper myself. At the same time, I commanded, “Get out,” to the strippers.
Girls immediately obeyed, but Franco groaned at my order. His asshole expression was coming back too fast for my liking. “So, you came here to ruin my fun, huh?”
“I came here to get answers, Franco. And you very well know that.”
He rolled his eyes. It was a move that got into my nerves more than anything unless the one doing it was Mia. “I could have given you answers while having my lap dance.”
“Give me answers fast, and I’ll pay for the rest of your lap dances. Believe me, there are other places I want to be at right now.”
He threw his head back and laugh. “I have a good guess, but I don’t want to risk losing my life again.”
“Smart choice,” I gritted between my teeth. “Now tell me, why you are in Chicago?”
He chuckled in a way that made me ball my fists. “The real question is, why my father is still in Chicago?”
I tried to keep my expression emotionless, but I knew Franco saw the glimpse of surprise crossing my eyes because his grin widened. I didn’t know he was still here, but it was not a weird thing. The wedding was just two days ago after all. It was normal for Duran to visit friends or family while he was here. Of course, I knew better than believing that was the reason he didn’t run back to Columbus.
I was not known for my patience but still managed to ask, “Why is he here?” without sounding like I wanted to kill him in the next five seconds. It only sounded like I wanted to punch him in the face for annoying me.
“Well, if you ask his friends, they will tell you he is looking for a husband for my sister.”
This guy either had a death wish, or he was stupid enough to find annoying me amusing. “And if I ask you?”
“You know my father is smart enough to not tell me anything.”
He sure as hell didn’t act like a man who didn’t know anything. “Don’t you like to eavesdrop?”
“Nah,” he shook his head, but I could see the devil in his eyes. “But Bianca does.”
This time I smiled too. Eavesdropping was a hobby most women in the mob enjoyed. Of course, Duran’s daughter knew all his plans. Now all I could do was to make Franco talk and pray that he was close with his sister.
“Then tell me what your little sister told you, Franco. Choose your side wisely.”
His eye lit up in a way that I didn’t like one bit. I knew he was going to talk, but I also could see that he was not going to give me anything for cheap. Good thing I was ready to put many things on the line to finish Duran Ricci.
Salvatore didn’t come to dinner, but Bella did.
I was actually trying to ignore Bella until I figured out my problem with Sal, but I still answered when she called in the morning. After I told her Sal was at work and I was still unpacking, she cursed her brother and said that she was coming.
She helped me unpack, and I finally finished both the bedroom and my studio. Her presence also made Verona and Valerio happy. They must have missed her too since she moved out of the house, but something in my gut told me that they saw her more than they saw Salvatore. That was really concerning.
Tonight, I was very hopeful for Salvatore to keep his promise, but just before the dinner was ready, he texted me that he wasn’t coming. My hopes were crushed.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Bella asked to my beat expression. But she didn’t need an answer from me. She answered herself just a few seconds after. “He is not coming.”
“He promised,” I said and hated my tone. I sounded like a little girl who didn’t get the promised Christmas present from her parents.
Bella shook her head and hugged me to her chest. She was much taller than me, like her brother. “I am sorry, my brother is an asshole.”
I didn’t want to be destroyed by this. As far as I could see, he was going to disappoint me much more in the future. I needed to be strong. So, I didn’t answer Bella but rather escaped her embrace and smiled. “Let’s have dinner.”
I saw his later text only after dinner, and because I was stupid, it gave me hope again. I thought that maybe he really did have something he couldn’t get out of.
“Do you think he has a valid reason to be late again?” I asked Bella after dinner when we were having coffee.
She shrugged and took a gulp from her coffee, giving herself more time to think. “Well, I am not one to defend Sal. He might act like a dick sometimes, but it is possible. I sometimes don’t even see Alessio for three or four days. I only hear him get into bed at night and feel him kissing me before leaving in the morning.”
