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“About what?”
“Your big brass balls.”
I laughed, and it hurt my ribs. Maybe Sonny was right, and I should’ve been taking it easy. Maybe I should have stayed in the hospital last night, but I was loathe to see any more people I knew. I didn’t want anyone to ask me what had happened. I had no idea what I’d say. They say medical professionals make the worst patients, and it was true in my case. However, if I got worse instead of better over the next few days, I’d go back. I’d have to make myself, or my husband would do that for me.
“I hope Doctor Dan isn’t presenting,” I mumbled to myself as we walked along the hall.
“Oh, I’m sure he isn’t. Didn’t you hear?” Sonny mused. “He had an accident; lost half his front teeth and needs reconstructive surgery.”
“Wait, what?” I stopped and stared up at Sonny.
He didn’t even twitch. “Damn shame.”
“Did he really have an accident?”
Sonny shrugged. “Having an accident isn’t so uncommon. People have them every day. Leaving the house puts you at risk for one. Hell, staying at home does, too.”
“And hitting on a mob boss’s wife might make it even more likely, right?” I stopped on the threshold of the class and glared at Sonny.
He simply smirked. “Your words, Mrs. D, not mine. I’ll be out here when you’re done.”
* * *
After class,I stopped at the coffee shop before going home. I really did love the seasonal hot chocolate from the place on campus, I was past caring if that made me a basic bitch. Besides, I wanted a moment alone to think before I headed back to Casa Nera. I had a message from Lucy on my phone that had made me so excited, I couldn’t stop reading it.
Maybe culinary school, what do you think?
It wasa tiny step in the right direction. A real direction for Lucy’s future. Most importantly was all that it didn’t say. Choosing to move forward with her life meant accepting our new reality. It made me hopeful she’d turned a corner. Maybe we could put the guilt and resentments, the regrets of a lifetime, behind us, and finally move on.
I finished my coffee and headed back to Sonny, who was reading the soccer pages from the Italian newspaper that got delivered to Casa Nera every morning.
“Ready to go?”
My ribs ached, I was tired and could sleep for a week, but I also felt oddly content, like the storm had finally passed.
I had barely nodded when the voice behind me sent me spinning around.
“Mrs. De Sanctis, you’re a hard woman to find lately.”
Detective Vane was flushed, like she was gearing up for a fight. Whitely stood behind her, solemn-faced.
Sonny immediately pushed between the detectives and me. “What business do you have harassing Mrs. De Sanctis?”
“Official business, if you’ll excuse us,” Detective Vane said, slapping a piece of paper against Sonny’s chest.
He plucked it out of her hand and opened it.
“Vaffanculo,” he snarled, which I didn’t take as good news.
“What is it?”
“It’s a warrant for your arrest,” Detective Vane said triumphantly. “Charlotte De Sanctis, you are being charged with actions connected to obstruction of justice including but not limited to destroying or concealing evidence, providing false information, and witness tampering. You have the right to remain silent…” The rest of my rights faded away as Detective Vane cuffed me, taking great pleasure in the task.
Sonny was already on the phone, speaking in rapid-fire Italian. He took it from his ear and put it on speakerphone before the detectives could haul me out of earshot.
“Bambina, don’t say a word. I’ll meet you at the station.” Renato growled across the space.
And then we were walking through the hall and down the stairs toward a waiting cop car.
