He half-carries me to the bathroom where I freshen up, even as my eyes close from exhaustion. I brush my teeth and wash my face and use the facilities while he waits outside the door for me, then I take his arm as I walk unsteadily back to bed.
I crawl into bed and close my eyes.
I fall back asleep, and this time the only voices that stir in my dreams are my thoughts.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Orlando
“Angelina.” I try to keep the harsh tone of voice, but no matter how much I focus on what she’s done and how she’s earned what we’re putting her through, all I see is the woman I fell in love with. The woman who gave herself to me to save her friend. The woman who carries my child.
She’s so sick, she can’t even hold water down at this point. By later that evening, I’m concerned. I call Mama.
She comes upstairs quickly, carrying a heated blanket, some tea bags, and a little bag of something I can’t quite identify.
“How is she?” she asks.
I shake my head. Angelina stirs behind me.
“How much has Romeo told you?”
“Enough.” My mother was wed to my father against her will, and her life was nothing but misery as a result. She knows we’re bound by the rules of our brotherhood, that we’ve taken blood oaths of silence, obedience, and fidelity, at the very start of our promises to each other. She knows we walk a razor’s edge when it comes to our safety among others, especially rival mafia. But her allegiance and sympathy will always be with the feminine species.
I don’t think she could help it if she tried.
She walks to the side of the bed and sits beside Angelina.
It took me less time to adjust to her real name than I thought it would, but it suits her better. Mama’s so small, so slight, the bed barely sags beneath her weight. Angelina rolls over and opens one eye.
“Hi,” she says, her voice hoarse from being sick. “Don’t know if you should be in here. I may be contagious.”
My heart tightens. She’s concerned for my mother, even when she’s sick herself.
“Oh, I don’t think I can catch what you have, I’m way too old,” Mama laughs. “Here, sit up. Have some tea. It will help.”
Angelina takes a sip from the mug and nods. “Thank you, that does. What is it?”
“Peppermint.” Mama looks over her shoulder at me. “Go, Orlando. You’ve been here all day. Go take a walk, read a book. I’ll sit with her.”
I shake my head. “No, Mama. I’m staying here.”
She rolls her eyes. “Even though Nonna made calzone tonight?”
Tempting. “Even then. Thanks for coming, Mama. I’ll take it from here.”
“Ah, so I’m dismissed, am I?”
I give her a tight smile and open the door.
When the door closes, Angelina’s still sitting up in bed. “I do feel a bit better. I think.” But her face looks a little green around the edges.
I get a phone call from Romeo and answer it quickly. “Hello?”
“I think we found her friend.” I shake my head and turn away from Angelina. I don’t want her to see or hear anything. It will only put her in a panic.
She stirs in the bed behind me, and releases a little moan. When I look over my shoulder at her, she has her hand on her belly. She’s still sick.
“Where is she?”
“Looks like she stayed where she was. She hasn’t made a move to come here at all.”
“What are you going to do with her when you get to her?”
Romeo’s quiet for long minutes. “The question is, is our deal with Regazza off the table now? He hasn’t fulfilled his end of the bargain. He hasn’t married to us. He hasn’t given us a wife.”
“He has, though. She’s not our friend, I know. But the whole point of my marriage was that I would strengthen the family bond, bring a child to the table. And I’ve done that.”
Romeo doesn’t reply at first. “You married a woman who isn’t mafia. She tricked you and deserves to be punished for that. If she wasn’t pregnant, you know what would happen.”
“And I will punish her.” My voice is harsher than I intend. I did this very morning, when I made her watch me come, still teeming with her own arousal. One must be creative when punishing a pregnant woman.
I look over to see Angelina, but she’s fallen asleep again.
He doesn’t speak for a moment, but then when he does his voice is tight. “You know how I feel, Orlando. She’s made our rules a mockery.”
“For good reason.”
No one talks back to Romeo. No one challenges the Don of the mafia. No one.
“Are you making an excuse for her?”
“Would you for Vittoria?”
He’s quiet for another moment before he sighs.
“I’ll do what I have to. You do what you have to. I’m working with Regazza to see where we stand after all this.” He’s actually letting this go. I breathe out a sigh of relief.