I didn’t linger on the fact that Salvatore never even came close to kissing me in the morning before leaving. The most he did was sending that apology text. Bella and Alessio were in love since they were toddlers. I could not expect us to be like them. At least not right now. In the end, I decided to be positive.
After Bella left, I decided to go to bed. There was no point in waiting for him with anger like yesterday night. There was no way I could take arguing with Salvatore every night. I also needed sleep since I had classes tomorrow.
My brother Alessio came to pick up Bella. He didn’t stay too long but still having a short chit-chat with him felt good. I made a mental note of visiting Antonio too. They always made me feel loved and happy. I needed both desperately in the last couple of days.
Despite going to bed early, I couldn’t fall asleep right away. Maybe it was because I actually woke up later than I usually would this morning. Or maybe I cared when my husband was going to come home more than I wanted to admit.
Whatever it was, it kept me awake, and I heard when he tried to sneak into the room silently. I was not fully awake, but I was far from sleeping. I saw him checking me out before going to the closet or the bathroom, and I decided to expose my awaken state. I looked at the alarm clock on the bedside table, and when I read the time as 2 am, I whispered, “You are late.”
He let out a frustrated breath and slowly walked to my side of the bed. I couldn’t see him very well in the dark, but I could tell he was tired. “Couldn’t get out of it,” he said, and when he came next to me, he did something that shocked me. He leaned in.
My heart went crazy for a moment, thinking he was going to kiss my lips, but he didn’t. Instead, he pressed his lips to my forehead after murmuring, “Sorry.” It was still more than what I expected. It was so much more than I hoped from him. Unfortunately, all the warm fuzzy feelings it brought to me only lasted for two seconds.
Out of instinct, I held onto the lapel of his jacket and pulled him to me. He didn’t resist me. I happily smelled him in, and that was the moment everything has gone to complete shit.
Salvatore normally smelled a mix of his Tom Ford cologne, cigars, and expensive Scotch. It was a smell I really enjoyed and memorized, but even if I didn’t, I would know there was something wrong because right now, he smelled of perfume. A sweet feminine scent.
With realization, my body went rigid, but Sal seemed not to notice it, or he just simply didn’t care and just went to the closet. I was really the stupidest person on the planet.
I felt bad for pushing him about sex. I kept telling myself he was really busy tonight. I tried to believe the best of him, but it was for nothing.
He didn’t only ditch the dinner, but he spent his night fucking another woman.
So, he didn’t have a problem with sex. He only had a problem with me.
I wanted to cry and scream. I wanted to punch Sal for doing this to me, and I wanted to punch myself for hoping we could actually have a real marriage.
I dug my nails into the blanket and did my best to not cry. I didn’t want to cry; I wanted to punch some things, but my body was reacting on its own. At least I knew he was not going to see me cry in the dark. I was not going to give him that.
When he left the closet with just sweatpants and nothing else, I prayed for him to go to the bathroom, but instead, he got under the covers with me. He didn’t even have the audacity to wash whoever he was with away. He lay next to me with another woman’s scent on him. My eyes burned even more.
I closed my eyes to turn off the reality, but then I felt the bed dip and his arm coming around me. This was the time he decided to cuddle me? No fucking way.
“Don’t touch me!” I said, and thank God managed to cover up my crying voice.
Sal went still for a moment, but then he pulled back his arm. “What is the problem?”
Something between a joyless laugh and a sob escaped my mouth. “Are you really asking?”
“I said sorry twice, Mia. I really couldn’t get out.”
Couldn’t get out of what? Her cunt? “You had some business, huh?”
“Yes!” he almost screamed, but he had no right to be angry right now. He didn’t even have a right to talk to me after cheating on me and trying to touch me with her on him. That was not like coming home late or trying to avoid sex. This was unacceptable.
He didn’t even deserve an argument. There was no point to it anyway. Nothing was going to change. So, I rolled even more away from him and closed my eyes after whispering, “Good night, Sal.” Even though it was obvious, he already had that.
