Page 71 of The Beast Who Bought Me
I take his hand and shake it. “We’re good.”
We’re not good. Not at all. If Seb knew I had Caligula Clemenza chained to a wall in my basement right now… Hell, ifanyonein the Family finds out about that lovingly-crafted torture chamber I put together just for him, they’d put me down without hesitation.
Not because I broke ranks, but because I am, as the Clemenza himself put it,fucking insane.
I don’t know what this twisting in my gut is and I don’t like it. It makes it hard to shovel down the lasagna, but I figure the fuller my mouth is, the less I’m likely to spill something I shouldn’t to Seb. Seb still seems troubled, anyway, his fond smile about his younger brother dying away as he toys with his linguine. “Luca D’Amato’s been putting the heat on about the Clemenzas.”
“Wants them all dead?”
Seb looks up at me with surprise again. “No. That’s not how he operates. He’s an honorable man, despite what Big Gee might think about him. D’Amato took them down, but he was restrained about it. No innocents caught up in the purge. And besides, you know he put out that order months ago that the Cees are untouchable now. Anyone kills a Clemenza, they answer to him.”
I do know. I wasn’t happy about it at the time. “Fat lotta good that’s done for them,” I snort.
Personally, I think D’Amato only ordered that to give his own Morellis a clear run. He wanted to keep the pleasure of eradicating the Clemenzas all to himself.
“Still,” Seb goes on, oblivious to my dark thoughts, “maybe it’s a good thing the Morellis were there last night to see you protect the kid. Show them that the Gees are playing nice, that these murders have nothing to do with us.”
“Any news on the fool who tried it? Shame he got silenced, but there was no other way that was going to end. He was shit at his job.” Whoever that moron was who came at Caligula last night, they must have had a death wish to try it in a room full of mobsters.
Seb looks even more troubled. “No ID. Not a Family man. Didn’t seem like the Bratva’s usual choice, either.”
“Maybe not. But the Bratva were pretty pissed when I won the Clemenza from them.”
“Mm.” Seb is unconvinced. He leans in close, dropping his voice, even though this restaurant is one of the safest places in the city for us outside our own homes. “I want you to look into it.”
“Me?” I dump my loaded fork back into my bowl.
“You. You got skin in the game now, after all.”
Blood, too. My arm’s been killing me all damn day. I should’ve gotten Rosa to clean it out again this morning. But still… “I’m not your guy,” I tell him. “I’m a head-kicker, not an investigator.”
He grins in appreciation. “If you need to kick a few heads along the way, have at it. Besides, you’re the only one with an inside line.” At my blank look, he adds, “You have the Clemenza rightthere in your home. He must have some ideas about his enemies, surely?”
I just shrug at that. If I refuse again, Seb will start to wonder what’s up. “Fine. I’ll talk to him. But he wasn’t much involved in his granddaddy’s business. He was way down the line of succession.”
Seb nods. “All the same. Doesn’t hurt to ask him. And let’s keep this between us, eh?” he says casually.
Too casually.
He doesn’t think it’s the Russians. Maybe he’s suspicious of us Italians. If so, I see why he wants to keep it quiet. If it turns out to be a made man—fromanyof the Families—it’s going to cause problems.
I don’t go home after lunch.
I don’t want to think about Caligula Clemenza chained up in that basement. Don’t want to remember how those golden eyes were like warm honey last night when he looked at me, or how that smartass mouth curves when he thinks he’s getting under my skin. Don’t want to acknowledge that sometimes, in my weakest moments, I think about the way he says my name.Dami.
But I need to check on him. Because what I keep saying is true: Caligula Clemenza is my responsibility now.
I have a contingency in place for when I’m out, because no one goes down to that basement but me. Not long after I leave Seb at the restaurant, I tap into the app on my phone and hit the buttonto release the collar. There, he has his freedom. He’ll be able to reach the food I now order Rosa to send down, and he can drink water from the fridge.
Hell, he can even wander around the set I made for him, his Family’s graveyard. Reminisce.
I walk around the city for a long time. Well after nightfall, I call Vito to pick me up. On our return, I make him wait a while outside the house with the engine idling.
Caligula Clemenza is in that house. Waiting. Waiting for what hedeserves.
But those words feel hollow now.
I get out of the car eventually and go into the kitchen, where Rosa immediately points at a tray full of food. “He hasn’t eaten.”
