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Severio continues, “An announcement as soon as tomorrow, as late as next week, about Gio and his deputy’s death will air on the news. It’s what the Order calls the formal closure, meaning it’s the news the birds will hear that explains Gio’s untimely demise. The news will shake up the community, there will be exaggerated media dramatics, which will air on television for days. People will flock to this house, wanting interviews, etc., etc. I need you to stay indoors. I trust that Drago supplied enough groceries for a week. I also trust you’ll take it from there.”
“Hence why he shopped so much and paid for everything.”
Severio nods. “I don’t want you to talk to the press.”
“I wasn’t going to.”
“Since there will be lots of coverage on you, it’s best if I’m not with you.”
I nod, agreeing with him. “I’ll be a mourning widow.”
“There is that, yes, but there are other things. When a Mancini member of the Order is taken out, it disrupts thesystems others have working for them. We function like a machine, and disruptions are dangerous. The members panic. Which is why I’m personally handling this one. With that said, the Order is always about power, and some families might try to take advantage of Gio’s misfortune.”
“How?”
“By pushing women at me to see if I’ll bite. By trying to poison me, shoot me, a number of things. Whichever they try, I wouldn’t want to expose you to it. I don’t want a repeat of the drone incident.”
“Me either. I have to say I’d rather not think about any women being pushed at you.”
“I’ll push them away.”
Damn. I want to ask him, but I don’t dare, and yet I do anyway. “Are you telling me all this because you like me?”
Severio leans back and crosses his arms over his chest.
Clearly, that was the wrong question.
“I’m telling you all this because you are mine to protect.”
I can’t argue with that, but Iwantto argue that. I want to tell him that I’m more than just someone to protect, seeing as how he deposited his semen inside me without even asking if I was on birth control or protected from pregnancy in any way. I’m on the pill, but for all he knows, he’s breeding me.
Oh, Corrado asked if he was breeding me. At the time, it wasn’t his business, and it sounded primal and raw, but maybe his brother has a point.
“I’ll play my part,” I tell Severio.
“Thank you,” he says. “After a few weeks, the dust will settle.”
A few weeks. I let out a loud breath. “Will you attend Gio’s funeral?”
“We’ll attend the funeral together. You’ll sit by me the entire time. For the birds, it sends a message of a united grieving family. For the Order members, it sends a message of a unitedfamily. They’ll know I’m not grieving. They’ll read into my attendance with you differently.”
“How so?”
“Marriage proposals will start coming in through me, not through your loving relative. Your mother.”
I make a face. “Marriage proposals? Gah, during a funeral?”
“Not quite but they’ll want to put out the feelers, see what’s available for exploitation.”
“But I have nothing.”
Severio smiles. “For all they know, you’re a Mancini widow. You might have a lot of things.”
“I hadn’t considered that.”
Severio drums his fingers on the table. “There is something else.”
His blue eyes pin me to the chair before he continues. “The media coverage will reach people who are not in attendance. I want them to see us together. I’m hoping it will cause some of them to make contact when they didn’t want to make it before.”
