Page 54 of Cartel Devil

No one will ever confirm it, but I have my suspicions. Before Salvatore married Sera’s aunt Sylvia and she secretly became her husband’s top advisor alongside Massimo, Paola was their go-to strategist. Fucking morons who think Mafia business isn’t women’s business. Men may be the heads of our families, but women are what keep those heads from toppling into the shitter.

Paola

What’s up?

Me

Can I call you? Or can you call me?

I can’t believe the text went through with how quickly she calls me.

“What happened? What’s wrong? Who does Carmine kill?”

She asks the last question with humor—in case someone’s listening in. But she means it.

“Um, I need to make some doctors’ appointments. I figured you’d know who to go to.”

“What kind of doctors?”

Her skepticism echoes in my head. I inhale as I lay out my rehearsed answer.

“I need a dermatologist, a dentist, an OBGYN, and an optician.”

“Which one do you need most, Tricia?”

Fuck!

She sounds like my mom when she knows I’m selectively telling the truth.

“Whichever ones you can recommend.”

“Try again.”

I cringe. I’ve known the woman as long as I’ve known Sera. The Mancinellis are still deeply connected to the Cosa Nostra branches in Sicily. They often vacationed there in the summer, so I’d see them when I visited with Sera. It was during one of those visits—we were twelve—that Carmine fucked up so badly that she didn’t talk to him for nearly twenty years. His fuck-up at Salvatore and Sylvia’s reception didn’t help either, but that’s neither here nor there right now.

Focus.

It’s too soon to claim pregnancy brain.

My family doesn’t go as often as the Mancinellis, but we’d go for at least ten days at least once a year. She probably changed my diapers for all I know.

“An OBGYN. I need an exam.”

“To see how pregnant you are.”

What the ever-loving fuck do I say to that?

“Um.”

“Tricia, if you just wanted any OBGYN, you’d look online. If you wanted the best, you’d ask any other woman in my family. You’re asking me not only because I’m Sera’s mother but also because I’m discreet.”

The Mancinellis rarely use “in-law” to describe their relationships. I noticed the Diaz family is similar. No one’s trying to replace a biological connection. It’s just a sign that the family’s unified. Us against the world. I like it. I could see Luciana as a second mother, and I barely know her.

“Yes.”

“Joaquin Diaz.”

It’s not a question, so I opt to say nothing.