All I Believe (Firsts and Forever, #10)(65)
As he pulled a second gun from the safe, a compact .22, I said, “You know, when I came here, it was to just give you a heads-up and to figure out how to keep Nana safe. Now here you are, fighting my battle for me.”
“This is what we do, Nico. It’s what Vincent and I have always done. We protect our family.”
“And meanwhile, I run and hide like a coward.”
“That’s not what you’re doing. You’re just stepping out of the way of a potentially dangerous situation. Andreo Natori has one hell of a reputation, and I don’t think he’d hesitate to kill you.”
“He’s not completely unreasonable. I spent a couple hours in a car with him when I left Luca, he drove me to the airport. Obviously he was being agreeable because he was glad to be getting rid of me, but still,” I said.
“You’re lucky that didn’t go differently.”
“Luca’s afraid for his brother’s safety. You’ll try talking to Andreo, right?”
“Of course. Violence is the very last resort. We’re going to try to do everything we can to resolve this peacefully.”
“So, I should help with that. I should try to talk to him. He’s afraid of what our family might do to Luca. That’s what’s behind all of this, real concern for his brother. But maybe I can make him realize he’s off-base.”
“He’s not necessarily wrong. This arm of the family wouldn’t want to harm him, but that can’t be said for all Dombrusos. We’ve always tried to present a unified front to the world, but the fact is, not everyone in our family is on the same page. There are at least a couple people who’d potentially kill any Natori on sight, just out of spite."
The conversation I’d had with Andreo came rushing back to me. I’d chosen to write it off as total BS, but I found myself asking, “Dante, what does my father do for a living?” My cousin stopped what he was doing and stared at me. It seemed like he was trying to make up his mind about something. That pause told me all I needed to know. “So, he’s been lying to me my whole life,” I said quietly.
“Who told you about your dad, Andreo?”
“Yeah. He seemed to know a lot about him. The Natoris keep detailed records on every Dombruso, me included. ‘Know your enemy’ and all that.”
“I’m surprised they know about your dad, though. Al’s really good at flying under the radar. Nana doesn’t even know what he does, and she knows everything. Did Andreo tell you about your brother, too?”
“Oh God.”
“Shit, I guess not,” Dante said.
“Do I even want to know what my brother’s involved in?”
“That’s a conversation for another time. For now we need to focus on the next twenty-four hours and this situation with Andreo, and you need to figure out where you’re going to go.” He tucked the Beretta in the back of his waistband, then took his keys from his pocket and detached a couple, which he handed to me. “Take my car. I’d suggest not going home to pack, that might tip off Nana that something’s up. And don’t worry, Nico. I’m going to try my damnedest to make sure no one gets hurt.”
As I watched him check the clip of the .22, I asked, “Do you ever get tired of it? Trying to keep everyone in this family safe, I mean? I know Jerry’s the official head of the family now, but I also know you’ve never stopped being its suit of armor. It seems like it must get exhausting.”
Dante said, “I had to take a big step back from the family business for my husband’s sake, because you know I love him more than life itself. When I went after Sal Natori and got shot, Charlie almost lost me. That’s the real reason I retired, because I didn’t want to put him through that kind of hell, ever again. But Charlie’s always understood something about me, something I didn’t even understand about myself at first. This isn’t actually a job you can retire from. I’ll always protect my family. It’s who I am, who I’ll always be. I don’t get tired of it, any more than I’d get tired of breathing.”
I thought about it for a minute, then put the car keys and the money on his desk. “I’m not going to run and hide. Thank you for trying to keep me out of harm’s way, but I need to man up and deal with Andreo.”
“I’m willing to bet he’s not easily dealt with, though. Men like that are used to getting what they want, by any means necessary.”
“I don’t expect him to back off just because I ask him nicely, but I can’t keep running from my troubles. I did that when I found out Luca’s secret, and that wasn’t the right call. I let my hurt and anger overshadow everything else. The thing is, Luca’s a good man. I’ve always known that. Yes, he kept a secret from me, but it’s pretty obvious why he did that.” I paused for a moment before adding, “I kind of feel like maybe I was looking for an excuse to run, even though it was going great, and even though I care about him so much…or maybe because it was going great, and because I care about him. Maybe that’s why I bolted, because he’s so much more than I bargained for, and I was so damn scared that it was all going to go up in flames that I actually set fire to it myself. Does that make any sense?”
Dante grinned at me. “It does, oddly enough. And you two really need to talk.”