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“I didn’t.” A lie.
“Use your words, Cristina,” he orders.
He’s so attentive that he’s annoyed with himself that he’s attentive.
Drago shows me all three. “The last one,” I say.
“You sure?” Severio asks.
“I’m sure.”
“We’ll need DNA samples,” Drago says.
“I know it’s him. Those are his hands and his voice. He called me Issi. Nobody else calls me that. Well, my mom would know to call me that… Oh God, do you think my mom knew?”
Severio squeezes my shoulder. “She didn’t. She was sleeping with Gio. For her, losing your father was a benefit.”
“My mother was sleeping with Gio?”
Severio nods.
“That is…well, I hope nobody ever finds out. What a scandal that would be. It would ruin her career.”
“Anything else you can remember?” Corrado asks.
“We have everything we need, don’t we, Drago?” Severio asks.
Drago shrugs. “Just name them, and I’ll take care of the rest.”
The Mancini brothers look at me. I know what I must do. I give them my dad’s name.
“The Head rests,” Severio says and turns for the exit.
“The Body follows.” Drago leaves behind him.
Corrado sits down.
“Did I just order a hit on my dad?” I ask.
Corrado unfolds the map. “Welcome to the family.”
35
TERRITORIAL CREATURE
CRISTINA
It’s my first morning at home after surgery, and I’m wearing a pink pinup dress, black sandals with a modest heel, and a pink bow in my hair. My clutch matches the sandals. In the master bedroom of the west wing ofourhouse, I spin a few times in front of the mirror, happy with how I look.
My state of mind most definitely has something to do with the man leaning against the wall, waiting for me to finish getting dressed. I’m twenty minutes late, and he’s not mentioning it. He says absolutely nothing.
Last month, if someone had told me that Severio Mancini was going to forgive a twenty-minute tardy, I’d tell them they were a poor judge of character.
But I’d have been the one who misjudged Severio. He doesn’t sweat the small stuff.
Everything this man does is for his family. All those power moves? For his family. All the safety protocols of the Society? For his family. The elimination of threats such as my dad? For his family. I’m lucky to be a part of his family.
As far as my dad goes, I’m not mourning twice since I already mourned the version of my dad who raised me and not the man who cornered me and almost killed me. The night Severioshaved his hair, he went out and returned in the morning with a swollen hand and bloodied knuckles. Dr. Bautista cleaned up his wounds. Like me, the doctor didn’t ask any questions.
