Page 30 of The Beast Who Begged Me

“But—”

“Let’s get moving,” Dami says to Vito before I finish my sentence. He stands, even though he hasn’t finished his plate.

They’re waylaid in the doorway by a new arrival: Sammy, walking into the kitchen with Ricky Benedetti following him. They’re each wearing boxers, Sammy with a black robe unbelted, Ricky with nothing else at all, and his chest is covered in marks that make it very obvious what they were doing last night.

“Put some goddamn clothes on,” Dami snaps at him.

“I would, Mr. Orsini, only Rosa’s got them in the laundry for me,” Ricky says innocently.

For a second, I think Dami will explode. The old Dami would. And then I’d have to manage him, calm him down, guide him through the emotional minefield.

Dami stares at him for a second, then stalks off.

My heart gives a terrible twinge. And at that moment, I catch Rosa’s eye. She’s looking at me just as closely as I’ve been looking at Dami, and I don’t think she likes what she sees. Her lips purse and she gives a little shake of the head.

She can tell, just like I can.

Dami is not the same man he was yesterday.

I have to put on a front for Luca D’Amato. I spend a few minutes longer than usual on my appearance, putting on some of the clothes Dami bought for me. A good shirt, dark pants. No tie. We might be talking business, but I want to appear relaxed.

I must have chosen right, because when I arrive at his open study door, he eyes me with approval and beckons me in, pointing me to the sitting area at one side of the room. He’s on the phone, ending the call with a “Keep me informed,” as I take a seat on the soft leather sofa.

“Do you play?” he asks, seeing me look over the chess set on the coffee table.

“I’m no grandmaster,” I say. I pick up the castle piece and turn it over in my hands. “I appreciated your metaphor in the hospital, though. That’s why I’m here.”

“Then let’s work on your game.”

He lets me take white, so I can move first. I used to play with my father. I played only once with my grandfather, who became more and more furious as his pieces dwindled. I learned from that, so I sacrifice a bishop early on to D’Amato.

“Don’t do that,” he says at once. “Flattery undermines any leverage you have.”

I give a surprised laugh. “I have no leverage.”

He looks at me closely. “You have people willing to die for you. That’s more than most men have. Do you think Big Gee has men willing to die for him out of sheer loyalty?”

“They’re certainly willing to kill for him,” I point out acerbically.

“And it’s not the same thing at all.”

“No,” I concede. And I think about all those old Clemenzas who wanted to meet me. Wanted to crown me. Men desperate for purpose. They’re not so different from Dami, in that respect.

They’re not so different from me, either.

D’Amato is watching me, waiting. He’s got me in check, and all I can do is move my king. He takes one of my knights, and I move my king again.

“This is the situation with the Bratva,” he says. “They are very keen on your demise, and Orsini’s. But they know they can’t get to you here.” He taps a finger on his rook. “They tried to make you a pawn at the auction house. Burning Orsini’s house down shows they’ll make a mess to get what they want. They’re vicious. Determined.” He moves his rook to check my king. “What are you going to do about it?”

“Me?” I stare at him. “What can I possibly do, Don Morelli? I have no power. I have a handful of men who might be willing to die for me, but aren’t far from the grave already. I have no money of my own.” I’m hardly going to demand Dami turn his dwindling bank accounts over to me. “I don’t even have the ring,” I say with a crestfallen air, when Luca makes no reply. “The symbol of my Family. I have no idea where it is.”

“Of course you do,” Luca says.

So I was right.

Luca D’Amato has my ring.

“You ransacked an old man’s corpse?” I ask. “Looted his body?”